Taka's POV:-

I entered the chamber and saw an old man with silver hair , which was clearly genetic and not due to old age . But if you looked at him now, you would clearly doubt his age. His violet eyes were sharp , piercing and he was standing . His robe was on the floor revealing his tonned body . Guy looked like a wrestler only with scars adorning almost every part of his skin . He had a whip with spikes in his hand . There was fresh blood on it and I bet I know whose it was.
'Yep, definitely father of the year '
I thought bitterly . I had already figured out that these people weren't really up to any good . But frankly speaking , they had resources I could use and intel I can gather . Somehow I feel like I've been in a similar position before .

'... Born to serve us'

A flash of dark faces appeared , my memory was fuzzy , old .
'We own you . You exist to serve us.'
The image disappeared and another came . It was her . I felt a phantom pain on my cheek , a slap.
'WHO YOU ARE IS PURELY YOUR DECISION, YOU IDIOT! SO DECIDE.'

"Have a seat , Taka."
The vision vanished . No matter how long the memories may be , they only take a split-second to register in my brain before vanishing . It's not like I relive my past , just remember it . It how I remember fighting , when the situation arises , I remember how I would deal with it and executing it was like second nature . I quickly composed myself . I had a similar one the first time they told me I was created for them .

'You're going to regret bringing me into this world.'

I had no idea where that thought came from , but it was clearly a memory . I could remember the satisfaction of saying that . Who I was saying that to is still a mystery tough but I remember that he was angry ...and I liked it. I walked towards the old man.
Wonder if I'll get to say it again?
The old man sat on a chair and I sat on the one next to his . A laptop was on , showing a chessboard . The light from the screen was the only light there .
"So Taka , do you remember anything new? ."
I knew that saying no would be an obvious lie against him . I'm gonna have to use half-truths .
"Yep.."
"Really , what?"
"Bits and pieces ...apparently , I like to skydive ."

'...if you can consider jumping out of helicopters without a parachute skydiving ."
The old man looked straight into my eyes , but I didn't flinch . Those eyes were piercing , but hey , I was a stubborn guy . It helps in staring contests with leaders of what could possibly be the destruction of the world(s).
He seemed satisfied and yet , at the same time , displeased with my reaction . So he got up and took his whip .
"Take off your shirt ."
My eyes hardened .
"Why?"
He merely looked at me . I scoffed .
"You think I'm gonna let myself get whipped."
His eyes hardened.
"You are right . Ryan was the one who led the mission and he has been punished for his failure ...but..."
He hit the ground with the whip and a crack resounded across the room . I slowly got up into an offensive stance .
"...you must learn that failure comes with consequences . I believe if it were not for your interference , failure would not have occurred ."
If it weren't for my interference , they would have all been caught .
"Is that what your baby boy told you ?"
His eyes narrowed .
"No, it is what I perceive from the words of the people who were with you . My son took full responsibility for his utter lack of success."
Was that a compliment or an insult?
"Oh! You mean the ones who hightailed it out off there when things got a little rough ."
I didn't want to mention the contractor . I had to figure out what he knew about what had happened.
"Yes , ...them ."
And he launched the whip at me . I quickly dodged .
"Do not resist . You need us . You belong to us ."
I faltered for a second and the next strike got a bit of my shoulder . How do you fight against spiked whips without attacking the owner ? I thought as I skid back.
Another memory .
It was a black-haired girl with two whips ,which were on fire ,spinning about taking down multiple enemies and avoiding me and a blond guy.
She looked like she was dancing .
The scene changed.

She had a whip aimed at me , but it was free from flames . A smirk was on her face and her golden eyes sparkled with amusement. A number of flashes passed through my head . Her attack , my dodging , phantom pains of being hit . I could tell it wasn't a serious fight , she was training me.
'Don't let it touch you.'
'Its like a dance , you learn it's movements and make sure not to get in the way.'
'Watch the opponent ,not the weapon . She's the one in control.'

I stopped skidding .My eyes shot away from the whip to the old man . His face was neutral but his hands .
In two quick , sharp movements , he flicked his wrist up and in my direction . The whip followed those movements .
In the first two movements , the whip came straight at me . But I noticed his wrist make an upward movement as well . If I jumped , I would be hit. So I shot to the side and rolled out of the way . As predicted , the whip shot upwards instead .
Thank you , unknown black-haired lady.
I took that time to punch a piece of rock out of the ground , I launched it that the old man's hand , aiming for the whip . He twisted his wrist and knock the rock away . I quickly got into a standing position , watching him closely and ignoring the ripped flesh of my shoulder .
He flicked his wrist down and the whip hit the ground .
"That is enough. You may go."
The heck ? even if he did get a hit . Suddenly , realisation hit me . He stopped when I retaliated , when I aimed for his whip and not him .
He wanted to know whether I would try to kill him if I got the chance , whether I was a traitor ...,whether I still needed them .
I got up and left .

I still had the advantage .

If push comes to shove , I would leave without a second thought . Maybe I can take Ryan with me . He doesn't seem too keen on whatever's going on either . But despite how much I was in the dark , I knew one thing .
They needed me . I was valuable .
And that made me highly dangerous .

Ayano's POV:-

I walked into the portal and felt my body fragment and reform before being shot out of another portal...in mid-air.
Why do these things always open in mid-air ? Jeez .
I quickly turned and made another cut which closed the portal and as I neared the ground , I shot a compressed blast of flame at the ground which slowed my fall enough for me to twist into a summersault and land on my feet . Fortunately it was one of our practice areas so it was already pretty deformed. I stood up , unsummoning my sword . My eyes went back to their original colour . I focused on the Cristy's spiritual essence , a part of which I had saved within myself . A small flame appeared at the tip of my finger . It was blue and vibrant . It showed her spiritual well-being and for spirit-users , it was a basic parallel to the person's well-being at the time . I turned it out and summoned another flame . It was white , but with a bluish tint to it .
It was Kazuma's .
It was how I knew he was safe during the past four years .
Getting enough of his essence was a bit hard . He's more alert than the average person and I couldn't just ask him .Fortunately, his beleif that I was a hot-tempered , incompetent brat helped me get close with his guard down.

It was a kannagi secret technique which I shouldn't even know about . But hey , the kannagi's thought I was weak and trained me accordingly . I was bored so I snuck into the 'secured area' and took the scrolls containing the techniques . Anything I couldn't understand , I would ask Cristy or sensei . It was quite easy to sneak in for me since the major necessity to open the chamber was a kannagi true flame and as far as the clan knew , I didn't have it. Kazuma's flame was brighter than normal this time . Actually , it's been like this for the past year or so. I wonder why . Oh well! Who knows ?
Right now , I needed to talk to Cristy.