Xasha looked up at the mountain of papers stacked on his desk before him with indignation. He felt tired already, and he hadn't even begun. Megan glanced at him disdainfully. "You wanted to start a province, but you don't want to do any of the work that comes with it?"
"I only created this province because it was my father's ambition. He has long left the Devos Family's service. Why doesn't he take responsibility and lead?"
Megan's attitude became worse. "Saxon has Draconic City to manage, and you have Stardust city. He never complains or tries to push his responsibilities onto others."
"Tsk," Xasha ignored her aggression. "He should be the patriarch of the Stardust Province. He can let someone else take over for him at Draconic City."
Megan couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was rendered speechless. Her anger flared up almost immediately, but she did her best to remain calm. "Ash, what's going on here?"
"What do you mean?"
"I refuse to believe this sudden change of attitude from you is because of laziness. Did something happen that you're not telling me?"
"No, nothing happened. It's just that I need my freedom. I want to go and explore the continent for a bit. I'm still a young man after all."
Megan took suspicious glances at him but did not refute him, while his reason for wanting a break was bullshit. What he said held some truth. He started this province as a child and had never taken a break from training and governing. She believed that a walk-a-bout would do him some good. "Alright, you cannot shrink away from your responsibility, but once you settle this problem with Henosis, you are permitted a 6 month leave to go on a walkabout."
"Oh, I have your permission?" Xasha said sarcastically
"You think you don't need it?" Megan threatened.
Xasha did not reply. Instead, he took a document off the pile and began reading it. Megan saw this and smiled lightly, then left the room.
Lili sat by a large window, looking out at the vast sky absentmindedly.
"If you open the window, you can feel the actual breeze. In fact, you could even fly up there and take a look," Megan joked as she entered the room.
"You're back?" Lili spared her mother an unenthusiastic glance before returning her gaze to the clouds.
"Your assessment didn't go so well, huh?"
"And those two happy-go-lucky love birds passed, which makes it worst. That guy is even a sore loser when he wins. You should have seen how hard he laughed when I told him what happened."
"I don't understand. How did you manage to fail?"
"That was too scary. I hate the dark. It's impossible to focus in that environment."
Megan chuckled.
"Mom!" Lili complained as she tossed a pillow she had across her lap at her mother's head.
Megan caught the pillow with a grin. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. We all get embarrassed, especially in our younger days."
"You know what happened?" Lili hopped to her feet. She fell lifelessly back onto the windowsill couch and curled up, "Oh god, does everybody know?" She shot to her feet once again. "I'm going to kill that blue-haired bastard. I'll rip out his guts and hang him with it."
"Calm down, nobody told me anything. I was also your age once. Do you believe it?" Megan was still in a good mood. Seeing her daughter acting like a regular teenage girl made her happy. Ari had spent her early years in a time of turmoil, even taking part in a war and seeing death before the age of 5. Lili, on the other hand, had never known war or death, and Megan was proud of that. "How about I help you for a bit?"
A shiver ran down Lili's spine. "I'm good, thank you. I just need to lie down for a bit. Don't worry," she said while slowly backing away from her mother, only falling back on the couch.
Megan frowned, and Lili froze up like a scared rabbit.
"Come with me," Megan said in a flat tone.
"But," Lili tried to refuse. However, her statement was barely out of her mouth when a water whip wrapped around her body. Megan disappeared with her in tow.
The world stopped spinning, and Lili found herself in the training arena of the Von Crieg Manor. Megan stood a few feet from her, pulling something from her void pack. She pulled out a black table cloth then ripped off a piece. She drew runes on the small piece of cloth in her hand, then walked towards Lili with it.
"You are thinking about it all wrong, you're thinking of it like you are in the dark, but you are not. In fact, it does not matter whether or not you are in the dark. The point is for you to be able to perceive your surroundings. It should be so strong that no one can ever sneak up on you regardless of their cultivation." She placed the cloth over her eyes and tied it.
"Now, like in the assessment, your goal is to use your perception to find my position and keep a lock on me, no matter how far or fast I move. You should remember my aura, so you can identify it should we meet again. Also, you should be able to search for my aura even in a sea of other auras."
"I can do all that," Lili replied.
"Can you do it without aid from any of your other senses? Can you keep such a close eye on me you perceive every movement I make, whether voluntary or involuntary? Can you see my every facial expression or hand gesture? Can you read my lips or body language?"
Lili didn't reply. She couldn't do any of that. She read about them and assumed that only the most experienced mages could manage something like that.
"What has that father of yours been teaching you? Never mind, let's start with the basics. We will play a game of tag. You are to perceive my location and come touch me. Every time you successfully touch me, the next round will be harder. Also, remember to perceive your surroundings and not just focus on me. You never know when I might leave a trap for you to fall into."
"Traps? isn't that too brutal?"
"Stop complaining and get ready. First-round starts now." With that, the runes on the cloth all lit up. Then she could no longer see, smell, feel or hear anything. She couldn't even feel the breeze on her skin. With no other choice, she extended her perception to cover the entire training arena, then concentrated. Her aim was to pick up every movement around her, no matter how subtle. She had long read her mother's aura and learned where she was, but it seemed too easy. She was looking for the traps her mother spoke about.
After searching for a few seconds, she concluded there were no traps, then moved in and touched her mother. The moment she did, her senses came back. "Good," Megan said in a congratulatory tone.
Lili smiled lightly, "That was easy, too easy."
"The next round starts now." with that, Lili's senses all disappeared again. This wet on for hours. Every round got increasingly difficult and more specific. Megan was impressed at how advanced Lili was, also how fast she adapted to her situation and learned new things. By the end of the day, she found her anywhere she hid, no matter how far or fast she moved. Megan had no choice but to admit defeat. Under the circumstances, it was impossible to escape her daughter's perception. "There is nothing wrong with your perception. In fact, yours might be stronger than most people your age."
"That's because you went easy on me, and I never said I couldn't perceive my surroundings. It's just, I can't stand the dark. I always freeze up, I don't know what's wrong, but I think our training helped me a lot," Lili hugged her mother softly.
"I'm glad I could help. I am also extremely happy to spend time with you. I hope we will remain this close forever, my little Tower Lili." Megan placed a kiss on her forehead. "Let's go to Nice World, where you can have all the deserts you want."
"Yay! Mom, you're the best."
"Dad, you called for me?" Ari took a seat before her father, who was still buried under a mountain of paperwork.
"Yes, you finally passed the 70th assessment and only after your 5th try. I'm extremely proud of you. I have a gift for you, so come with me." Xasha got up from behind his desk and walked out of the room.
Ari, who had just sat down, got up and followed her father out the door. "Why not tell me where we're going. I will take you."
"To my research tower."