Chapter 259: On Death and Aging (Patreon)

Edi

“Master, I need to talk to you!”

Having teleported to one of several islands hovering over the Pacific Ocean on Earth, Edi looked up into the sky to see his master, wearing black shorts and a black sports bra, in the middle of a duel with Vanar Tedros, who was wearing just a pair of red sweatpants. They were both using blunted weapons, with no offensive skills and no Telekinesis, so maybe it was a pure skill challenge. Or maybe they were comparing their achievements in the Law of The Tactician.

It was hard to tell. And Edi didn’t really care.

All that was important was, for the first time in a long while, his master was on Earth or in the Heavenly Soul Universe, and he needed to talk to her.

“Some other time, Edi.” His master defended against three strikes by Mr. Tedros, moving back each time and obviously feeling pressured. “I’m a bit busy right now.”

“Whatever you’re doing isn’t as important as what I need to talk about!”

His master didn’t stop at his words, but Mr. Tedros did, moving back quickly and stopping his assault. Then, faster than Edi, only a relatively newly advanced C rank, could follow, Mr. Tedros appeared right in front of him. “I know Lord Aalam isn’t big on ceremony and protocol, but still, show some respect.”

Mr. Tedros, like Lord Isaiah, had a different type of aura than everyone else Edi had met, one filled with slaughter and death, the man having taken quite a few lives in his time, something pretty much impossible for those living directly under the rule of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and, with the man so close to him, well within striking distance, Edi felt a chill go down his spine.

Still, Edi worked up his courage. “Master, I would like to request—”

“No.” Landing next to Mr. Tedros, his master spoke just one word and Edi felt all his strength leave his body, falling down onto his knees.

“But I didn’t even—”

“It’s obvious what you were going to ask, kid.” Mr. Tedros squatted down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder in a way Edi couldn’t find comforting but was probably intended to be so. “You’re at that age. Which of your parents won’t be able to make it to C rank?”

“Both.” Edi looked up at his master and then back at Mr. Tedros, realizing from his master’s actions that she likely intended to let Mr. Tedros talk to him instead of doing so herself, maybe because the man had experience with this type of situation while she, whose family and friends were all C ranks, did not. “But I don’t care about my dad.”

“Well, that’s a bit heartless.” Mr. Tedros took his hand back and sat down on the island’s grass, moving his legs to sit crosslegged. “Did he abandon you or something?”

Mr. Tedros then seemed to study Edi’s aura a bit. “No. Nothing like that. You just don’t have much of a relationship. He fathered you, did right by you, but didn’t raise you.”

“How did you—”

Mr. Tedros pointed at Edi’s master, who was still standing and looking down at them, and spoke one word. “Telepath.”

Feeling like an idiot, Edi still pressed on, this time looking at his master. “Why won’t you help?”

“What do you think your mother would need?” Mr. Tedros spoke in a serious voice, his tone regaining Edi’s attention. “From what Lady Li has just explained to me, your mother is two Law grades behind having the minimum requirements to advance, yet she lives on an A rank planet, cultivates the best possible cultivation technique for her Laws, and has a C rank race well beyond what she’d need to easily form a core.”

“There are resources for awakening uniquenesses, resources for advancing her bloodline, and permission to enter the enlightenment zone.”

Without warning, Mr. Tedros slapped him—not particularly hard, but enough to shock Edi into almost doing something stupid, like attacking the man. “Are you an idiot or just an ingrate?”

Edi didn’t know how to answer and, when he looked up briefly at his master for help, he only saw a look of annoyance. But he couldn’t tell if the feeling was directed toward him, toward Mr. Tedros, or if it didn’t reflect his master’s emotions at all.

“Your master, I, and the other C ranks under Lord Aalam have to risk our lives every time we steal resources for awakening uniquenesses and for advancing the bloodlines of your universe. A spot in the enlightenment zone aside, even I don’t dare to ask Lady Li for such resources to use on myself to help advance her plans, yet you want to ask for them for someone who would almost certainly die in a few hundred years even with such help?

“Have some shame.”

“Master gives extra resources to her friends and family all the time.” Edi felt himself get heated, but he didn’t care. “Take Lord Isaiah, for example. He’s used more resources than anyone, yet he can’t even beat you.”

