Evander waited in the private room.
With sleek white floor and glittering blue walls that sealed off any sound, the room was truly 'private'.
It was in the same tower, a few floors below the banquet hall.
And right now, Evander sat on a luxurious couch as he tapped his fingers.
Apparently, there were no training grounds here to withstand his peak level 9 powers.
So, Evander channelled that frustration elsewhere.
Hatred.
'Abyssals. Magic Beasts. I should kill at least a thousand to calm down. No. Thousand is too little. A coupled more.'
He decided to go on a killing spree after this meeting.
Or Varian's actions might drive him insane.
"But…" Evander paused and his lips lightly curled. "He won…against every genius. This boy is a gem. Hahahaha."
Despite all the troubles, Evander felt his chest swell with pride.
This pride…
"Sam, there's someone like you." He recalled his late son. "No…he's actually stronger than you at your age..."
Then where are they same?
"Hm, he's like you in the attitude…? No, no." Evander shook his head firmly.
"You wouldn't cause me trouble. You wouldn't plot against others in the trial. You would follow orders.
You would be confident, but this guy is just too confident in himself. What's his courage to participate in the trial?
Even if one thing went wrong, he would have lost!"
The more he said, the more troubled Evander became.
He realized something.
"He's nothing like you, Sam."
"It was me…I was trying to see you in him." He closed his eyes.
"But your sister…she is really like your mother. She is sad that she lost, but she's only a second year."
"I hope she grows up." He noticed Sarah was sad and even cried. But he only thought she was sad because she failed to win.
She was sad because she thought he was disappointed in her.
But…after the death of his wife, Evander simply found it hard to express his emotions.
Even more so to Sarah. She was the constant reminder of their death and..she reminded him of her mother.
'Stop. Stop thinking about it.'
'Argh! It's four minutes forty seven seconds already! Where's that boy?' Evander tapped the couch and growled.
After the match, he realized he underestimated his disciple.
'What is he planning now?'
…he was also thinking that Varian was scheming something.
And—
Tik! Tik!
Evander's comm rang notifying Varian's message.
[Master, I'm outside the door.]
Evander closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch.
"Open."
The door opened slowly.
'You had me wait for 5 minutes, then you too should wait for 5, no 10 minutes. I'm your master. This much is necessary.'
Evander smirked inwardly. He wouldn't do such childish things normally, but sitting with Sovereigns for hours took a toll on him.
Then Varian's wish pissed off almost every Sovereign.
Now, Evander just wanted to vent.
What better option than to take a petty revenge on your disciple?
"…"
Tap. Tap.
The footsteps were very light.
Someone of Varian's build should have heavier footsteps.
Sau.
Evander could hear the small sound of the couch as Varian sat on the couch opposite it to him.
Evander kept his eyes closed and waited for Varian to speak. His expression was stern and he wanted Varian to know he's frustrated. Pissed off! Angry!
All for one thing!
To get Varian to call him first!
Hmph! Come, call me!
Something like 'Master, I'm really sorry for causing the trouble.'
…He was feeling too passive in this master-disciple relationship!
Evander started counting numbers. And in his count:
Five minutes passed.
Evander knit his brows. Unknowingly, his counting speed increased.
Ten minutes passed.
Evander frowned.
Thirty minutes passed.
Evander growled from time to time.
One hour passed.
Evander opened his eyes and said in anger.
"Boy, do you think my time is—" He shut up midway.
"…Father." Sarah weakly greeted him.
"S-Sarah!" Evander was taken aback for a moment before he quickly regained his composure.
"Why are you here?" He asked with a cool voice.
Unlike before, he seemed more strict and also more distant.
Sarah's eyes dimmed and she clenched her hands on her lap. "Varian…sent me."
"What?" Evander raised a brow.
Ting!
At the same time, his comm rang again.
[Master, clear up the misunderstandings. We aren't running a drama company, are we?
Just speak your heart out.]
'Wait, what? Misunderstandings?' Evander was confused and looked at Sarah. What misunderstandings?
[Sarah only wants you to be proud about her and I'm sure any father would be proud to have a daughter like her.]
'Of course I'm proud of her. But should I tell her face to face that I'm proud of you…? Even to Sam, I only said it thrice directly.
