13 Tears of Sadness

Granny Varena was shocked when she saw Ashia faint. She quickly tried to wake Ashia up, but there was no response. She checked her breathing and luckily it was normal. KNowing that Ashia was not in danger, Granny Varena had Navo and Vizran get Florian.

Five minutes later, Florian came rushing out the house with Arnin in tow. Both of them had an extremely worried looks on their faces when they saw Ashia laying on the ground unconscious. Florian quickly checked her pulse and breathing. After finding everything to be normal, he heaved a sigh of relief. Arnin also came around and began a more in-depth inspection. He inserted threads into her body to see if the blood or anything had injuries or abnormalities. He was glad to find that nothing was wrong. Arnin then looked at Granny Varena.

"Granny, did something happen? Do you know why my mom fainted? Did she fall out of nowhere or did something happen?" Arnin had a feeling that the reason she fainted was closely related to him.

"Umm, Arnin I think I know why she fainted. I told her about... what happened during the lessons." Granny Varena spoke with some hesitation when mentioning the lessons. Arnin wasn't surprised, rather he felt helpless. Even he knew that doing such a thing would cause Ashia to feel pain. Florian, on the other hand, was oblivious as to what happened during the lessons. He looked at Arnin questionably.

"Dad, it wasn't something major. I just injured another child and fought with his mother. It wasn't something serious." Arnin spoke like it was an everyday issue, however Florian was shocked. He looked at Arnin with a glare before turning to look back at Ashia.

Several minutes passed, before Ashia finally woke up. The first face she saw was that of Florian's. She sat up slowly with her eyes still somewhat droopy. Ashia looked around and saw some familiar faces. When her eyes finally landed on Arnin, she stopped. Her eyebrows wrinkled before she stood up.

"Aunt Varena, thank you for coming today. I need to speak with Arnin, so you should go home early." Ashia walked away while holding onto Arnin's hand. Florian followed behind, while Granny Varena left with her two grandchildren.

Inside the house, Arnin was silently standing in front of Ashia and Florian. Florian didn't say much and only looked at Arnin with a piercing gaze. Ashia had a complicated glare. It was both of anger and frustration.

"Arnin, you tell me. What happened during the lessons? If you lie even a little, then you can forget about going to some academy." Ashia used a harsh tone when she spoke. Her face was red and sweaty. Arnin was quiet before he told them what happened. He told her about why he went to the lessons, why he broke the arms of the seven year old, and what the dad said before he left.

Ashia and Florian were frightened by the things Arnin told them. Just because of an interruption he broke the child's arms? He was threatened by an Essence Manifest - Earth realm practitioner? Ashia felt a huge headache come about when she heard the news. She was extremely frightened. Who wouldn't want to avenge their children? She couldn't find fault in the actions of the mother and father. She could only see Arnin's mistake. Ashia got up and grabbed Arnin's hand one more time.

"We are going to go to that family and beg for forgiveness. You caused this so you better not walk away." Ashia didn't even turn back when she spoke.

"No, mom. I am not going to apologize to tho-" Before Arnin could even finish, a palm struck his face. A red mark appeared on his right cheek. Ashia had just slapped him.

Florian and Arnin were shocked. They never imagined that Ashia would slap him. She had never truly hit Arnin or anybody. This was the first time.

"Arnin, I don't want to hear another word out of you. Do you not even understand what you did? You broke the arms of a seven year old just because he interrupted you! How could you do something like that? You even fell out with both of that child's parents. One of them, who neither me or your dad can even face, has threatened you! How do you think we feel?" Ashia began to scream at Arnin with tears falling down her cheeks. She was of course mad about how Arnin broke the arms of a seven year old, but she was more worried about the threat that the seven year olds father gave to Arnin. Neither her or Florian could handle such a person. Suddenly she pulled Arnin into her arms and cried silently.

"Why did you have to injure them? I just want you to be safe. If you have a problem, why don't you tell your parents about it?" Arnin, who silently listened to his mother's weeping, finally understood that he was not the same Demon Lord he was in the past. He had a family now and they cared about him. Arnin couldn't help but close his eyes and allow the warmth penetrate his very being.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I will go and apologize to them myself. You and dad don't need to blame yourself for what I did." Arnin silently whispered to his mother. He felt extremely guilty for what he did.

