[A/N–> Today I want to thank everyone for supporting the novel with all your heart. I know my Author Notes are a little bit annoying, but I hope you can bear with it. Thank you very much for your support. I hope you enjoy this very ‘short’ chapter as much as I do :D]
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No matter how Tiara looked at Michael, she could tell that he was going through a tough phase. Maybe he was even at the lowest point in his life at this moment.
He had lost too much weight within a few weeks, and he seemed dispirited even though he had obtained a Legendary Ring Artifact. Both the ring and the keychain casket felt weird to Tiara even though the ring was the only object radiating some energy.
‘Concealed energy?’ Tiara wondered, staring at the keychain for a while.
She stood hugging Michael for several minutes, not wanting to let go of him even after he told her that it was enough. Tiara knew that Michael could order her to let go of him and step back, but he never did that. His resistance was weak, if she could even call it as such, in the first place.
Tiara felt that Michael’s resistance crumbled slowly. He gave in to her warm hug and reciprocated it after a while. Fat drops of tears trickled down his cheek as he began to cry quietly.
Michael didn’t want to look weak and vulnerable in front of his subordinates, but Danny’s death had left him completely shaken. He felt as if he had been abandoned all over again and this time he had nobody to lean on. His mind was a mess, just like his heart.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Tiara asked gently after Michael loosened his grip around her.
Michael stepped back and was just about to shake his head when his eyes made contact with Tiara. He noticed her staring intently at him. There was no ridicule, or prejudice in her eyes.
Even if Michael didn’t want to acknowledge it, his condition was bad. He was not physically injured anymore, but it was a fact that he had hardly eaten or drunk anything in the last two weeks. He didn’t do any workouts either, and stayed in the infirmary without moving from his bed, thinking about his brother all day and staring into nothingness.
He kept cursing himself over and over that everything was his fault, and that he was stupid for not recognizing his brother. Michael started to hate himself for his stupidity, and his uncontrollable greed, which had caused Danny’s final death at last.
Tiara had only observed him from a distance before but now she was getting genuinely worried about him. After mustering a lot of courage, she slowly pulled him into an embrace, hoping that he could open his heart to talk about his pain.
What she didn’t know was that Michael had learned to be independent from a young age. Before his family broke apart, he had been just a regular kid living an ordinary life. He never hesitated to speak his mind when he was young. But everything changed when reality struck him hard.
His sister disappeared, and their parents left too, leaving him with only Danny to talk to. However, Michael didn’t want to bother his brother because Daniel had always been busy being the responsible elder brother. Michael knew that his brother wanted to take care of him and ensure that his future was bright. Thus, Michael would always hold back and keep silent whenever something bothered him.
That was also why Michael never bothered to tell Daniel about the classmates, who bullied him in the prestigious elite school in the Golden Sun province. He didn’t want to worry Daniel. Thus, he never caused trouble and endured everything silently.
Despite being an independent young man, who didn’t share his biggest troubles openly, Michael felt that he had to tell Tiara about his situation. Tiara had been by his side since he manifested his War Rune. She didn’t feel like his subject or a subordinate. Her origin was not ordinary at all, and she had great social skills.
She empathized with Michael and could help him overcome the most torturous phase of his life after losing a beloved one. At least, that was what Michael felt as he stared deep into her eyes.
For the first time in forever, Michael opened his heart to someone else than his family. Even if it was just a small gap leading to his innermost feelings, all that mattered was that Michael began to trust someone else enough to show that he was also a human, a being full of emotions…someone, who could get hurt as well.
He was not an emotionless robot, nor an invulnerable Immortal. Michael was just an ordinary young man.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye, but Michael had yet to stop talking. He ended up telling Tiara about his situation – starting with the fact that Michael and Daniel had to take care of each other, and grew up all alone. They only had each other to lean on.
Michael told Tiara in detail about their hardships, what they had to go through, and how life had been on Elyra – their home planet. He recalled numerous events that caused him to sigh deeply, frown, and curse other people, but there were also more than enough good memories.
The good memories in Michael’s life were mostly together with his brother. Recalling these days caused a faint smile on Michael’s lips to blossom. He chuckled faintly every now and then when the most ridiculous memories resurfaced.
