CHAPTER 102: LYNNOR INDEED: A LESSON, THEN A LEFT HOOK

Aramith couldn’t sleep the rest of the night.

His blanket felt damp from the cold, but his neck was sticky with sweat. The night air pressed against his skin like wet cloth, and every time he closed his eyes, the sound of her screaming sliced back through his head.

His heart would quicken each time, breathing became heavy, and though the wind was cool, he found himself sweating more.

Lynnor didn’t sleep either. But unlike Aramith, who tried to sleep but couldn’t, she decided to keep watch over them. Especially Mozrael. What if she suddenly woke up again?

For a carefree person who always did as she pleased, this side of her was different. She was very worried about them—even pitied them. She watched how Aramith struggled to get some sleep, but pretended to be asleep.

He had his back to her and Mozrael, but Lynnor noticed when he trembled in his restlessness and forced himself not to look back at Mozrael.

Time seemed to pass quickly, and soon enough, light filtered through branches and leaves, stretching shadows and causing animals to rise and scatter.

Aramith just stared at the light growing as the sun rose higher.

What am I supposed to do now?

He half expected Mozrael to wake up during the night, but she was as still as a rock.

He finally forced himself up, staring at Mozrael. The marks looked dimmer in the day, but they were still there, slithering across her body.

She’s Gold now, the thought rushed through his mind, foreign.

He couldn’t help but compare. Even prodigies needed years. And Mozrael... Mozrael had done it in days.His fingers dug into his knees before he realized he was doing it. He couldn’t even properly cultivate, yet she’d soared past gates he could only dream of. The thought was sour in his chest, made worse by the memory of her screams.

If that pain is the sacrifice needed to reach that, I would gladly do so, he smiled bitterly.

But Aramith had no idea what kind of pain Mozrael went through because of the dragon within.

He would easily go mad with the pain if he went through that, but how could he know?

Aramith washed his face and cleaned up a little before sitting down to practise cultivating again. He didn’t even utter a word to Lynnor as he passed her to sit away from them.

And as he sat down and focused, he felt utterly disappointed in himself. The joy he’d felt when he began to make progress disgusted him.

How can I be happy when I haven’t achieved anything?

And though he was able to concentrate on channelling Youm into his core, its meagrenness made him feel pathetic.

He could control himself well enough not to feel jealous of Mozrael, but comparing himself to her made him feel more and more inferior.

There had to be something he could do to improve, right?

Lynnor didn’t interrupt him till some hours into the day when she decided he should eat something.

"Open your eyes, kid." Lynnor tossed a pebble at his forehead and forced him to come eat.

Aramith tried to ignore her and even said he wasn’t hungry, but Lynnor wouldn’t allow it.

"You do know you can pass out from tiredness if you force yourself like that, right?" Lynnor looked at him, resting a chin on a palm.

"What does it matter? I’m not even making any progress."

Lynnor sighed and shook her head. "I don’t understand how people can be so stupid. I asked you a question, idiot. Do you know that you can pass out if you force yourself like that? Yes, or no."

"I—"

"This generation is just filled with idiots like you, and that makes me worry. Just answer yes or no." She stood up and flicked her hair. "Can’t you even learn from me?"

Aramith stared.

"SO you still don’t get me, huh? Well then," she pulled out a string and tied her hair in a ponytail, "I guess I’ll have to get serious and feed you myself."

"What?"

Before Aramith could breathe again, Lynnor attacked him and tied him up. She used the cruelest of methods [ That cannot be written or described for your safety.] to force-feed him.

One squirrel stopped mid-bite, watching the horror unfold. It would have nightmares for years.

She only stopped after a visible bulge appeared on his belly, and he couldn’t breathe without having to force down food. [He passed out a couple of times tbh. ◉_◉]

The whole traumatic scene was now a thing of the past, though scratch marks and several signs of struggle on the ground and trees around gave away what had happened.

"Why are you so worried about things like that?" Lynnor, sitting beside Aramith, said.

Aramith had to take several breaths before he could speak. "Why are you—"

"She’ll be waking up soon, but I have to ask you this." She paused for a minute, then, "You may be having a hard time with your cultivation, but do you think Mozrael asked for this? DO you think she wanted to suddenly shoot up to Gold in one go? You feel like she got a shortcut, even if she suffers, but are you aware of the pain she had to endure?"

