Valentina POV:

3 years later.

“Mum!! It’s raining again!”

Lissandra charged into the room. Her hair now reached her waist, taking on a curly appearance once it passed her shoulders. She had become taller but still had those large, dark grey eyes.

“I’m sleepy~”

I turned back over in the bed and closed my eyes. Lissandra’s footsteps grew closer as I tried to fall asleep again.

“...But it’s our special bonding time!!”

My eyes flashed open at her words.

‘Mother... Bonding...’

I threw the bedsheets to the side and jumped up. How could I sleep when this was an important time for my young daughter?! Even though we spent literally every day together, but still!

“Let’s go, Lissandra.”

My eyes narrowed, and a glint of light flickered through them. Lissandra nodded her head, mimicking me as we both walked confidently toward the cliff entrance.

The formation of rocks spread out into a medium-sized stretch of land. It extended far enough for it to take around a minute of walking to reach the end.

Heavy rain crashed down on the area. Lightning crackled through the almost pitch-black clouds above, and the booms of thunder made the mountain tremble.

“Foo...”

Lissandra hopped up and down. Her neck rolled from side to side before she stretched her arms, unaffected by the downpour of rain. I stood near the edge of the clifftop and observed the fierce waves crashing against the base of the mountain.

“Mum, I’m ready.”

My feet shifted into a relatively wide stance at her response. Lissandra reached my side, sliding into the same position.

Then our training began.

We moved in unison. A circular motion that left behind different coloured silhouettes, forcing the heavy rain to dissipate.

Our movement speed increased. Our feet sliced through the drops of rain as an area of wind bolstered around us. It pressured the rainfall to redirect its trajectory.

I observed Lissandra utilize the Set Wave. It was the third easiest Sine Wave out of the nine and had a max of 6 Oscillations. Once those oscillations were achieved, the Martial Artist’s Ki would no longer oscillate within their Ki Channels till a technique has been released, dispelled or 30 seconds has passed.

Those new to the Seung Style usually suffered recoil due to their lacking Ki Control. However, Lissandra never encountered that issue.

Everything.

Everything came naturally to her, but she was never complacent. She trained as hard as she could on a daily basis.

I watched Lissandra break out of our rhythm and glide towards the edge of the clifftop. My eyes widened at her change in stance. It mimicked the technique I had shown her the first time we did this training together.

Lissandra lowered her centre of gravity; her foot splintering the earth beneath it. Her Ki exploded, and her heel sunk deeper into the ground, twisting it into a small spiral as her eyes flashed towards the dark sky.

“Seung: Sky Splitter.”

The oscillations in her body magnified the resulting power she was trying to release, causing her very foot to vibrate. The symbol of the Seung Style appeared on her forehead as she flexed her fingers.

‘!!!’

A storm of fire wrapped around her leg, and the head of a Kirin began to form. I could feel the oscillations in her body becoming too much for her to bear; she wasn’t ready to use one of the ultimate techniques of the Seung Style.

“Lissandra, stop!!”

She glanced back at me and bit her lip. I saw the reluctance in her eyes to dispel the technique, but the worry in my own changed her mind. I stepped forward, pulling her back into our previous rhythm.

“Slowly... Slowly...”

Lissandra adjusted her form while we continued to move in a circular arc, going through the different motions of Sine Wave I had taught her.

What she had used earlier was the Net Wave: The 4th Sine Wave. It contained 10 Oscillations with each one increasing the Martial Artist’s movement speed by 10%, physical strength by 8%, and the power of the released technique by 6%. However, each oscillation doubled the Ki Cost for the next one as well as tripled the Ki Control needed.

What worried me most wasn’t Lissandra experiencing Ki Deviation. It was the fact that she had manifested the Sky Splitter. That ultimate technique required the max number of Oscillations in the Net Wave, yet the burden I sensed came from Lissandra…. trying to oscillate her Ki beyond the limit of the Net Wave.

Dangerous.

Lissandra’s sheer desire for growth was dangerous. My gaze rested on her using the Set Wave before I parted my lips.

