5 Seeds of Sorrow

As the current patriarch of the Knox family, Osmond Knox would seldom stay at one place for a long time. There were too many responsibilities he had to fulfill, and too many things that needed to be looked after.

On this day, however, he could be found staying in a single room from dusk to dawn. Today, a smile was plastered on his old face as he gazed gently on the sleeping child in the crib. He regretted that he was a little late, having missed the child breaking her shell.

In public, he was called 'King Osmond'. It was only a title with no real meaning behind it anymore, just like the leaders of the other ancient families. On this day, however, he truly felt like a king.

"I have finally been able to do justice to my descendants, Desmond… we finally have a child born from a spirit egg… It's a pity that neither Nadina nor Rachel's sons could have the same luck… well, their misfortune is my fault, we couldn't even afford little Eve's egg if not for her aunt…"

Desmond felt distressed looking at his father worry like this even on a happy day. He knew a certain someone must have spouted nonsense in front of him, or this thought shouldn't have come to his mind, not today. "Don't blame yourself so much, father… Although our little Evelyn received a great gift from both the family and her aunt, all the other children of our family are doing well for themselves, are they not? Both Tristan and Oliver are set to go to the prestigious ancient academy in the future. Even if our family declines, their future will remain quite bright."

The old man seemed to breathe a little more at ease after hearing his son's words. "You're right… All our descendants shall have a bright future… I shall not have it any other way as long as there is still some strength in these old bones!"

While the father and son were in a good mood, the atmosphere in the first Lord's mansion was gloomy like a graveyard.

The first lady of the Knox family, the eldest daughter-in-law of King Osmond, was currently wailing in the arms of her husband. "Why…? Why could our Tristan, as the eldest descendant of his generation, the firstborn of King Osmond's oldest son, not have what she has? How is this fair?!"

George sighed helplessly as he patted her back. "Stay calm, Nadina, you know the Knox family has a lot of expenses to manage. Our business is declining, most of our ancestral property is already gone…"

Neither of them seemed to notice the little eyes watching them from the crack in the door with distress.

"No! You don't know anything George! Everyone says all the ancient families are declining, but tell me which of them doesn't have a single spirit baby?! None! Only our Knox family didn't have one, and I comforted myself, I convinced myself, that we just couldn't afford it, maybe…"

George looked distressed as he saw his wife choke back tears. "Nadina…"

"No, George… let me speak… You remember what your father said at that time, right? Then tell me, George, tell me… how is it that two, nearly three years after that, when our family has declined even further, that pretentious little bitch Isabella can have her daughter be born from such an expensive looking spirit egg?! Are you dumb?! Isn't it clear enough that old bastard Osmond is favouring your little brother?!"

George slammed his fist on the armrest, making a resounding boom. His eyes were already red from rage. "Nadina!"

"Keep pretending, George, keep pretending! Don't come crying to me when your beloved little brother steps on your face as the next patriarch of the Knox family!"

It was as if someone lit a fire in his chest, and George found himself having difficulty breathing properly. He loved his wife dearly, she was his everything in the world. But that didn't mean he could hear her insult his father and brother. "You're out of your mind, Nadina, don't keep talking nonsense anymore! Father has always been just and fair… He is proud so he doesn't want to expose his weaknesses to us, but that doesn't mean you can spout shit from your mouth! As a daughter-in-law, can't you show a little more respect?!"

Nadina's cries grew louder instead of calming down, and George's temples throbbed in pain as he too tried to keep his temper in check and calm his breathing down.

"Alright, since you can't be convinced, I'll tell you. I've heard that Isabella's sister financed a considerable sum–"

A burst of hysterical laughter from Nadina cut off his words, and George clenched his jaw in anger.

"That slut Bree? Do you think she can afford it?"

With his breathing heavy, eyes red, and jaws clenched, George looked like a beast as he pushed his wife away with a roar. Despite his almost beastly rage at the moment, in front of his wife, he truly felt impotent today. "Heh, even if you're dumb as a door, you couldn't have already forgotten that the Devaughn family used to be one of the great ancient families as well? You tell me, can they not afford it?"

Nadina's earlier distress seemed to be completely gone, a condescending smile pasted on her lips, but the trembling rage concealed in her voice was still clear as day. "The dead Devaughn family? Aside from that dumb slut Bree and pretentious bitch Isabella, who else is left? I doubt if that dumb slut can even afford to live on her own without whoring herself out, let alone afford to–"

Her words were cut off with a loud smack, and little Tristan bolted away in fear with tears streaming down his face, no longer daring to stay outside the door anymore.

