Haiven returns home, and after passing through the garden wall, he opens the door to the house.
The moment he does, he looks toward his mother and asks her in confusion:
“When did your head become where your feet are?”
His ears are immediately pierced by his sister Nairs’ scream:
“You bastard! Where have you been all this time?! Training ended early today! You were supposed to be back four hours ago!!”
Haiven finally realizes that he is hanging upside down by his feet.
His mother gives a faint smile and tries to calm her, saying:
“Calm down a little, Nairs. Perhaps he was fooling around with his friends or something.”
Nairs looks at her mother and falls silent for a moment.
Then she turns her gaze back toward Haiven, who is still dangling from her hand:
“Where? Who were you hanging out with? How old is she? Where does she live? Is she nearby?”
Haiven finally manages to free himself from her grip.
………………………..
That evening, while they are having dinner, Haiven begins to speak:
“Tomorrow, I’ll be going on a two-month training trip to the Antira Mountains in preparation for the final exam.”
Their expressions change, and a heavy silence settles over the room.
A few moments later…
His mother, Yoshina, hardens her expression and speaks angrily:
“Are you still insisting on that ridiculous matter?!”
“What will you gain by passing the final exam, taking the military path, and joining the army?!”
“You have everything you need here—money, family, influence, and the privileges of a noble clan. Even if the manifestation of the Yurvana Emerald Red within you and your ascent to Kretar are delayed, you still have enough resources here to reach even the Hektar rank itself!”
“You don’t need to take the path of suffering…!”
Haiven interrupts her:
“I’ve told you many times that I want to…”
Before he can finish speaking, Nairs slams her fist onto the table and shouts:
“Haiven!…”
Then her tone softens as she continues:
“Is this your final decision?”
Haiven:
“Nairs, I can explain. I wanted to…”
Nairs interrupts him again in an angry tone:
“Just answer…”
“Is this your final decision?”
Haiven holds her gaze and speaks firmly:
“Yes. This is the life I’ve chosen…”
Nairs’ eyes widen for a moment.
Then she speaks, barely able to get the words out:
“Do whatever you want…”
She leaves the table and goes outside the house.
Yoshina follows her and finds her sitting dejectedly beside one of the trees.
Yoshina approaches her and speaks:
“It’s all right, Nairs. He’ll surely reconsider that decision soon.”
“After all, Haiven isn’t the kind of person who would deliberately hurt anyone.”
Nairs interrupts her:
“No!…”
Yoshina is startled by her answer and stops.
Nairs continues:
“Those eyes…”
She falls silent for several moments, remembering Haiven’s face when he firmly said, “Yes. This is the life I’ve chosen…”
Then she lowers her eyes as she says:
“I’ve seen them before…”
“People like that… once they decide to do something, no being in the world will be able to deter them from accomplishing it!”
Yoshina’s expression hardens, and her voice comes out broken:
“But…”
“But if he continues down that path, sooner or later he’ll learn the complete truth about that accursed past…”
Nairs stands and takes a few steps forward.
She raises her head toward the moon, takes a deep breath, and speaks:
“Haiven possesses a strong spirit.”
“A spirit that, no matter how much darkness surrounds it, cannot be broken.”
“Even if he faces that madness one day, I’m certain he’ll rise again…”
…
Haiven is asleep in his bed.
He slowly opens his eyes, tears falling from them, and notices that his right hand is raised upward, as though it had been trying to grasp something.
Then he sits up and places his hand over half of his face as he thinks:
“It seems I had another dream.”
“And again.”
“I don’t remember anything…”
He turns his gaze toward the window covered by curtains and speaks to himself:
“It seems I woke up late. Morning has already come.”
He stands and walks toward the window, then draws the curtains aside, revealing a breathtaking view of a garden filled with cherry trees.
A small river winds through it, with a bridge above it connecting the two halves of the palace.
Haiven takes in the beautiful scenery for a few moments before a metallic clanging sound from beneath one of the trees interrupts him.
Looking more closely, he notices the tip of a head of long black hair.
Haiven is slightly surprised, then changes his clothes and leaves the room, thinking:
“Anyway, I’m already late. I have to hurry.”
Haiven leaves the house and walks through the garden toward the tree from which the metallic clanging is coming.
He stops and smiles sarcastically as he says:
“So you’ve finally replaced playing the lyre with blacksmithing? It really suits you better.”
Nairs stops hammering the metal, then takes hold of the sword and examines it for a moment as she says:
“You’ll never know until you try it yourself.”
His expression tightens slightly, and he speaks hesitantly:
“I was only joking. Of course, big sister has many skills. You’re the best.”
Nairs turns around until she is facing him, holding the sword in her right hand.
With her other hand, she places her fingers against the sword.
The inscriptions upon it begin to glow with a bright blue aura.
She gives him a sharp look and says:
“I didn’t want to do this, but you forced me to…”
Haiven quickly assumes a defensive stance and tries to draw his sword from its sheath as quickly as possible, thinking:
“Damn it! She’s serious! I’ll at least try to…”
Before his hand can even touch the sword’s hilt, his body freezes.