"Be quiet Arnin. What if he suddenly attacks you? I can't let my little boy go there alone. Dad and I will come with you. And next time, if you have a problem just tell me or dad, ok?" Ashia used her sleeve to wipe her tears as she gently grabbed onto to Arnin's hand. She quietly took Arnin to the family's home. She knew exactly where the family lived when she heard the mothers name; Orsesa. This woman was very high in rank. Her husband, Viret, was the son of the second strongest person in the village. Ashia, as a commoner, needed to know who the high ranked people were, so she knew of the whereabouts of Orsesa.

Arnin silently followed behind with clenched fists. He knew that he had to bow towards the couple, so he was extremely mad, however since it was because of his mother he was willing. As the three reached an area with large houses, they were met with weird looks. Since, Florian and Ashia did not make much money, they did not have good clothes, so they stood out in a place where people wore somewhat expensive clothes. When Florian saw the people looking at them with weird gazes, he clenched his fists and looked at Ashia and Arnin with determination. He really wanted his family to live well but because of his lack of strength he was unable to make lots of money. Ashia and Arnin ignored the people's looks and continued to walk. Finally, they reached a large house that had clean wood walls and a beautiful stone roof. It was much larger and looked better than their own home, but the three were not intimidated in any way.

*Knock Knock*

Ashia went up and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, the wooden door opened up without rumbles or creeks. A man with hazel eyed and brown haired walked out the door. He had sweat dripping from his forehead and had a frown on his face. He angrily swept his gaze on the people with little to no expression, but when he saw Arnin, his eyes flared.

"YOU?! What are you doing here?! Are you seeking death?!" Viret, maniacally screamed at Arnin. Ashia and Florian quickly got in front of Arnin and looked at Viret.

"Sir Viret, please calm your anger. We are the parents of Arnin and have come to your home to apologize. Please!" Florian tried his best to calm Viret down. As the person with the highest realm, he knew that he has to speak up first.

"Apologize? After your demon child broke my son's arm and injured my beloved wife, you think an apology will suffice?" The man was spoke with a seething hatred. How could he ever forgive Arnin for what he did? As a father and a husband, he was unable to forgive Arnin.

"Sir, then please tell us what you would like us to do. I just hope that you can spare my child, please!" Florian was anguished when he saw the reaction of Viret. He knew that things were extremely bad and that something needed to be done quick or Arnin would not be safe.

"Compensation? Can you even afford that? No, I want a tooth for a tooth! Since that demon broke my son's arms, you must break his. If not, break your own!" Viret said what he wanted, but it stunned the couple. Ashia looked Viret with anger, but still stood in front of Arnin to protect him. Florian didn't even turn around before walking up to Viret.

"You want to break my arms? Here do it! I just hope that this will allow you to spare my child!" Florian looked at Viret with determination. He couldn't allow his son to break his arms, so Florian sacrificed his own. Arnin and Ashia were surprised, but Ashia continued to stand in front of Arnin. Arnin couldn't see the small tears appearing in her eyes, however he noticed Ashia trembling.

"Dad, don't do it! Just call the village elder, he can talk this out with them!" Florian only smiled at Arnin before standing firmly in front of Viret. He was willing to sacrifice his arms for his son's life anyday. Viret maniacally grabbed onto Florian's arm and started to pull. Florian trembled, but held his ground. Ashia began to silently cry, but didn't let Arnin go by her. Arnin's pupils turned from black to red. Veins appeared on his forehead at the sight of his father in pain.

Snap! Florian's face went pale when his first arm broke. Ashia couldn't help it anymore and turned around. When she did, she noticed one of Arnin's tattoo glowing. His eyes were furiously red, and veins were appearing everywhere. Just as she was about to reach out for him, Arnin disappeared from her sight.

"AHHHH!" Viret screamed loudly. Ashia turned around and Florian opened his eyes. The sight caused them to take a couple steps back. One of Viret's arms was missing. Blood was profusely spilling out.

