After he was done, the white-haired man walked towards the very center of the cemetery, to the massive monument hosting a parlor with the giant photorealistic painting of the fallen whose graves were adorned with his bouquets.
"Your sister is one of the people whose bodies were never retrieved, boy. I apologize that leaving the flowers on an empty grave is the best I can do for your older sister and her comrades.
Hearing the footsteps of the approaching martial artist, William spoke while looking at the faces on the paintings.
The thing was, he, William, was painted in the very center of the group of hundreds of people, and although the date beneath the painting clearly stated it was over-created twenty-five years old, the white-haired man was exactly the same as he was now.
Not a single wrinkle more, not a shade on his face that would suggest his actual age.
*thump*
"Great teacher, this unworthy student offers you his deepest gratitude!"
The blond-haired marital artist fell to his knees and kowtowed to the white-haired man.
"There's nothing to be grateful about. I was supposed to lead and protect them but I failed. My overconfidence brought their demise while only I was spared from the rage of the line of death. I should have at least enough shame to die together with them, but..."
"Great teacher! Don't say that! They all knew the dangers of the expedition and willingly took the risk! No one blames you for the outcome!"
The martial artist called out, interrupting the white-haired man's self-deprecating speech.
"...the current Star Emperor wants to repeat his grandfather's mistake and set out the expedition past the line of death, isn't he? And on the day of their death's anniversary... That's the message you were supposed to deliver, right? Thank you for taking your time to help me out today, but my response to his majesty's request is... no. I will not lead more children to their death."
William gulped down his saliva and declared, turning around and walking past the marital artist.
"Great Teacher! That is not at all the message! The line of death disappeared completely and we came in contact with the citizens of the land of mana! Because of the report that you made after using the law of Pisces lead the Star Emperor to seek a peaceful approach. That's why we need you! The only living human who mastered all twelve laws and received the title of Heavenly Star! This is not a call to war, but for peace!"
"..."
The martial artist raised his voice and called out pleadingly, making the white-haired man stop right behind the cemetery gate.
"...so... the message...?"
William turned around just a little bit so the martial artist would not be able to see the awkward and troubled expression on his face that would surely ruin the image the white-haired man built up with his grand behavior up until that point...
"Yes!"
The martial artist stood up and put his hands together in front of his chest before bowing his head in preparation for speaking out – no matter who was he talking with, the words of the Star Emperor could not be repeated while a messenger was on their knees.
"His highness says – According to your report, you announced that our Heavenly Star nation will attempt to conquer the land known as the Kingdom of Bellcephora through violence in presence of many aristocrats, not to mention that you did so after losing to a boy not even eighteen years old. I am giving you a chance to fix that mistake. Arrive at the Star Pagoda at your nearest convenience."
"..."
The more William heard, the more droplets of sweat ran down his face.
Despite being only his astral projection sent out thanks to the law of Pisces, and hence only being a fraction of his power, a part of him faced the first loss in decades which made him very angry.
Thinking that crossing the line of death would never be possible in the first place, William spoke some rather hostile words to the black-haired boy standing victorious over him, and everyone who could hear him...
"...?"
Speaking about the black-haired boy, the proud look in his eyes and the wicked smirk that was befitting of a bonafide villain made him flinch.
"Great teacher...?"
The dark-blond-haired martial artist asked in confusion when William suddenly walked back to the cemetery and passed him without saying a word, before stopping in front of the painting of the deceased once more.
His eyes focused on the youngest person in the large group.
The boy was in his early teens, and he was standing out next to the adults surrounding him.
His honey-blond hair and bright blue eyes were enhanced by the devilish smile that carried the promise of the boy becoming a heart-stealer in the future.
"This... this must be a coincidence, right...?"
William squinted his eyes, reaching out his hand and putting it to the painted figure's head.
If the colors of eyes and hair were different then...
"Great teacher...? Ah, yes, the loss of so many star power users was a huge blow to the sects, but the one to suffer the most was most definitely the Great Ram sect. This boy was handpicked by the sect leader to inherit his position. I still remember seeing him fight and win the right to participate in the expedition in the tournament twenty-seven years ago... Nathan Ramis, the beloved child of Aries."
The dark-blond-haired martial artist smiled, looking at the same person that William was focusing on.
"I was already older than him during that time but I struggled with getting bullied by my seniors. Seeing a kid scrawnier than me never give up and win fight after fight ignited my soul and pushed me to reach greater heights... I... I wanted to spar with him at least once and thank him... He was just like my sister, wasn't he? They never recovered his body."
The martial artist breathed out and smiled solemnly at the silent William who looked as if he was considering something...
"Yes... that's right."
The white-haired man nodded, taking back his hand and turning his back to the painting.
"Here."
"...?!"
William took a deep breath and threw a small key towards the martial artist, who caught it easily but with a surprised expression.
"Take the cart back to the village and leave the key with the settlement administrator. I will go straight to the Star pagoda."
The white-haired man explained, taking off his apron and looking to the west.
"Law of Capricorn."
He called out without waiting for the marital artist's response and ran straight up into the air before dashing off into the distance.
"...How in the world a kid like that convinced the geezers from all the sects to actually seek a peaceful solution...?!"
William pushed the uncanny similarities between the youngest member of the failed expedition and the black-haired nobleman that his astral projection fought during the tournament in the land of mana to the back of his mind.
What was the most important now was making sure that the disappearance of the line of death isn't a sign of the oncoming calamity - as for the meeting with people of the land of mana... whether peaceful or not, could honestly wait a bit more.
For William at least, the safety of the citizens of the Heavenly Star nation was the most important.
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