Chapter 93 - Absolute Zero

The bandits woke up from their initial shocked before they all tried to escaped but Caelum was too fast slamming the first one who tried to escaped to the ground then turned to another target who tried to fought back blasting him a barrage of magic spells but to everyone shocked Caelum opened his mouth and devoured the spell. 

"Thanks for the meal. Now goodbye."

They were all speechless and before they could do anything Caelum vanished and strike one of them sending flying then twist his body to roundhouse kick the one behind him. Those far away summoned an array of magic spells directed at them, making Caelum use his [ Silver Aura ] to freeze their attacks, shocking them as it became brittle and shattered. He took a deep breath looking at them and said.

"Absolute Zero."

In an instant the whole place became frozen, turning everything into ice and killing every bandit without a drop of blood. He made sure to harm the mother and daughter pair as well as their carriage.

"BRANDISH!" 

The woman shouted as she went to her daughter and hugged her.

"MOMMY!"

Brandish screamed while crying tears of joy like her mother, giving the hug back. Caelum looked at them with a smile. After a moment of crying, they finally let go of each other and then:

"Thank you, sir. We are grateful for what you did for us."

Grammi said as she bowed with her daughter doing the same. 

"Thank you so much." 

Brandish said as she bowed.

"It was nothing."

Caelum said while scratching his head. 

"We were heading to the Heartfilia household when they suddenly came out of nowhere and attacked us if it weren't for you then we would have died or worse."

The woman explained feeling shaken from the situation thinking about the possibility of being use for their entertainment and her daughter to slavery. 

"Well, don't worry. They won't be attacking you anymore." 

Caelum said looking around seeing the bandits pummeled and beaten being trapped in an illusion for countless years. He knew it would be the end of a family if he didn't do anything. He didn't want it to happen to them as it almost happened to him.

"Excuse us, but would you like to tell us your name?"

Brandish suddenly said.

"What a well mannered girl, your mother taught you well in manners. I'm Caelum Mercer. And you?" 

Caelum praised her making Brandish's mother to smile appreciating her words.

"Brandish Myu, and this is my mother Grammi." 

Brandish politely introduce themselves.

"Is there any way we could repay you?"

Grammi asked, feeling indebted for being saved. She felt drawn to him looking at his body and couldn't deny how it makes him rather dependable. It's been far too long that her husband had died and this is the first time in a while that she reacted this way. However, she denies the feelings being drowned by her current situation.

"You mentioned heading to Heartfilia Estate? I was also heading there for a quest."

"Is the quest about Lady Layla's health!?"

She exclaimed after hearing the news of Layla being bedridden immediately tried her best to her Return before everything was over. Grammi felt guilty that she couldn't fulfill her promise and cause her close friend to suffer. She knows that Layla used the Eclipse project without the Celestial Key in her possessions.

Grammi was in Alvarez far from Fiore and with that in mind Layla forced her own life forces into using the Eclipse magic and allowing Layla's ancestor to hop into the portal along with the dragon slayer. Caelum still pondered why they had to go with the plan when he had to unify the world but he didn't think too much.  

"Indeed, I may not look like it but I'm an expert healer."

"If that's the case then we love you to join our journey…. However, we don't have anyone to drive the carriage and my magic power won't cut it."

She pointed at their carriage letting Caelum inspect it before creating a clone of himself shocking the two.

"There two of you now!? Is that magic!?"

"Kind of. I'll let this clone handle the driving."

"Are you sure? You have already done enough for us."

Caelum shook his head telling her that he doesn't mind and it took a few moments until she finally accepted and let Caelum handle the rest. 

"Can I ask what magic you use, Mister?"

"Please just call me, Caelum. And I used something called [ Silver Aura ]. It allows me to turn anything into ice and shatter them."

Though in truth, Silver Aura is not ice and won't make you feel cold rather it just appears to be one. Caelum could just use his [ Almighty magic (Impure) ] to end any fight but it requires his mind, body and soul to be aligned in order to be used and he prefers his basic power to improve the fundamentals. 

"I hope one day I learnt how to use magic."

"You will, maybe even become a Wizard Saint."

She looked confused asking what it was since Brandish lived far in the outskirts and hadn't heard much about the wizard saint and other terms. Caelum chuckled, being berated by numerous questions.

"Brandish, you're being rude to Caelum."

"Ah, sorry, Caelum."

"Hahaha I don't mind. It's normal for a child like hers to be curious. Well let's see, where do we begin?"

