114 Thank You Dyon 4

As Dyon was silently thinking to himself he suddenly realized that Ri was being a little too quiet.

When he looked up, he felt as though his heart was being pulled out of his chest.

Sitting across from him, silently looking at the menu, Ri seemed to be frozen in time… the only sign that she was in fact still here was the trembling of her fingers. She stared at the menu with her lips quivering. Her eyes reddened as she grit her teeth trying to hold something back.

Suddenly a soft voice came from her side, "big sister?"

Little Lyla was standing on the cushioned couches that surrounded the round table, looking at Ri sadly.

"ah," Ri seemed to snap out of it, looking over at the worried Lyla.

Ri trembled as Little Lyla wrapped her arms adorably around her head, "it's okay big sister."

Dyon watched this scene with a sadness still in his heart. He slowly stood, walking over to Ri and plopping down beside her.

He smiled at Ri who was holding Lyla in her arms silently, still unwilling to cry.

Dyon looked at the menu to see what had sent Ri into such a state.

There, the image of a beautiful flower shaped fruit appeared. It was a cold, ice blue, and its petals were not unlike the aloe fruit from the human world although their shape was much more delicate and fragile.

The flower spread out from its center beautiful, layering petal after petal in an elegant design. Dyon didn't know why, but he didn't ask Ri whether or not she wanted it. He simply tapped the screen, causing the fruit to slowly manifest onto the round oak table.

After waiting in silence for a few moments, Ri pulled Little Lyla into her lap. Patting the little girl's head, Ri took a deep breath, feeling a little bit better. She wiped the tears from Little Lyla's eyes, unwilling to see the cheerful little girl cry.

"This is a fruit my – my mom used to cut for me when I was younger. It's called Ice Petal's Dance. My mother loved the fruit so much, that she created a sword technique named after it… I haven't had it for a long time. Partially because I miss her, but also because it's almost impossible to eat properly," she said softly.

Dyon looked at the fruit, a pondering look in his eye, "why is it impossible to eat?"

Ri sighed, "each petal contains the actual fruit within it, which makes peeling the fruits a near impossible task. There are hundreds of petals. Few people are even willing to go through the hassle. That's not even to mention that the coating of the petals is bitter to taste, but the fruit inside is really thin compared to the coating. So, if you peel it incorrectly, you could either end up with bitter tasting fruit, or no fruit at all…"

Dyon pondered on this, and suddenly smiled, "how did your mother peel it?"

Ri smiled gently in reminiscence, "her sword cultivation was so profound… she would use her sword qi to peel the petals back, leaving only the fruit behind. It was delicious."

Dyon smiled, reaching his hand to the center of the fruit.

Ri looked confused, 'is he trying to do what my mom did? There's no way he has that much control…'

But suddenly, Ri's doubt vanished. Her eyes widening in shock.

Dyon's eyes flashed with gold, remembering one of the very first arrays he had ever mastered… the spatial array.

Sweat beaded down his forehead as the array contorted and deformed, slowly coating each and everyone of the ice blue petals.

Little Lyla looked on, giggling happily as she watched.

Minutes passed, and soon, Dyon stopped, looking towards Ri with a large grin.

"Today, I serve you Ice Petal's Dance," Dyon gentle grasped the center stem of the flower fruit, pulling upwards.

A sweet aroma filled the private room. It was like lavender dipped into apple cider, giving their noses a slight and gentle itching sensation.

The juices of the fruit slowly dripped from the now pinkish flesh as Dyon held the fruit's shell in his hand.

Ri's hands trembled as she slowly picked a petal… peeling it off and softly chewing on it.

The tears she had held back finally couldn't be held back any longer.

The only sound left in the room was a blue haired girl sobbing in a fit of happiness and an aching longing.

"Thank you, Dyon…"

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This spatial array is really too versatile. First it's for romance, then it's for saving a life, and now it's in remembrance of a mother? Too many tears

lmao, I know someone, somewhere, is looking at the credit passing through Iaachus' credit badge dying slowly on the inside

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