It was 3 PM by the time Shin woke up.
He walked around the hallway towards the throne room, when he was abruptly stopped by
Satoshi, who was leaning on the wall.
"Hey, bastard."
"..."
Just like always, Shin ignored him.
"Haa… I'm talking to you."
"..."
Even when Shin brutally beat him up during the Selection Process, Satoshi seemed like he
didn't learn his lesson.
But Shin decided to keep ignoring him, continuing to walk towards the throne room.
"Yeah, just keep walking then. Whatever, it must be nice to have all that talent. How does it feel
to look down on us from high above?"
"..."
"It must've been funny right?"
"..!"
For the first time since being reborn, something inside Shin snapped.
"Look down? T alent? You think I'm talented? You think I'm looking down on you?"
"What else? You knew the whole time that you were stronger than me, it must've been fun
right?"
Shin's composure broke and he let out a laugh.
"Maybe you're right, maybe I was looking down on you. After all, we were given the same
opportunities, the same facilities, and yet…"
Shin didn't finish his statement. Satoshi already knew what he was trying to imply."Haha, I've finally gotten under your skin. But what were you expecting? The Nocturn's Rising
Star, the Golden Boy. You can't possibly compare me to you."
"You're still as stupid as the day I met you. If you've even put the same amount of time on
training as much as I did, then you would know."
"Know what?"
Satoshi frowned.
"I'm not talented at all, I just didn't slack off. Unlike a certain someone who was born in the main
house, wasting the opportunity given to him."
Shin was never talented to begin with.
All of his prowess was the culmination of the two lives he lived. A total of 35 years.
Compared to Shin, Satoshi only trained as much until his lessons ended.
In his free time, he would mess around and twiddle with his phone.
"Say that again you fucker."
Satoshi clenched his fist, gritting his teeth.
"Oh, didn't hear me? I'll say it again. Get your head out of your ass you fucking spoiled brat."
The moment those words left Shin's mouth, Satoshi walked forward with his fist clenched.
"MY LIFE WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER IF YOU DIDN'T EXIST–
"He lashed out on Shin and tried to attack him, but Shin quickly dodged and pinned him down.
Crack!
"AGHHH!"
Shin broke his arm.
Satoshi's scream reverberated in the hallway, alerting whoever was around.
Running to where they were, Camilla arrived, taking in the sight of the two boys.
She covered her mouth in surprise.
"What are you two doing?!"
The moment Shin heard Camilla's voice, he let go of Satoshi's arm.
"Elder Sister, you can ask your brother about the specifics."
Bang!
A door opened in urgency, and Souzen emerged from the throne room.
What met his sight was Satoshi helpless on the ground, Shin standing beside him, and Camilla
covering her mouth in shock.
"What is going on?! Shin, did you do this?""I can't deny that, Lord Souzen."
"Please, explain yourself."
Pointing at Satoshi who laid on the ground, Shin responded,
"You can ask your son over here. He was the one who attacked me first."
"Satoshi, is that true?"
"Hahahahaha, what a lousy excuse for a Father."
Satoshi laughed as tears strained his eyes.
"You've never paid any attention to me, it's always Shin this, Shin that. Even now, instead of
asking me, you decided to ask Shin first."
"I-"
Souzen couldn't respond.
He didn't realize that was the way his son felt this whole time.
He was ignorant.
"Don't go acting like a concerned Father now… Fuck… all I've wanted was for you to at least
look my way."
T ears continued to flow down Satoshi's cheek as he spoke with a hoarse voice."Shin, sorry, but can you give us some privacy?"
"Understood."
At Souzen's instructions Shin returned to his room.
Bang!
With a clenched fist, Shin struck the wall in his room.
"Fuck, I can't believe I lost my cool to a 9-year-old kid."
[I wouldn't blame you, if it were me, it wouldn't have ended with his arm.]
"Not helping, and what kind of Deity would say that?"
