She continued gazing at the statues for a few minutes longer until she suddenly became aware of his presence. When their gazes met, Alexander smiled lightly at her.
"Hello." He greeted her casually as he approached closer.
Nia didn't seem surprised or alarmed at seeing him. On the contrary, she gave him a faint nod as she returned his greeting. "Hi." She responded shortly after.
They both remained silent for a couple of seconds. Then Alexander cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, you come here often?"
Nia chuckled briefly. "Yes, sometimes." She answered calmly. "It reminds me of home."
"Home... Huh? Where do you hail from?"
"My family lived in Athens. Though, my parents moved away a long time ago." She explained with a bit of sadness evident in her voice.
"You miss it much?" Alexander asked carefully.
"A little bit." She nodded firmly. "But I've been gone for such a long time already that I barely remember what it used to be like. Still, I feel nostalgic whenever I'm here. It reminds me of simpler days."
As she spoke, Alexander grew increasingly curious about this beautiful girl. What kind of life did she lead before coming to the Academy?
Most of the stuff he knew came from Arthur since he didn't really have much opportunity to talk to her like this. And yet, despite knowing almost nothing about her, he couldn't help feeling drawn to her somehow.
Time flew fast as they continued to speak, so fast in fact, they barely noticed it was evening already. The setting sun cast its orange glow upon the surrounding trees, casting everything in an eerie light. Noticing the change in lighting, Nia got up from the bench.
"As much as I enjoy a talk like that, let's call it a night." She suggested, walking toward the exit of the garden.
Seeing that Nia intended to leave, Alexander got up. Nia turned around and teased him with a light smile, "You're not bad, but you'll need to try harder next time."
"Next time?" Alexander brightened, hearing her words.
Nia giggled at his response and waved him goodbye before leaving.
For a moment, Alexander stood there with a silly smile on his face. He had never imagined that talking to her could bring him such happiness. He wanted to see her again, and soon.
Alexander made his way home. He decided against looking for trouble by going through that neighborhood again and just took the bus home. As soon as he entered he heard laughter from the living room accompanied by the smell of alcohol. Particularly the alcohol his father brewed himself.
'Uncle Nikolai must be here.' Alexander thought.
Alexander stepped into the living room to find Uncle Nikolai drinking wine with his father. Well, the man wasn't actually his uncle. It is just that he was used to calling him like that since he was a small boy. In actuality, Nikolai was Alexander's godfather.
As soon as Alexander entered the room the big man immediately noticed him and stood up. And his uncle was not just big. He was enormous. Standing up he was at least three heads higher than Alexander's father and probably almost two times wider in the shoulders.
If Alexander's father gave off the impression of a nimble and fast fighter, then his uncle's disposition was more of a head-on brawler.
"Haha! Our little genius is here!" His uncle exclaimed happily as he embraced him warmly. "I missed you, kid."
His large arms wrapped tightly around him as he squeezed him tight. This caused Alexander to gasp slightly in surprise and discomfort. However, Nikolai paid no attention whatsoever to his godson's reaction. Nikolai then released his grip on him, allowing Alexander to breathe properly once more.
"Theo already told me that you have entered the Body Tempering Realm. Congratulations." He praised sincerely. "That is truly amazing! For your reference, do you know how many people live in the world today?"
"Almost twelve billion I think," Alexander replied.
"Alright. Now tell me, how many of them do you think have succeeded at opening at least one meridian?"
"Uhmm..." Alexander mumbled uncertainly.
Nikolai laughed loudly at his nephew's hesitation. "Little less than eleven-hundredths of a percent of people managed to do that. And most of them stay at one meridian for their whole life."
He paused for a second before adding, "Though, I believe you can surpass them easily. Just keep training hard."
"Thank you, Uncle Nikolai," Alexander replied with a grin.
The big man grinned back at his nephew. "Anytime, kid. Anyways, Theo said that you actually managed to catch one of his strikes?"
"Yeah!" Alexander nodded. "Is this a big deal though?"
Uncle Nikolai shook his head. "Not at all if we are talking about big league fighters. But for you, it is an achievement." He patted Alexander's shoulder reassuringly.
"Anyways, we still have things to talk about." Alexander's father reminded, "Alexander, you can go and rest, no sparring for today. I will teach you the technique I promised tomorrow. Oh, and Niko will stay here for several days. Since your body can now handle it, he will spar with you a couple of times."
Just as Alexander went upstairs, Nikolai immediately opened his mouth.
"Haha, Theo, now that your son broke through, you can stop worrying about how he fares, considering what the future holds. I think I can arrange for him to-"
Before Nikolai could finish speaking, Theo interrupted him. "No need. I believe it will be a good test for him. Plus I already gave him the watch."
"What? You sure? If eggheads projections are right, the situation might be worse than whatever brought the New Dark Age, isn't it too dangerous? All the big families are trying their hardest to squeeze their heirs into a spot." Nikolai argued worriedly.
Theo simply raised his hand, silencing his brother. "Relax, Niko. After everything happens there even might be no Empire. No amount of special programs and elite squads would be enough to protect everyone. He might need a trial like this."