Chapter 14: family Secrets 1
That night, when Xander returned home, everyone was waiting for him at the dinner table. As soon as Yvonne and Max saw him, they stood up and said, “We greet the Clan Head.”
Xander was surprised to see the duo, especially the red haired woman. He asked somewhat doubtfully, “...Yvonne?”
Yvonne was slightly shocked when Xander recognised her. Max and Nyx looked at each other before looking back at them. Bella was also surprised and said, “Honey, you know each other?”
Xander replied, “Yeah. We were close back in school. Me, her, and…”
His expression fell and everybody could see the pain in his eyes as he said, “...Big Ben.”
Then he looked at Max. Yvonne said, “This is my son, Max.”
Xander looked at the boy and asked even more doubtfully, “Is he…? No, what am I even saying? That’s impossible.”
Yvonne said, “It’s complicated but yes. He is.”
Xander's expression changed, and he dropped his bag on the ground. He rushed towards Max, examining his face. His expression became more and more nostalgic. He hugged him tightly and said, “I’m sorry, my child. I had no idea.”
Tears had appeared in his eyes. Bella became more and more confused and a terrifying guess appeared in her mind. She asked, “What’s going on?”
Xander looked at Yvonne as if he was asking for her permission for something. She sighed and replied, “I don’t know how much more time I have left so sure, go ahead. Better get it over with sooner rather than later.”
Xander, who was still hugging Max, simply picked him up and said, “Bella, h-he is…Big Ben’s son.”
Bella instantly sighed in relief before she processed what Xander had just said, “Wait what?!”
Max, who was helplessly picked up by Xander, also said at the same time, “What did you say? And who’s Big Ben?”
Amelia, who was just enjoying the show, also became serious and asked, “Are you sure?”
Xander replied, “My younger twin brother.”
Now it was Nyx’s turn to become surprised. His father had a brother? A twin at that? This was the first time he was hearing about him. Amelia stood up from her seat and came to Xander. She told him to put Max down. Then, she looked at Max and said, “My child, can you please summon your Anima for me?”
Max nodded and the blood flowing through him started glowing slightly. His bone marrow was also glowing but it wasn’t visible for obvious reasons. Amelia put her hand on his heart and closed her eyes as if she was focusing on something. Her eyes suddenly opened wide before they became extremely gentle. She looked at Yvonne and asked, “But how?”
Looking at her face, Max was starting to get a little overwhelmed. All of the emotions inside him were about to burst when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Nyx. Nyx looked at the adults and said, “You guys obviously have a lot to talk about. So, for all of our sake, Max and I will be having our dinner in my room. In the meantime, you guys can talk it out. Afterwards, we’ll have an honest conversation and you guys can explain what is going on to us. Emphasis on the ‘honest’. We’re kids, not dumb. Better yet, I’ll take him to the restaurant. Is that alright with you guys?”
Xander looked at his son and suddenly felt very satisfied. His son, who was just six years old, perfectly read the room, helped his brother, provided a solution and made his intentions clear, while making sure nobody got offended. It was a very delicate move, asking for their permission at the end. He liked it.
Nyx saw his father smiling to himself and asked again, “Can we do that?”
Xander came to his senses and said, “Yeah, yeah. Of course you can take your time. Here, take my card.”
Everyone started looking at Xander weirdly when he said this and offered his card to Nyx. Sensing the awkward silence, Xander asked, “What?”
Nyx said, “Dad, I have money. Besides, I own the restaurant and they won’t take my money even if I offer to pay. Trust me, I have tried.”
Xander felt like his reputation as the fearsome Clan Head had gone into the drain in his nephew’s eyes. But then he thought, ‘That’s not a bad thing, right? After all, who would want to fear their own family? But still, I should at least try to salvage the situation.’
Xander coughed and said, “I know that. I was giving it to Max. After all, I’ve missed six years worth of birthdays, festivals, and whatnot.”
Nyx smiled, obviously not believing him, and said “You’re unexpectedly generous.”
Xander felt offended and asked, “When am I not generous, you brat?”
Nyx, Bella, and Amelia said at the same time, “Never.”
Xander wanted to curse but he knew he couldn’t. He just said, “Yeah yeah, I’m a miser. Now go.”
The boys went to the restaurant. They went to a private room. No matter how many people wanted to reserve it, Roger always kept one of the private rooms free in case Nyx needed it. Nyx called the chief and gave him a mission. They had a scrumptious meal. They didn’t talk much but the silence was somehow comforting. Although the food was good, Nyx wasn’t feeling good. They returned an hour later. As soon as they entered the mansion, a maid told him that the adults were waiting for them in the living room. They went to the living room and saw the adults. Bella said, “Take a seat.”
The boys nodded and sat together. Xander said, “Before we begin, do you know how babies are made?”
Nyx thought, ‘Well, this is gonna be uncomfortable.’
He then said, “Yes, we do.”
Xander said, “No, I mean, how they’re really made. You see Black Feathered Stocks don’t…”
Nyx said, “Dad. We know. We’re taught about basic human anatomy in school. After all, a majority of our Clan awakens Body Anima so…please proceed.”
Xander said, “Right. Of course you are. First, let me tell you about Big Ben. Benjamin Ironheart was my younger twin brother and my best friend. When we became six years old, I awakened the Ironheart Anima and he awakened his-cough, man part.”
The women were looking at him with the same question in their eyes, ‘Man part? That’s the best you could do?’
Max blushed while Nyx asked completely unfazed, “That can happen?”
Xander replied, “Of course. As long as it is a part of our body, anything can become an Anima. Due to the influence of his Anima, Ben’s testosterone levels were off the charts and he got irritated very often. To curb that, he worked out a lot. And he built up a lot of muscle very quickly. Like he was literally a walking mountain of muscle. So as a joke, we used to call him Big Ben. And Yvonne was his girlfriend.”
Xander became a bit uncomfortable but still continued, “I won’t go into too much detail but basically, he died during the Purge.”
Nyx asked back, “The Purge?”
Xander continued, “Right, we forbade that from your generation. Fifteen years ago, when I had just become the Clan Head, your grandfather left to travel the world. A few of the Elders coveted my position and rebelled. I killed them and anyone even remotely connected to them.”
Nyx interrupted, “But we’re a Clan. At that level, everyone’s connected to each other somehow.”
Xander replied, “That's exactly my point. I bathed the Clan in blood.”
Nyx/Max, “...’
Xander continued, “I did that because I was enraged. Absolutely enraged. And in that rage, I did things that had consequences. I was a Level 44 Anima Prince then. We had already sent word to your grandfather and he was on his way back. He would have arrived in just four days but those snakes killed him. They killed Big Ben. I used a secret technique and burnt my cultivation for a temporary boost. I reached about Level 50, and then I slaughtered them all.”
Nyx said, “First of all, that's not something that you should be telling us. Second, Max being Uncle’s son does not make any sense. Like none at all. And third, how the hell did I not know about any of this?”
Xander replied, “To answer your questions, young man, first, I know I shouldn’t so I apologise. Second, I was coming to that. And third, you don’t know because we didn’t tell you. And you will not use that language inside this house.”
Nyx decided that it was his turn to surprise the family and said, “There are few things that I don’t know when it comes to our Clan. Like, I know anything and everything below the Council level. Even if I don’t know now, I will in 24 hours at most.”
Xander said, “No you don’t.”
Nyx smiled mysteriously and said, “Yes I do. I can prove it.”
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