"Kane! Luna! It’s so good to see you two!" a middle-aged, heavy-set man with a wide smile exclaimed, his deep voice carrying the scent of freshly cooked food. He had black hair, a jovial face, and his arms were wide in welcome as he watched the duo walk up to his tiny restaurant.
“Hey, old man,” Kane exclaimed with a small smile as he walked up and shook the man’s hand. “How’s life treating you?”
Chuckling, the old man responded casually, “Oh, you know. Can’t complain. Literally, I mean, because if the government won’t kill me when I do, it’ll be the syndicates, hahaha,” despite his morbid words, he followed up with a belly rumbling laughter that was genuine as could be.
This man was the very definition of someone who had decided that life was too short to get bogged down in all the wrongs of the world. This was old man Cedric, and he had a spirit that refused to be dampened by the harsh realities of life.
They were currently in an alley in Mystic Hollow, one of Riftshade’s Mystic districts. This was a far quieter and more subdued district than either Circuit City or Bright Night.
Which didn’t mean that the people here were any better, just that Cybers with nothing to do were more likely to hit the street in search of any way to make money and get more implants, while Mystics would usually train quietly in their free time.
Even Mystic-focused crime was usually a more old school type of ‘It’s just business, so we’ll make it quick’ type of crime, rather than the ‘blow shit up for the hell of it’ type of crime that was more prevalent in Cyber-focused districts.
Cedric’s laughter was infectious, and Kane couldn’t help but join in, although in a far more subdued manner. Kane wasn’t really the laugh out loud type, but he did greatly appreciate Cedric’s spirit. “Your laughter always brightens my day, old man,” Kane smirked casually.
They engaged in a few more pleasantries before Luna interjected with a ravenous expression, “Enough talking! Where’s the food, old man! I’m hungry!”
Apparently not surprised or bothered by her behaviour, Cedric chuckled and beckoned them inside. “Forgive an old man, Luna. I get lost in conversation sometimes. Come, Come! I’ll make your favourite!”
“Now we’re talking!” Luna exclaimed with shining eyes as she and an exasperated Kane followed Cedric inside to get some breakfast. Despite his somewhat rotund build, the power behind Cedric’s steps was clear to anyone paying attention.
And with good reason.
Since he lived in a Mystic district rather than the slums, it should come as no surprise that Cedric himself was Mystic as well. That said, despite his age, he was only at the Core Formation stage, just one rank above Kane and Luna’s.
In this youth, Cedric had made some money working for the Mystic guilds, although he was never able to surpass the second stage due to a lack of talent.
Luckily, that same lack of talent also allowed him to retire before the entirety of his contract with the guild was up, and while Kane had never heard the full story on the reason for his retirement, he suspected it had something to do with Cedric’s son and daughter-in-law dying around that time.
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When he learned of that, Kane quickly realized that there was a good chance Cedric was hiding quite a bit of pain and regret behind his jovial spirit.
Yet, Kane was no psychiatrist, and without knowing the whole story, there wasn’t much he could do about it.
Besides, he had his own problems to deal with.
After he retired, Cedric established this tiny restaurant with the money he made working for the guild, and barely managed to scrape a living together.
A few years after that, when Kane and Luna were sixteen years old, Kane decided they needed someone to teach them a little more about being a Mystic than could come from their sub-par techniques and the Internet.
Thus, he did a little digging around the Mystic districts, until he found Cedric and his restaurant.
At the time, Cedric was in a little trouble with a local gang that was barely on the Cyberkins radar, and Kane used his own criminal connections to resolve the issue. Ever since then, Cedric offered them free food and teachings.
It turned out to be a pretty good deal for Kane and Luna. Cedric’s food was delicious and, despite his relatively low power, his knowledge on everything Mystic was tremendous.
In the two years since meeting him, both Kane and Luna had managed to vastly improve their control over the natural energy and their cores.
Of course, being true to his ever-suspicious nature, Kane was at least 80% sure that Father had already gotten his hooks in Cedric. He didn’t have any actual proof of that, but at this point, Kane was paranoid enough to suspect anyone he met of already being in Father’s pocket.
The only reason he wasn’t 100% sure about Cedric was the man’s continued teachings and jovial attitude. The latter of which being something that Kane truly could appreciate. Especially because of the man’s apparent past.
Still, even if Cedric had become a spy for Father, it didn’t really matter. So long as Cedric’s teachings continued to be valid and they never mentioned anything they didn’t want Father to know about, he would continue to be useful.
That said, his Mystic teachings and great food were not the only reason they kept showing up here.
“Big Brother Kane! Big Sister Luna! You’re here!” a bright and chirpy voice echoed through the small restaurant as they entered.
A small form weaved its way through the compact furniture filling the tiny restaurants dining hall. Since it was pretty early in the morning, there weren’t any customers yet, so there was nothing else to get in the creature's way.
Knowing what was coming his way, Kane chuckled, crouched a little, and opened his arms to receive the tiny rocket that launched itself at him. Catching it, he laughed and swung the tiny creature around as it screeched with glee, “Hey Nina, how’s my favourite girl today?”
The tiny creature turned out to be Cedric’s nine-year-old granddaughter. She had inherited much of her joyous spirit from Cedric, and Kane considered her to be one of the only bright spots in this cesspool of a city.
She had blond hair done up in pig tails, her eyes were blue, her face was cute, and the bright smile almost never left her face. She was also the daughter of Cedric’s son who died and was thus an orphan.
“Since you’re here, Big Brother Kane, it’s a great day!” the young girl’s voice chirped as her eyes sparkled with happiness.
Even as Kane continued to hold her up in his arms, she quickly started rattling off some of the things that happened to her since they last saw each other a few days ago. Her voice was bubbling with excitement the entire time.
Honestly, Kane had no idea why this girl liked him so much. Cedric’s trouble with criminals in the past was because some people were trying to pressure him into selling Nina to them, but she should have no idea about all that.
At least, so Cedric claimed.
Regardless, Kane didn’t care much either. He considered Nina to be one of the few things in this city worth protecting. The fact that she remained this upbeat even after losing her parents three years ago, showed not only her maturity, but also her unbeatable spirit.
Something she had obviously inherited from Cedric.