Chapter 212: Master Kael

Aether sighed as he felt the soft fabric of the robe rest on his body. It was weird; it was the first thing he had worn in a while since he had covered his body with his cloak. And while his t-shirt and pants magically got changed when he got out of the Tides, this was the first piece he had worn outside them.

It was not something you would normally think about, but it just came to his mind. Just how much he had been wearing his cloak. And he had to thank his master for it.

For the best, and yet the birthday of his life.

Actually, when he got an armor, it would mean that he won’t wear it as much… but did he want that, after all, he had become quite attached to it. How much it had helped him, through Frozen Crown, and with the Rebellion, and even now in the Tides. It had been with him.

“Well, I guess I’ll add a mindless piece of fabric to the people that haven’t left me. Alongside the Abyss and Voidpiercer.”

He chuckled to himself, trying to make fun of his own loneliness.

Now, on why he was wearing a robe, well, the old man had requested him to do so; he said that everyone inside the dojo must do so. Which he didn’t understand, since he hadn’t joined it, he just slept here for the night, and he was about to leave.

But he did have a reason for staying; the man had wanted to talk to him, and maybe he could get some information.

And of course, he had already tried using shadow speech, but they didn’t budge… like come on, it had even ranked up. But it only meant that the man was strong… but if that was so, why didn’t it work on Leo, since he had also tried getting the information about Denial through Shadow Speech?

Either way, if he wanted any clue on what this world was, what was happening inside this place, it would be from him.

So that was why he had stayed, and accepted to wear this weird robe instead of his trusty cloak.

…

Aether entered the main room, his eyes locking onto the old man, who seemed to be quietly meditating, like he wasn’t bored with having a random person inside his house, even if that guy could kill him easily.

Aether scoffed.

“So what the heck did you want?”

Aether said with a smug look while lying down on the floor in front of him, crossing his legs, resting his elbow on his thigh, and putting his head and his palm.

The man opened one of his eyes at first, then after about two seconds the others, a slight calm smile appearing on his face, but Aether could see the challenge in it.

“Well, I just wanted to be sure… You are from the Tides, am I right?”

Aether widened his eyes at first, before quickly rolling them, and his cocky smile appeared again.

“And what if I am? Does that change anything, and plus, how did you even know?”

The man chuckled, happy to see that he was, in fact, right. Well, Aether hadn’t officially confirmed it, but it was pretty obvious by his reaction and words.

“Well, really, I didn’t have such a good reason to speculate; it’s just that all the people who came from the Tides are usually overrun by anger, you know? And in the end… most don’t ever survive. Most don’t get past that anger and let it consume them. And I don’t think you’re any different, by how you are acting.”

Aether smiled a bit more before it quickly dropped to the floor, as if gravity had turned it upside down completely. He gritted his teeth as he stopped himself from summoning Voidpiercer right then and there,

“You dare say that to my face? I am in full control of my body, I most definitely am not overcome by anger!”

The man chuckled even harder.

“See what I mean?”

Aether had wanted to respond; he was visibly annoyed by him, but at the same time, he didn’t want to prove him right. So he calmed himself down… or rather just pushed back the anger.

“So is that all you wanted to know?”

The man nodded, which surprised Aether… had that been all that he wanted to know, really? This was all he made him change into a robe for, like heck, it took him longer to change! But the man wasn’t lying, as he had already started to close his eyes again to resume his meditation. But while he was done, Aether wasn’t.

“Wait, don’t you think it’s fair for me to ask a question back? I mean, that’s what someone with an honor would do.”

The man opened his eyes again and raised one of his eyebrows, but quickly laughed off his demanding attitude. After all, he had been right, it was only correct that he answered his question back… information isn’t free.

“Very well, ask away.”

…

..

.

“Who are you?”

The man stood frozen for some seconds before his face completely dropped. He sighed, getting up from his feet.

“You really wish to know my past?” He said, with his hands behind his back, and walked over to where some swords were resting on the ground.

“Duh? If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked it.”

…

“My name is Kael, that’s all.”

Aether scoffed enough to cut him off from continuing anything sad he was about to say. He wasn’t here for that. “Oh shut up now, when you first saw me, you said something about me being sent, so who are you really?”

Kael was surprised by Aether’s attitude, it wans’t something he wasn’t used to; most people who came from the Tides were this way, but at the same time, the more he spoke with him, he realized he was slightly different…

“Right… well, then let’s go to the beginning…”

He said while resting down in front of Aether again.

…

…

“Veyr wasn’t like this at first… people were equal, many wished to learn the blade, it was considered a symbol of manhood, of power and dedication if you managed to master one. But that all changed with the Demon of Dread… blades weren’t able to keep up, and so, in the end, they fell. That was until a child that had been born in the middle of the outburst stood in front of everyone and swore that he would protect everyone, and awakened powers, he was… a hero, and the first to be born with a Will.”

So in the end, Will’s are things you are born with, and not something you can awaken in the middle of your life. It was good to know, but at the same time, the hero, while he was born with a Will, awakened them when he swore with all his soul that he would protect everyone. So maybe even if they say he was born with the power, he just awakened it, and in the past, people could awaken even without being born with powers…

And maybe that was still available to this day if you knew how.

“After him, more and more people began to be born with these powers, and in the end, they were able to push the monsters of the Tides away, and soon all types of Wills were born, and not long after, a group started to excel over the others when it came to the strength of their Will.

They were called the original masters…”

Masters? Like the person who had trained the smith, well, rather, it probably was that the guy who trained him was a descendant of the original master, and not him, since a lot of time had passed since then.

“Many took after them, trying to copy their ways… and soon Will’s became social status, you didn’t hold one, you weren’t worth anything, you could never be strong… but were rebeld back. We went back to our old ways, fighting with the blade… And even if at first we weren’t as strong, we quickly started to form fighting styles to match the Will’s. It was more because with the appearance of Will’s, the world had changed, so while they call upon their own power… we call on the worlds…”

So it was a lot worst then he had thought, the social hierarchy, but it was surprising that the will-less had actually had the inside them to rebel, after all, seeing all their hollow face,s he would have never thought…

“Those who were able to form a unique and powerful sword style were named masters of the blade, and were said to rival the masters of the Will’s… many will-less had come to train… but in the end, they lost…”

Aether looked around. “And let me guess, this abandoned dojo was also the dojo of one of the masters… and now, the only one who lives inside it.

…

Is its master.”

…

…

The man chuckled.

“You asked earlier who I am?

I am Kael… the master of the Rapier.”

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