Chapter 72
Lucas was carrying Kaya on his back as they moved quickly through the night, with Austin beside him and Ethan leading the way.
Soon enough, Ethan and the group stopped, saying they had covered enough distance.
With only a few hours left before reaching their destination, they would rest before encountering the enemy.
They sat around the campfire as the others rested nearby.
The three guys stood by the fire, looking into the flames as Ethan spoke. "The Fire of the Great Giant—it burns for eternity, golden in color and stronger than any other flame. Beautiful in its light, it attracted many eyes coming from east, west, north, and south. But when they reached it, they only saw themselves. Looking ahead, they saw that the golden flame, which had been close, had moved further away. What did they see after looking at the fire before it ran away again?"
"Isn't it the golden fire?" Lucas spoke, poking the fire and adding wood.
Ethan shook his head. "Wrong. You, Austin."
Austin had a thoughtful expression as he answered, "They saw that the fire was an illusion."
"Wrong." Ethan smiled and said, looking at the moon, "What they saw was that the golden fire wasn't running away but just transforming into them. They became the fire, as another golden flame appeared even further away."
"Hmm, that's confusing," Austin answered, but after thinking a little, he spoke, "So you're saying that the golden fire is just a representation of ourselves and what we want to become. By reaching it, we realize that we were so far from our goal, or we realize a new goal to achieve."
"You're right and also wrong." Ethan spoke with a smirk on his face, looking at Lucas to answer.
Lucas just sighed and thought about what Ethan said carefully for a long minute before saying, "After reaching there, you would be there. It shows who you have become, and the golden fire that appears further shows that your personal growth hasn't ended yet."
"Closer, but in truth, you're all correct. What I learned from my master is that you become the fire you desired so much and realize, when you reach that next stage of the golden fire, how weak you really are. So we wish to become the stronger flame that appears in the distance." Ethan spoke, and the other two looked at him.
"What do you desire?" Lucas questioned.
Ethan just chuckled. "The same as you." He stopped for a moment, looking at the fire. "To have absolute strength, which is impossible to gain, but we all have our reasons, don't we?"
'To have peace.' Ethan thought.
'To protect my clan and city.' Austin thought.
'To see my limits.' Lucas thought.
"True, but besides that, let's talk about another important issue." Austin spoke, and the two other guys looked at him curiously. "How do you get a girl?"
It was silent for a long moment before Lucas and Ethan burst out laughing. The guys didn't find the question strange, but the way Austin asked it was just funny—he was nervous to say what he was about to ask. After a long laugh, they both calmed down, and Austin was already regretting asking the question.
"Act like I never asked," Austin spoke as he looked to the side.
The guys fully stopped, and Lucas even wiped away some tears that were leaving his eyes as he looked at Austin. Ethan said, "Don't worry, bro, there's nothing wrong with asking. It's just that the way you asked was super weird and misleading. We thought you were gonna say something about the mission or something, bro."
Lucas smiled and questioned, "You're having some girl trouble, huh?"
Austin sighed and said, "You know, I don't know. I just don't go up to girls, and if I do, I speak about some stupid stuff, like 'How was your day?' which they'll just say 'Good.' What should I say afterwards, and how should I tell her I like her?"
"Which girl is on your mind, Austin?" Lucas questioned as he went back to looking at the fire.
"A girl from our clan. It's stupid. Let's just let it go," Austin spoke as he started doing the same thing Lucas was doing, poking the fire.
"Like we said, if you desire something, don't quit on it. You want a girl—there are many girls who want you. Just go and talk to them. It's that simple," Ethan spoke, just chilling.
"How?" Austin questioned.
Lucas hit his head the next second, and Austin held his head. "What was that for?"
"You're complicating things. Is swordsmanship about techniques? If you only focus on the technique, you will fail. Because what if the person you're fighting knows your technique? He knows how to counter them—what will you do? You don't know because you never thought it would happen. Techniques are just there to make your swordsmanship stronger in a sense, but they aren't the foundation or the building of your swordsmanship.
The foundation is the sword—to embody the sword, both with and without the weapon. The building is skill, adaptability, experiences, improvement, and lastly, reflection. All those things are the main things which build the building."
Austin looked at him while Ethan was now confused. "Are you talking about girls or weapons?"
"I understand," Austin nodded as he recognized what Lucas spoke. "So it's not about the technique of getting girls nor about thinking about what to say. It's just about improving in talking with them and understanding girls, which improves my skill. I must be a quick thinker and adapt quickly when something out of nowhere suddenly comes from her mouth. Gain experience from my failures and successes, as I must continually improve my craft and also improve in maintaining that relationship and reflect on every action that I take."
"How the fuck did you understand something about swords into getting girls?" Ethan questioned.
"That's how he understands things—fighting, swords. If we had told him straight forward, he would have taken some time before fully understanding it," Lucas spoke.
"You know him well, huh?" Ethan questioned, surprised.
"We were just in the same class and went on a mission together, so you end up understanding him," Lucas spoke as Austin was thinking he just opened a door in his mind he never knew was there.
"Is that all?" Austin questioned.
"You'll learn as you go. Don't take our advice as prescription," Ethan spoke.
Lucas said, "It doesn't matter because he would always believe what's in his head. But just a single word—avoid what you call love if it isn't love. Look at love for what it really is. The same with the sword—look at it for what it is. It's cold, ruthless, blood-hungry, and its intent is to kill."
"What does that mean for girls?" Austin questioned.
"Hmmm, we aren't good people, Austin, nor are you. Everyone in this world is selfish. If you don't satisfy her selfishness toward you, she won't love you. And if you don't satisfy your own selfishness, you will never love her. Maybe I'm wrong, but that is what I see. So go with whatever you think is right."