Looking at a watery-eyed and sniffling Sol, the old man put on a serious expression as he asked.
“Brat, what’s your name?”
Sol slowly calmed down and his sniffles stopped. After finally raising his head he responded.
“Solovin Iziah Solaris.”
The old man raised an eyebrow before he commented.
“I’ll just return to calling you brat. So brat, do you know that where I come from, to show ‘sincerity’ while apologizing we bow from our waist at a ninety-degree angle? And to show ‘immense sincerity’ we kneel on our hands and knees.”
The old man rubbed the beard he had grown over the months as he said that, the serious look never leaving his face.
Just as he finished speaking, he saw Sol quickly get on his hands on his knees and apologized once more.
When the old man saw he had kowtow he couldn’t help but appreciate this boy even more.
He had specifically mentioned both ways to apologize to see which one Sol would choose, sure enough, he went directly for the most sincere.
After listening to Sol’s apology, the old man openly nodded and said.
“Good, good, good. Now while you’re down there you can complete the master-disciple ceremony by bowing three times then greet me as your master.”
The old man gave Sol a side-eyed glance as he said that. But even as he waited for a few seconds Sol continue to remain silent.
The old man seeing this didn’t have to see Sol’s face to know that he was wearing a hesitant expression.
“Damn brat! Are you still hesitating to become my disciple?!”
The old man immediately flipped out.
“Look here you brat..”
The old man harshly enunciated the word brat.
“…You should know the limits of your ability. Sure, if you trained on your own you’ll eventually be able to control that energy. But what I’m offering you is far more than that. I’m offering you the knowledge and an understanding of this world I can claim no one else has! Who else but me can develop that talent of yours?”
As the old man continued on his tirade, he started to get agitated and his speed of speech increased.
“Brat, do you know what they call me over on the Eastern Continent back when I was teaching? They call me the Great Teacher Cheonma! All those brats that I taught back in the day went on to become powerful people. Fuck, do you even know how many of them wanted to become my disciple and learn my secrets? Out of those people do you know how many of them are sons and daughters of powerful Clan Leaders on the Eastern Continent? But I rejected all of them!”
At this point, the old man was huffing and his face was extremely red.
“Brat, you don’t know how good you have it! Damn it, you really are Han Min’s son! That bastard was just as stubborn as you when I tried to ask him where he came from.”
All this while, Sol had been silently listening to this old man’s words, but when he heard his last sentence, his body visibly shook.
The old man then saw Sol suddenly look up and asked.
“Mister, do you… do you know where I came from?”
The old man hearing this question paused and looked at Sol. He saw something in his eyes, a sense of longing to understand who he was.
The old man snorted at this but then an idea formed in his head causing his face to light up. But he quickly hid it and said.
“So you know your origins don’t stem from the Ibbian Mountain Range.”
“My father never told me, but I’m old enough to see how different I was from everyone around me. I thought maybe I was from outside the barrier, but after what those outsiders did, I’m terrified to find out I’m a part of that.”
Sol glanced down at his hand with an unwanted expression on his face. It was as if he was looking at the blood coursing through his vain, blood that could make him one of those people who massacred his village.
The old man watched Sol for a moment then said.
“But yet you still want to know despite the terror you feel.”
Hearing this, Sol’s face turned serious and he responded.
“Father said that anything that terrifies me I should face it head-on. If I ever cower, I’m not his son.”
The old man snorted at that but still said.
“Those aren’t just words of wisdom, they’re words to live by. But unfortunately, your origins are not something I know of.”
Sol’s expression became downcast, and the bit of hope he had gained dwindled. But he suddenly perked up as the old man continued.
“However, I know this hunk of rock like the back of my hand, whether from reading ancient texts in lost tomes or from seeing it with my own eyes. And I can tell that both you and your father are not from this world.”
Sol became deeply confused upon hearing this.
The old man wasn’t surprised at his reaction.
“Brat, listening to me closely, this is information that most people don’t even consider, or rather, they believe it to be an impossibility. This world… is just one of many! And I’m not talking about the heavens and the afterlife. I’m talking about another world that has living beings in it like us. You and your father might have come from another world among the Cosmos.”
Sol felt his heartbeat quicken upon hearing this. It was far from anything he could have imagined to be real.
He wasn’t from this world? Then where was he from?
But as these questions were raised in his heart, Sol suddenly felt a deep sense of sadness wash over him.
‘If I’m not from this world, then would I ever be able to know where I come from?’
The old man was acutely observing Sol, and he could understand what he was feeling.
Smiling smugly the old man said.
“Didn’t I say I am offering you knowledge no one else can? I can tell you how to get off this hunk of rock and discover who you are!”
“How?”
Sol immediately asked, his heartbeat quickening once more.
Snort!
The old man suddenly snorted.
“You refuse to become my disciple but you want me to share such important information with you?”
Sol hesitated.
Seeing this, the old man sighed and waved his hand dismissively before he said.
“Fine, you don’t have to become my disciple to know this secret. I’ll tell you now.”
Sol immediately thanked the old man. However, the old man grinned from ear to ear and said with a glint in his eyes.
“Brat, don’t thank me yet, because the secret to leaving this hunk of rock is… strength! The type of strength that surpasses everyone! And it’s the strength that only I can give you as a Master!!”
After saying that, the old man then let out a loud boisterous laugh that echoed in the forest.
After some time he looked down at Sol and said while grinning.
“So brat, what are you going to do? Will you finally become my disciple?”
Sol remained silent for a while before he sighed. He then kowtow three times before he called out what sounded like celestial bells to the old man’s ears.
“I greet Master!”