After listening to Imperial Doula Miriam's tale of the history of the Mortal Planes, Ryu put the thought of ever reconciling with his family to the back of his mind. If they could treat him like this for the sake of a history so old it was practically more legend than reality, then he had no interest in ever treating them family.
In truth, Ryu knew that his ostracization was related to his appearance, but he had always framed it in a fashion that placed the blame on his shoulders. Maybe he had a disease that wouldn't allow him to live for long, so despite his talent, it didn't make sense for him to become King. Or, maybe his mother had fallen in love with some unknown man who passed on the genes to give him this appearance. The Imperial Censors would have likely hidden the truth for the sake of saving the King's face. Although that also wouldn't be his fault, at the very least he could understand the concept of a child bearing the sins of his parents. But this? This reason was unacceptable to him.
To bear the sins of not his own mother or father, but the sins of disgusting, vile human beings of an era long past? How could you subject a child to such a thing? For the sake of your Kingdom? What was a Kingdom worth if it was built upon a foundation of foolishness?
Ryu channeled all of his frustrations into deepening his Mental Realm. Every bit of emotion and rage suddenly became a rushing fall of energy that fueled his training. Even without truly understanding what he was doing all of this for, he still found himself wholly willing to give his everything, if for nothing else but to forget his own cruel life.
Over the next two years, although Ryu was nothing compared to cultivators, he had diligently trained himself to a top percentile of mortals his age. In addition, as his thirteenth birthday approached, his frame began to fill out as well. He stood at just over 1.85 meters tall. His back and shoulders had widened, and his legs had a slender, but explosive strength to them.
By now, he could consistently run a mile in under four minutes, something that should have been impossible for a normal mortal who hadn't reached full maturity. It was clear that his disposition for cultivation was shining through even without his meridians being awakened. However, aside from physical feats much like this one, Ryu was more enamoured with his ability to conquer mental barriers. Accomplishments related to how long he could hold his breath, go without sleep, or meditate in total stillness were still matters he placed above all else.
During this time, by his side, Imperial Doula Miriam remained his ever-caring helper. It was her who reminded him of the importance of rest, and it was also her who diligently planned his meals. The Palace chefs raised eyebrows when the Fourth Prince, who had always eaten so little, had suddenly become akin to a ravenous beast. They even thought that the old Doula was hording food until it was confirmed that the Fourth Prince truly did eat it all.
Although his family was terrible to him, it luckily wasn't to the point of starving him. The King didn't care for such small matters related to the Palace food budget, nor did the Imperial Censors dare to step over their bounds any more than they already had. They could already feel that King Tor was losing patience with them more and more by the day. It was clear that while they thought they were being clever in their slow power grab, the King saw right through them.
Just like this, Little Ryu continued a lifestyle that would have been monotonous to anyone else. However, it was his escape.
As the days passed, his dreams became clearer. The once vague faces became etched in reality, while the names he hadn't been able to label before were now all he could refer to them as.
Subconsciously, he began to detach himself from reality. He could no longer see King Tor and Third Concubine Leilani as his parents. Their, albeit small, places in his heart were replaced by a valiant red-headed man and a gentle white-haired beauty.
During dark nights when Imperial Doula Miriam would come to check on him, her old heart would break when she heard him mumbling 'mother' and 'father' in his sleep. Still, she could do nothing for him but tuck him in a little tighter and stroke his hair.
On the day Little Ryu learned the name of the pink-haired beauty, he smiled the first genuine smile of his pitiful life. He almost berated himself. How could he forget her name? The name of the woman he loved most in the world.
It wasn't until after Ryu had that thought that he blinked himself back into reality and chuckled bitterly. He had almost thought that that dream was his real life for a moment. How could such a perfect woman fall for him? He was a mess.
Another year passed and Ryu approached his fourteenth birthday. Like they did every year, he expected his elder sisters to visit for that day, but this didn't liven his mood. For the past two months, he had reached an insurmountable bottleneck. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't improve any of his personal bests. It was as though he had reached the limits of his mortal body.
But, he felt like this was nonsense. Although he didn't know what skeletal grade he was born with, he was certain that it was at least of the Black Grade. This essentially meant that even without cultivation, his body should be able to withstand far more than a normal mortal. So, why were his so-called 'personal bests' still within the normal limits of reason?
What Little Ryu didn't know was that it was impossible to improve his Mental Realm any further with his current mind state. How could a person more invested in a fake reality than his own be considered of strong mind? Ryu wanted to deepen his Mental Realm to delve further into the dream, but it was exactly for this reason that he was weak. Although his approach had worked for some time, there was no further path to be followed along it…
**
Like this, Ryu's fourteenth birthday approached. He sunk into a helpless void he was unable to climb out of. Even in continuing his daily training, he found little to no joy in it. It was as though he was an addict who could no longer deepen his high.
"Elena…" He mumbled in his sleep, tossing and turning.
"Little Ryu!" Suddenly, a warm, aged hand shook Ryu awake, startling him. He knew that the old Doula came to check on him sometimes, but she had never gone out of her way to awaken him. "Quickly, get dressed.. Today is the day we leave this place."