Mr. Tedros started laughing, a big loud sound, and Edi felt like the man was looking down on him. “Let alone Isaiah’s combat power, his level of talent is at least a half grade higher than your own, and he specializes in skills complementary to your master and Lord Aalam. Then, even more important, his contributions to the United Federation of Planets is the third highest in your entire universe, having been the right hand to Lord Aalam since they were F ranks.

Mr. Tedros’s voice turned cold. “Don’t belittle him. You’re not worthy.”

The chill down Edi’s spine grew colder.

“You’re afraid of me?”

At Mr. Tedros’s question, Edi wanted to shake his head, but he’d been around his master long enough to know lying to people who had her trust was generally a bad idea, so he instead nodded.

“Why?”

“You’ve killed a lot of people.”

Mr. Tedros appeared like he had expected such an answer, but there was something else in his aura and expression, something that, if Edi didn’t know better, he would have sworn was jealousy. “You’re so lucky and you don’t even realize it.”

Mr. Tedros sighed. “Do you know why I’ve killed a lot of people?”

“Revenge, for having your family killed.”

Mr. Tedros nodded his head, his voice turning solemn. “That accounts for some, but not most. Almost all of the people I’ve killed have been on the battlefield, fighting wars for assholes more powerful than me and staining my soul red in the process. And in the wider universe I’m one of the lucky ones, talented enough to use that experience to grow more powerful myself instead of one of the trillions of daily sacrifices.

“Unlike you, I didn’t have a lord lucky enough to find a whole completely uninhabited minor universe and talented enough to take it over, giving me an unparalleled safe area the size of seven galaxy clusters in which to grow up. I also didn’t have a super engineer as a lord, inheriting the tools of a smithing god and using them to create a farm to make primal energy stones the standard currency of my homeworld. Finally, most important, I didn’t have a lord who was so talented that most of those under him had absolutely no way to contribute to his power and so kind as to let those unable to contribute live safe peaceful lives, even having the chance to earn those resources he himself couldn’t use.

“What have you contributed to make you worthy of wasting resources which could instead be used to help your universe’s future generations keep the safety you’ve enjoyed throughout your lifetime?”

“I participated in the F and D rank Trial Towers as well as the War of the Chosen.” Edi’s words were weaker than they had been before, but he was also feeling less scared.

“And how does what you’ve earned and given to the United Federation of Planets compare to what the United Federation of Planets has given you?”

Edi looked down at the ground. “If it were being accounted for, I would be deeply in debt.”

Mr. Tedros reached out and raised Edi’s chin so he was looking at his master. “And there is another thing you have to be clear on. What you said about your master earlier is backwards. It’s not that your master gives extra resources to people she cares about. It’s that she only allows herself to care about people with high talent and thus a high chance of surviving for a long time.

“This is something everyone who will rise higher in rank than most of those around them should generally do. And it is so they don’t run into situations like you’re running into now, as these types of situations suck.”

Mr. Tedros took his hand back again and Edi, after nodding once to his master, turned his eyes back to the man.

“Neither of my parents were lucky enough to get to D rank and I had to face their loss. Brom’s father was a B rank, with the talent to easily get to A rank, but he still died when Brom was young. And Reginald lost his father, an extreme talent, because the man got stuck at E rank for attempting a nearly impossible path. Wolfram has a similar story to mine, Lord Isaiah is a product of rape whose mother was murdered by her husband, and the Yin Yang Sage’s life was absolutely full of tragedy.

“These are those of us not from Earth or your universe.

“Then there is everyone from Earth who experienced your planet’s integration, such as your master, every single one of whom lost friends and family during that event. You just don’t hear much about them as it was such a long time ago.

“Everyone who has reached your level of power has some loss in their past, and you can feel free to talk to any of us.

“But my main recommendation is to spend what time your mother has left with her as much as she’d want you to. She still has several G rank lifetimes left, so think of that extra time as a gift and cherish it.” Mr. Tedros reached out and touched Edi’s shoulder again, and this time Edi felt comforted. “Then work hard and help us make it so more people like your mother can live peaceful and joyous lifetimes and not be slaughtered by primordial gods.”