Ashoka and Sudhatta stood in front of the Emperor who was seated on a throne.
The atmosphere was tense.
Ashoka didn't have any guess why the Emperor has visited the Tempest manor when he didn't show any interest in them for the past six years nor did he know why all those important figures in the Empires were gathered here.
"Glory to the great Mauryan, long live the Emperor"
"Glory to the great Mauryan, long live the Emperor"
Both of them greeted the emperor with respect and stood silently waiting for the emperor's words.
'Why is he here?'
Ashoka thought as he carefully looked at Bindusara.
A man with blond hair and red eyes, carrying a majestic aura around him.
The pressure he was giving off was no joke either, it was making both Ashoka and Sudhatta hard to stand.
Seeing the Emperor's indifferent eyes, some of the memories of Ashoka's past life surfaced in his mind.
In his previous life, he was born into a poor family where even affording three meals a day was hard.
Good clothes and a comfortable bed were something that they didn't even dare to imagine.
Despite being a child, Ashoka needed to do different kinds of work to earn his keep.
His father, a drunkard bastard, would always harass his mother and him.
For his father, Ashoka was just the product of his lust.
But despite all that, Ashoka was happy when he was a child because he had a doting mother who unconditionally loved him and gave him the warmth of family.
She was a kind and gentle woman.
Ashoka loved his mother very much, so much so that he murdered his own father for her sake.
Ashoka didn't have any good memories of his father, he could hardly remember his father calling him his son.
Maybe because of that, Ashoka hoped his father in this life would be different.
He thought he could finally experience the fatherly love that he felt so distant from.
But the expectations only made it harder for him when he realized the reality.
It has been about 6 years since Ashoka was reincarnated in this world and this was the first time he was seeing his father.
Ashoka felt rage at the irresponsible man who didn't even care about his children, but he held it in since there was hardly anything he could do.
"I heard you two ambushed your brothers and beat them up, is that true?"
There were no pleasantries exchanged, even though it was his first time meeting his children, the Emperor talked to them as if they were criminals.
His arrogant voice made Ashoka even angrier.
"What...?! You majesty....that's not...."
Sudhatta who was shocked by hearing what the Emperor said tried to say something in their defense, but before he could do so, Ashoka intervened.
"I didn't know the Emperor was so free to worry about the quarrel between children"
There was no hesitation, Ashoka spoke what was in his mind with confidence.
'Ahhh!!!!!!! this stupid!'
But the one who was freaking out was his brother beside him.
"You majesty, that's not what he meant! Ashoka, quickly apologi...."
"It seems there is no need for the useless talk"
It was the Emperor who intervened Sudhatta this time.
"You, Have you already learned Aura?"
The Emperor asked revealing why he traveled such a long distance to the Tempest manor.
Aura.
It is the ability to have energy or mana as this world calls it, to envelop one's body or a body part.
The user of the Aura can release and surround themselves with mana for defensive purposes or increase their offensive power by stacking layers and layers of aura together, possibly becoming almost untouchable.
The auras give the user enhanced physical capabilities such as speed, strength, and durability.
The Aura also grants the user various abilities depending on what type of mana they have.
And for an individual to awaken aura, they need a very deep understanding of mana, not to mention the rigorous training they have to undergo to make sure their body could endure the burden of Aura.
Normally, it would take more than 5 years of training for even the most praised knights to awaken mana and learn Aura.
And even if one is considered a genius, it wouldn't be possible to learn Aura at the age of six.
When the emperor heard the report from the Guardian knight, Cain. He was sure that Ashoka has learned aura because there was no way a child of 6-year-old to beat up two 8 year kids to a pulp without any help.
Bindusara was even more confirmed of his suspicion when the bully brothers said that Ashoka used something like a black energy.
The color and the ability of the Aura depend upon the mana that the individual has awoken with.
Usually, there are four types of mana.
Earth attribute.
Wind attribute.
Water attribute.
and Fire attribute.
These four are considered as basic types of mana.
And depending on what type of mana an individual could awaken, he will be able to use many other abilities.
And awakening more than one type of mana will lead to more diverse classifications, for example...
Wind and Water would make it possible for the use of the Ice attribute.
Fire and Earth would give the ability to manipulate lava.
and many more like that.
But there were 4 more mana types than the basic four fire, water, wind, and Earth.
Lightning Attribute.
Light attribute.
Dark attribute, and
Shadow attribute.
they were considered so rare that the individuals with such mana could be counted in one hand.
And awakening more than one of such rare attributes was considered beyond the realm of humans.
There has only been two individual in the known history of Mauryan who has awakened more than two rare attributes.
One of them had Dark and Shadow attributes.
And that was the reason why the emperor was so intrigued and wary of the Black Aura that the bully brothers mentioned.
Because the one who wielded the black aura previously was none other than the former emperor, Chandragupta Maurya, the strongest man that the great Mauryan has ever seen.
---***---