Caelum tells her everything about mages and guilds making her eyes shine in awe while Grammi watches smiling seeing her daughter smile like no tomorrow. She felt more indebted to Caelum because not only did he save them but also made her daughter smile. As a single mother it was difficult for her to provide everything to her daughter specially that she lacked a father figure.

'If only I could find a man like him…. maybe…no, I shouldn't think this way to our savior. I probably just feel grateful for him.'

"Mommy!"

She was so deep in thoughts that Brandish took a few tries to get her mothers attention. 

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I was just lost in my thoughts. What is it that you were saying?"

"Do you think I can be a great mage one day?"

"Of course!"

Grammi showed her support making Brandish to giggle before continuing their ride while having small conversation here and there. The whole ride Caelum was internally dissapointed how long the list of women he had right now was. 

He started regretting wishing for the [ Harem Parameter ] while Cereza was laughing the whole trip. She teases him often about his lust that always grew and affected him. 

It took a 4 days journey to arrive where the Heartfilia was taking breaks and getting to know them. He taught Brandish on how to create a magic core and helped her grow stronger while also acting like a father figure. At the current moment, Caelum continue cultivated trying to align his three aspect but their quality and quantity are far too different that it was difficult but step by step his body grew thicker released a different hue while his hair slowly had the bluish tinge remove and had mixture of blue, red, purple and inverted white. 

He started to evolve further than his initial phase but there was a certain part that he hadn't unlocked leaving his true potential to be stagnant. Caelum doesn't have a limit in potential but still needs to find what he lacked to break through. He is in dire need of body exercise to help his growth since the [ Sacred Scripture ] could only do so much. 

His aura was pulsating that it seem to manifest before compressed by his [ Compression Art ] to remove any possible crack since an shakable foundation is key in continuous growth. Caelum stopped when he noticed Grammi went out of the carriage after having Brandish to sleep where he found him in a lotus position near a bonfire. He opened his eyes looking at her with a gentle gaze showing his golden eyes and strange shape.

"Can I sit next to you?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

Caelum smiled watching her sit down in front of him looking at the fire feeling the warmth radiating from it. 

"Is this troubling you?"

He asked, noticing how she often felt in daze and lost in thought. Caelum could try listening to her thoughts but decided not to since he is not a bald guy in a wheelchair.

"Hmm? It's nothing."

"Bottling up your problem might be bad for you. Come on, tell me, I'm a very good listener."

Grammi looks at him contemplating if she should share with a man that she barely knew but there is something telling her that there is no need to fear. 

"I…I just don't know how to face, miss Layla after what I did. It's my fault why she's bedridden."

She grumbles cursing herself internally knowing that her friend could die any moment because of her. Caelum nodded silently letting her speak and saw her show a Celestial Key.

"Like I've mention, I supposed to hand this when the time of her need but….I was too far and couldn't give her at that time."

"I see, no need to tell me anything. Whatever happens, happens you can't change what happened in the past and can only act in the present. Blaming yourself would bring sorrow to Layla. She's your close friend isn't she? She would be saddened, burdening yourself with guilt."

Grammi looked at him trying to deny his words but slowly his words echoed through her mind. She somehow felt less guilty thinking that he was right that her friend won't want to see her in such a state. 

"...You're right but…I could have prevented-"

"One of many contradictions of life. If I knew then, what I knew now. Don't let it be a burden to see the future by binding yourself to the past mistake."

Caelum just blurted it but realized many things in his own worlds. He could probably return to the past and change things but it is a paradox and likely to cause more problems than it should. However, Caelum planned on researching the Eclipse project to acquire more understanding of Time travel. Grammi fell silent and couldn't deny everything now taking a moment to complete everything. 

"...I see…thank you for your kind words."

"You're welcome. I understand the struggle, especially seeing you are a single mother like mine."

"Your mother raised you well upon hearing your words." 

"Indeed she is. The best of the best. Though, unlike you, she became a widow when we were much older, I still saw her struggle to be a good mother for us."

Caelum shared a few things about his mother letting Grammi listen through it and eventually the two started to converse until Grammi felt tired.

"Are you not going to sleep?"

"Yes, it's important for someone to look out for dangers. You don't need to worry since my body has experienced a week without sleep before."

Even centuries without sleep was possible for Caelum since his body reached a point where it rarely needed human necessity. Grammi hesitated for a moment before telling him goodnight and headed inside leaving Caelum. He continues to cultivate through the night using his own words to gain more insight until the next day.