Chapter 420: A Decision of Fate

    Mid Morning - Mid Winter : The Ancient''s Spa, Eikasi?a | Eastern Bahamut

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    *blub-thump-thump-thump* Lethargically waking up, feeling the touch of cold stone pressing into the side of my face, I raised my head with a groan. "Mmmhh..."

    *thump-thump* "Ah-! WAIT-" *SPLASH*

    Slowly opening my eyes, I looked down to see a tiny pink creature submerged in the steaming water before it promptly burst through the surface and shot me a glare. -Hm..? Why is she so small?-

    "YOU SUCK!"

    "Uwaaah..." Letting out a nonchalant yawn, I glanced over my shoulder to see Hera looking extra small as well before finally noticing that, rather than being in a dream, it was just that my transformation magic had reverted in my sleep. -Dang, I was more tired than I thought... I haven''t slept that hard in a long time...-

    "Waking you up is like waking up a rock!"

    "Yeah, sorry. I guess I was more exhausted than I thought..." -I honestly still feel drowsy...-

    Looking up to try and focus on the transformation magic, Krystallo rather grumpily swam back over to me and climbed up on my massive leg to get out of the water.

    But right as she did... *Flash* I finished the transformation spell in a daze and shrunk back down to around Hera''s size, sending her plunging back into the water. *KERPLUNK* -Ah, whoops...-

    *WOOSH* Instantly bursting back out if the water with a heavy flap of her wings, she shot a glare at me, aiming to slam into the bottom of my chin.

    But unfortunately, my lethargic mind wasn''t fast enough to catch the impact at all. *THWACK* "OW!" Slamming into a nearly immovable object, her entire body scrunched up before plummeting back into the water. *SPLASH* "ARE YOU MADE OF ROCK TOO?!"

    Finally getting the surge of adrenaline I typically got right when I awoke, I snapped awake before looking down and watching Krystallo slowly float away on her back, angrily rubbing her head with her paw and wing. "Haha, you need to be careful, sis. If you hit someone your age like that they might not get up."

    Hearing my joking tone, she immediately shot me an irritated look before mumbling, "But you are my age..."

    Hearing her as she turned over and swam to the edge of the spa to climb out, my smile instantly mixed with a hint of worry, but before I could say anything else, Hera jumped in. "Anyway, sorry for waking you up, Vasilias." Standing up she gently stretched before using wind magic to sneakily speak to me. "Today are her big fights, the semi-finals and finals. I wish I could have let you sleep, but she-"

    "No, don''t be sorry," Stiffening my expression as I tried to look past my own anxieties, I got up and promptly dried us off with magic. "These are things I can no longer afford to miss. I have already been absent from her life for far too long." Over my years of absence, my debt to her had accumulated to such an extent that it was almost sickening. -But it''s time I start paying it off...-

    However, such a debt was not something I could pay off easily, no matter the method, so after taking some time to think of what we could do together, I decided it was best to take things one step at a time.

    And that all started with her fights. Assuming she won the semi-finals of the lower bracket, she would have about a day to train and prepare for the finals, and in that time, I was going to give her a series of lessons that would hopefully set up the groundwork for patching whatever shortcomings I noticed in the first fight.

    However, at the time.. I didn''t quite realize just what shortcoming we would have to focus on.

    It wasn''t until we got to the arena, sat through a few other divisions'' semi-final matches, and watched Krystallo come out that my worries finally set in.

    "Alright now, everyone please welcome to the stage our lower-bracket favorite, Miss Anthisi!"

    However, while it was a sight of confidence that made everyone else endlessly excited for the fights to come, it made me more than a little displeased. -She''s too cocky...-

    While it was true that she did indeed outclass her opponent to an almost unholy degree, it was also true that she was far too sloppy. -If that kid was as fast as a few of the fighters we''ve seen, she would have lost.-

    And it wouldn''t have been close.

    But while I watched her walk off stage with a scrutinous gaze, contemplating whether to let her learn on her own or intervene as I originally intended, she looked up at me in the stands, and almost instantly, her anger-fueled confidence vanished, and she rushed out of the arena like a dog with its tail tucked.

    "Haah..." It wasn''t the reaction I expected, but I knew it should have been.

    Ever since we spoke of her motivations and discussed her desire to follow me up the mountain I was climbing, she trained like hell to gain my approval, and while her anger derived from me as well, seeing my disapproval completely eclipsed it.

    With a single expression, I had sent her mind into turmoil.

    Up until that point, I had been taking a very serious, and tough approach to the matter. Considering her desire to follow me would more than likely put her life at risk, I had to be hard on her.. whether she liked it or not. Until then, I just wanted to make sure it was not only what she truly wanted, but also a path she was capable of walking.

    -But maybe.. I''m going at this the wrong way...- Quickly softening my expression, I looked back at Hera.

    She already knew what I was thinking though. "I know you want to try a softer method, but this isn''t a matter that you should approach softly, alright?" Easing her gaze, she lowered her snout and looked me in the eyes. "This is a serious matter. You need to be firm and direct... I can tell she truly wants to join you in your journey, and she has the talent to back it up, but.. I''m afraid if she really tries to climb the mountain, there will come a time that her grip slips, and you have to come down to catch her..."

    Knowing what she was getting at, my expression darkened.

    "I know she''s your sister, but you can''t afford another burden right now..." Looking back out toward the arena while another group of dragons worked to fix the damage from Krystallo, Hera''s voice softened. "But I will trust you.. no matter what path you decide to set her on."

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