Cloud the Universe

On the outskirts of a town, there was a small village surrounded by trees and rivers. There were many people, maybe a few hundred, walking in and out of the houses and shops. Some would enter the forest and come out with wood, others would sit by a river and catch some fish. There were also some people punching rocks, walls, and even each other.

They seemed to be practicing fist fighting and their style was very similar. Sometimes one would lift his leg and aim for the other's face, while that target would quickly duck and aim for his partner's stomach. All in all, the fighting was very organized, nothing like a brawl between new fighters. They knew what they were doing.

Surprisingly, however, most of the fighters were actually young children. The youngest were around the ages of seven or eight, while the oldest were maybe twenty. There was however one boy in particular who was sitting off to the side, not participating in the fighting.

"Celius, what are you doing there? Hurry up and practice, or the instructor will lash out at you again." A young voice, which still had hints of immaturity, called out to the sitting boy. There was some playfulness in his tone, but also a slight amount of trepidation.

The young boy named Celius, stood up from his spot without much of an expression. He didn't seem to mind the person's tone. "The instructor can do whatever. It's not like I really want to practice anyways. Forget it, I'm going to head back to the forest and begin work early."

The person who spoke out previously was also a young man, slightly older than Celius. His face showed some helplessness and he couldn't help but sigh. "Come on man, you're seventeen now. You should be cultivating essence, not working. Most people your age are already at Physique Purge – Sky, or even Hell, yet you're still at the lowest level, Physique Purge - Earth." His voice was a little heavy when he mentioned the Hell realm. It was when one would purge the impurities in the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, enhancing abilities related to these parts by a significant amount.

Obtaining the realm of Physique Purge - Hell at seventeen was not common, but it also wasn't rare. It was mostly related to how many resources one had, rather than talent. With enough support, even a five-year-old could obtain such a realm without much effort.

Celius looked at the boy and couldn't help but sigh. "I know, but I don't have time to just practice all day. I have to work. I'm the only one my siblings have." The young boy went quiet. It was not a secret that Celius' parents were killed by a beast three years prior. Ever since then, Celius had been raising his three siblings himself. Many pitied him, however, there were still a few who were upset that he was getting more privileges because his grandfather was a clan elder.

The whole village belonged to the Illeaf clan. It was neither a large nor a small clan. It was not wealthy either, but it had a steady income. Many would say the clan was very lucky to have not experienced many ups and downs.

"Alright, go ahead." The boy sighed before turning around and continuing his training.

Celius made his way from the training grounds back to his home. It was not a large home, but it was cozy. It was left to him after his parents' deaths. As the oldest boy in the family, he had the responsibility to look after and raise his little siblings. Even though his grandfather, Amlenor Illeaf, was an elder in the clan, he was not in any way favored by the rest. Even the leader of the clan did not like Amlenor for some unknown reason.

Walking into the house, he heard the sound of running footsteps. "Brother!" A small voice came from inside as three children ran towards him on their tiny legs.

He smiled warmly as his face brightened significantly. "Elrith, Alura!" Alura and Elrith were twins, the former being a little girl, while the latter a little boy. Alura had long black hair and hazel eyes, while Elrith had short obsidian hair with similar eyes. He lifted both of them up and kissed them on their cheeks before looking at the third child. "Rislia, come here." He lifted the youngest of the three up and walked into the house. She was the youngest girl, the last thing his parents left behind. She had ink-like hair just like the rest of them. Her eyes, however, were emerald, something rarely seen. Celius knew of only one other person who had emerald eyes, his late mother.

As the youngest, she got a little more attention from Celius than the rest. Elrith and Alura were only five and Rislia was three. Luckily, with his hard work and support from his grandfather, the kids were very healthy and were growing up happily.

"Brother, did you bring us candy? Did you?" Elrith climbed on his lap as he sat down, his face bright and filled with expectation. Celius saw this and couldn't help but smile teasingly.

"You want candy? What candy? I don't have any. Who told you I have candy?" He had an expression of confusion as he looked at Elrith. He turned his head and looked at Alura. "Did you tell him I have candy?"

The little girl shook her head with a look of complete denial. Celius smiled when he saw Elrith become a little dejected. Lifting his hand, he suddenly pointed into an empty space and made a surprised expression.

"Elrith, what is that?!" Elrith also became surprised as he turned his head towards the area his brother pointed at. Alura and the little Rislia did the same.

Taking his hand back, he gently placed his fingers behind Elrith's left ear. "What is this Elrith?"

Turning his head, Elrith found a small brown and white object in his brother's hand. His eyes brightened as he quickly snatched the item. "Candy!" He shoved it into his mouth and got off Celius' lap. He had an expression of heroism on his face as he chewed on the candy.

Alura looked at Celius with some expectations as well. "What about me? What about me?"

"Sorry, Alura." Hearing this, Alura's eyes became slightly red. She crossed her arms and looked away in anger. "Wait, Alura, what's that inside your shirt?" Celius reached out and quickly placed his hand on Alura's nape. "Here it is. Alura, look at what I found."

Alura turned around and saw a piece of candy that looked just like Elrith's. She quickly wiped the incoming tears from her eyes and happily snatched the candy from his hand. "Thank you, brother. I knew you would never forget about me." She placed the candy into her mouth and happily chewed.

"Oh really? Who was about to cry just a second ago?" Alura smiled and said nothing. Celius also shook his head with a wry smile. He then placed his eyes onto the little girl latching onto him. "Do you also want some?"

The little Rislia nodded her head quickly. Although she was still very young, she could understand most people and also reply, albeit through small sentences and a few gestures. "Yeah, I want some too." Her childish voice was filled with happiness as she giggled cutely.

