26 - Resolve of Revenge and Lies

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Through the cold, white haze,

Limping as if in a daze...

Through the eerie, empty hallways,

The only path is...

-K.

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"Forward," Grisia uttered sternly. "Both of you, step forward."

They did as they were told and each of them now stood in front of Grisia's left and right side.

Grisia directed his question to Kairo, which he asked in a grave manner, "Are you still determined to have your revenge against those who attacked your village?"

Aisia's stare turned serious as she listened closely to their dialogue.

Kairo closed his eyes and felt his emotions bubbling up from deep within. Remembering that day— that night— it dispelled all the good feelings he accumulated since coming here.

A dark aura coated in a thin, sinister red slowly flowed from his body. Only Grisia could clearly see his ki.

It was leaking out again.

Although Aisia couldn't make it out, she felt it in her skin and smelled the change in the air as she stood quite close to Kairo. Grisia acknowledged this interaction between them and figured it would happen.

She was reminded of that deeply wrong vibe she felt from Kairo back when they first met. She was astonished by how he could suddenly flip from a kind-natured soul to a dangerous creature to be wary of.

"As expected, her instincts and supernatural sense of smell are impressive," Grisia thought to himself.

She unwittingly walked a couple of shaky steps away from Kairo.

Kairo started, "We were a peaceful village. We never once were in any conflict with the other villages around us and as far as I know, we lived in harmony with our surroundings," he said, taking in a deep breath to prevent his voice from shaking. "But suddenly, without as much as a single warning, my village was razed while my friends and I were away. When we returned, the... the attackers turned their attention to us. I still remember how my close friends looked as... as they died in front of me. After I cowardly escaped and left them, I..."

Kairo's eyes moistened as he stuttered. His lips pursed as his brows furrowed.

"... I went back to look for them. All that remained of my village were the charred remains of the buildings... and its inhabitants. My home, my neighbors, my parents, and even my dearest friends."

His fists tightened. Aisia noticed his nails fit the scars on his palm quite perfectly.

"I had to dig a grave for them," Kairo continued. "Nayani and Kayal. The three of us were around the same age, so we were roughly as big as each other. That meant that I had to dig out two graves around my size," Grisia stood quietly while Aisia had her hands over her gaping mouth.

She never really thought Kairo's situation through. She only knew that his home was no longer habitable from what she could understand in the quest briefing she asked about Grisia's whereabouts in the guild.

"It is only fitting since burying them was like burying a piece of myself."

Kairo wiped away any tears that weren't shed yet and looked intently at Grisia, finally answering his question. "If I don't avenge them... the spirits in my village will be forgotten, along with my fury. And that does not feel right."

His unstable expression gradually faded along with his ki as he continued.

"If... if I were to let go of this vindictiveness, I am afraid that when my rage escapes me, I will be left as an empty husk," Kairo looked hollow with his pained smile, the glint in his eyes was absent.

Aisia's lips trembled. She couldn't find the words to console him. She wanted to tell him that she was there for him, but alas, it felt like Kairo's burden was too heavy to share. She was afraid that if she offered her assistance, it would be an affront to Kairo to think that her burden was comparable to his, and that he would lash out at her and hate her. She was afraid that he would come to abandon her when she tried to reach out. She grasped her chest where her heart dwelled and it felt heavy and nauseating.

"I wanted our days together to last forever," she thought to herself. "Us laughing together, training together, spending time together... am I not worth letting go of your past?" just then, she realized the arrogance of her thoughts and their implications, so she shook her head and brushed off that sentiment.

"I have my own thoughts about the matter," Grisia replied. "But even if I disagreed, that alone will not satisfy you, I'm sure of it," Kairo nodded. "And stopping you in your state would be understandably antagonizing."

Kairo knew that Grisia's sound logic had never once failed him, on top of that, he respected and admired Grisia. And so, Kairo responded, "I know that what I'm doing is reckless. It's a textbook example of a revenge story going wrong. You're right, if you did try to stop me, it would cause things to turn sour. But until this fire in me flickers out, I will keep on burning with the intent to destroy."

Grisia closed his eyes, relieved to find that there was still some semblance of sense left in Kairo. If he was at least aware that what he was doing was unwise, then it's only a matter of letting him resolve his feelings before he had the chance to act upon his thirst for revenge.

At this rate, he believed that Kairo, as much as he sought revenge, had the capability to not make a stupid decision when faced with the dilemma between losing the current relationships that he had forged and losing his moment for revenge.

"With all that said, I am satisfied with this answer for now. I only pray that you live long enough to find that revenge is not the answer," hearing Grisia's response, Kairo looked down to his feet and nodded. "But, just as I've told you before, you don't need to apply my words right away. All you have to do is remember them and you can call upon them when the moment of need arises."

Grisia then turned to a fidgety Aisia.

"Don't you have something to say?"

It took her a while but she finally spoke, "I know that it sounds dumb when I say this, but we're partners in crime, right? So... let me assist you in ways that I can! I'll accompany you in your rampage!"

Kairo replied, "I know. I've already thought about it, that when I talk about this, you'll be pressured to share my burden just as I asked you to share yours."

"I'm not pressured! I want to help out my closest friend in his times of trouble..."

Kairo stepped closer to Aisia. He slowly reached his hand out to her, making her shut her eyes. Finally, she felt him place his hand on her soft, brown hair and ruffled it gently.

"You're right. I'll share my burden with you. Help me when the time comes, Aisia," he smiled as he felt the creases under his eyes.

Aisia was enthusiastic. Her fear didn't come true, her feelings were acknowledged, and she was treated as an equal. Although, to Grisia, the sight he saw was different.

As he saw Kairo's calculated smile, he recognized that only half of what he said was truthful. Grisia could see through Kairo's acting. It seemed that he did already think about revealing it to her and had predicted her actions, that was indeed true. The other half of it, making it look like he was letting Aisia share his burden to avoid being a hypocrite, that was an empty promise— a shallow justification. He didn't expect Kairo to let her on, or rather, he expected more from him not to.

Aisia was none the wiser. Grisia thought that she swallowed those lies gullibly like a dog finding shit on the ground and happily eating it up. His daughter was still quite naïve. But that's to be expected, she was still only barely a decade old.

It was Kairo who was scathingly prudent.

He felt that Kairo was too young to be harboring such hatred, even though it somehow did not feel truly deep in Grisia's eyes. He was forced to think and act like an adult too soon because of his trauma, but Grisia was not entirely sure about this. There were still some pieces that didn't fit. Kairo was unusually perceptive, especially when acting like a merchant or interacting with other people, though it was all unusual when his age was considered.

But for now, Kairo, for better or for worse, has grown.

As much as he pitied her daughter, Grisia understood Kairo's decision to deceive her into thinking that he was going to let her assist him in such a dangerous goal. Even if it was arguable if Kairo truly cared for Aisia, what was definite was that he cared enough to lie to her in order to protect her.

Even if it meant infantilizing her.

It also wouldn't fly by Grisia personally. Although Grisia would've allowed Aisia to assist Kairo to see how they would grow and act at the end of that path, he didn't want his daughter to be put in needless danger.

Grisia twitched. He realized he hadn't cared this much about someone else for so long. He tried searching in his memories when this change was brought about. It seemed like as he took Aisia under his wing, he also started to learn and grow from having her around.

In any case, he was now hesitating less on teaching「 Ki 」to Kairo.

"Well, I feel like it would be wise for us to continue this tomorrow. I'll finally teach you the secret power that can compete against chakra and magic."