Her eyes widened before softening. She nodded her head, and my heart felt at ease. She was my daughter. I couldn’t let her be reckless.

The storm raged on for the next three days, and we practised without rest during that time. Her mastery over the first 4 Sine Waves increased at a rapid rate. Her body grew more and more accustomed to the powerful oscillations resonating along her Ki Channels.

‘Sensei... I wish you could have seen this...’

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I watched Lissandra’s perfect form flow. Her movements were effortless, clean and sharp. The clouds parted, revealing the sky above, but she went higher.

Lissandra had already achieved Uso years ago, but the Seung Style still allowed her to grow further despite the barrier known as Shin.

‘After she graduates, her breakthrough will be a sight to see. It won’t stop at Shin... She’ll probably directly reach upper Boukyaku if she continues on at this pace.’

The sun broke through the horizon, signalling the end of our training session. Lissandra lowered her leg and turned to face me with the rays of sunlight splashing against her back. She placed her fist against the palm of her hand and bowed deeply.

‘...’

My lips curved into a wide smile. I spread open my arms, and she jumped into them; her hands gripped my back tight.

“I love you, Mum.”

I rubbed the back of her head as I stared at the sunrise. It had been a long time since I felt this way, but it wasn’t a bad feeling at all.

“I love you too.”

After embracing for some time, we headed back inside.

***

“Mum, can I ask you a question?”

I tilted my head to the side while raising an eyebrow. Usually, Lissandra would ask whatever question came to her mind, so for her to suddenly ask for permission made me feel somewhat strange.

“Sure. What’s up?”

I took a seat on the bed and dried my hair with a towel. I looked at my curly hair in the mirror and pondered over how incredible it was that Lissandra’s hair ended up looking so strikingly similar to my own.

She entered my bedroom and closed the wooden door behind her.

“Well, I was wondering... What kind of guys do you like?”

My hands froze, and my brain short-circuited. It took a few seconds for me to reconnect to reality, but I shook my head. It was obvious that I had misheard her. After all, she was far too young to be asking about such things.

“Say that again, Lissandra. I must have misheard you.”

She took a few steps forward before opening her mouth again.

“Oh, well... I said, what kind of guys do you like?”

My eyebrows twitched as the mirror shattered into a million pieces. I spun around and threw the towel in a corner, opting to dry the rest of my hair with the flames in my hand.

Lissandra looked at me with a puzzled expression while I let out a long sigh.

“...Lissandra, you’re far too young to be talking about things like this.”

Her confusion multiplied to such a degree, I could almost make out dozens of visible question marks scattered across her face.

“But I thought you wanted to get married?”

‘!’

My eyes shifted to the ground. It was true that I wanted to get married. In fact, it was one of my childhood dreams to walk down the aisle in a big church, wearing a long wedding dress... But it was nothing more than a dream I abandoned a long time ago.

“There aren’t many men who would want to marry someone who is being constantly hunted.”

I smiled wryly at the situation I had accepted. I suppose it was even more of a bitter pill to swallow since now Lissandra may end up suffering the same fate in that regard too.

“Soo, there’s no one you like?”

I rested my cheek against the palm of my hand and stared at the inquisitive look in her eyes.

“I guess not? I’ve been single all my life, and I’ve never had a romantic relationship. However, there are a lot of strong men in this world, but like I said, it’s not so simple.”

Lissandra didn’t reply. She walked around the room, pondering over my answer. Eventually, her feet came to a halt where she first started.

“Will it be the same for me too?...”

My heart ached as I looked into her large, dark grey eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but couldn’t find the right words to say, so I closed it. We stayed like this for a while, silence flowing between us until I managed to force out a whisper.

“...I... I don’t want it to be like this for you.”

Lissandra grinned and sat down on the ground in front of me.

“Mum, it’s simple. All we need to do is beat those people chasing after us!”

A small sigh escaped my lips, and I shook my head. It really wasn’t that simple. I called them ‘mercenaries,’ but they weren’t your average Ki practitioners.

‘...’

Actually, it was good that she had brought this topic up again. It was time for her to see more of the world; she needed to gain a lot more experience.

