Aurelius continued his long monologue, explaining everything in detail so Sirius could not only understand, but also learn something about the world.
After the death and burial of his beloved Lea, Aurelius became even more focused on martial arts. He didn't want to lose anyone else. His heart hardened, and his will sharpened. He trained relentlessly and took great care of Samaël, his son.
Eventually, Aurelius reached a realm known as Completion. It was the first realm where one began to earn respect and power. While many martial artists reached it, they were still strong enough to easily kill hundreds. Most people who reached this realm became guards, mercenaries like Aurelius, or bandits. It was rare for someone in seclusion to attain it.
Samaël was now fifteen. Aurelius was fifty-one. They were happy together. Samaël often spoke about a girl named Sophia, and over time, Aurelius finally accepted the loss of his wife. He never sought another woman. For him, Lea would forever be the one.
But one day, everything changed.
A dragon from the Tharagon Continent crossed into Aerindel. In his quest for vengeance, for the extermination of his tribe by humans, he burned and slaughtered everything within a hundred-kilometer radius before being killed by someone powerful. Rumors said that this person had reached the Pinnacle Realm.
Aurelius was horrified. So many lives lost because of a single dragon. Millions dead... and yet, the dragon died too, slain by someone far stronger. Why was the human race considered the dominant one if they could be wiped out so easily?
Maybe it was because of those martial artists at the Pinnacle Realm. Aurelius had never seen one, but the rumors were terrifying: they could destroy mountains and split seas. Their realm was called Pinnacle for a reason, because they stood at the peak of the human race. No other race was known to reach such heights.
Some time later, Aurelius decided to visit his childhood home with Samaël. He hadn't seen his parents in decades. He thought it would be a heartwarming reunion, for both him and his son.
But when they reached the house, strangers answered the door. A young couple now lived there.
Confused, Aurelius asked where his parents had gone. The young man hesitated before revealing the truth: Aurelius's parents had relocated... to the exact region that had been burned by the dragon. They had moved there a year before the attack.
He hoped they had survived, but it was unlikely.
Aurelius stood silent.
Then the tears came.
Twenty years without a single visit. He'd been too busy with Lea, Samaël, his work as a mercenary... and now, when he had finally decided to see them, they were gone.
And just like Lea's killer, the dragon, his parents' killer, was already dead. Again, he could not take revenge. Lea had been killed by a half-lizard, half-human, who was slain by a Crimson Step martial artist. The dragon had been killed by a Pinnacle martial artist.
They were too powerful to challenge.
He was nothing but a bug beneath their feet.
All he could do was accept it.
He wanted to burn everything. Destroy everything. But he couldn't, Samaël was still alive.
So he continued training.
Samaël eventually left to live with his girlfriend, Sonia. He was happy, more than ever.
Aurelius, meanwhile, began to read more. He studied both martial theory and worldly knowledge. And one day, he discovered something astonishing: the universe was divided into three Boundaries:
The Human Boundary, where he currently stood.
The Lord Boundary.
And the King Boundary.
Each Boundary contained five realms, each far more powerful than the last. To ascend to a new Boundary, one had to reach the final realm of the previous one, in his case, the Pinnacle Realm, and even go beyond, to its Peak.
The exact conditions for ascension were unclear. But it was said that reaching the Peak of Pinnacle was the easiest requirement.
The easiest...? That alone felt impossible.
He also learned the name of the world he lived in: the Ash Realm.
It confused him at first. The same word "realm" was used for both the Worlds and martial ranks, but there seemed to be no direct connection between them.
Still, what hit him the hardest was the truth of his insignificance. He was just a man. In a minor world. A speck of dust in a vast cosmos.
Eventually, he reached the Peak of the Completion Realm. It made him happy... for a moment.
Then he realized the bitter truth: he would never go further.
He was too old. Already in his late fifties. Advancing beyond Completion was far too difficult.
His dream, to become the greatest martial artist under the heavens, seems impossible, it was out of reach.
So he gave up. He stopped training.
What was the point, if the path ahead was blocked?
Instead, he stayed home, living off the prime given to those who reached Completion Peak. He no longer needed to work.
He attended Samaël's wedding. Sonia was lovely. They were both happy. And even if he had lost his wife and parents, seeing his child thrive brought him peace.
A few years later, Samaël told him Sonia was pregnant.
They would name the child Sirius.
Aurelius was overjoyed. He would become a grandfather.
But, as always, fate was cruel.
A pirate gang known as the Saber Gang invaded the southern regions, where Samaël and Sonia lived.
They managed to entrust Sirius to Aurelius...
But they died.
Aurelius failed once again.
And once again, again, he was denied revenge.
The Saber Gang was exterminated shortly after... not by him, but by imperial guards.
He could only curse the heavens.
Why had he not been allowed to reach a higher realm? Why couldn't he protect those he loved?
He cursed Fate, too, for taking away everyone he ever cared about, and always making sure he couldn't avenge them.
Now, only Sirius remained.
But Aurelius couldn't love him. Not fully.
Because deep down, he believed that if he loved the boy, Fate would take him too, and he had too much hatred in his heart, too much pain for loved someone.
That… was the story of Aurelius.
The man who could never protect anyone.
The man who lost everything.
The grandfather of Sirius.