With a disconcerting tone, Julia inquired, her arms folded and her eyes fixated on the now-invisible Sylv, "So, care to explain?" Her aura returned to its natural state after she requested El to retire to rest. Sylv was genuinely terrified, and had she been human, perspiration would have been pouring from her. She was rendered speechless, her voice seemingly paralyzed by fear. Her intentions weren't malicious; there was no plan to harm El. So, why was her reaction so intense? However, she knew she had to respond.
"I-I just w-wanted to study his eyes," Sylv stammered.
"That's already clear; that's not the issue," Julia retorted, her voice raised.
Julia understood her friend well enough to realize that she couldn't simply dismiss the transformation in El's eyes. In fact, Sylv was probably willing to go to great lengths, even postponing her prior commitments, to delve into this mysterious phenomenon. It's important to stress that altering her schedule wasn't a trivial matter. Sylv was a devoted healer, dedicating most of her time to the practice and to improving her healing skills. Given her advanced level of expertise, her schedule was consistently booked well into the future—by as much as a century. Moreover, all her patients were individuals of significant influence and power, surpassing typical Earthly standards. Thus, altering her plans essentially meant reneging on commitments with these influential figures, which carried substantial weight and consequences. This was no small matter!
However Julia could understand why Sylv was ready to go that far. After all, Sylv was ancient, having existed for hundreds of times longer than Julia. It had been millennia since her inquisitive spirit was rekindled. But, considering Lys' unique situation, the discovery of El's eyes was nothing short of extraordinary. Throughout her long existence, Sylv had never encountered something like this, and it defied the natural order of things. To draw a comparison, it was akin to stumbling upon an object with the ability to defy gravity's pull. While many could fly using various means, they all operated within the bounds of gravitational forces, just like a rocket leaving the orbit of a planet. El's eyes, however, seemed to defy the inherent invisibility of spirits, a feat considered impossible by spirit standards. Yet, he had achieved it. Thus, Sylv couldn't resist the temptation to delve further into the subject, even at the risk of canceling her longstanding arrangements.
Sylv's insatiable curiosity left her no choice but to seek further understanding of the situation. She was fully aware that El remained cautious and guarded against her. She anticipated that direct inquiries about his eyes would be met with resistance, possibly even hostility. Therefore, Sylv made a strategic decision to employ his emotions as a way to unravel the enigma. However,
"Do you even think about the consequences of your actions?" Julia questioned Sylv, her tone rising.
Sylv frowned in confusion, failing to grasp what was wrong with her approach. From her perspective, it made sense to leverage El's indebtedness to her and request the study of his unusual eyes as a form of exchange.
Julia couldn't help but shake her head, realizing that she had overlooked a critical aspect of the situation. It was easy to forget that Sylv was not just any ordinary being—she was a spirit, and a remarkably ancient one at that. Sylv's mentality and ethical standards differed greatly from those of humans. While Sylv generally displayed kindness as a spirit, her commitment to scientific pursuits was unwavering, and she was willing to go to great lengths in the name of research. Sylv didn't see her actions as morally wrong; instead, she viewed them through the lens of her spirit standards, which were distinctly different from human ones.
For Sylv, the concept of right and wrong was not anchored in the same framework as it was for humans. To her, certain actions that appeared harsh by human standards were justified, given her unique perspective. She often held the belief that those she experimented on or made use of for her research were, in some sense, already destined to meet their end. In her view, it was merely a matter of repurposing their existence. She could easily justify her actions, such as, "They were going to die anyway" or "Don't worry, I only took his penis, he will survive."
In Sylv's eyes, kindness wasn't synonymous with sparing lives; it meant making the most of every resource available, especially when it came to matters of science. She believed that as long as death served a purpose, be it for sustenance, self-defense, revenge, or research, it was justifiable. To Sylv, death was an integral part of life, especially for long-lived spirits, and the moral boundaries that constrained humans did not apply in the same way to her.
This situation mirrored her typical approach. In Sylv's perspective, there was nothing inherently wrong in attempting to sway El with guilt, especially given that he already had a debt to her, which she could call in whenever she pleased. While she hadn't healed him with this specific intent in mind, she recognized its usefulness at the moment and decided to utilize it. Her decision not to directly say, "Come with me," before she whisked him away was her way of showing kindness or consideration, as she saw it. Therefore, she found herself baffled by Julia's anger, unable to fully comprehend why it had triggered such a reaction.
Julia, on the other hand realized her error. As an old woman herself, she understood that you can't force your standards on someone else. So she can't blame Sylv for this as from her point of vue she was completely right. However she also then realized how her mother role changed her. In the past, Julia was the ultimate loner and she didn't care about anyone and what Sylv just did wouldn't have faze her at all.
But now, she couldn't help but worry about El. The boy seemed mature and in control of everything but Marcus and her knew how wrong he was. El was young and insanely talented, making him think he was able to take anything on. But Julia knew that it was just he hadn't lived long enough. Yes, his natural distrust towards anyone was okay but will he able to live his life like that. No way! Even her, the ultimate loner had to make some connections or friendships to survive. He is still thinking like that because he has not seen enough. This was just proven by Sylv now. In a few words, she managed to destabilize him. However she had to stop it as she couldn't see her son being manipulated in front of her.
"I understand your motivations but you did it the wrong way. You could have ask me and I would have talked with him." Julia said after relaxing and calming down.
"Did you have prior knowledge of this?" Sylv inquired, under the impression that, as El's mother, Julia might have been aware.
Julia's response was casual as she shook her head, "No, I didn't."
Julia's response was nonchalant; she merely shrugged her shoulders, displaying neither disappointment nor surprise. Her knowledge of her son's unique eye skill led her to understand why he had concealed it, resulting in her indifference to the revelation. With a sense of purpose, she then declared, "Now that I'm aware, I'll have to discuss this with him."
