Truth and Lies

"Why didn't he tell us? He's been keeping that secret for months!?".

Parvan turned towards the other members of their team, his expression annoyed, worried and undoubtably distressed. Despite all of this, Parvan eyed the other members of their team carefully, watching their moves and reactions.

Nyssa and Dagen were the only two who didn't show any particular reactions to this "new" piece of knowledge, and the former couldn't help but react oppositely to Parvan's words.

"Parvan! I understand that you are just as surprised as the rest of us, but that is no reason to be so upset! You should now better than the rest of us who the previous possessor of the Boundless Forest Yearning was! And after spending two years inside that Monster, Arthur of all people was chosen to be the next possessor of the Sovereign Boundary Physique! Shouldn't you think of how that made him feel!?".

Nyssa's tone was passionate, and her words causing a stir within Iryna, Zlatanna and Milena.

In addition to Parvan, these four were also in the same generation of Fae Masters as Arthur and Andrea. They had all seen their relationship develop, and their feelings for one another blossom as time passed.

And then, after more than two years of mourning silently, Arthur had suddenly awakened to the same power as his lost love. He probably felt a strange mixture of resentment, hatred, love and affection.

Perhaps he even felt as though, a small part of Andrea was carried over unto him. Dwelling deep within him, in a place between the Mind, Body and Soul.

None of them understood exactly what Physiques were, let alone Sovereign Boundary Physiques, so theoretically it might be possible to "feel" the past wielders of the Boundless Forest Yearning within themselves.

If that was the case, then perhaps Arthur found solace in his time alone. In this instance, he wasn't ever truly "alone"....

Parvan furrowed his brows, narrowing his eyes at Nyssa and the others.

"I understand that from Arthur's position, he might feel the need to keep his Boundless Forest Yearning a secret from the rest of the Clan! But it has been more than half a year since the Kovacs Clan was destroyed! He has had no reason to hide it from the rest of us since then! If he trusts us, the same way we all trust him, he would've told us already!".

Nyssa narrowed her eyes at Parvan, crossing her arms while looking at the slightly older male.

"You don't understand do you Parvan".

The Earth Attributed specialist just gazed at Nyssa, his expression still distrustful.

"Understand what Nyssa?".

Nyssa turned her gaze to the rest of the team, gazing at them for half a second.

"Ever since the Kovacs Clan, and Parachenko Village was destroyed, Arthur had kept us together. We were all distraught from the complete destruction of our friends and family and yet Arthur was the one who prevented us from falling apart! He pushed us all towards being a Fae Master, delving into the research and Attributes of Fae and Fae materials! It gave us something to vent out on and wholly push ourselves towards, instead of grieving and complaining about how life is unfair!".

"If you truly believe that Arthur kept the secret of the Boundless Forest Yearning from us, because he didn't trust us, then he wouldn't of shown it here right now! Yes, I understand that he could've shown it to us in the past, but he too was focused on keeping the team afloat, while the rest of us were trying to deal with our emotions!".

"And don't forget! Out of everything, Arthur lost people too! In fact, out of everyone present, he has lost the most! Even I feel slightly upset that he didn't tell us, but I can understand why he kept it a secret. Between us, training, his children, and planning out our future plans, Arthur has had a lot on his plate! And if you don't feel like you can trust him anymore, then you can lead the rest of us instead Parvan! You tell us what to do! How to fight, how to train, and where we should go after this!?".

"If you can't have the patience to just wait until he gets back so he can explain everything, then you can lead us to where you want to go Parvan".

The other seven Fae Masters felt their eyes widen, obviously slightly taken back by Nyssa's tone and words. The fact that she had so much to say about the situation, obviously highlighted that she had been watching Arthur quite carefully these past few months....

They all saw Nyssa's flushed face, and slightly heaving chest, and all turned towards Parvan, who had currently taken a half-step back, his expression slightly pale.

Deep within him, he knew that everything that Nyssa had said was true, but he couldn't help but feel... slightly aggrieved.

Out of everyone that the Boundless Forest Yearning could've picked in Parachenko Village it just happened to pick Arthur of all people....

The gap between him and Arthur was already wide enough, but with the addition of his Sovereign Boundary Physique included, the divide between him and their "Leader" had become.... unfathomable.

'How the hell can I even hope to match a Sovereign Boundary Physique? At the very least, Arthur is destined to become a Rank 5 Fae Master! Possibly even a Rank 6 Fae Immortal if he can join the Divine Tannhauser Empire Academia. By that point, will we even be necessary if that ever comes about?....'.

Parvan used a had to hold his forehead, rubbing the sides of his temples as he just sat down and sighed.

Despite the fact that he still felt grateful and appreciative towards everything that Arthur had done for him and the others, he always thought of his fellow Fae Master as a goal that he could set for himself. With their similar talents, eventually they would both plateau, and their cultivation would stagnate at similar intervals.

When that happened, Parvan took solace in that despite Arthur being stronger, they were both limited when it came to their talents and cultivations.

But now...

Parvan just laid back down, covering most of his face, as he peered through the gap between his fingers.

The bandits had attacked them, just as the sun was setting over the horizon. With the final remnants of light vanishing over the distant horizon, the bright, luminescent moon, and the glittering sea of stars had come out, painting the sky above them hundreds of different colours....

The black canvas seemed to light up with all the distant stars and glittering planets. Tonight especially, with all the turmoil and emotions filling his heart, Parvan seemed to understand something about the boundlessness of the Heavens above....

Even though none of them could see if for themselves, changes were currently undergoing deep within the hearts of every single one of them.