After bickering for a few minutes, the two old men finally calmed down. When they eventually noticed weird glances from Sheela and Aaran, they felt awkward for a second but quickly brushed it away.
After all, with age comes experience, and it definitely wasn't the first time they argued like that with other people around.
Ahem
"I came because I had some free time and wanted to explain the roots of our family to Aaran."
Shui's smile quickly changed into a solemn expression, and the atmosphere in the room became heavy. But before they could continue their conversation, a small burst of Essence happened around Aaran.
Every human at twelve would undergo awakening and, in the process, obtain one to three abilities that would accompany him for the rest of his cultivation journey. Noble families were called so not solely because they had ancestors with high cultivation but also because most of their heirs would get three abilities. More abilities don't mean someone is more talented or stronger, but that gives people more versatility, which is crucial in surviving after Change.
Richard knew a few things about Aaran, but because of his own research, he did not have time to understand him sufficiently. Still, when he was curious about his grandchild's abilities, asking anyone about his innate skills was taboo, so he didn't even consider asking Aaran anything about them. Shui, who had the best understanding of that young genius, was the most curious about just what could define someone so talented as Aaran. Sheela, for that matter, wasn't overly curious; she knew that while following her young master, she would learn about his skills anyway.
While everyone was waiting for the end of awakening, Aaran himself was experiencing quite a few things. The most noteworthy thing was that his soul felt like it threw off some heavy chains that he didn't even know existed. For ordinary cultivators, even vaguely sensing their soul was an impossibility before opening their second gate, but then again, Aaran wasn't exactly the definition of normality.
Another thing was that unlike when he was getting small bursts of knowledge every day, now it was like a violent torrent that pushed more and more pieces of information into his mind.
The last thing was the main point of the event, which was getting abilities. It was a weird feeling similar to regaining long-lost control over his body. As it continued, his soul deepened his understanding of them without him doing anything.
After a few minutes, the turbulent Essence calmed down.
And so, as was expected from a noble, Aaran awakened three skills.
The first one, Sanskrit's senses, granted him an instinct to help him quickly understand situations and steer him toward better decisions.
The second was called Chiron's influence and was more complicated. It allowed him to understand and guide him in unearthing potential, but the potential wasn't specified, so he would need to test it himself.
The last one was something that he didn't expect at all.
Samsara's body granted him stronger body regeneration and a better digestion ability.
'Did I want to eat so much that it impacted my awakening? At least it could give me some taste-boosting ability,' Aaran mocked himself for his third ability.
When Aaran noticed everyone staring at him with curious glances, he decided to tell them some minor details, but then he found something weird about his skills.
"Uh, it looks like all my skills are passive for now?"
While cultivating, you will grow stronger, and so will your skills, and you might get additional effects with time. So, it's normal to have some passive effects at higher cultivation. But it's rare to get even one skill with a passive effect right after awakening, not to mention all three!
Richard looked at him weirdly before saying.
"Well, it's certainly uncommon, but if you need advice in cultivation, you can always ask someone to find me—if I'm at home."
It was Shui's turn to give Richard a funny look. At that point, he was determined to disclose Aaran's real achievement.
"Richard, my old friend. I think you need to know that, unlike what the public knows, Aaron isn't my assistant but co-creator of the Turtle Heart technique," Shui explained, looking forward to the strange expression his friend would make.
But this time Richard disappointed him, and when he was shocked inwardly, he still answered without missing a beat.
"If you need any life advice, you can also come to me; after all, we old men live for some purpose."
What a joke! Why did no one tell him that Aaran wasn't just an assistant? Sure, being an assistant in creating techniques as a twelve-year-old was already a tremendous achievement. And that was one of the reasons he decided to explain their family's roots before Aaran left for the academy. But being a co-creator means you have at least a similar level of knowledge to other co-creators. And who was Shui?!
Shui was one of the most knowledgeable people in body cultivation, the very field they created that technique!
'I will get revenge on Shui later!'
"Happy birthday, young master!" Sheela saved Richard just in time to avoid ever more awkwardness; after all, they came here to celebrate Aaran's birthday, not to watch two old men throwing jabs at each other.
After that, they ate cake and made some small talk. Richard was bent on learning more about Aaran and, if occasion allowed, tried to embarrass his old friend. Shui just had fun with Aaran but still found time to throw some jabs at Richard.
Aaran quickly learned the dynamics between the older duo and just smiled at their bickering.
Sheela didn't feel comfortable getting into the trio's conversation, so she just sat there, sometimes saying a word or two.
'I'm glad they came on my birthday, but such a nice chance to get closer to Sheela was wasted. What a shame.'
'Oh, it seems my body is already in that phase, huh? Feeling regret for not getting close to a woman is certainly an interesting feeling.'
After around half an hour, Richard skillfully changed the subject of the conversation to the second reason why he came today.
"A few months after Change, everyone was still fascinated with the idea of superpowers, so everyone was searching for opportunities. Your grandmother, Shui, and I were part of a group of friends who wanted to size the most for ourselves and all mankind."
At this point, Richard's eyes slowly filled with grief and sadness, and even Shui's head was tilted slightly down.
"For our last exploration, we decided to try one of the now-infamous forbidden zones, but at that time, it was just one of many places with countless unknown dangers. We overestimated ourselves, and it resulted in many injured people. In truth, we used all our luck because, at that time, no one died. But your grandmother was the real unlucky one. After we got to a safe place, she was relatively fine, but with time, she felt worse and worse until a few months later, she fell into a coma."
At this point, Richard stopped to take some deep breaths.
It didn't matter how much time passed. It still hurt him, just like it had in the past.
"After that, I tried everything I could to help her, but nothing worked; at that time, most of our group decided to settle down, and that's how the city now known as Royal Capital started. After I found that I couldn't help Elizabeth and neither could any of our friends, I decided to join them and search for new solutions. As a byproduct, the Sirius family became a thing. I'm explaining all this hoping you can keep an eye open for some solutions; sometimes, it's just about luck."
After finishing his part, Richard stood up and left the room, saying.
"I'm not going to sour your mood any further, and remember to have enough sleep; tomorrow, you will go to the academy after all. Happy birthday once more, and good night."
After Richard left the room, Shui stood up and came closer to Aaran, putting his hand on Aaran's arm.
"Your grandfather is someone who could run after his love for eighty years; his obsession goes deep, but he's a good person."
Aaran needed a second to understand that Shui meant for him not to blame his grandfather for not having time to spend with him or choosing this moment for such a tragic story. Aaran nodded seriously.
"I understand. I will see if I can find some solution for grandmother's problem."
"That's fine, but don't worry too much about that. Solving the problems of adults leaves for adults, so just focus on your growth. Remember, the next generation is the future of the previous one. Your birthday gift is already waiting for you at the academy. Good night, and enjoy your studying." With that, Shui turned around and left.
Now, only Aaran and Sheela were alone in the room.
Before it could become awkward, Aaran quickly smoothed situation.
"Thanks for being here. It's a shame we couldn't be alone today, but there will still be a time for that in the future, right?" Aaran winked and left the room in a steady but unfettered way.
"Good night, young master"
'Is that my imagination, or does the young master feel like he's more, I don't know, free? Unrestrained? Maybe it's one of his abilities?'
Now, only Sheela was sitting there alone, lost in thoughts.