Chapter 2 Young girl Sass Old man’s Wisdom

Progress is impossible without change. The problem is whether the system or the people in it are willing to change or not.

A woman is convulsing on the ground in an alleyway, in the busy streets of the city. The people walking by were unaware of what was happening in the background. She slowly stopped moving, foam dribbling out of her mouth.

“ Another failure,” the man in the plague doctor outfit said next to his partner, his voice muffled through the mask, “ How should we report this to the master?”

“ Eh. It doesn’t matter to me anyway. We still have five more canisters,” the man in Roman-style armor said, nudging his partner with his shoulder, “ Let’s find the next straggler to experiment with.”

“ He said to find a perfect host,” the plague doctor mutters, “ so we should not find a random straggler.”

“ I just want to get out of doing this petty task already,” glaring at his partner.

The plague doctor pours a liquid out of his flask and the body is quickly dissolved into nothing, no evidence that a crime took place. The two men walked off into the streets, catching the attention of a few civilians but they just ignored the two, oblivious to what they just did.

Around this time, in the evening, the smell of sizzling steak filled Kiara’s stomach. She watched as her grandfather flipped steaks and shrimp on the grill. It was the only thing that distracted her from the pain from the Elusive battle. The healing ointment was not working fast enough for Kiara.

Leaning back on her chair, the lingering discomfort of her wound gnawed on her patience. A question randomly pops up in Kiara’s head. Something about her grandfather made her wonder- Did he ever have doubts? Does he have any secrets?

“ Grandpa. How was life back when you were my age?” Kiara asks, catching Edward’s attention off guard.

Edward answers, a hint of confusion in his voice as he takes the food off the grill. His eyes looked on with mild surprise. “ Well. I wasn’t popular with the girls,” he said with a chuckle, flipping the shrimp,“ But I got along with my seniors.”

“ No, I mean, tell me about how your adventures went. You are an A rank, and you get to handle the exciting missions,” Kiara says excitedly.

“ Actually, I was mostly tasked with education, scouting, and searching for lost relics.”

“ Oh,” Kiara says, disappointed with her grandfather’s answers, her shoulders dropping,“ Can you at least tell me what you do in your study room, you spend a lot of time there. It is driving me crazy.”

Edward's eyes meet Kiara’s, his expression is different from what Kiara is used to seeing. Setting the tongs down, he slowly looks at his study room, then back at Kiara’s gaze., It seemed as though if he was searching for the right words.

“ I’ll tell you one day Kiara. The most I can tell you right now is that it's important, and when I think it’s ready, I’ll tell you.” Edward says, his voice is husky and soft-spoken.

Kiara’s curiosity grew even bigger, and she frowned. She hated that feeling when her grandfather said the right words to satisfy her question but not enough for it to be an actual answer- it was annoying. Even though Kiara knew this was going to happen, she knew better not to press him any further.

Still, the mystery was eating her on the inside. What is this project? What was in the study room?

“ I’ve been thinking Kiara,” Edward says, putting a couple pieces of shrimp in her bowls of noodles, “ You haven’t been near other Wardens like you or me before…. I think you should know how things operate.”

Kiara eyes look on in confusion, as she chews on her piece of shrimp and noodles. This announcement was very out of nowhere for Kiara.

“ Why do you want to take me to the temple? I thought you were on bad terms with the council.” Kiara says questioning her grandfather’s decision, This wasn’t like her grandfather.

Edward contemplates to himself, his expression unclear. He chews slowly before answering, “ I wouldn’t say on bad terms, I would say I don’t work well with them.”

“ That’s called bad terms Grandpa,” Kiara says jokingly, teasing at her Grandpa’s cryptic message.

Edward smirks to himself. He continued flipping more food on the grill, but Kiara couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on inside his head.

“ I talked with an old apprentice of mine, and he made me think that maybe I was protecting you too much from how the warden society operated.”

“ You already told me how it was operated,” Kiara said, poking at her noodles, “ they send C rank and above to hunt down Elusive, right? They find and train children like me who can sense spiritual energy, and they are sticklers for tradition. ”

Kiara looks on at her grandfather, waiting for his response. His facial expression is unclear as if he is waiting for the right words to use.

“ That is somewhat true,” he pauses, taking a piece of shrimp off the grill. His gaze was distant.

Kiara’s eyes widened, filled with confusion, as she looked at Edward, “ From what I’ve heard about the council, they’re just a bunch of grumpy old men.”

Edward stares off into the distance, his facial expression unclear and vague to Kiara. The awkward silence felt like it lasted for an eternity. The sizzling sounds of the grill brought any semblance of noise.