Impatience colored Sylv's voice as she inquired, "When can we talk to him, then?"
Recognizing that involving Elian was the best approach, Julia responded, "We'll need to wait for Elian to wake up. He's more approachable and holds a prominent role in their relationship."
Sylv nodded in agreement, demonstrating her willingness to exercise patience, even given her age-old perspective. Her voice took on a solemn tone as she redirected the conversation, stating, "Now, let's shift our focus to the case of the young girl."
A young boy, tall and with eyes as dark as coal, lay on an expansive bed, his gaze fixed upon the ceiling. He appeared lost in thought. The news of the old man's death had profoundly affected him, shaking him to his core. As much as he had initially denied it, he couldn't escape the realization that Marcus was like a mentor to him.
It was true that he created an escape technique tailored for Marcus but he himself knew he had lowered his guard in front of Marcus millions of time. Marcus could have kill him on multiple occasions but he didn't and in fact always protect him in dungeons and even during their spars. Yes, El was as reckless as Elian during his experiments when he was sparring. How many times did he almost crippled himself trying a self-created technique before being saved by a slap of Marcus? Had he not full trust in Marcus he would have never done that in front of him.
The shock of Marcus's death had hardly begun to settle when the lab accident occurred, with El himself to blame. The brief period between the moment Elian fainted and the intervention of Lys, witnessing Elian's state, had driven El to the brink of madness. He had felt completely helpless, unable to heal or contribute in any way. The idea of taking his own life to make amends had crossed his mind, but he knew it wouldn't have solved anything. His only option was to wait and hope. During those agonizing moments, the feeling of helplessness gnawed at him, making it feel like an eternity.
Then came the realization that someone was healing him but this didn't bring him any joy. El had always prided himself on being self-sufficient, but now he was forced to rely on others, and it disgusted him. He was genuinely repulsed by his own weakness, having always considered himself Elian's ultimate protector. Now, he could barely live with himself. That long day spent within his thoughts, unable to wake up, allowed him to reflect and conclude that taking his own life wasn't the solution. Instead, he needed to punish himself by getting better and ensuring such a catastrophe would never happen again.
When he woke up, he decided that these had been perhaps the worst two days of his life. He felt the best way to end them would be to sleep after a good meal,since Elian's body was hungry and sleep-deprived. However, his plans took a different turn when Lys fainted. That's when he looked for Julia to check on her. At that moment, he had believed that it was the right thing to do. But now, he couldn't help but question if it truly was.
'Was it really?'
After all, the revelation that followed Julia's arrival in the room still baffled him. He couldn't simply dismiss it; it continued to haunt his thoughts.
"Who are you?" El pondered as he thought of Julia. It seemed unlikely that just anyone could befriend a spirit, let alone request their assistance twice. This suggested that, in addition to her formidable strength, Julia likely had significant connections or a significant background. But this raised another pressing question,
"Why is she concealing it?"
This time, a worried frown etched onto El's face. He needed answers because Julia's secrets were growing too significant. What if her past life caught up with her and he became the target to hurt her? El wanted to avoid any such scenario, or at the very least, be informed of potential enemies. However, he knew that he wasn't the right person to extract these answers.
Julia, having embraced a maternal role, genuinely cared about both Elian and El. Initially, El hadn't seen Marcus and Julia as his parents; Elian was his only family. But over the years, through numerous spars and father-son dungeon outings, El and Marcus had become close, given their shared passion for battle. For Marcus, El was also his son, the overprotective older brother of Elian. Julia, on the other hand, had also come to treat him as her son. To her, El was just another side of Elian. El had also grown to see them as reliable and trustworthy, but they had never become as close as Julia and Elian. So, only Elian could obtain answers from her.
El closed his eyes to calm his racing thoughts. A moment later, his eyes opened, displaying a determined expression. He thought to himself, "I am not strong enough; that needs to change."
El had come to realize that Julia was hiding much more than he initially thought. He understood that if he remained as weak as he currently was, he would always live in fear of being targeted by individuals with no connection to him, but who might be after Julia. For someone as prideful as El, that was unacceptable. He needed to get stronger quickly, but he still didn't know how to accelerate his growth. Despite his already remarkable improvement for his age, it wasn't sufficient. He had to make it faster, but how? That was a puzzle he had no answer to.
As fatigue washed over him, he felt the need to rest. "I think it's time to get some rest," he mumbled to himself, aware that deep sleep might leave him vulnerable. With a yawn, he spoke up, "Zero One, can you activate the deep sleep protection for me?"
A robotic voice responded, [Deep sleep protection activated].
This was a gift from Elian for his brother, designed to ensure El's peaceful sleep. It was a complex creation, comprising numerous intricate mechanisms that had consumed months of Elian's time. This project had ranked among his top ten most challenging undertakings. Despite the intricacy, Elian relished every moment spent crafting it, knowing that it held the key to his brother's restful slumber.
This remarkable invention served multiple purposes, too many to elucidate here. However, the most prominent features included a mana spherical barrier encompassing the bed, constant biometric security checks, a vigilant alarm system, and various other functions.
Now, El was ready to embrace the embrace of sleep, but not without a silent plea, "Elian, please wake up." El couldn't fully savor his day without the reassuring presence of his brother, which he had grown accustomed to, especially after recent events. From displaying his unique eyes to Julia and Sylv, to posing questions to Julia, and intensifying his training, all these activities bore a common thread – they required Elian's presence. However, for now, El had no choice but to surrender to slumber.
Little did he know that the next time he conversed with Elian, their usual roles would likely be reversed. Elian would be the one compelling El to engage in rigorous training, a surprising twist in their routine.