Author's note: I discovered that I have a mild degree of Alzheimer's and I'm only 19 years old, so if I get character names wrong or anything like that, please help me
In an hour, he accumulated enough mana to pass another rank, but the boy decided to improve his base in every way possible. This took another full day, but it was worth the time invested.
The breakthrough process occurred naturally, in fact, natural was the wrong way to express breakthrough, as Kayden controlled every part of the process and chose where and how his heart and veins would be improved.
The time spent on your foundation was worth it. Kayden estimated that he was a two-rank leap forward with just his body at that moment, and by using Transcendence, he could reach the middle of the fourth rank.
Transcendence was no longer such a strong spell in his arsenal, as his mana manipulation was already capable of simulating the full-time spell in a slightly weaker version.
The last stage would probably make him jump three ranks, and if he added to his path, he could get even further. Kayden had been studying how to use it whenever he wanted, but it was a little too taxing on his body.
"Regressing wasn't so bad," the boy laughed to himself. Now, he had the opportunity to fix dozens of mistakes and go much further than before. The boy sighed and began a short break to eat.
Then it started again with the cultivation process. For the third rank, he took a little longer and needed the rest of the week to advance. Again, its base has been polished to the maximum.
At this point, he still maintained his two-level jump, and with Transcendence, he reached the middle of the fifth realm. Now, he was bizarrely strong for his rank. The boy would advance once more before starting to face opponents at the club.
"Kayden?", the boy heard Heimer's voice from outside.
"I'm coming," Kayden prepared to leave.
*********
Kayden and Han were sitting drinking tea in the old man's room. A strange silence accompanied the environment. It was an awkward silence, Kayden didn't know how to start a conversation with the old man.
It seemed that after his experience with the Path, he lost most of his social skills or feelings. It seemed like little things didn't do anything to his emotions. For example, in that situation, he could spend hours there without feeling anything.
"They are a family of dukes supported by one of the Great Ones," Han's voice broke the silence. "I couldn't do anything. There's no way I could take any of them down," his voice was full of emotions.
Kayden can feel all the hatred and bitterness that the old man held during all those years that passed.
"Dad," Han looked up and faced Kayden directly. This was the first time their eyes met since Kayden woke up.
The boy had calm and serene eyes as if he could bear the weight of the entire world and move forward. While Han's had teary eyes, with feelings like guilt and shame visible in them.
"I'm going to bring down that family", the boy said just that sentence. And he added: "I don't blame you. I believe you did the best you could with your abilities." A huge weight seemed to be lifted from Han.
"I lost my family in search of power to take revenge", his sentence took Kayden by surprise, who didn't understand what that subject had about the situation. "The city I defended was not meant to be isolated. The government had full capacity to defend it."
His sentence shocked Kayden. That was another part of the story he didn't know.
"One of the main families of dukes had a feud with me, and out of ego, they put pressure on the entire army not to defend my hometown," that seemed like something certain types of nobles would do. "You already know the rest of the story, at least the main part."
His face was completely closed, making Kayden unable to identify his state of mind.
"After that, I was desperate to find my way and return to the peak of my power. I spent decades and decades chasing this goal and, in the end, I achieved it. But my ascension process destroyed everything around me."
At this point, his voice was shaking as he recalled the past.
"I didn't even have the desire to pursue my revenge. My life was destroyed because of my greed for revenge, and in the end, I achieved nothing but empty power," Kayden finally understood why Han was telling him. This is for him.
The old man was probably afraid that he would become crazy for revenge and would not be able to think about anything other than gaining power.
"Dad," Kayden didn't let the old man continue his story. "Don't worry, I won't lose myself in the desire for revenge."
Kayden's eyes showed that the boy was being frank and, along with his sentence, the boy gave the fakest smile of his life.
'I've already lost myself,' he thought to himself.