The older Granian fell to her knees as her body succumbed to Cherry’s terrible power. The others weren’t able to see what was causing Glissk to fall but they noticed the aftereffects.
Her body started to shrivel with her saggy, baggy skin latching onto her aged muscles. Her eyes turned bloodshot red, and slowly, strings of green Granian blood flowed out of her body.
"We have to get her away from the Mutant," One Horn declared and then approached Glissk. However, as soon as he stepped closer, his body succumbed to the same effect Glissks’ did.
Instead of staying, however, One Horn countered Cherry’s energy with his own while Jim and Anya used long Blood Tendrils to separate the two.
"That was close," Jim said to the Granian as she recovered, "what did you see?"
"Forget what she saw," Anya interrupted while exchanging questionable looks with Cherry, "I think Cherry was trying to kill the Granian."
"No I wasn’t," Cherry answered, angrily, "I was only trying to activate my Eneraflux but it wasn’t working."
"Excuses," One Horn snapped briefly, "you did not even activate any energy. How can we be sure you..."
"She did..." Glissk gasped for air while pulling herself to her feet. Rushing to Cherry’s defense, she stood upright and said, "She activated...her energy...but none of us are Blood Mutants, and the other...Blood Mutants aren’t high level..."
This revelation coming from Glissk changed Jim, Anya, and One Horn’s perspective about the situation that just happened a few seconds ago. If these two siblings were high-level Blood Mutants with an energy that couldn’t be seen by even experienced Eneraflux users, how was it that Ace’s was blocked in the first place?
"We’re looking at this from a different angle," Glissk began to deduce everything in her mind, her thoughts running wild the longer she looked at Cherry and Ace, "we’re trying to unblock Ace’s energy but what we have been doing it categorizing it as Eneraflux.
"In actuality, the energy that was blocked was the Blood Energy or Aura or what it is that makes Mutants...well, Mutants."
Standing and listening at the back, Helda and Skyler gazed at Glissk and asked, "So what’s the way forward? How will we fix Ace?"
Glissk looked at the boy again, her eyes glimmering with Eneraflux coating them. She stared at him intently, then at his sister, then at him again before frowning while saying, "We won’t."
They all sighed with a few slamming their hands into their foreheads. Was this really Glissk’s plan? How did it make sense? Why weren’t they going to help fix their strongest Mutant and bring him back to his former glory?
"What do you mean we won’t?" Cherry questioned. "You mean Ace’s gonna remain stuck forever?"
Defeated, Glissk hung her head and replied, "Hypothetically, yes. If he’s stuck using strictly our methods—which I was wrong about this entire time—it’ll probably take a few years until his body absorbs the Ethisian’s energy and even after that, he’ll have to relearn everything all over again."
"This isn’t making any sense," One Horn grew impatient. While pacing back and forth, he glared at Glissk asking, "Are there any other ways we can revive this Human’s power? Or do something for him until we find a solution?"
"This is beyond my level of expertise, Granian," Glissk glared back, "if you want, take him to the ones that discovered Blood Mutants. They may use some scientific methods to heal him. Keep in mind, we’re dealing with Eneraflux so an experienced user should be present."
In the middle of their conversation, a convoy of luxurious ships landed within the Bastion Walls, and from them emerged some of the biggest political and cultural leaders of the Granian race.
Among the convoy was Lord Gravax who, upon hearing about Ace’s condition, traveled from where he previously was just to come and see the Blood Bishop for himself.
"How pitiful this is," the Granian grunted pitifully while laying his heavy arm on Ace’s shoulder. The rest of the higher-up Granians inspected the area, leaving Lord Gravax alone with Ace and his entourage. "Our strongest Blood Mutant has been reduced to a pitiful state. I trust Glissk has come up with a solution for him, yes?"
The old Granian hung her head and nodded in response. Seeing this made Lord Gravax sigh too for he felt that his plans for War had been disorganized. Everything that revolved around Ace and his Scarlet Army was now out of the picture...that was if they didn’t get a remedy for him quickly.
"I suggest you do whatever sciency thing you did to make him a Blood Mutant," Glissk spoke, "since he’s Human turned Blood Mutant, the link connecting his two natures has been severed, leaving him in his natural state. If we can somehow create a new link..."
"No," Grania interrupted immediately with a frown on his face, "we’re not transforming him again. But tell me, how did this happen?"
"His Blood Energy, the equivalent to our Eneraflux core, has been blocked by a High Grade Ethisian’s Eneraflux," One Horn explained, "the blockage, as Glissk has explained, has severed his human and Blood Mutant side so he cannot use any Blood Abilities whatsoever." Fınd the newest release on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥
"He can’t transform either." Jim added.
"Or use Blood Abilities." So did Anya.
"Or fight." So did Cherry.
"He’s practically useless on the battlefield." Skyler ended, earning herself a dirty look from the Blood Bishop.
"If a High Grade did so and we know Eneraflux’s only valuable when the user’s alive" Grania grinned, a malicious glimmer shone in his eyes while he lowered his voice saying, "The only justifiable solution to this mess is to have the High Grade killed. Kill the High Grade and you’ll have sorted the issue."
"But...Lord Grania," One Horn spoke, admitting one fact that Lord Grania seemed to have forgotten, "this was done by one of the strongest Ethisian Warriors. The only one of us capable of touching her is..."
"You talk too much," Grania bellyached like a child and then walked away, "if it’s too much for you to do, I’ll do it myself. Ready me a ship and leave the fifth Human with me.