The question hung in the air like the sun above. It felt heavy.

His chest tightened, and his mouth went dry. People didn’t just skip steps like that, so of course, there would be side effects. But still, I wish I could also improve.

Lynnor studied Aramith as if she could see the gears turning in his mind. "You’re jealous, huh?"

Aramith spoke faster than he thought. "Of course not. I’m not jealous of—"

"Relax," Lynnor cut him off. "I didn’t mean the terrible kind of jealousy. Jealousy made people act terribly toward their object of jealousy. Well, that’s most of the time." Lynnor looked him in the eyes. "If you’ve ever studied children when they play, there is usually one kid who comes out with a toy and goes like ’hey, my mom just got me this’, and everyone becomes happy to follow him. Have you seen that before?"

Aramith thought, but he couldn’t recall anything like that when he was younger. He could picture what she meant, though.

"Yes," he replied.

Lynnor scoffed. "You don’t need to lie, sheltered boy. I know you didn’t have that kind of fun as a kid. Anyways, here’s the thing."She grabbed a falling leaf. "When children find themselves with a friend who has a special toy, they may get jealous. Some will just be happy they get to play, but for those who get jealous, there are two categories."

She tore the leaf into two. "The first group gets jealous and hates the fact that someone gets something they don’t have, so they may try to destroy their friend’s toy so they will all be on the same level with no toy."

Aramith stared as she blew one half of the leaf away, letting the wind carry it far.

"For the second group," she twirled the leaf in her hand. "The second group of jealous kids would ask many questions on how their friend got that toy. They’ll try to find ways to get that same toy. They may ask their parents or even spend their own money to get it. But when they do get it, they’ll also be able to stand on the same level with their friend who had the toy before them."

She gently pulled Aramith’s hand and placed the other half of the leaf in his palm. "You belong to the second group. That’s what I mean by you’re jealous of her."

Aramith looked at the green piece in his palm. It made sense to him now.

Lynnor had her rare moments when she just oozed with intelligence. He felt better now.

"So, don’t be so glum that you suck. Yes, you’re terrible at this, but what can you do except do what you can?"

"Yes...I’ll try. Tough, I wish I were better," he muttered.

"Hahahahaha!" Lynnor laughed loudly, slapping her thigh. "You’re funny, hahaha!" She gripped her stomach, laughing louder now.

Aramith smiled, then chuckled.

"But didn’t you hear me? hahaha!"

Aramith noticed her laughter sounded different. As if forced.

"I’ll try my best."

"Yeah, won’t you? Hahaha!"

Aramith looked at her. She was laughing, but her expression was a strange one. Why did she look angry and happy at the same time?

He backed away slowly.

"Are you alright?" he asked carefully.

"Me? Of course I am. Is it because of this vein begging to burst on my forehead?" She pointed at her head.

Her voice was smooth, almost too smooth. Aramith relaxed—mistake number one.

"Is there a reason why—"

Bam!

Pain exploded in Aramith’s head. And suddenly his head was on the ground.

Lynnor jumped on him, drilling her fist into his head.

"Are you an idiot or what?"

Aramith cried out, but Lynnore heard nothing.

"I just took my precious time and brain power to explain things to you so you can feel better, and you’re already sulking again. Are my words of wisdom not enough for you? Is that it?"

Aramith screamed and begged. "I’m sorry! Please!"

"Apologize!" She punched his head again.

"I just did!" He screamed, wriggling under her weight as he tried to crawl away, but she just pushed his face deeper into the ground and hit him harder.

"I said, apologize!"

"Help! She wants to kill me!"

Bam!

"I didn’t hear my sorry!"

He cried out. "I’m sorry please!"

But she didn’t hear, or pretended not to.

"Apologize, you ungrateful little idiot! Say you’re sorry! Say it!"

But you were just worried about me. Why are you trying to kill me?

While Lynnor continued to harass Aramith’s head, Mozrael stirred in the blankets.

Her fingers twitched, curling as if grabbing something in a dream. Lynnor froze mid-punch.

She waited a full five seconds, shrugged, and continued.