Nairs places her hand on his shoulder from behind and whispers sarcastically into his ear:
“What are you doing…?”
Haiven raises both hands and says nervously:
“Okay… okay… I surrender.”
“Besides, isn’t it shameful for someone of your stature, a Venerated Peak Hektar, to bully a young man who doesn’t even possess Yurvana?”
“Even ten Peak Jutar couldn’t withstand a single technique of yours. What am I supposed to do?!”
Nairs places a hand on her head and says:
“You really are…”
“When it comes to fighting, you become so talkative and full of complaints.”
Then she sighs and continues:
“Your stubbornness makes me even more worried.”
“Anyway, here.”
She extends her hand to give him the sword.
Haiven’s eyes widen as he says:
What?!
But this is your own sword !!
Nairs:
“Yes. It’s yours from now on.”
Haiven:
But this is Krisida’s sword, one of the rarest Four level Yorkaava in the whole kingdom !!
“It’s a legendary piece without equal… I really don’t deserve it!”
Nairs speaks indifferently:
“Huh? Really? I’ve always thought it was a good sword.”
Haiven tilts his head slightly in shock and says:
“Huh? Good? …That’s all…”
Nairs:
“Hey, don’t blame me. I’m not obsessed with studying history like you are.”
“Anyway, I’ve modified it to turn it into a dual Yorkaava. You can probably use it now.”
Haiven looks around, then points toward himself with his finger:
“Are you talking to me…?”
Nairs:
“I’ll explain.”
“Haiven, although you don’t possess Yurvana, you have an enormous amount of Alketra and a reasonable level of efficiency, to the point that you can even activate special Vira without difficulty!!”
“Personally, I’ve never seen anyone like you before, and the fact that you still don’t possess Yurvana is truly a puzzling mystery. Anyone with these qualities should, as a genius, possess Yurvana by the age of ten!!”
“Yet despite possessing Alketra since the age of eight, I still haven’t noticed even the slightest trace of the Yurvana Emerald Red within you!!”
“Anyway, I thought about modifying Krisida’s sword and turning it into a dual Yorkaava, so that a Jutar can use a small portion of its power in exchange for burning a relatively large amount of Alketra.”
“I really don’t know whether it’s suitable for you, but since you’re capable of activating special Vira, there is some hope. So why don’t we give it a try?”
Haiven takes the sword, stands upright, and closes his eyes.
He focuses completely on the flow of his Alketra and begins sharpening the sword with Alketra.
After a few moments…
The inscriptions on the sword begin to glow.
An aura gathers around the sword and gradually grows stronger.
Nairs becomes excited and screams inside her mind:
“It worked!!”
But her pupils quickly contract as the aura nearly envelops Haiven’s entire body.
She thinks:
“I modified it extensively to suit the level of an ordinary Jutar.”
“But even a special Jutar, if he burns enormous amounts of Alketra, would barely be able to activate five percent of its power at most!”
“But judging from the size and strength of this aura… it has already surpassed ten percent!!”
Her thoughts are interrupted as Haiven begins to stagger.
The sword falls from his hand, and the aura dissipates.
He drops to one knee, drenched in sweat, and violently coughs up blood!
Amid his heavy coughing, he mutters to himself:
“My God… I let my confidence get the better of me and recklessly allowed the flow of Alketra to go unchecked deliberately, for the purpose of drawing out the maximum possible potential from the Yorkaava.”
A violent cough interrupts him.
“But what a strange feeling… It felt as though I…”
He finally stops coughing.
But he is immediately startled when Nairs strikes him on the head and shouts at him:
“You idiot! Don’t you even know how to control the flow of Alketra?!”
“Or rather, you did it deliberately!”
“Just because you have some excess Alketra, do you think you’re a dragon capable of doing anything?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
Then she takes a few breaths for several seconds and sighs before continuing:
“Anyway, if you improve your control over the flow of Alketra while using this Yorkaava, you’ll be able to use a reasonable amount of its power for more than a minute.”
“And that’s more than enough time to deal with any danger that may threaten someone who doesn’t possess Yurvana.”
Then she raises her voice and continues:
“Let me say it again: these are not your abilities, and this is not your true level.”
“One minute is the absolute maximum. You must retreat and deactivate it before then, and make sure to get plenty of rest afterward.”
“Don’t risk your life for false power. Use it only in the direst of circumstances.”
She turns and walks toward the house as she says:
“You’ve used too much Alketra today. Make sure to get plenty of rest when you arrive at the Antira Mountains.”
Then she suddenly stops, turns around, and gives him a sharp look:
“Also… that so-called Ares.”
“Be extremely careful around him!”
“He’s someone who’s hiding a great many things from you.”
“In fact, he’s even capable of killing you!!”
Then she continues walking toward the house, bidding Haiven farewell:
“Anyway, don’t push yourself too hard. You truly possess excellent talent.”
“May you return safely.”
………………..
Abdelrahman :
You Know Nothing…