Celius couldn't help but hug her tightly and laugh. "You're so cute. Do you want some candy? Here, eat all you want. Alura, Elrith, come here if you want some more too."

He pulled out five more pieces of candy, some were even a little different from the ones he gave to Elrith and Alura.

He picked the smallest and most easy to eat one and fed it to Rislia. The little girl's face was filled with happiness as she ate without a worry in the world. Alura and Elrith also grabbed more and sat down on the ground to eat their fill.

"Am I disturbing?" Suddenly, an old voice came from behind Celius. He looked back and smiled slightly at the sight.

"Grandpa!" Alura and Elrith saw who it was and quickly got up and rushed towards him. "Grandpa!" Even Rislia reached out both of her arms towards the old man.

The old man was none other than Amlenor, one of the clan elders, and also their paternal grandfather. The old man walked in happily as he lifted both Alura and Elrith in each arm. Although he was seventy years old, because of his cultivation realm being a little high, there wasn't much of a problem.

"Hey grandpa, what are you doing here so early?" Celius looked at his grandfather with a look of confusion.

Walking over, Amlenor sat in front of Celius with Alura and Elrith still in his arms. "Well, since you're planning on going to work earlier, then you will probably need someone to look after these three, right?"

Celius nodded his head and didn't comment any further. He knew that his grandfather always watched over him and made sure to reduce any stress for him, even though he himself was already under a lot of pressure from the clan.

"So, what about the other elders and the leader? Any trouble from them so far?" Celius asked calmly. He was probably the only person in his age group who could ask about the higher echelon in the clan. As he was now raising his siblings and did not have his parents' support, he needed to keep himself updated on information and make sure to protect his family in case certain situations arose.

Grandpa Amlenor sighed as his expression became somewhat heavy. "Same as always. They are trying to remove me from my position." He sighed a little as he put down Alura and Elrith who ran away to play. Celius also placed Rislia on the ground who chased behind the other two happily.

"So, what are you going to do? Although others pity me because of my situation, they still don't look at me with any favor because of dad and uncle, except a few people of course." Celius sighed as well as he stood beside Amlenor.

Just like his grandfather, Celius had long black hair which was tied into a ponytail. His eyes were brown like the bark of trees. He was tall and had a slender build, and his looks were also quite exceptional. Overall, he was a handsome boy.

"I don't know. The clan is our home so we can't just get up and leave because of minor problems, plus both of my sons did do those things-"

"No grandpa, you need to quit siding with the clan. You know that father and uncle only did what they did for the protection of the clan. If they didn't give away those herbs and minerals, and even our clan heirloom, then our clan could have been completely wiped out." Celius showed some anger on his face as he spoke to his grandfather.

The latter sighed and looked at the young face of his grandchild. "I know that, and so do those other old fogeys, but they need people to vent their anger on, so they chose us. I'm a little luckier as I would only lose my position, but you…" Grandpa Amlenor shook his head and placed his hand on Celius' head.

Celius shook slightly but his face remained calm. "I will be turning eighteen next year and will be reaching adulthood. If all goes well, I plan on leaving the clan with my siblings and heading to the nearest town. I will start over and allow my siblings to live a better life." Grandfather Amlenor looked over at Celius with shock.

"But-" Just as he was about to say something, Celius stopped him.

"My mind is set. If I was on my own, then I could handle all of this hatred and continue being with the clan, but I have my little brother and sisters. Right now, no one is saying anything to them, but what will happen when they grow up? They barely knew mom and dad or even uncle, so what will they think about all the lies the villagers will feed them? Wouldn't they feel embarrassed and humiliated?" Grandpa Amlenor listened silently without saying anything further. "I don't want that for them, so I will leave. The clan can't and won't stop. Instead, they will likely take joy in my departure. Grandpa, come with me. You want to leave just as much as I do. You don't like them talking down on your sons, and looking at you with hostility. Come with me and we can begin anew. We can give those three a new life, please."

His voice choked a little as he spoke. Even when his parents were alive, people would talk down to him and even abuse him. They would insult his parents and his uncle, but there was nothing he could do. Even the few friends he had were insulted to the point they avoided him. After his parents died and he was forced to care for his siblings, life became even more tiresome. Not only would he have to handle the insults and humiliation, but he also had to give his siblings a happy life and work more than even most adults in the clan. It was unbearable.

"Celius, what will you do when you get there? I understand your need to leave, but what can you do there? Wouldn't your life become even harder? Think about the three children. What will their life become?" Grandpa Amlenor was reluctant to leave. This was his home for the past seventy years. He put his blood, sweat, and tears into the clan. Leaving like that was just too much for him.

Celius sighed as he walked to a wall which had an ax. Lifting it up and placing it on his shoulder, he walked to the front door. "Whatever I do is for my siblings. Come with me grandpa and leave everything to me. I will make sure everything works out. Plus, with your experience and my young body, what can't we accomplish?" He turned his head and smiled slightly at his grandfather before walking out of the house.

Small footsteps ran towards the front door. Alura, Elrith, and Rislia watched Celius leave as their eyes turned slightly red. "Bye brother, love you!" All of the screamed before watching him depart with reluctance. They then turned to their grandpa and walked towards him with their head low.

Grandpa Amlenor looked at the three as he lifted Rislia up and pulled them into the largest room in the house. "Let's go and play. Grandpa has a lot of fun games for you three." He smiled brightly as he looked at the three.

The three kids' eyes brightened before Alura became slightly despondent. "If only brother could play with us as well." She said this quietly before running off with the rest.

Hearing her words, Grandpa Amlenor sighed. 'If only that could be the case. If only my sons or your mother were still alive, then he wouldn't have to suffer at such a young age.' His thoughts were filled with sadness, however, his expression remained bright.