Ray's heart dropped and he acted immediately. He cast the lines for the fireball spell even faster than before.
The sphere of flames materialized just as he threw his open palm forward, launching it at him.
The man smiled slightly and waved his hand at the incoming spell, destroying it upon contact.
'Shit! Who's this? S.L.? The people who killed him?! 001?!!' Ray turned on his heels but before he could make a run for it, the man reached out and gripped his shoulder.
He pulled Ray into his house and closed the door behind him.
"Man, you are really as your dad described." He said as soon as he let Ray go.
The latter paused, "My dad?"
"Oh, so you can actually listen. Yes, your dad. I'm an old friend of his."
Ray stared at the man and squinted his eyes. 'Yeah right. Cause an old friend of my dad wouldn't let his presence be known before now.' He was sure that the stranger was lying.
Weaving another fireball, Ray tossed it at the man and turned to the closest window as quickly as he could.
'This is going to hurt!' He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as he ran to it.
The lack of contact with the window made Ray's eyes fly open. He was suspended in the air by a strong gale of wind.
His eyes widened and locked on the man. He had his hand extended to Ray, clearly responsible for his flight.
'Isn't this a Tier 2 spell? But the strength it's exhibiting is clearly borderline Tier 4 or even 5!!' There was no escaping him.
Ray swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry, you said you were a friend of my dad's?"
The man let out a deep laugh, "You noticed that you couldn't escape so you switched tactics? Very resourceful, I like that."
Ray stifled a curse. He'd been found out but that didn't mean he'd accept.
He let out a wry smile, "I'm sorry but the situation was just very strange."
The man waved his hand and Ray gently floated down to the floor. Ray landed on unsteady feet but didn't take off running. Running was useless.
"Who are you?"
The man walked to the couch and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. Completely at ease in Ray's home.
Now that he wasn't trying to flee, Ray could properly notice how the man looked. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties— though looks were often unreliable for age.
His hair was jet black with strange grey strands and faint wrinkles on his skin.
"This place is slightly different from what I remember." He ignored Ray's question, mumbling to himself.
Ray's eyes widened.
"So, where's he? Your dad, I mean." The man asked.
Ray's fists clenched, "I thought you'd know."
The man's eyebrows furrowed, "My name is Corvus. Your dad told me to come visit him, I had assumed he'd be waiting for me."
Corvus's expression softened, just slightly and he started mumbling incoherent sentences to himself.
Ray felt the ground beneath his feet shift. It felt like the world was about to consume him.
Corvus stared at Ray. He'd been told to come that day specifically, not a day before. Why?
Meanwhile, Ray's mind was all over the place. The only person who seemed to have any relationship with either of his parents was gone.
Onyx materialized, glancing between Corvus and Ray. "And here I thought drama this good only happened in fantasy." He laughed mirthlessly but froze when he noticed Corvus staring at him.
Corvus shot to his feet, "What's that?" He asked, pointing a finger in Onyx's direction.
Onyx moved and Corvus's finger followed him. Ray's heart sank, 'He can see Onyx?! What? How?'
His thoughts were interrupted as a strong gust of wind picked up within the living room. It built up until the walls started to vibrate.
"Back away, there's something there. I can't see it but it's there." Corvus warned Ray, placing himself between him and Onyx.
Onyx rolled his eyes, "Please, don't waste your energy. There's—"
A slash of wind cut through the air, striking Onyx on his chest and leaving a deep cut.
Both he and Ray winced. The dark core vibrated intensely, sending waves of pain through Ray.
Corvus waved his hand and a few dozen wind blades materialized, facing Onyx and for the first time, Onyx paled in fear.
The dark core spurted out tendrils that wrapped around the red core. The core released energy that the tendrils hungrily devoured, healing the cut on Onyx's chest.
Another pulse of energy left the core, burning off the tendrils.
Onyx winced a little but didn't care. The blades surged toward Onyx but Ray managed to act in time.
"Wait!" The sudden yell from Ray made Corvus pause the blades, granting Onyx enough time to vanish.
The wind blades dissolved. The room was silent except for Ray's ragged breathing.
Corvus turned to face him fully. His eyes were frighteningly cold.
"Ray." His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. "What was that?"
Ray opened his mouth and closed it. What could he say?
'It's the personification of a dark core from a dead man's journal. It talks to me. Does it know things about my parents? Yeah, that will definitely land me in a mental hospital.'
He swallowed.
"I don't know how to explain it."
Corvus took a step closer. "Try."
Ray's ran a shaky hand through his hair, "It's... a long story but now, it's part of me. I didn't choose it. It just happened."
Corvus was silent for a long moment. Then he sighed and ran a hand over his face.
"Your father never mentioned this."
Ray's head snapped up. "You mean he knew something like this could happen?"
Corvus met his eyes. "I mean your father knew a lot of things he didn't and couldn't tell me. For all I know, this could be one of them."
He walked back to the couch and sat down heavily.
Ray's eyebrows furrowed, 'Does this mean that my dad was the one who hid the book in our house?'
"How old are you?" Corvus asked, cutting Ray's thoughts short. Ray turned to him, "Umm.. I'm turning 18 tomorrow."
A faint smile spread on Corvus's face and he looked up, "I see, that makes sense."
He looked at Ray, "Prepare well enough. I'll be back the day after tomorrow. We are registering you in a cultivation academy."