CH 16: I'm Here for You

As I sat on the floor of my room, staring out of the now-collapsed wall in a daze, the door to my room flew open and two people ran in.

"What the hell happened?!" My father asked when he saw the collapsed wall.

My mother ran to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright, honey? What happened?"

I didn't respond immediately. "Oh, I must have accidentally used too much power. My bad."

Mother noticed my tone of voice. She grabbed my face and turned it towards her. "AH! Honey, what's wrong?!"

Tears were streaming down my face and my eyes were bloodshot.

My father stayed silent as he observed me.

"I'm fine Mom," I said without any emotion. "I'm just missing the Mortal Realm, that's all."

She hugged me tightly. "I'm sorry, Kaiser. I know it's hard. I'm here for you."

My arms hung lifelessly as she embraced me.

"Eileen," Father said.

"What is it, dear?"

"Go back to our room. I need to discuss something with our son."

Mother's eyes widened and she looked at Father with a questioning gaze. "Can't you see our son? He's having a hard ti–"

"Eileen."

Mother looked into his eyes and noticed he was serious. "O-Okay," She said, squeezing me in her embrace one last time. "I'm sorry, Kaiser. I'll talk to you later."

I didn't say anything as she left the room.

When it was just me and my father, my gaze returned back outside.

Father sighed and sat down next to me without saying anything.

We sat there like that for a while. Just looking outside at the estate as the maids hurried to prepare dinner among many other things.

"Kaiser."

My gaze remained fixed on the clouds outside.

"Kaiser."

Father shook my shoulder and I slowly turned my gaze to look at him.

"I don't know what happened. But, I want to tell you a story about me. Is that fine with you?"

He took my silence as confirmation and continued on.

"When I had first arrived here from the Mortal Realm, our country was at war. I got here in the same room as you did. But the only person that met me was a maid. She told me everyone in the family was participating in the war and wasn't home. So, I stayed here alone. As years passed by and the war continued, news came back that most of the Raijin family had died in battle. That's when I decided that I'd fight as well. I rushed to the nearest outpost to sign up and they gave me my armor and I ran to the first battlefield I could find. But when I got there, all I saw was carnage. The explosions rattled my eardrums and my comrades fell one by one. But when I finally got the chance to avenge them, I hesitated. And that hesitation cost the lives of many people. So, when I saw your eyes when I walked into the room, I was reminded of my own eyes back then. You don't need to tell me what happened but know that I'm here for you. You don't have to go through this alone. Your family here loves you very much."

More tears fell from my eyes and I sobbed. Father took me in his embrace and I cried into his shoulder.

We stayed like that for a long time. When I finally left his embrace, the sun had passed the horizon and night was approaching.

"Thank you, Father," I said, wiping my eyes.

"No problem, Son. How about we head to dinner and get something to eat?"

I nodded and we both got up. "I'd like that."

…

In the dining hall, the five of us sat together and ate in silence.

When Father and I walked in, Grandmother immediately could tell what was wrong and was glaring at Father the whole time.

I finished my dinner early. I wasn't hungry so I only ate to be polite. "Thank you for the meal," I said while getting up from my chair. "I'll be retiring for the night."

"You can use another room while your room is being fixed, Kaiser," Father said.

"Thank you. Goodnight everyone."

I bowed and left the hall.

All the women in the hall were staring at the man at the head of the table, looking for an explanation.

He sighed. "Kaiser is going through some things right now. Let's give him some space. Only interfere if he comes to you. Do you understand?"

The woman at the head of the table and the daughter both nodded. The white-haired woman only continued to glare at the man.

…

After Phiona and Eileen left the room, only Justine and Augustus were left.

"Why does my grandson have the eyes of someone who's taken a life?" The woman asked, barely masking her anger.

"I don't know. I don't want to admit it, but I barely know him. If anyone knows him, it's you, Mother."

"Hmph. Don't think I know him any better than you. He was as tight-lipped as possible during our training. But, one thing I'm sure of is that he's a completely different person than at that time. If before, his eyes were filled with cunning and amusement, now they are just filled with despair. Even this morning he was normal! How could it change in just twelve hours?"

Augustus frowned. "I don't know. But we have to support him until he gets better. His training will be suspended until he feels like he wants to take it back up. Are we in agreement?"

Justine scowled. "Why should I let him wallow in despair? Nothing good comes from leaving someone alone in that state."

"We don't know what will happen if we try pushing him any further. Just wait one week. Please, Mother."

She sighed. "One week. If he's not better in one week, I'm taking over."

"Thank you. Hopefully, Kaiser knows he can't be like that forever and comes to us of his own volition."

"Despair from being the cause of someone to lose their life isn't something easy to come back from. You should know this. I had to beat you half to death to bring you back."

The man chuckled awkwardly. "Please get better Kaiser. It's for your own safety."

…

I was staying in a guest bedroom adjacent to mine. The layout was similar but without the window behind the bed. On the bed, I was laying down staring at the ceiling.

[Master…]

"I know, Emy. Just give me some time to think."

'I killed him. I took his life with my own hands. Even if it was in the technique impartment zone. It doesn't matter, I took the life of another person. And it was someone I cared for.'

I remembered Hageshi's words to me as he died.

'I'm sorry for treating this like a game. I was ignorant. After reincarnating, I just couldn't get myself to think normally. This has been like a dream that I wasn't sure was real or not. I was naive. People live and die here just the same as on Earth. Treating this like a game is spitting in the faces of everyone who risks their lives to survive in this world.'

Eventually, drowsiness took over my mind and I drifted off into sleep.

…

The next morning, I woke up with a determined expression.

'Hageshi wanted me to get stronger and not hold back anymore. If I want to be someone he can be proud of, I need to get stronger. I won't hide from my strength anymore.'

My eyes glowed a bright yellow and I scanned the colorless surroundings. I found a bright source of mana with a familiar range of colors and headed in that direction.

…

In a high tower, a white-haired woman with reading glasses on was reading a book. A nearing source of mana caught her attention and she closed her book and took off her glasses.

"I didn't expect him to come out his fast," She said to herself.

After waiting, the door to her study opened and a tall boy with long, black hair and golden eyes walked in with a determined expression on his face.

The woman smiled when she saw the fierceness of his gaze.

"I like the look in your eyes, kid."

The boy walked closer to her and bowed.

"Please, Grandmother. Teach me everything you know!"