Dimensional Descent

Beads of sweat fell down Miel’s brow as he channeled the strength of the Bronze Tablet. His strength seeped outward, pouring into Aina’s body and delicately erasing much of what was her.

Yuri stood to the side, feeling very nervous. Before, she hadn’t been aware of just how important this was for Aina, at least not until it was described for her by her adoptive father.

The truth of the matter was that though the Brazinger family was quite disgusting in their toting of eugenics and the importance of bloodline purity, there was a method to their madness—keyword being madness.

The Brazinger family’s Lineage Factor was known as the Berserk God Lineage Factor—this was its true name. What had been displayed on Earth was nothing more than the tip of an iceberg that branch family members would be held to. However, just how berserk you were depended on the purity of your bloodline. For Aina, who was only half Brazinger on top of not receiving any of the family’s special rituals or training, her Lineage Factor was far more Berserk than it was God.

This Lineage Factor was objectively powerful. In its purest form, it was a Lineage Factor that many would scratch and claw to have.

Its abilities could be broken down into a few aspects.

The first was overwhelming strength. Every single muscle fiber of a Brazinger family member’s was worth more than that of another individual, even most strength Lineage Factors. Its potential for explosion and power was simply beyond reason.

The second aspect was Battle Sense. The instincts of a Berserk God existed on a separate plane all to its own. Their ability to adapt and change their combat style to counter their enemies would make it feel as though they were all combat geniuses. What Leonel had to calculate, they did on instinct and at a much faster speed on top of that depending on how pure their bloodlines were.

The third aspect was Rebirth. After experiencing terrible injury, a long fought battle, or masochistic training, upon healing, a Berserk God would have the strength of their bodies increase proportional to the weight of what they experienced.

The fourth and final aspect was an affinity for all weapons. Whether it was a sword, a battle ax, a spear, even fists and kicks, a Berserk God wasn’t restricted to any weapon or martial art. They were geniuses of battle, existences created to wreak havoc on a battlefield.

This was the true ability of the Brazinger family. The only person that Leonel had ever met who might have the true Berserk God Lineage Factor was Simeon. However, he was always focused on his beast taming and genetic manipulation abilities and Leonel had never seen him fight in hand to hand combat.

Even now, it seemed that the Brazinger family and maybe even the other three families had hidden themselves very deeply.

Knowing this, it was easy to see that what Aina experienced was an extremely perverted interpretation of the Berserk God. She only received some of these abilities in part and without clear or purposeful direction to any of them.

But… This wasn’t all her fault.

How was it that despite being half Morales and only half Luxnix, Leonel received their Lineage Factors in full while Aina did not? The answer was simple: It was done on purpose.

The curse Aina faced was just the tip of the iceberg and also acted as a cruel agitator on her mental state, warping her emotions and her reality. How could anyone be completely sane after experiencing years of torturous itching and peaks and valleys of horrid pain?

It was all done on purpose to make Aina fall further and further into depravity. The fact she had even a semblance of humanity left in her was a testament to just how mentally strong she was to begin with.

The Brazinger family Lineage Factor was altered so that when met with interference with other Bloodlines, it would deviate from its predestined path. The result of this would be a deviation in the mind state that resulted in over-sensitivity.

In the beginning, this over-sensitivity would only be minor.

For example, it might be as benign as suddenly becoming greatly embarrassed when a boy you liked confessed to you… even to the point of running away with a blushing face despite the fact you were normally an assertive and confident woman.

However, as time progressed, it would steamroll and increase to the point the smallest things became enormous and the tiniest insecurities became tall mountains.

Eventually, just the most minor activation of their Bloodline would result in this person going Berserk, overdrafting their bodies, and, ultimately, dying. It could be said that if not for Aina’s self-healing abilities, she would have long since fallen for the plot of this ancestor of the Brazinger family… It could even be said that due to meeting Leonel and allowing herself to fall for him, Aina had delayed the strongest onset of these side effects for as long as she could…

However, this tablet provided a unique opportunity to reset the damage done and undo this second curse the Brazinger family had placed on Aina.

When the Tablet erased a personality from a shadow, there was no living entity to cause the rebirth of that personality. However, Aina was different. She was a person with a propensity toward a certain disposition. As long as she was given time, she would become the very same Aina once again.

This was why Miel had emphasized that Yuri should follow Aina around, but that she should also allow Aina to grow and make mistakes on her own. Only in this way would Aina grow to be her most authentic self.

The story that wasn’t told, though, was that it had taken Miel decades to accumulate the amount of energy he was currently giving to Aina now. As stoic as he was… As unemotional and silent as he was… As harsh as he was… The one thing that would always be true is that he loved his daughter.

That said, there was one matter that would be grating to most people.

Just who had power enough to alter the course of a Lineage Factor in this way? Who could place a curse that followed a Bloodline like a reaper, gate keeping it for generations to come…?

If Leonel had been there, especially as he watched the pieces of a Force Art break and shatter, floating above Aina’s head, his Dreamscape would have sparked with several arcs of lightning.

And… When his Dreamscape settled down… he would suddenly think back to a man he had learned of in the Joan Zone… A man they called God... A man capable of copying the abilities of people into Force Arts.

Aina’s eyes suddenly shot open.