Then, making sure he kept the momentum going, he rematerialized the clothes around him once more. He played with this new function for a while, soon he could draw out any item of clothing directly on his body without taking the hassle to wearing them normally.

It did nothing to increase his power, but he could easily avoid situations of walking around naked and hurriedly wearing new clothes after every battle.

Two minutes later, he came out from the shower, vastly dissatisfied. Even though there was hot water, he hardly felt it, even when he had allowed himself to feel the touch of the water.

Rowan did not have to consciously control the force field over his body, for it seemed to obey his desires, and the water from the shower was able to touch his skin.

The pressure from the shower did nothing for him, as well as the heat from the water. It could as well be spraying him with a slightly warm air. Even his current weakened state was still too tough to enjoy the pleasure of a hot shower.

It would appear he would have to search for active volcanoes in order to appreciate a bath. Keeping only a towel around his waist, he sat down on a stool and cupped his hands around his chin and began reviewing his actions from the moment he woke up inside that mountain.

After a few minutes, he sighed and materialized his clothes around his body, and headed towards the Library. He had plenty of books to read and mysteries to uncover because battle was never too far away from him.

©

Back in the field of battle that Rowan and Circe had just left behind, the ground that had been liquified to Larva had just begun to cool and resolidify, suddenly the floor cracked and bulged upward as a golden rat crawled out of it.

It could be immediately noticed that something was wrong with this beast, apart from its impressive size, which was as large as an elephant, it was also wearing a white jacket and a black top hat.

A shifty look was in its eyes as it stood on two feet like a humanoid, the bones of its body shifting with dull cracks as it realigned to this new posture.

It assessed the situation around, before the golden rat scratched its head in a very human gesture, before it began heading south, away from the horde coming from behind, its destination, a mystery. “Vraegar needs to hear of this.”

The color of its golden fur rippled, and it vanished from sight.

®

“So what do you think Nana? Which bloodline do you suppose could have such capabilities?”

The older woman sat before a table with a hologram floating above it, which replayed the events that occurred during Rowan’s battle with the Rat horde.

The older woman placed her hands on the high definition hologram that was showing in crisp details the battle, and she seemed to want to touch his body through the hologram.

Nana began speaking to Circe, although her eyes never left the scene of the battle which she began replaying again, “I have seen Abilities such as these before, and although I do not recognize the flames he wields, they are unlike anything I have seen before, but they remind me of something. I would have to check.”

“However, his techniques… I have scars from being injured by moves like that.” she unconsciously touched her waist, where a nasty scar lay beneath her cloth.

Standing up from the couch, she pulled back the side of her robe and showed Circe the scar around her waist. The scar was a harsh line that covered the entirety of her waist, and it painted a very grim picture.

Some time in the past, someone had cut her in two. Even as a Dominator, such wounds must have taken her to the verge of death, after all she still carried the scars.

Nana turned to face Circe, “I have nearly died under blows such as this, and I never truly recovered, my path of ascension was cut short, and I would never again walk the sky.”

“I’m sorry, Nana.” Circe said softly.

“Oh, you silly girl, I made sure I made the bi*ch who did this to me, eat her own guts!”

Circe grimaced, knowing the past of the woman who sat before her, she did not believe she was exaggerating a bit.

Nana pointed at the hologram, “If you have spent time on the battlefield, you may see those elite warriors wielding techniques such as these. They were practically immortal on the battlefield, and unless crushed to bits with a single move, they would always recover and the blows they inflict on you would never stop bleeding even as you would also be bleeding away your Aether.”

Her voice went low, almost a whisper, only with Circe enhanced hearing could she hear her words. “They are the herald of the Mad Butcher. The Dominator of flesh. Circe what this man is wielding is the personal battle technique of Tiberius, The God of War. Only the direct line of the War God, and those in line for the name of Tiberius, can wield this technique!”

“What is a Scion of Tiberius doing here in the far fringes of the Empire, and on an Industrial planet such as Jarkarr no less. Are they not supposed to never leave the battlefield or Tiberius home world? Did he arrive here with this disaster? Nana, do you see any machinations of the War God here?” Circe asked.

“I don’t know if his arrival and the disaster are linked. That would be strange enough, but there is more. I don’t think he is of the Tiberius bloodline.” Nana said, “Trust me, I can smell the stench of their blood from miles away.”

“But isn’t it supposed to be impossible to wield that battle technique without the bloodline of Tiberius.”

“Not, impossible, just very difficult, for you would burn ten times the amount of Aether and blood essence and there would be no assurance that you could also drain those resources from the enemies you were fighting, which is the entire linchpin for this technique. It was made to feed off blood and death.”

Circe’s mind returned to the peculiar incidence of Rowan eating the Battle Stimulant, and she recounted the events to Nana.

“Hmm… He might have expended much more resources than he was willing to admit. You also said about him using a lot of Aether, that could mean he has to boost the techniques using other methods apart from his Essence.”

Nana began to walk around, her mind taking apart the events that had transpired, “Did you say he requested for more battle stimulants?”

“Yes, he wanted as much as we could spare.” Circe replied quickly.

“Then we should make that a priority. He could be a valuable resource to us at present.”

“Yet, this does not answer any of my previous questions Nana, do you recognize his bloodline or is he something alien beyond the domain of the gods?”

Circe had a fascinated look on her face as she rotated the hologram and zoomed in until she could see Rowan’s eyes. Her breath quickened as she felt a shiver down her spine, she looked at her skin and saw goosebumps.

Nana shook her head, “I do not recognize any traits of the major families. He has the blond her and Skin of the Kuranes, and the presence of The Bacchus, his height is closer to those of the Tiberius, his bestial eyes from Horush, his physique is similar to that of Demons… It is impossible for me to nail his origins.”

Nana appeared troubled before sighing, “Although out here in the fringes of the Empire where the hold of God King on bloodline is sparse, I would not be surprised if he turns out to have a bloodline outside of our Dominion. If that is the case, his ability would be suppressed the closer he gets to Trion, but out here, he could be a potent weapon.”