Michael’s mood dampened soon after, creating a heavy atmosphere in the room he and Tiara had chosen to talk with each other. Nonetheless, Michael continued to talk about his past. After he started talking, the young Lord was an unstoppable force.
The pain in his heart didn’t lessen, but Michael found solace in emptying his heart about everything that had happened, and that he didn’t even realize Masked Saber was Danny. Michael cried a few more times, which Tiara took as a sign to hug him tightly once again.
Even though he was embarrassed to cry his heart out, Michael could tell that it lessened the burden on his heart. He was still in pain and grieving, but it was also quite obvious that Daniel would hate him if he was to give up now.
Recalling his time with Daniel gave Michael the push he needed to regain his will to stay alive. Michael was still in low spirits. That would last for a while. However, talking to Tiara was enough to rekindle his hunger and thirst.
Michael began to eat and drink once again.
When Tiara saw Michael eating and drinking she felt relieved as well. Listening to Michael’s story made her recall her own family and her race, causing a pang of sadness in her heart.
“I hope they’re all doing fine. I miss all of you,” She mumbled, realizing something only after the words escaped her lips.
Before today, Tiara hadn’t been allowed to talk about her family and race. Even her thoughts about the Silverfang Tigerfolk had been strictly restricted. Everytime she tried to recall details about them, she was slapped with a light headache that grew intense the more she tried to recollect. All she could think and talk about was the training she had received, and that she was a member of the Silverfang Tigerfolk.
But now that she could think about her family, friends, and her race, Tiara thought that the restrictions had been lifted.
Alas, they hadn’t been lifted. It was just that the restriction wasn’t as strict as before.
Being able to think and talk about her family after so long warmed her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she instinctively looked over to Michael.
“Do you want to hear a little bit about my past? I am not sure if it will make you feel better to exchange my story with yours, but I can reassure you that my story is, at least, as painful as yours,” Tiara said, trying to make a light joke to ease the situation.
However, Michael could only stare at Tiara expressionlessly. He had always been interested in the Silverfang Tigerfolk’s history, and Tiara’s past, but hearing that it was painful was enough reason to hesitate.
If he was already in that much pain talking about his past events with Danny after he died, how would Tiara feel?
“Don’t think too much about it. I know you’re interested,” Tiara said lightly before she added, “Painful memories will always stay the same. Time will never heal these wounds completely. You will always be left with deep scars that will affect you all your life.”
Michael could only nod hearing what Tiara said.
“All time does is help you cope with the pain, and how to learn to live with that,” He added quietly.
His words gained Tiara’s approval.
“Since you’re interested in the story, let me tell you about it,” Tiara said, done with waiting.
“It all began long before I was born. The Great War of the Beastfolks rampaged through the Plekur solar system… centuries of war caused nothing but massacres and bloodshed all over the solar system, but nobody was able to gain the upper hand. By the time centuries of hatred passed, nobody could clearly remember how it all started. All the Beastfolks knew was that their enemies had killed their families, friends, and beloved. The Beastfolks wanted to take revenge for the deaths of their beloved ones, yet their participation in the Great War caused only more deaths. The beloved of the dead continued to loathe their enemies – even though they only desired revenge as well,” Tiara spoke slowly and without break.
It was almost as if Tiara’s recitation was not related to her own race, and as if she copied the text from a history book. However, the dark glint in her eyes showed Michael that the real story was just about to begin.
“I was born in this unreasonable war. Taught by the head of the Silverfang Tigerfolk, I quickly realized that my people didn’t desire to participate in the war actively. We were the strongest and tenacious, posing a threat to everyone else, but we stopped participating in the Great War a long time ago. Unfortunately, that was something our enemies didn’t seem to realize. Our enemies hated that the Silverfang Tigerfolk had an entire planet to themselves and were the sovereign rulers of nature and monsters.”
“They traveled to us even though they could have continued their mindless massacre on the other inhabitable planets of the Plekur solar system, just to destroy our crops and everything we had built over the course of centuries,” She voiced out in spite.
