1534 Flight

"Individuality, my little brother and sister," He replied. "Techniques that are both born from you and are highly attuned and synergetic with your Martial Body and Path. Techniques that make the absolute best of your body, squeezing out every ounce of power and potential within your body."

"Techniques that make the best of your body?" Max asked.

"That's right," Rui nodded. "Techniques that maximize the harnessing of your body, its potential, and power. That is the path forward to the Senior Realm."

The two of them accepted his words, nodding seriously. They had already resolved themselves to do what it took to obtain that power.

"I heard from big brother Julian that you are the youngest Martial Senior, is that true?" Max asked with stars in his eyes.

Rui flashed a smile of exaggerated pride. "It is. Your big brother is the best!"

"As expected of you, big brother," Mana nodded with a knowing expression. "Squire Kyrie also said that you were something special. Squire Dylon begrudgingly agreed."

Rui's eyes lit up at the mention of the two Martial Squires. A lot of time had passed, but he still had a lot of appreciation for the two Martial Squires that had done much to guide him and help him grow whilst he was a Martial Apprentice.

'It's been a while since I've seen them, I'll definitely pay them a visit soon.'

He decided to put off his long list of people to visit away for the day. It hadn't even been a full twenty-four hours since he visited, and he didn't want to get to handling these matters immediately after returning.

"It's good to take some rest," His mother agreed when he told her that. "My poor baby has been away for so long. Just relax for today."

He found himself resting his head on her lap as he patted his head gently.

It was at times like this when his family almost overtook his ambition. There was always something about his mother that caused him to wonder. Nobody else could make him waver in his ambition even in the slightest. Not Julian, Max, nor Mana. Yet when it came to Lashara…

"You look troubled," She softly spoke to him as she gently caressed him.

"…" Rui simply stared at her.

"No matter what you do from here on out, I'll always love you," She reassured him, almost sensing his troubles. "You're my precious baby, after all."

"I thought you'd want me to stay here forever," Rui softly replied.

"I want you to do what makes you happy," She replied. "When I created this orphanage, it was never my intention to shackle any of my children here. If I can nurture them nourish them enough to have them spread their wings and find their own path, then I am happy. Seeing you accomplish great things, things that you set out to accomplish makes me feel purposed."

That was not what Rui had expected. His mother had always been the worrywat in the orpahange, particularly around Rui. He was the first Martial Artist from the orphanage, and she had gone through sleepless nights worrying whether Rui would be alright.

"Many of the children have begun wanting to become Martial Artists looking at Max, Mana, and you," She heaved a sigh of exasperation and adoration. "I worry, but…I shouldn't suppress them. I just…worry."

She was right to, too. Rui had lost count of the number of times that he had almost died since becoming a Martial Artist. Surely the number exceeded a hundred thousand after having been a Martial Artist for nearly fifteen years.

Just a single mistake, and 'almost died' could easily be reduced to a single word. There was a reason that the Martial Union invested heavily in creating sixteen extravagant academies with the best of what Martial Art had to offer. It was to create sixteen Martial Artist-producing factories to replace all the Martial Artists who died every year.

"I'll train all of them properly now that I'm here," Rui reassured. "I will make sure they have everything they need to make it back alive, if nothing else."

Survival was a skill-set that he had become proficient at in the past eight years.

"That would certainly make me sleep easier at night."

That was reason enough for Rui, in addition for caring for the kids. The orphanage had accepted a lot of new orphans in the past eight years. He didn't even know most of them, yet in his mind, they were already part of the family.

It was his duty to think like that, after all, he himself had been blessed with that.

Eventually, he found himself falling asleep.

He slept better than he ever had in the past eight years. It was a deep, nourishing and satisfying sleep.

When he woke up that day, it was as though he had woken up for the first time ever. He had relaxed in a way that he hadn't in a long time. It actually took him a while to completely regain all his vigor.

"I'm heading out to see Kane," Rui informed them.

He had messaged Kane the day before and the two of them had agreed to meet the next day. With his speed, it wasn't long before he arrived at their rendezvous.

"Long time," Rui smiled, waving at him. "You look…different."

"Your hair and eyes are back to normal," Kane murmured. "Surreal."

Unlike his reunion with his family, their reunion was not emotionally charged. For one, neither of them were inclined to act so rigidly and seriously with each other. They addressed each other like it had only been a month since they saw each, as opposed to four years.

The first thing Rui noted was that he was still a Martial Squire, which was not good news. The whole point of returning to the Kandrian Empire was so that he could face a conflict that would threaten his Martial drive, awakening his Martial Heart in the process. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

The fact that he was still a Martial Squire proved that there was something wrong.

"I wanted to tell you everything I've been through in the past four years but…" Rui paused, before continuing. "Your story is more important."

Kane heaved a sigh.