She looked at sol with an annoyed look on her face.
"But why? Why do you want to be a warrior? I bet your mom wouldn't support this decision."
"My mom"
With the mention of that a distant memory resurfaced in Sol's mind.
It was the memory of the day that the only connection between him and the world was severed.
The day that he became unfettered.
And also the day he became alone.
Sol suddenly became melancholic.
'To think it has already been eight years.'
The meat lady seeing the decline in mood on Sol's face felt a pang of guilt hit her heart.
"Oh little Sol, I'm sorry I brought that up I did not mean to harm you, I only said that because I care so much about you."
"No need to apologise aunt Maria, death is just a natural part of life, My mom died when it was her time to die, there's no need to feel sad about it." Sol comforted her with a smile on his face.
"Now don't keep me waiting I have other places to go."
Sol lifed the basket full of meat off the ground and onto the table.
"Thank you Sol, you're ever so compassionate I say you take after your mother in that aspect." She said as she put the different baskets of meat on her stone scale.
"From what you say you seem to know my mother quite well."
"Of course I did, probably everyone does, your mother was one of the most beautiful woman of her generation, she was so beautiful that even legendary cultivators lusted after her beauty."
Sol stared at her with stone cold eyes not at amused at the joke she just told him.
His mom was anything but beautiful in the memories Sol had of her, and cultivators didn't exist, cultivators were just a fantasized version of warriors told to children as bed time stories.
"What why are you looking at me like you don't believe me? Just because your mother's beauty deteriorated in her twilight years doesn't mean you should underestimate her."
"Anyways… where was I?"
"Right I was about to tell you how I met your mother."
"Believe it or not I actually met your mother the same way I met you."
"You mean to say my mother was a meat butcher? And also the prettiest woman in town? Wouldn't she be more…I don't know, esteemed?"
"That was because she decided to settle down with your father back then, but the problem was your father was not the most handsome man, neither the strongest and not even the richest man that offered to be her spouse, but she rejected all of them and settled down with your commoner father."
"God's I still don't know what she saw in him, If she had married someone else, you and your mother wouldn't have had to sell bunny meat to survive."
"Okay aunt Maria I believe you! I believe you! But sadly I can't stay much longer listening to your stories I have somewhere important to go."
Maria frowned as she saw the clear non–believing eyes that Sol had.
"Hmph ~ Take your money and go, It's been a waste of time talking to you."
Maria snorted as she gave him a pouch of copper coins and the remaining basket of meat he brought with him.
Sol took the pouch of money and began to go on his way when he heard a voice scream behind him.
"If big brother Sol can be a warrior, why can't I?" Arit protested
"Because I said so, Now go back into the shop before more customers start arriving."
"But I want to be a warrior."
Sol turned back to see a boy aged between ten and twelve arguing with Maria.
"Common Arit stop troubling your mother, you can't make the decision to be a warrior yet, You're still eleven." Sol said as he ruffled Arit's hair.
"I'm turning twelve in a few months can I be a warrior then?"
Arit asked Sol a faint light of hope flickering in his eyes.
"You can ask your mom that when your birthday comes around, but for now you have to stay put and not disturb your mom, okay?"
"Okay!"
"Now you can go back to helping your mom sell meat but if I hear you caused trouble again don't even think about becoming a warrior."
"MnmMh" Arit beamed with excitement as he ran backdoor to the shop.
"No" Maria said with stern determination.
"I'm not letting the boy become a warrior no matter what."
"But why?"
"He thinks the path of a warrior is some cool Job with sunshines, rainbows and pots of gold."
"But it's not, it's a path filled with death, sadness and loneliness."
"So don't try to convince me to let him go down that route."
Sol's mouth opened but no words came out, He wanted to tell her so much about about the benefits of being a warrior,
He wanted to tell her that the rewards of being a warrior was worth every dime spent pursuing it.
But he had no way of convincing someone who hadn't experienced the decline of the body during old age the allure of eternal life.
He had also frowned at the concept of eternal life when he was younger.
But the feeling of hopeless resignation he got when every part of his body started falling apart one by one little by little, truly terrified him.
'But sadly Maria doesn't understand this truth'
"He's your child it doesn't concern me how you raise him." Sol said, forcing a fake smile onto his face.
'I'm sorry kid, I can see the ambitions in eyes but your mother just doesn't get it, How sad ~ Fate dealt you a bad hand giving you a protective mother like Maria."
Ace waked out of the meat store, meeting the cold air of winter against his skin.
"But whether you follow the tides of fate or take control of your own destiny is ultimately up to you."