"How dare you hurt my father! I will slaughter you and your family!" Arnin, who was standing behind Viret, chillingly spoke. What caused everyone's hairs to stand was the fact that in Arnin's right hand was Viret's missing arm.

Ashia and Florian were frightened by Arnin's actions. Ashia quickly rushed towards Arnin.

"Arnin, stop it! Calm down, Arnin! Dad's alright. Arnin!" Florian called out to Arnin many times. Arnin only looked at Florian with deep sadness.

"Dad, it was your son that caused you to feel such pain. I will fix everything and leave. I will not bring you more pain." Tears fell from Arnin's face. Arnin, who lived for over a hundred million years, had only ever shed tears once. That was when his family was annihilated. This was his second time ever losing himself in sadness.

A sinister aura erupted from Arnin. A single tattoo lit up and released a small gaseous substance. The black gas masked Arnin and the house, leaving Ashia and Florian outside.

"Arnin! Arnin! Please, stop it." Ashia screamed from the top of her lungs, but there was no answer, She tried to touch the gas, but it knocked her back. More and more people began to come out of their homes and look at what was happening.

"Florian, go and call the village elder! He may be able to help." Ashia quickly told Florian to call the village elder, who was the strongest in the village. Just as Florian was about to leave, the gas began to fade away. Both Ashia and Florian ran towards the home, only to find that it was a wreck. The roof was no longer on top, and the door was crumbled into pieces. The glass windows were shattered and the walls were collapsing.

"Arnin, where are you?!" Ashia madly screamed for her child. Suddenly, a trail of blood began to appear. The dust had yet to fade, but the blood was still discernible. Her eyes followed the trail, only to see three bodies lying on a pool of blood. Beside the bodies was Arnin. His body had cuts and bruises all over. His hair was a mess and his clothes were shredded. Arnin's knuckles had ripped skin and were covered in a grey light. He turned his head slowly and looked at his parents. Ashia and Florian cried when they saw half his face had a large cut and tears of blood dripping down.

"Mom, Dad, I caused lots of pain for you guys. Because of me, you had to bow your heads towards such beasts. Not only that, dad got his arm broken because of me." Arnin spoke mournfully.

"Arnin, its ok! Just come to mom. Everything will be fine, just come to me." Ashia wiped her eyes, but the trembling of her voice was clearly heard by Arnin, who could only clench his fists.

"Mom, I hope that you live well in the city. When I one day become strong enough to protect you, I will come back for you, Nekaia and dad. Just take care of yourselves." Arnin vanished from their sights, leaving only the destroyed home and the cold bodies. Ashia fell onto her knees before she began to cry loudly, Florian tried to hold his tears back, but it became difficult.

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The village elder was busy in his study, scribbling words on a piece of paper. Suddenly, he felt a familiar sinister aura erupt from far away. He got up from his desk, but then a figure appeared in front of him.

"Arnin? Is that you?" The village elder saw the three tattoos and immediately associated the figure with Arnin. He helped Arnin up onto his seat.

"Elder, give me the location of the academy. I will meet you there. I can't stay in the village anymore so I need to leave right away. Do not tell my parents where the academy is located, please. Sign this contract for me." Arnin spoke very quickly, not giving the elder anytime to understand what was going on.

"Arnin, slow down. What happened? Why are you in such a state? And why do you want to leave so quickly? Tell me, what happened?" Arnin didn't answer his questions and gave him the contract.

"Just sign this. Know this, my parents cannot come find me until I find them myself. I did something that I shouldn't have so I need to leave." Arnin briefly explained what happened which caused the village elder to stumble with shock. He couldn't believe that Arnin did such a thing. A five year old killed three people? The village elder took a deep breath before signing the contract.

"Alright, I won't tell anyone where you are . I'll bring Elidia and Lilise to the academy in three days time. Don't worry about your family's safety, everything will be taken care of. Here is the map for the academy's location." With that said, Arnin gave the village elder a smile, then disappeared from the room with the map that the village elder gave to him.