“Of course, we had to protect ourselves. We fought to protect our home and killed those who came with ill intentions. To our misery, our home was big, full of nutritious earth to farm, and mountains with rich resources to plunder. Many Beastfolks desired our home – probably all of them. After all, nobody other than us was able to become the ruler of an entire planet in the Plekur solar system. They used the Great War and the fact that we killed in order to protect ourselves as an excuse to attack us with all their might. Their forces joined, even the strongest Silverfang was unable to protect the old, ill, and the young. In merely one decade, the Silverfang Warriors were either killed or crippled, unable to ever pick up a weapon for the rest of their lives, and the old, ill, and the young were exiled… But there was no place for us to go.”
“When we were exiled, I was only 15 years old. I was filled with hatred and anger after seeing my family getting beheaded in front of everyone as an example to show the Silverfang what would happen if they ever tried to reclaim their home,” She said, the hatred and sadness in her eyes showing clearly that she had not yet forgotten her harrowing past.
She grit her teeth and clenched her fists tightly recalling the most painful memories in her life. Michael could only guess how she felt. He was unsure if he would be like her in the future as well. He lost his brother right in front of him, but he had nobody to take revenge on. It was impossible to re-enter the Lord Rift, seek the Red Dragon and break its neck, and butcher it to avenge his brother.𝑛𝑶𝚟𝓮𝓵𝐍𝖊xt.𝗇𝓔t
Michael wasn’t given the opportunity to seek revenge, but that was not what he wanted, in the first place. The Red Dragon was not the problem. The problem was that Michael didn’t know how Daniel died in the Origin Expanse. Michael could only guess that he died somewhere in the Sacred Desert during his raid on the Primedival Pyramid. However, he didn’t have any detailed information.
That was one of the things that frustrated him the most; the uncertainty.
Losing Danny left a big hole in Michael’s heart, a gap that could never be filled again.
However, Tiara’s situation was different. She lost her family and most of her race. She and the exiled survivors had to suffer, while her enemies were still alive, and enjoying the benefits of claiming a new habitable planet for them to use.
Michael was not sure how that must feel. He could only imagine that it must be torturous, similar to how Michael was feeling right now.
“I understand…” He said, unsure what else to respond.
But there was something that confused him. If her people had been exiled when she was 15 years old, how did she end up in the Origin Expanse, and what happened to her people?
“That might be a little inconsiderate to ask after you told me your painful story, but there are a few things I don’t understand,” Michael said, the glint in his eyes showing that he was truly curious about something for the first time since his brother died.
Tiara was actually hoping that this would happen. She didn’t reveal a short summary of her story to be pitied or anything like that. No, all Tiara desired was to re-awaken Michael’s curiosity about the Origin Expanse, and the vast expanse of the Universe.
“What happened to you after you and your people were exiled, and how did you end up as a personal maid in the Origin Expanse then? You had a Tier-1 War Rune when we first met, which is definitely not something a personal maid ought to possess. You are the first personal maid with a War Rune. At least, I don’t know anyone else with an Awakened as their personal maid,” He asked in curiosity.
His eyes shimmered like tiny stars, and his entire attention was on Tiara as he waited patiently for her to answer.
“Both questions have the same answer,” Tiara started slowly, “It might sound complex but it’s pretty simple. All Awakened collect achievements during their life. These achievements are one of the factors used by the Will of the Origin Expanse to determine your star rating as a Summon. But that is not the only way to use achievements. In fact, achievements are similar to currencies. They can be used and exchanged.”
As Tiara spoke, Michael inevitably thought about the Lord Rift and the loot box he obtained for the contribution he made to the Lord Rift. He imagined the contribution to be similar to the achievements Tiara talked about.
“Either way, Races collect achievements as well, and by using up all achievements collected by all Awakened of the Silverfang Tigerfolk we were able to make a deal with the Will, and find asylum inside the Origin Expanse – even though some of the Old Silverfangs never manifested a War Rune, while other Silverfangs like me were too young to have had the chance to manifest our War Runes.” She explained with a faint smile on her lips.
“As long as we want to enjoy the benefits of the asylum, we have to fulfill the conditions of the Origin Expanse’s Will,” Tiara added, providing Michael with enough information to gain a rough understanding of the situation.
“The Will then called you, and you paid heed to its call, becoming my personal maid in the Untamed Jungle,” Michael completed.
Tiara reaffirmed this with a nod.
“Whether that was fate or a coincidence is unknown,” Michael mumbled quietly to himself, but Tiara shook her head.
“It’s fate. It has always been,” She said, just to quietly add, “At least, that’s what I believe.”