Path Of humanity

A stormy night, thunder was howling in the sky and lightning struck once in a while lighting up the dim light of the dark night. Rain was pouring like a waterfall from the sky which was probably the reason why the streets were empty and not a soul could be seen outside wandering around.

Silence dominated, the only sound that could be heard besides the clashing of water drops against the ground was cries of babies! Yes! Babies! One would wonder how is it possible that in such a weather a person would be out and especially with his baby.

The reality was even crueller than it sounded, the crying was coming out of three babies, not just one! They were left under a tree left all alone in these horrible circumstances and most likely to die, however, their fate was not to.

A fifty-something-year-old man, walking very slowly one hand holding cane to help him steady himself while the other had an umbrella shielding him from the rain. His eyes were lifeless as dim as the night, no emotions could be seen. He could only be described as a dead man if not for his moving body and beating heart.

" Eh! What is this?" He looked as if he sobered up and looked around but saw nothing.

" Am I really getting that senile that I'm hearing .." He didn't finish when his once dim eyes turned sharp and turned to his left.

" Mm! Definitely, cries of an infant!" He assured himself of what he heard and headed towards the tree slowly but faster than before. When he reached it, he was surprised, not because there were three infants instead of one but because of how they looked.

As small babies, they were very cute, but what astonished him was that their cries were accompanied with a strange smile on their faces. They looked as if they had no worries in this world.

"Ah! I lived for a very long time, killed many that I can no longer count but two rules I've never broken, killing a pregnant woman or an infant. Whoever is cruel enough to let you die like this, I will not let him succeed. Consider it a good deed to atone for my sins at the end of my life."

The old man gazed at their eyes that were closing then opening form waterdrops sliding from their foreheads down to their eyes. A smile unknowingly came to his face as he dropped his cane and slowly bent down and picked up the cradle holding the three with one hand steadily. Even though he had aged, some of his strength remained.

" I'll look for a good family for you and leave you some money for when you grow up! Consider a meeting and parting gift."

He held them closer to his chest and started walking once again. The three kids looked curiously towards this man and somehow stretched their hands trying to touch him making his callous and stone heart somewhat melt.

As such, their figure merged into the darkness while the night resumed its suppressing atmosphere, rain, thunder and lightning continued and even got somewhat harder than before as if agitated.

Three years later, on a big island, A huge yet simple mansion existed. It had no extraordinary decorations, big but very basic. Inside a library, there were three kids reading books and beside them, an old man who looked at them with gratification obvious from the smile that wouldn't leave his face.

He was exactly the old man, named Idris, who picked up the three infants. He had planned to provide them with a family and a normal life. However, Man plans but God disposes. At first, he took them in, went to the pharmacy to get milk. This small action was what changed everything when he saw their need of him, something inside him flared and then he just couldn't let go.

The change in routine changed his life and brought him much joy. He searched for ways to raise kids, how to care for them… etc Slowly his unfeeling heart transformed dramatically. Anything that would endanger the three would cause him to go into a frenzy which showed how much he cared about them.

The reason for this dramatic outcome was them calling him father, he had told them to call him grandpa but they refused. His eyes reddened and watered so he hid his tears and went away that day. he was an orphan, just like them, he never had a mother nor a father. The orphanage was more misfortune than a blessing. That one simple word invoked the feeling of family which he never felt in all of his life.

The decision he made was to train his three sons so that they would live free and without danger. This consisted of both knowledge and martial arts, with the combination of these two they could defend themselves from any kind of threat.

What he found out was that the three kids, Ethan, Bastian and Tyrian, the names he had given them, were prodigies. They learned how to read and write at the age of two! The topics they were reading about were getting more and more difficult yet they were still able to understand.

" Father, I want more books about biology and physics" Ethan, a silver-haired child with silver eyes, was so fond of understanding science and had a natural talent for it. He could already solve hard equations and delve further into it.

"Hehe! sure but what is so good about it?" Idris asked

" It's so good! we can understand how things function, the reason for any occurrence can be explained and especially the mysteries of the human body." Ethan answered excited.

" Ok! sure whatever you want " Idris shook his head laughing then looked at Bastian.

" I want more books about warfare and martial arts." Bastian, the brown-haired little boy with golden eyes liked war tactics, weapons and fighting instead.

" What is so good about it anyway?" Before Idris could reply, Ethan cut in with a somewhat disgruntled look.

" Knowledge without power to withhold it is not worth a cent" replied Bastian.

" Knowledge can beat power! Power comes from knowledge!" Replied back, Ethan.

" Be quiet! Both of you are correct. Power and knowledge are intertwined! One complements the other. One who has them both is unbeatable while one who only has one is merely a frog at the bottom of the well."

" In a brawl knowledge would be of little use if the other side has overwhelming power. So a scientist would be crushed by the opponent's fists! However, a prepared scientist would easily kill a very strong guy. Tell me why Ethan?"

" He can just poison him, lay a trap for him, there are other biological ways to easily defeat him like thousands of poisons and anaesthetics."

" True! Now imagine a scientist who's not prepared but sneak-attacked by a strong well-trained soldier. What can he do?"

"...." Ethan didn't answer because he knew the scientist would get no chance to fight back and would be crushed.

"Bastian, do you think knowledge is useless?"

" No! I just think that power is more important!"

" Wrong!"

" Why?"

" Imagine a very powerful man who can lift a car facing against a well trained elite soldier. Who would win?"

" The soldier" answered Bastian instantly

" Why?" asked Idris with a smile

" Because he can easily handle him from afar, and use other things to hit his vitals or knock him out if not kill him. He doesn't need a brawl to win."

" How could he win?"

" Because…. Because he has knowledge of the opponent's weaknesses"

" See, power comes from knowledge, but knowledge without power is useless. So one can't only rely on one and leave the other. They're both equally important. You two can help each other and you'll realize that you can reach further unimaginable heights working together" Idris said as Ethan and Bastian nodded. He turned to Tyrion and asked:

" What about you?"