W

C1118 Slow and Deliberate

Leonel and Noah entered the building.

It was quite the luxurious place, even several levels above the hotel the two had just been in. Leonel could feel that there was a Force gathering Force Art embedded into the building itself, making him feel as though he gain twice the results with half the effort in this place.

The pair eventually realized that the so-called 'locked door' Riah referred to was the entire top floor. It would have been a bit naïve of them to believe after what happened before that their accommodations would be exactly the same, but after seeing the truth of it all, they couldn't help but laugh coldly.

The two ended up in the dining room. There wasn't a large spread of food, but there were some small servings of fruit and snacks. Leonel had never gotten the chance to finish eating, so he just took what he could get.

Noah sat across from him, seemingly hesitating on how to start. But in the end, he just shook his head.

"I don't know the full details of the story. All I know is what I've managed to pick up from the conversations of Imperial Grandfather and father. They also don't seem to like to talk about it often. Or, more accurately, Imperial Grandfather can't be bothered. Whenever Imperial Grandfather is finished with a topic, it's too difficult to get him to open back up again.

"To start… The relationship between Imperial Grandfather and Grandmother is quite estranged. Though Imperial Grandfather has never said that they are divorced, it's functionally no different. I have never met Imperial Grandmother, but from my understanding, she is likely somewhere in the Luxnix Estate, secluded from others. I'm not sure if she would even be aware of our arrival or not.

"As for what separated our Imperial Grandparents, I wasn't sure at first, but the matter is likely related to you.

"Some time in the past, not long after you were born, you were entrusted to Imperial Grandmother. Your birth was very hard on Imperial Aunt from my understanding and she very nearly died. This caught many off guard because it wasn't something even the Healing Arm of the Luxnix predicted.

"Mothers sometimes face trouble during childbirth when the father comes from a far higher Dimensional world, but it was thought that Imperial Aunt wouldn't have this issue due to her talent. Not only was Imperial Aunt already at the Sixth Dimension at the time, but she was also the wielder of Earth's World Spirit, the amount of life energy and vitality she had should have dwarfed most women even of Seventh Dimensional worlds.

"Regardless of what reasons there might have been, Imperial Aunt's condition was a matter of life and death after your birth. Imperial Grandfather couldn't do anything from Earth and Imperial Aunt had wanted to give birth by Imperial Grandmother's side, so she chose to do so in the Luxnix estate. The result was Imperial Aunt's life hanging by a thread and your father having no choice but to take her away.

"I have no idea where your father took Imperial Aunt to be treated, but I do know that she came back healthy and feeling better than she ever had. The trouble, though, came in what happened while they were gone.

"Though I'm not certain of where your father took Imperial Aunt, it must have been either a very dangerous location or at least one greatly inconvenient to take a child. As a result, you were left with Imperial Grandmother. ​

"This is the point in the story where I have the largest gaps, I only have certain speculations.

"Something was done to you in the absence of your father and Imperial Aunt. Imperial Grandmother likely trusted the wrong people.

"Back then, Imperial Grandmother's status in the Luxnix family was very high, maybe only short of one or two people, if that. Due to that, she carried the weight of many duties. Your father and Imperial Aunt were gone for far longer than anyone expected, as such things reached a point where there were certain duties that Imperial Grandmother couldn't continue to put off.

"As such, you were put into the care of people Imperial Grandmother thought she could trust and the result was something being taken from you. As for what that something was, I also have no idea."

Noah gazed into Leonel's eyes, but all he saw was a vast abyss looking back at him. From the start of the story to this point, Leonel hadn't spoken a single word, nor did he interrupt or show any sort of reaction.

However, Noah could feel it. That abyss in his eyes only seemed to be getting deeper. The fact Leonel had long since stopped eating spoke volumes.

"This middle portion of the story is too muddled for me to give you any great details. What I do know is that whatever was taken from you also placed you on the brink of life and death. You had gone from a very healthy baby boy, likely a size too big for a child your age, to practically a shriveled up corpse. Had Imperial Grandmother not found you in time, it was very likely that you would have died.

"I'm not sure where in this timeline your father and Imperial Aunt came back, but it was decided that the only way to save you was to bring you back to Earth. As for why that is, I'm not sure either.

"Unfortunately, Imperial Aunt had already become a student of the Void Palace. Under normal circumstances, she should have been executed for getting pregnant while having this duty in the first place. But, the Void Palace, for whatever reason, looked the other way. Having already bent their rules once, they couldn't allow Imperial Aunt to bend them again to remain by your side, so she was forced to return."

Leonel's expression didn't fluctuate in the slightest, however his mind was a different story.

When he first awakened his Dream Force, all of his memories had returned like a flood. And yet, he had only remembered his mother's face, but he didn't remember his grandfather or grandmother. Why was that?

"You actually brought us here to tend to branch family trash?! Do you think my time is so worthless?!"

A sudden sharp voice carried in from the outside to reach the ears of the pair of cousins.

Leonel gently placed a half eaten fruit down on the plate before him and walked out with slow and deliberate steps.

To be continued