Klea’s idea of celebration was quickly supported by the one and only Thrax.
“Yes! Party!!” He said in excitement.
However, those words earned a slight frown from the Roman as he said. “I’m really sorry, guys… I’m afraid I can’t. There are only seven days until the day of the tournament and I need to recover.”
Hearing such words, Emery understood that despite the fact that the Headmaster had checked and took care of his condition, there was still something going on with the Roman’s health.
“Let’s gather at Terra Palace instead. I’m sure Elder Fuxi will like to hear about our mission.” Julian suggested.
Since he hadn’t had a chance to meet the Eastern Sage for at least four months now, Emery of course supported the idea.
Klea was seen having a small frown, but her expression soon returned to her usual cheerful look.
With that, the matter was decided and the group made their way to the portal to the Terra Planet.
Unfortunately, without the mighty Lord of Terra Castle present, the place was not as festive as expected.
Magus Silica, one of Lord Izta’s wives, hosted a sumptuous dinner for the group in celebration of their success. Grand Magus Fuxi and Naya, who were considered guests, also joined the dinner.
It wasn’t the wild and fun type of celebration Klea or Thrax had expected, but it was still a pleasant one. The atmosphere throughout the feast was cordial and relaxed, with family and friends filling in at the dinner table.
As they enjoyed the feast on the table in front of them, the group discussed what had happened in the mission for the Grand Magus Fuxi and the others to hear.
Magus Silica congratulated their success and applauded their actions, the Sage however unexpectedly remained silent which swiftly incited Emery’s curiosity.
“What do you think, Senior? Are the Nexus faction making the right decision?”
The difficult dilemma the Nexus faction faced, choosing between freedom and advancement, was once again brought to the ongoing discussion. Everyone’s eyes turned toward the Sage as they waited for the latter’s answer.
“It’s not our place to judge their decision; my opinion, however…”
The Sage was silent for a second, the expression on his face said that he seemed to be reminiscing about the past.
“I personally think that the progress of civilization cannot be forced, and under ideal circumstances, such progress should be in line with the maturity of the society and its people.”
While the others found the words the Sage spoke difficult to grasp, Julian seemed overly interested in the former’s opinion.
“Senior, when you say maturity, do you mean knowledge? Or power?”
Thanks to Julian’s question that pierced straight into the core of the matter, Emery understood what the Roman was curious about.
The Nexus faction was a civilization that received their middle realm status through advanced knowledge and technology, and if they had more powerful figures or a Grand Magus realm – which was something an orthodox faction normally had, they wouldn’t have been forced to choose the option of submitting to the Royal Imperium faction.
It seemed that in order to sustain an advanced civilization, a balance of both aspects; knowledge, and power were extremely crucial.
However, the response the Sage gave was somewhat unexpected. Nodding his head, he said, “Both are of course needed, but they alone are still not enough…”
A confused yet intrigued look appeared on Julian’s face as he asked, “What else other than knowledge and power?”
The Sage looked at all five and was silent for a while before finally saying his answer in a calm tone.
“Wisdom.”
This answer, however, only served to bring more questions to the others.
Wisdom is, after all, a difficult word.
To explain his thought, the Eastern Sage reminisces on the history of the Xia Empire that he created hundreds of years ago. A Sovereignty that had almost succeeded in taking over the world.
Emery and the others of course had heard the story from the Abbot, of how Kronos’ interference caused the five brothers to fight amongst each other and lead to a civil war.
But this time, when they heard the same story from the Sage, they were all surprised as the latter apparently had another reason for his failure.
“Of course, there’s no denying that the Kronos faction is responsible for the incident. But if at that time your five seniors possessed better wisdom, they would not have allowed themselves to be pitted against one another.”
The grand magus heaved a sigh and said.
“If at that time the people had the wisdom to not blindly follow the false gods, the civil war would not have occurred.”
He then continue further explain his thought,
p “In the case with the Nexus, they had the technology but did not have the patience, they lack the wisdom. Although difficult, the barren planet would not be a problem in times with their replicator and solar energy, but they choose instant results”
Hearing from Emery that the Replicator technology was also a treasure from ancient beings, and not actually their own invention further proves the grand magus theory.
Klea then asked, “How can we gain wisdom?”
The Sage smiled and said, “The simplest, by learning from past mistakes”
He then looked toward each one of the five and added “Now that you have learned about what happened to your senior, do you think you will follow and repeat the mistakes they made?”
There was silence within the group, but as they looked at each other’s faces, a smile of relief showed from them all.
Julian stood from his seat. Raising the wine glass in his hand, he said, “The mission we just did was proof of how much we can achieve if we stay as one.” Julian looked at the others and said “You are all my brothers, there is no one that I trusted more!”
“Well said!” shouted Thrax as he grabbed Julian’s shoulder next to him. “You may be a stinky Roman, but you are still my stinky brother! all of you are my brother!”
Saying those words, the Thracian noticed Klea smiling with her eyes squinted at him.
“Erhm… and sister!”
Chumo stood up following the two boys with much spiritedness than usual he raised his glass and shouted.
“To us!! May our bond last forever!”
The sudden serious words from Chumo brought a smile and chuckle to the group.
Emery can’t help to be moved by the situation as he looked at his friends and the bond of friendship they had forged. He stood up, raised his glass, and decide to follow
“May our bond last forever!”
The Sage, watched the five youth toast together with a melancholic smile. As he prayed with a sincere wish in his heart.
‘I hope that your path will always stay true.’