[As grumpy as ever, huh? You were like that back then too.]
Throughout the years of being together, Noctis dropped the Deity act.
This was the real Noctis.
"Whatever, bastard."
[Hey, where's the respect? I'm still a Deity you know.]
"Yeah, yeah, sure, you're more like the Demon in my head."
[Take that back.]At their banter, Shin let out a laugh.
[Feeling better?]
"Yeah, thanks Noct."
[Don't let it get to you Shin, that boy just needs time to mature.]
"Yeah, but still. I'm mentally 30, I should've known better, picking on a kid."
[Can't argue with that.]
Shin frowned.
After waiting for a while, Souzen knocked on the door, entering the room.
"Lord Souzen."
"Sorry you had to see that, Shin."
"It's fine Lord Souzen, I can see where Satoshi was coming from."
"Haa… I just don't know what to do with him."
Souzen was immature after all, he didn't know how to raise a child, but Shin didn't know that.
"In my opinion, maybe you should guide him, you can start with that."
Souzen pondered for a while before responding."Maybe you're right… It feels embarrassing, getting consoled by an 8-year-old child."
"Don't be, Lord Souzen. Anyone, even a child can be an outlet if you take them seriously."
But Shin was mentally an adult.
"Haa… how did your parents even raise you, for you to be this mature."
The two let out a laugh after that.
"Which reminds me, you haven't gotten your reward yet. Come, I'll take you to the treasury."
Shin nodded and left with Souzen, heading towards the treasury.
It was located underneath the Nocturn Estate, heavily guarded by a door which could only be
opened with the Nocturn Patriarch Crest.
Entering the treasury, Shin was met by the sight of weapons lined up on the wall.
Display cases with artifacts, and unique weapons, neatly spread out.
But Shin strode forward, ignoring the weapons.
He had already decided what he would get.
Approaching the display cases with artifacts, Shin picked up a silver pendant with a ruby
hanging on it.
The ruby gleamed red, as the silver chain was adorned with intricate patterns."Hm? Is that what you want? I don't think it has any special properties. Are you sure you don't
want a weapon?"
"No, it's fine, it's a birthday gift for my little sister."
"Oh right, it's her birthday today. I'll let you take that then, but it wouldn't be right to not give you
a weapon. You can have that and give it to your sister, but please, choose another item as well."
Shin was surprised at Souzen's sudden generosity.
Slowly, and slowly, he was beginning to trust the Patriarch.
"Okay, thank you, Lord Souzen."
"It's no problem, Shin, your adorable little sister would love that."
Shin let out a smile, his chest feeling warm.
In the first place, he decided to win the tournament for his little sister.
He didn't expect any benefits for him in winning.
All he wanted was to make Aspen happy.
Roaming around to find a weapon, Shin noticed a peculiar sword, as if it was calling out to him.
Slowly he approached it and picked it up.
It was a Katana, it's dark steel showing cracks from most likely heavy usage.Despite that, the blade was sharp, the handle was wrapped in black leather.
Souzen was confused at Shin's peculiar choice.
"Yamato? From what I know, that was the First Patriarch's sword when he had just started
breaking through the Ascension ranks."
What a coincidence.
"I think I'll take this."
"Are you sure? It looks kind of…"
Broken.
But it wasn't broken of course, the blade just showed signs of age.
Fuuu!
T esting it for a swing, Shin nodded.
"It's a good sword. It's light, and it would probably fit me more once I turn twelve."
Noctis suddenly chimed in, but only Shin could hear him.
[Yamato huh, I haven't seen that in a long time.]
'Was this really my first sword back then?'[Yeah, if I remember correctly. You picked it up in the black market for a cheap price.]
'The Black Market… and for cheap? What was I thinking…'
Snapping him out of the mental conversation, Souzen spoke up.
"Shin?"
"Ah, sorry Lord Nouzen. Yes, I'll take this."
"Hmm… I guess that's fine."