Far away from the Knox family, across the endless ocean, a lady of peerless beauty, a goddess in her own right, gazed sharply at the pink moon in the sky.

With long cerulean blue hair weaving down to her knees, a single ultramarine pearl earring on her left ear, and a forlorn look in her azure eyes, she could easily be mistaken for a goddess of the ocean. Standing in the uppermost balcony of the Bluemoon Palace, the stronghold of the Fairfax family, she was none other than Gwendolyn Fairfax, one of the undisputed supreme beings of the planet, and the leader of the 'New World'.

To the untrained eye, the three moons tonight were not any different from yesterday night. However, Gwendolyn had been staring at them every night since before the ancient families of the old world even existed, and she could tell that the glow of the pink moon was… different.

"Did you notice it, Bonnie?"

Bonnie Fairfax, the most promising descendant she had so far, shook her head in confusion. Her paleblue ponytail flicking left and right to make sure the great amount of confusion was properly conveyed. It almost destroyed the mood. "It looks the same to me?"

Gwendolyn sighed in disappointment and moved away from the balcony to recline comfortably in her chamber. Whenever she talked to this descendant of hers, she felt like beating someone up.

"Bonnie, you know, when I was born, the blue moon wasn't bright like this. In fact, it was quite dull, not much different from the pink moon you are now used to… But as I grew up, it became brighter and brighter, and the radiance you see now has been constant since I reached my peak strength…"

The little girl shuddered because she knew this was something perhaps very few people in the world knew. Her ancestor was one of the strongest beings on the planet, she knew, but exactly how strong? She had no idea.

"I remember when the white moon too, was dull, like a rotten egg… then that fellow, Ur—ah, I suppose he calls himself Shinra now, right? He grew like a parasite, a weed upon this world, and now this repugnant yellow thing, the so-called white moon seems to forget its place every passing day."

Bonnie's heart threatened to beat right out of her ribcage, because if anyone else had heard her ancestor's words, would Shinra, the so called one true God, remain silent? Moreover, if the moons represented the two of them and their strength, then perhaps Shinra was even stronger than her ancestor by now. Why hadn't she just killed him, when she knew he was growing stronger? Isn't it just right to crush a bug if it was bothering you?

Perhaps the way the two of them thought was just too different, because in her place Bonnie would never allow someone she disliked to grow to a point they could threaten her. But Bonnie didn't say anything. Last time she interrupted her ancestor while she was monologuing, Gwendolyn had stared at her in silence for almost three hours. It was pure torture for someone hyper active like her.

"The pink moon's glow is still gentle… perhaps because the one it has chosen is still young… Bonnie, perhaps one day you will meet them. Maybe you will be friends, even. Be kinder to your peers, Bonnie. Now go, go rest so you can continue to grow. Make me proud. And perhaps when you meet them, the two of you can be good friends and support each other, unlike…"

Gwendolyn paused abruptly as her face went blank, and then she waved her hand, causing Bonnie to leave in a panic.

After Bonnie left, Gwendolyn finally allowed tears to fall from her eyes. If Bonnie saw her right now, her worldview would definitely collapse. In their mind, their ancestor did not seem to care much about anything. How could she possibly be bothered enough by anything to make her cry?

Gwendolyn hoped that Bonnie did not repeat the mistakes from her past. Her brother's talent was nowhere near Gwen's, but he had been a better judge of people since the start. Although he had long since perished, it was his descendants that called her ancestor and made the Fairfax clan prosper.

When she saw Bonnie's potential, Gwendolyn had not hesitated to give out blessings all over the world. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the ability of Bonnie's generation to realize their potential, and even their potential itself, had been boosted by Gwendolyn by hundreds of times.

"I thought I would give Bonnie some competition, but it's possible I could have created a lot of trouble for her future successor… did I make a mistake?"

The Lotus Seat – the chosen of the third moon, was finally making an appearance. It's not wrong to say that Gwendolyn's heart was stirred, as for what the specific feeling was that stirred within her, even she did not know. It had been too long since something of significance had changed in her life. Moreover, this change was tied to one of her greatest regrets in life.

"I wonder if she realized it was me who killed her… I wonder… how she felt at that time… I wonder…"