I told Richard many times I'm proud of Sarah. What's your point?'
[My point is some things, especially feelings…must be said out loud. It will cost you some embarrassment, but it will make her happy.
If you love someone, tell them you love them. She's your only family, isn't she? What's wrong with telling her that you love her and are proud of her?
I wish I told that to my mom before she passed away.]
'….' Evander was silent as he glanced at Sarah who stiffly gazed at the floor.
Now that he thought about it, after her mother's death, he never once spoke to Sarah normally.
He used to tell her the tales about moon. He only told them to Sarah. Not even Sam. It was a special bonding between him and her.
After he narrated the stories, Sarah used to tell what happened that day. What she found interesting, what she was happy about, what she was sad about...
And he would listen with a smile.
As she got older, the stories changed. From children's tales to fairy tales to the stories about Old Earth's peaceful moon.
But the bonding remained the same.
...Until he stopped everything after their death.
He was solely focused on revenge, revenge and revenge because he wanted to avenge his family.
But wasn't Sarah also his family…? She was the only family left.
'I avoided her because she reminded me of their deaths…but I neglected how I would appear to Sarah. To her…I am avoiding her. So, she thought it must be her fault.
Even if she knew I was depressed by their deaths, there's no way she isn't affected by it.
I thought she'll be fine with Anna…no, I just threw away my responsibility.'
[And…Sarah is pretty depressed she's a dual awakener. She feels guilty for something that isn't her fault.]
'Wait, what? I am disappointed that you can't be a Sovereign but that was never your choice to begin with. Why are you guilty, Sarah?' Evander clenched his fist and smiled wryly.
He looked at Sarah who blankly stared at the floor and felt a pain in his heart.
Sarah used to smile a lot at him, but now…she didn't even speak. It was all his fault.
[And what if she's a Dual Awakener?
Even if she's a normal awakener, it'd take at least twenty to thirty years for a level 7 to reach Sovereign state, if not more.
By then, we humans would've already defeated Abyssals!]
'Indeed.' Evander thought. Humans were growing stronger every year. They just needed one or two more Sovereigns.
They were expected to appear in a decade or two.
He only hoped there were no accidents until then.
[And you know my progress speed. I'm level 6 already by the way. Five years, and I'll be a Sovereign. And I'm not bragging, but once I reach the Sovereign state, I can end the Abyssals by myself.]
'What?! Level 6 already?' Evander almost bit his tongue. It's not even…two months, right?
Seriously!
Even if Varian told him that he'd reach Sovereign state by the end of the year, it might be…
'That's too absurd, haha.' Of course, he denied such unrealistic thought. Poor Evander, he didn't know that his disciple was a much bigger monster than he could imagine.
[So, tell her that it's okay even if she's a Dual Awakener.
I didn't say it on the stage, but my actual request is this.
Four hours of your time to make up with your daughter.
She deserves every bit of affection you can give her.]
'Thank you.' Evander took a deep breath and as he was about to close the comm, he found a small note at the end.
[PS: If you still don't treat her well, I shall sever our relationship!]
'...threatening me?' Evander didn't know how to feel. Should he be angry that his disciple is threatening him or should he happy that his daughter has someone who cares about her?
'Whatever, I'll take care of him later. Now...' Evander took a deep breath and looked at the girl in front of him and his habitual cold expression melted.
"Sarah." He spoke in the most gentle voice he could muster.
It came off as pretty awkward, after all, he didn't speak like that for years! Heck! He didn't even smile like that!
But no matter how awkward it was, Sarah's body shook as she stared at him with wide eyes.
"F-Father…"
"Sarah." Evander slowly stood up and sat beside her.
"..Y-yes." Sarah's voice shook uncontrollably. She didn't know why, but she felt like her chest was about to burst.
Why?
Before she knew it, the world blurred. But Sarah kept her eyes open and tried to stare at the man in front of her.
She was afraid…afraid it was all her dream.
Then she finally felt warm hands wipe the…tears off her cheeks.
Evander took a deep breath and his face slightly reddened, but he still said. "I…I'm sorry, but Sarah, can I continue the story of white moon from where we left off?"
With tears rolling down her cheeks, Sarah nodded with a bright smile.
"Um."
