"This is why we went to Dad and mom's marriage" "My birthday photos" "This is Dad, mom, you, Aunt Affea, little Avia, and me" "My team" "And she's… Sigh… my Claire. Mia told me that she returned to her dad's hometown. I don't know whether I will meet or not."
"You remember, Gideon, right? My best friend… He's actually from the Crescent Clan. Before I went back in time, I only saw him once. But, who could have expected that I would meet him again and that too, in Aclein city?"
Once Azzy revealed himself as the time traveler who spent with Oakley's family in the past, he spoke of the things that he experienced back there. Of course, while leaving out some important things like the enmity with the Church of light, killing Barbara and her master, meeting his own future self, acquiring cosmic gems, etc…
Oakley doesn't even know how to react to all of this. It is already incredibly difficult for him to digest the fact that his grandson had traveled back in time and even lived them. The photograph evidence only made it worse as he couldn't just remember Azzy's face from the past timeline.
For a second, he even wondered whether his grandson was trying to prank him or something but since he got to meet him after so many years, Oakley chose to trust Azzy's words completely. After all, he was aware of the hourglass with the sands of time.
After Azzy was done with his story, he then asked Oakley to tell him what happened in the family after his disappearance.
Oakley explained his life.
"On the day you disappeared, Avia fell ill. I think you know that.
Everyone thought it was indigestion at first but when checked with the doctor, we found out that Avia had a rare heart disease known as Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Its usual symptoms will be shown in adults. We never saw it coming.
The next six months were a hard thing for us. Affea got a heart stroke, Avia is ill, and our Clan's Matriarch had only one way to cure her. It is to reconstruct her body once again.
As a result, Avia had to separate from us.
Seeing your grandmother, who was devastated by the loss of memories of you and Avia's state, I had to do something. So, I convinced her to have another baby. I thought that she would be happy by showering love on our new baby and watching him/her grow up in absence of Avia.
But, I didn't expect a war to be broken out between the North and the South, triggered by a row of assassinations of the North's important officials. I had a choice to make. Taking Affea out of the country and living somewhere else in peace or helping out the North as a healer.
Your grandmother was kind. She made me choose the second option as a way of repaying the debt to the country that sheltered us for two decades.
Thankfully, your mother is on Affea's side. So, I and Vesyrn were able to go out there and help the wounded citizens and soldiers.
The war went on for several weeks and Affea's due was also getting near. When she's on the 34th week, one day, your mother received a mission from the clan to nab a key member of the dark organization.
Look, I don't blame Izora for following the clan's order. She informed me about it too. Since there is still time, we didn't take the matter seriously. And as if the God of misfortune was waiting for the time to strike our lives, Affea had gone into labor. I was in a situation where I cannot return to her.
She sure gave birth to Aspen but the doctors couldn't save her life. I don't know whether my presence would change anything but I couldn't be with her when she took her last breath. Perhaps, that's what changed me.
Later on, the doctors told me that they told Affea that they can only save one life and she chose to save Aspen.
But, that darkness inside me continued to eat me inside out.
I blamed myself and Aspen for Affea's death. I even blamed you, I mean, the past you for her death. In the end, I was addicted to alcohol and stopped paying attention to my kids who aren't even proper teenagers to look after themselves. I even became an abusive father.
I still remember that day. It was Aspen's 4th birthday, but for me, it was my wife's 4th anniversary. I didn't celebrate his birthday for years and Avia thought that it is a better time for us to move on.
However, I made a mess out of the event, clearly not interested in celebrations. I blamed Aspen and made him cry. Had Avia not caught my hand at the last second, I would have even slapped my son.
I guess I really broke Avia's heart. She told me that she had it enough and took away Aspen with her to the Death Clan.
The foolish me went there to take back my children by force and was defeated naturally. The Matriarch sealed my power and exiled me from the clan as punishment.
After that, our relationship changed permanently.
To become a new person, I left Aclein city and settled down in this small town. To repent my actions, I decided to open the clinic and serve the innocent citizens of the country who I once went against in the war.
It took me several years to get back to a normal person and the Night clan slowly unsealed a part of my soul orb.
And 13 years ago, you came into my life, making me a grandfather, all of a sudden. At first, it was a duty that Lord Qridus gave me, but slowly, you became family to me.
You know the rest."
Maybe, it is because his proficiency in learning the Law of Neutrality has improved, Azzy neither felt pity for his grandfather nor did he feel angry. What's important is that the present Oakley is a good man and he deserved another chance to prove himself.
Does that mean that he is getting more mature or getting more emotionless? Only time will tell.
Anyway, after digesting all the information from his grandpa's story, he responded with a simple yet complex series of questions, "What about my parents? I heard that they died in the Forest of Death. When did it happen? Why did they even try to go to such a dangerous place when they aren't strong enough to survive in a level-5 region?"
If it was a couple of years ago, he would have used some excuses but seeing that his grandson is in Exalt realm, Oakley wondered if he should take a chance and answered, "They didn't die, Azzy. Everyone lied to you on Lord Qridus' orders."
Azzy was promised by his future self that he would see his parents in the original timeline. So, he was confident that they didn't die and probably has a complicated story to it. But, all of that actually doesn't matter at all. As long as he can meet them, then, the past doesn't matter. He can forgive them and give them a second chance even if they abandoned him due to circumstances.
"What is it?" He urged his grandpa for the truth, intending to face the truth.
Taking a deep breath, Oakley then said, "In simpler terms, I should say that they are in a coma, but the situation is far more complex than that. I'm not an expert in sealing techniques. So, I'll try my best to speak in common terms. You see… their souls are trapped in their mindscape while their soul orbs are completely sealed. This mystical seal was placed in such a way that their mindscapes and soul orbs were linked together.
As a result, we cannot destroy the soul orb and forcefully bring them back from their respective mindscapes. If we do that, their souls will also perish. It has been thirteen years and even Lord Qridus hasn't found a solution to save them."
Azzy was slightly surprised by the information but not depressed. He quickly contacted the Reaper to check whether the latter can save them.
And thankfully, the Reaper gave him the good news, "You already know a way to save them. The Gluttony seal can eat up any kind of seal from the body."
"Ah, that's right." Azzy's heartbeat spiked up a bit and he tried his best to show calmness as he further enquired about the matter with Oakley, "As long as they were alive, we can always find a solution, grandpa. Can you tell me how and when it happened?"
Azzy's calmness took Oakley by surprise but then, his words clicked something else in his mind. The latter asked, "Do you plan on traveling to the past to save your parents?"
Even though it is his grandpa with whom he shared his secret of time travel, Azzy, for some reason, held back himself to not reveal everything. But, at the same time, he doesn't want to lie either.
Hence, he shook his head and answered, "That was an accidental time travel. I don't know how to travel on my own. Maybe, in the future when I can do that, I will probably save them if a solution wasn't found. But, I would rather not do that unless it is necessary because a change in the past will bring a lot of changes in the future."
Oakley sighed in relief upon hearing his response. He might not know the secrets of time travel but he does know that time is mysterious. He was worried that his grandson would irresponsibly use his power and get into trouble. The last user of the hourglass did some terrible things and had to be killed by his own brother (Qridus).
"I guess I did the right thing, after all." Oakley felt like his mind was at ease.
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