Chapter 27 - Home Sweet Home

It was only after a long time that my father finally calmed down. Even though his mad-scientist laugh had stopped, I could see the happiness, bordering on giddiness, on his face. The emergence of the Dragonet in his lifetime meant more to him than I had imagined.

He took a deep breath to calm his roiling emotions and sat down on a rock by the lake's edge. I followed him and sat facing him. I had many doubts and questions that I needed to ask. As a scientist from Earth, my experience with such matters was, let’s say, not very detailed. Although there were some incidents on Earth involving supernatural humans, they were obscure, and the reasoning behind them was always vague—often religious or bordering on insane.

Experiencing the Awakening of the Blood Legacy was both bewildering and exhilarating. It once again proved that this world contains deep secrets and mysteries. If I could research such phenomena, they might provide answers to many questions that couldn’t be answered back on Earth.

This incident had sparked my curiosity and ignited my scientific passion. It had been a long time since I felt this excited. Exploring the unknown has always been the lifeblood of a scientist. A low voice brought me back from these thoughts.

“Azalon, it has been a long time since I felt this happy. All those lonely years filled with hardships left me as a shell, a step away from completely collapsing. It was your mother who brought me back, showing me love and comfort in my darkest time. Without her, I would have become a bloodthirsty killing machine, devoid of remorse.”

I silently watched my father as his gaze became distant, as if reliving his past. I could feel his pain and hopelessness from the tone of his voice. I had been in a somewhat similar situation in my early childhood—an orphan abandoned in a back alley, growing up almost like a beggar, fighting for crumbs and leftovers. It was a life without any thought of the future, only focusing on the next meal.

It wasn’t living; I was merely surviving. It was dark and lonely until that person came into my life. She was the only one who showed me unconditional love, never seeing me as a freak because of my high intelligence; she was my only motivation during those early days. Unlike those who fawned on me to gain favor and raise their status through my influence.

Mother Lily Sebastian… my savior, my guide, my friend, my mother…

Tears threatened to come out as I thought about those moments in the orphanage. But I stopped them from rolling down because I had promised her that I would never cry; that I would always smile, no matter the situation.

My only regret was that she was not around when I succeeded, when all her efforts bore fruit. I could not repay her for all she had done for me. She was my guiding light and will always be. The reason my father respects his Master is likely the same—he was the person who saved him, even if for selfish reasons.

Loneliness; only those who have truly experienced it can understand and appreciate the presence of someone they can rely on, even if that person is a criminal or outcast in the eyes of society.

That’s why I did not ask about his past but silently waited for him to recover. Mother always used to say that one’s burdens must be carried alone; no one can share their burdens with others. So I waited patiently, thinking about my own past. After a long time, he finally recovered, and I could see tears at the corners of his eyes. All this time, he had a distant look, not even registering my presence.

He finally turned his gaze to me, and a smile surfaced on his face. I could feel his gratitude in that smile. That smile alone spoke volumes that his words could not express. I cracked a smile in response, showing that I understood what he wanted to convey.

“Alright, enough about me. It was in the past, and I’ve decided to let go of my burdens. Now, I said there is another thing I would give you once you completed your Awakening. But I never expected your Awakening to be this strong—strong enough to activate the restrictions preventing you from speaking about them.”

He flipped his hand, and a simple black ring appeared in his palm as if materializing from nothing. I gawked at it. Huh? Was this some cheap trick that people used to fool children back on Earth? It’s not funny, Dad. I’m not a child, even though I look like one. But before I could ask, his next words caused my expression to change completely.

“This ring is an inter-dimensional storage artifact. It is one of the few things saved from ancient times when our ancestors were being chased. This artifact was designed by a Void Master, unlike today’s storage rings designed by Spirit Blacksmiths, and it has unlimited storage space. You could fit a mountain inside it, and you wouldn’t even come close to filling it.”

An inter-dimensional storage artifact? The technology in this world had developed to that extent? Such technology was still in the research stage back on Earth, and what was more surprising was that this artifact was made around 10,000 years ago. Just how advanced was this ancient civilization to create such artifacts?

You have to understand—I spent almost a decade creating a machine to create a small crack in space. Moreover, the machine was large enough to fill a room and required vast amounts of energy to operate. But this artifact is a ring with a separate, stable dimension and works on minimal energy.

Thinking about this turned my shock into excitement. If I could analyze the workings of this ring, I could understand things I hadn’t been able to before. If I could grasp the technique behind this ring, I could create machines in my lab back on Earth with ease. Just the thought almost made me jump with excitement.

My father handed the ring to me and said, “Since you are the inheritor of the Blood Legacy, this ring belongs to you from now on. You need to drip blood on it to become its owner.”

I immediately bit my index finger, and a drop of blood landed on the ring in my palm. The blood spread across its surface, and various symbols flashed as the blood passed over them. They dispersed before I could get a good look, and the ring returned to its previous lackluster black appearance.

But I could feel a sensation at the back of my mind, linking the space in the ring to my consciousness. I bent down to pick up a pebble and imagined it being stored in the ring. The pebble vanished from my hand, but I could sense its presence in my mind. With a thought, the pebble reappeared in my hand. I played with the ring a few times before my father interrupted with a small laugh, then turned serious.

“Alright, Azalon. You can play with it later at home. Listen to me. The time it took for your Awakening was about a month, and the Inheritances you received are powerful. According to my father, normally, it takes around 3 hours and at most 10 days for the Awakening. Descendants who undergo Awakening are usually over 10 years old.”

“But you are only 2 years old, and the Inheritances are powerful, so your body cannot bear the burden of the Inheritances all at once. You need time for your body to adjust and stabilize before you can start cultivating. Initially, I considered giving you a week or two, but given the current situation, I am prohibiting you from cultivating for 6 months. Only after 6 months can you start cultivation, and that too under my supervision. Understand?”

I was engrossed in the ring as I heard these words. They seemed logical to me, considering the human body is inherently weak, and my body is only 2 years old. I agreed with my father’s decision to let my body adjust to the significant changes. I nodded in agreement.

But six months? What should I do in that time? Hmmm, that’s right. I smiled as a couple of good ideas popped into my mind. The next day, we began our journey back home, as it was almost nightfall, making the journey dangerous. It took three days before we saw the outlines of the city gates, and we silently walked to our mansion. My family enjoyed a very happy and relaxed dinner that night.