“ There are some events in my past that soured my relations with them, that’s all,” Edward puts more food onto Kiara’s bowl of noodles,” I’ll take you to the temple on Friday. You’ll meet some kids, and see how they’re trained. I’ll talk to some colleagues of mine.”

“ Why haven’t I trained in the temple Grandpa? From the sounds of it, I am the only one not trained in there? Why is that?” Kiara asks, shifting in her seat, glancing around the room, and her gaze intensified around Edward.

Edward’s hands move slowly as he takes off the last pieces of food off the grill. He leans back on his chair while Kiara leans forward to hear his story. After stretching for a bit, he slowly straightens his back. “ It’s time you understand. I’ll tell you why you are not trained at the temple.”

Kiara’s gaze sharpens, her mouth wide open in curiosity, “ What happened, Grandpa?”

Edward gaze meets Kiara’s eyes, his voice lowering, “ This happened a couple months after I found you….”

MARCH 2012- 11 years before modern day

Edward was standing in front of the Warden council, his posture unyielding, and his expression unwavering. Five men in cloaks surrounded Edward waiting for the situation that required their attention. He was ready to defend his decision. Kiara is sat in the spectator room, watching her grandfather be questioned by the council.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

“ Mr. Meitner.” one of the men firmly says, “ You request the need to personally train Kiara Meitner by yourself outside the temple.. Am I correct?”

“ That is correct,” Edward said firmly, his eyes flickering briefly towards the gallery room.

One of the older men in cloaks rudely interrupts his colleague, “ You do realize that this violates traditions, All new younglings brought into the temple are to be trained and looked after in the temple at all times.”

Edward felt his jaw tighten, slowly turning his head towards Kiara. Her face all tired and bored not fully comprehending the situation to its fullest.

Turning his gaze at the council, his defiance burning bright, “ I feel like as her grandfather, I need to be the one who should watch over her training to the fullest, no child should be trained and forced to train in a harsh system.” His voice was steady but his heart was beating fast.

The crowd started muttering beneath their breaths, discussing Edward’s point of view. Their faces are covered in shadow from the dimly lit room of the council. Only their voices broke through the darkness.

“ Who does he think he is?”

“ The training, while rough and brutal, builds strength and resilience.”

“ He is only saying this because she is his granddaughter.”

Edward felt their disapproval and their judgment. He ignored the whispering behind him, but the thoughts still lingered in his head. It felt like no one was on his side, no one understood the point of view he was looking from.

Edward remained unmoved as the council continued their discussion.

A young fellow, Zhang, watches from the balcony, his face radiating discipline and order. His colleague addressed the concerns written on his face.

“ What do you think of Mr. Meitner, Zhang?”

“ I don’t see the point of him personally training her, he can still do it, he can still shield her from harm's way, he will just have extra help from other people,” he says shrugging his shoulders, “ I don’t see why he is so worked up over this,”

“ I mean it is your mentor’s granddaughter after all, a family connection can bias any decision.”

“ I mean it’s technically allowed for wardens to start families, it's more frowned over because you are ignoring your duties to protect the citizens to protect one single person, but ultimately the final decision is up to the council.”

“ Change is needed. The system breaks people down- some never fully recovering,” Edward proclaims bluntly. His voice echoed loudly in the chamber, “ I’m not just protecting her, I’m all the other recruits and younglings like her.”

The whispering and the exchange of looks continued behind Edward, he expected this type of reaction from the people behind him.The council members turned their chairs back at Edward, discussing what should their next decision be: accept Edward’s request or deny it.

Edward looks on at the council with their backs turned against him, anticipating the inevitable decision. He looks back at the people in the background, their faces mostly covered in shadows, unable to know what emotions they are feeling.

After a couple minutes of discussion, the council members turn back towards Edward. His fist formed into a fist, anticipating their answers. Zhang looks on from above, his brown eyes lingering on Edward’s presence.

“ We decided to allow your request,” one of the council members proclaimed from his chair.

Edward quietly congratulated himself, but there was something that tugged on his mind- Why did they accept his request? A cold thread of doubt slithered in his mind. An unanswered questioning was now gnawing on him.

“ I promise I will not disappoint you,” Edward bows his head towards the council before slowly leaving to pick up Kiara from the gallery room. The council stopped Edward before he could make a huge distance.

“ We’ll see Mr. Meitner. Your mentee will break down by just the reality of this world,” the council member in the middle proclaimed to Edward, his eyes narrowing on him. His voice cutting through the air, “ If that girl dies, the only one you can blame is yourself. Dying because of your insufficient training.

The sounds of clapping echoed through the people in the shadows. The sound infuriated Edward. He slowly turns his head, his eyes glaring back at the council members, his fists balled tightly, a look of anger and bloodlust flowing through him. The silence in the room thickened, their gazes wandering on him.

