Scarlet - Part 3

Meanwhile…

Click. Thud.

"Honey, I'm home!" Adam shouted upon entry as he nodded toward Cherry, who stopped for a moment to acknowledge him before resuming to cook.

Before he tip-toed upstairs to the master bedroom and knocked twice, "Crystal, I know what I did earlier was hasty and wrong, but I had to keep a close eye on Tom in case anything happened. Plus, I~"

"Shh, you don't have to explain yourself, Adam… I know you had a task you had to complete but please, the next time something like this happens just let one of our guards come and escort us back home." Crystal explained as she opened the door and dragged him in before closing it and jumping into his arms as she began to cry like a baby.

"I…I-I will, so please don't cry or think what if this was the last time you or Rin would have saw me," Adam muttered as he hugged Crystal tightly while she rested her head on his shoulder muttering, "I won't," with an occasional snob or two. 

"It's alright, Crystal… just try not to ruin my clothes too much, dear," Adam whispered as his hands began to wander before he laughed aloud upon noticing her face turn red like a tomato. 

As she became aware of his little shenanigans and pinched his stomach in retaliation, "Tsk, scoundrel… now I think you really should've died," Crystal said as she escaped Adam's clutches and wiped away her tears. 

"Woah… so it's like that now, huh?"

"Yup, but anyhow did the meeting go?" She asked after calming down and motioning for him to sit on their bed.

"Well, to be honest, I don't know as I and two other elders had to leave to take care of the incident earlier. Also, do you think it was Rin who caused the phenomenon following his departure from the Weapon Hall?"

"Boy, please if anything it was fucking Casper's fault as he was the happiest when all this shit occurred before he entered the Pool of Reincarnation!" Crystal said as she nearly slapped Adam for believing such a rumor.

"Relax, it was just a question but seriously, what did happen from your perspective following Rin's entry and exit from the Weapon Hall?"

"Well… after arriving at the Weapon Hall of Legends, Casper began to say some cryptic bullshit like always before he threw Rin into the pagoda. During this Casper and I had a small conversation for like 5~10 minutes before the Weapon Hall began to shudder and Rin walked out soon afterward with a semitransparent scythe. That he began to swing around like a toy and that is about it, until I woke up and realized Rin was sleeping on my lap as we sat in the reception area of the Central Hall, and you already know the rest."

"Damn… so, do you think what Casper said about Rin was right?" Adam questioned as he lay on his back and glanced at the ceiling with curiosity as he began to wonder if all these occurrences were not just coincidences anymore. 

But a foreshadowing of the burden Rin will one day have to carry as he embarks on his path to Supremacy. 

"I don't know Adam…" Crystal muttered as she laid on his chest comfortably, "But regardless of who or what he will become one day it is our duty as his parents to support and protect him. Until it's time for him to leave the nest and spread his wings."

"True, but at times I just worry about him, you know," Adam stated as it dawned on him just how fucked up their world was as it allows the innocent to suffer while the guilty are just given a pat on the back and told to go home.

"Don't we all," muttered Crystal as she sat up upon sensing Cherry was about to knock on their door to tell them the food was ready.

Knock.

"Master and mistress, the food is ready!" Cherry stated as she knocked on their door before knocking on Rin's and telling him the same thing, "Young master the food is ready."

She said before walking backstairs to begin sharing their food as Crystal and Adam took a shower which got a bit steamy and messy.

As compared to Rin, who just changed into an all-black Nike tech with matching slides.

***

Sometime later after thanking Cherry for the food which consisted of stew beef, roasted potatoes, vegetables, and white rice. It was finally time to dig in, yet just before that could happen, Rin had to answer a couple of questions from his parents about his weapon of choice.

"So, Rin I heard from your mom, that you left the hall with a scythe, is that true?" His father asked curiously after enjoying a spoonful of rice and beef smeared in gravy.

"Yes," Rin answered plainly as if it wasn't a big deal, even though he was a bit surprised his father cared about the weapon he chose in the end.

"Rin, don't piss me off as you know damn well, no one in our family wields a scythe!" Adam shouted as he slammed his hand on the table.

"So, then I'll be the first," Rin shouted back, "Plus, how hard can it be to transform a sword technique to a scythe one?"

He uttered with blind confidence as he undermined just how difficult the task of transforming a technique to complement a different weapon was. Since a scythe cannot compare to a sword and vice versa considering each has its unique advantages and disadvantages.

Things that eventually Rin will understand with time, however, never underestimate the stubbornness of a child, who cannot accept no as an answer since the impossible is but an obstacle no one has ever deemed worthy of conquering.

"Tsk, while admirable, that stubbornness of yours will one day cost you, your life, Rin!" Adam claimed as he shook his head in disbelief at the impractical task his son wanted to achieve.

"Well, as they say, 'Like father, like son,' so if I'm stubborn, I could only imagine how worse you were Dad at my age."

"Boy, don't get slick me, before I~"

"Honey, he does have a point, you know…" Crystal giggled as she watched her two boys bicker back and forth trying to prove a point that honestly is not that important.

"Sigh… forget it just know one day, you'll understand what I mean," Adam said as he gave up on correcting Rin and just ate his food.

"Don't pay any attention to him, Rin but are you hundred percent committed you want to give up on swords and passionately pursue the path of the scythe, moving forward?"

"Yes, and I promise to one day show y'all that the scythe is the true king of all weapons!" Rin exclaimed upon finishing his food as he got up and brought his plate to the sink.

Before he hurried off to his room to examine Scarlet, yet just as he was about to exit the dining room and run upstairs his father threw a booklet at him. That had the title, "Weapons 101" before he resumed eating as if nothing happened.

"Thanks, Dad," Rin could only say as he caught the booklet and dashed upstairs to begin reading.

"Hmm, so in the end you still helped him even though you acted so big and bad earlier," Crystal giggled as she nudged Adam who acted oblivious to her ploy and kept his thoughts to himself.

"Tsk, no funny… truly, boorish men will be the death of me," muttered Crystal with a pout as she resumed eating.

***

Meantime, Rin was sitting on the floor of his room cross-legged as he skimmed through the booklet, which claimed weapons could be classified as low, mid, high, and top tier respectively, and could be categorized into eight ranks called Earth, Sky, Heaven Hell, Star, Void, and Universal.

Earth: Useable until Sky Chaser and usually crafted by novice and apprentice blacksmiths, using common metals and materials.

Sky: Mostly used by Angelic Cultivators to Demigods which are crafted by expert blacksmiths using special flames and have opened one or more of the Seven Celestial Stars.

Heaven: Weapons of this category are used by Lower to Peak Gods, due to the fact, their bodies can withstand the power consumption of using inscriptions. Drawn expert and master-level blacksmiths, who have opened three or more of the Seven Celestial Stars.

Hell: Now it is here where weapons are referred to as artifacts as they are either born from Heaven and Earth or created by a grandmaster blacksmith. That has opened all seven of the Celestial Stars along with the help of an array expert, however, only True Gods and higher could wield such weapons.

Star: Only ancestor blacksmiths or higher can craft such artifacts since weapons of this caliber are imbued with minor or major Laws of the Cosmos.

Void: ???

Galaxy: ???

Universal: ???

{If you want some more information read the Weapon Tier section of the Cosmic Encyclopedia 101.}