“Pack your bags, Lissandra. It’s time for us to leave this place.”

***

Zane POV:

“I continued to teach her while we travelled cautiously, and years later, we ended up in Outer Astril. I left her there to see what kind of approach she would take to solving the many issues in that place.”

I opened my eyes and gazed at Valentina, who still had a solemn look on her face.

“But who would have thought your disciple would be there too? If this isn’t fate, then I don’t know what is.”

My lips curved into a thin smile. Fate was something that I was very familiar with. However, the time for us to meet again had come, so naturally, our paths would cross.

“Anyway...”

She closed the distance between us and rested her hand on my cheek. I saw her eyebrows quiver as she opened her mouth.

“Please take care of yourself.”

Valentina gave me a slight smile before turning around. I watched her hand fall; the distance between us started to increase.

I knew well the difficulties she faced and how her very existence was a threat to certain groups of people, but she was precious to me.

“!”

I grabbed hold of her hand, prompting her to spin around in surprise.

“Valentina, I swear on the Pantheon name that no matter what trouble you’re in, as long as you call for me, I’ll stand by your side.”

Her eyes shook and a faint shade of red spread across the bridge of her nose. She shifted her gaze towards the ground, revealing her long eyelashes.

“...Thank you.”

I let go of her hand and smiled contently. Every time I broke through a wall, another one presented itself in front of me, gradually growing larger in size, but that was life.

‘I need more strength.’

I stared at the sun that had begun to set for a few moments when I twisted my head to the side, avoiding Valentina’s fist.

“Valentina, now isn’t the time for a spar.”

She stood sideways as rays of light shone down on her, highlighting her incredible physique. To many men, she would be considered an unparalleled beauty, but what drew me to her most was her personality.

“Oh come on, I know you’ve missed the times we used to spar together. Besides... You’re smiling~”

I noticed the curve of the corners of my mouth as Valentina flickered forward. My eyes narrowed, and I instantly raised my arms. She reappeared in front of me, her foot hooking around my guard while simultaneously lowering it.

I watched it shoot forward before her heel snapped back towards my chin. I spun on the inside, appearing in front of her chest, but she had already pulled her leg back and completed the motion for a high kick on the opposite leg.

It crashed against my guard, launching me into the sky. Valentina lowered her centre of gravity, sinking her foot into the ground below, causing it to twist like a whirlpool with ease.

My eyes widened as she released a small portion of her Ki. Her foot sank deeper into the earth; the sky above rumbled from the pressure she was emitting. Her eyes flashed and her lips curved upward.

A slight shiver ran down my spine as I immediately deduced that there was no feasible way I could block this attack head-on without getting partially serious, just like her.

“Seung:...”

“Pantheon Style: Da...”

My words trailed off, and I landed back down on the ground; Valentina had cancelled her technique. She stood across from me with a cute grin on her face.

“Let’s meet again soon, Zane.”

Her body flickered out of my view while I smiled in the direction she left in. I could feel from that short exchange that she had gotten even stronger. It was her own way of reassuring me that she wouldn’t go down easily.

I folded my arms as the air responded to my call. My feet rose from the ground, lifting me high into the air. I peered down over the desert canyon before turning my attention back to Outer Astril.

I shot through the sky, leaving behind a thin trail of wind. Some minutes later, I arrived above the East region of Outer Astril, levitating just below the stratosphere as my gaze shifted to the ground.

Lyon stood alone on a rooftop, watching the sunset while his cloak fluttered behind him. He knew it well that there was much to do in Outer Astril. Lives that needed to be saved, people that needed to wake up, and even those who needed to be punished.

As long as you live in this world, there is time for you to change, for you to grow, and for you to learn. We do not give up despite the difficulties placed in front of us; we forge ahead because we know that after the rain comes the rainbow: a promise of hope.

I wasn’t perfect by any means, and there were many areas I still needed to improve in, but that was fine, too. My journey wasn’t over; I could still climb much higher.

My lips curved upwards as I also observed the setting sun.

“Keep growing, my disciple, and one day, you’ll look at the sky from the same place as I do.”