“ That is true but if she lives and surpasses your expectations, the only insufficient training is the one that you all have been enforcing for all this time,” Edward says coldly to the council members. Muttering and whispering following his proclamation.

“ So be it,” the council member says sarcastically, “ You may now leave, and continue chasing loose ends for the rest of your life. ”

Edward just ignores the council member’s taunts and walks over to pick up Kiara from the gallery room and they swiftly leave.

“ That’s why you’ve never been to the temple before Kiara,” Edward says softly, finishing the story, “ I didn’t want you to be involved with the council that runs things, and I didn’t want to return to a place with people like them. “

Kiara listens intently, not losing her focus on her grandfather’s storytelling. Her eyes and mouth are wide open waiting for what’s coming next.

“ That’s why I was being so hard on you earlier, I wanted you to make better decisions for yourself, and actually think about the long-term consequences, and I didn’t want you to make the same mistakes that I made when I was young.”

“ If you despise the council so much, why do you still worry and enforce a lot of their traditions and rules on me?” Kiara sharply questions.

“ I never hated the traditions, Kiara, I didn’t want you to get that idea, traditions and rules have their place in society,” Edward says, his voice weary and steady, “ The problem is that the council does not know when to give up or reform traditions that hinder our progress.”

Kiara taps her chopsticks on her bowl of rice, her eyes wandering around, and pondering his answer in his head. “ How long have you been trying to reform things, Grandpa?”

“ A pretty long time,” Edward says with a heavy sigh, “ They have been like this since when I was around your age, no matter who leaves or gets promoted, it’s always the same people with the same attitudes and beliefs.”

He stares up at the ceiling lights, his wrinkled fingers tapping on the tabletop cloth, “ I want you to make your decision. You need to know how they operate, and what they are all about. Maybe you can see things differently from me.”

Kiara's eyes widened, her voice growing weary, “ So you want me to help you change things… change the system.”

Edward chuckles to himself, “ I don’t know Kiara. I just want you to see everything for what it is… to make your decisions without it being clouded by my judgment.” taking a sip out of his cup of tea.

“The plan is that you will still train under me but you will do work on tasks and missions that higher-ups require out of recruits like you.”

Kiara's eyes widened further, not yet taking in all the information that was brought onto her, her mouth slightly widened, “ What!” her voice rising, the shock evident on her face.

“ I’m only 5 feet away from you kid, you don’t have to scream out so loud,” Edward gestures, rubbing his ears trying to ease the pain out of them.

“ This just feels so fast,” Kiara quietly says, pulling her hair back, looking at Edward with a sense of disbelief and exasperation, “ What if I don’t like what I see?”

“ That’s completely fine, you may not like how things are run, but all I care about is that you see it for what it truly is,” Edward says, comforting Kiara to the best of his ability.

Kiara exhaled a bit, her fingers twitching at the thought. It was her first time being in the temple, witnessing how wardens are created. The good and bad thoughts rushed into her head. On one hand, she will get to meet people like her, people who could understand her best, but the thoughts of the council and the way everything is taught soured her mood.

“ Thank you for telling me grandpa, I’ll consider it,” Kiara says, her voice soft, but her mind was swirling with thoughts.

Edward gives a soft smile to himself, before putting a piece in his mouth. Everything felt normal for a couple seconds, until-

“ You are still in trouble by the way,” Edward says bluntly to Kiara, catching her off guard, and making her cough up her food.

“ What!” Kiara shouted, “ After everything we talked about, you still want to punish me.”

“ You broke my rules Kiara, you didn’t think I actually forgot. I’m old, not senile. Since you helped a boy get to his parents, 5 bowls of vegetables today.”

Kiara groaned to herself, squirming around on the chair like a toddler. Edward prepares her bowls of vegetables and patiently waits for her to eat it all. Kiara, giving out a fake groan, quickly consumes the five bowls, surprising Edward.

“ It’s nice that you are actually taking care of your health for once,” Edward jokingly teases to himself.

“ You are making me eat this bowl of sadness,” Kiara proclaims, her hands in the air, pacing back and forth in the dining room. Leaving out a long, theatrical sigh to herself. Edward couldn’t help but laugh at Kiara’s outburst. His laughs echoed through the room, in short breathless giggles. Kiara let out a soft chuckle, and they both continued eating their meal.

Meanwhile, across the city, the white-haired man and his blonde companion stop at an abandoned factory building in the middle of nowhere. The area is desolate and empty, only a couple trees cover the area, and the rest is covered by roads and empty land. The starry night illuminates the abandoned factory.