I Shall Devour Everything

"My parents?" This was not the first time he had not wondered about his parents, but since he never even met his parents in this life and the previous life as well, he thought that he was destined to be an orphan in the end.

Of course, he at least wanted to know who his real parents were and why they left him. But he believed that he had very few chances of finding it out since whoever his parents were, they probably didn't want to see him anymore.

Even if he felt that the reason was a different one, he was afraid of the possible disappointment and sadness that could come from meeting his parents.

So even though sometimes he badly wanted to meet his parents, at other times he felt that not meeting them was better.

"I don't know...Mei said that they died to Dreadlings, and only we survived. I was just too young to remember…" Arion had to tell the made-up story to Old Zi since everyone else considers him and Mei to be siblings.

Old Zi sighed with a sympathetic expression, "Hmm, you are indeed strong, Arion. Even after losing and suffering so much, you still came out strong in the end. You really deserve this gift you have. It will surely make you reach new heights, especially in your Defity, which you would learn later why."

He then continued in a serious tone, "But don't ever tell anyone about your gift unless you really trust that person, especially when you go to a training school. Since you and Mei would be alone in a foreign place, you both can rely only on yourselves until you find people you could confide in."

"Till then, it's best you keep your gift a secret since in our life, Dreadlings are not the only enemies we would have to fight...it's humans as well since some might seek to exploit you thinking you have no one else to protect you. Dreadlings are at least straightforward when it comes to killing us, but sometimes humans are worse since they play with our minds too before killing us."

He continued as he raised a finger, "That's why there's a saying...To kill a Dreadling, you only need a weapon, but to kill a man, you need your wits as well. I am not trying to scare you or anything, but since you have lived most of your life in a place that has been very peaceful for the past few years, you don't know how dangerous and vicious the outside world can be. I just want you to be careful since I would feel bad if something happens to a talented and upright boy like you."

Arion placed his palms over each other and said, "Thank you, Master. I will be sure to keep this in my mind." A

Arion already knew about these things since he himself had gone through a lot, but he still had to act according to his age on the outside before others except Mei, of course.

But he never knew that his ability, "Pranic Echo," was this rare and sought after enough for people to try and exploit him.

He felt a sense of happiness knowing that he had this gift but at the same time an intense curiosity to know who his parents were since Old Zi mentioned that his gift could only be passed down hereditarily. 

Old Zi also said that those who possessed this gift were usually born in high-born families with immense power and wealth.

But Arion thought to himself, 'If this was all true, then why did I end up in an orphanage? Did my supposedly 'big-shot family throw me away just because I was disabled?'

This thought only made Arion more apprehensive about finding his real parents. 

He then looked at the special tree before him and pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind as he asked curiously, "Master, what is the story behind this tree?"

By now, Arion had begun to address Old Zi as 'Master' since he felt that this old man was the best teacher he could ask for and even had his wellbeing in his mind.

He could already see that Old Zi was the kind of man who would be very dedicated in whatever he does, including teaching his disciples.

Old Zi felt happy and proud that Arion had already recognized him as his Master, and he was quite excited to teach Arion.

Hearing Arion's question, he looked at the tree and answered, "Actually, this tree has a name. It is called the Tree of Solace. The reason it was given this name was that whoever sat in the presence of this tree for a long time or touched it would feel a comforting feeling over their soul and body. Even if a sad person were to touch it, they would feel hope and find solace."

"No one knew why they were able to feel so, but the legend regarding this tree might answer it. However, I never heard of anyone hearing any voice or feeling sad emotions like you did. It just seems contrary to how I or others experienced it. But maybe it makes sense considering the legend."

Arion knitted his brows and asked, "What is the legend? How did this tree come to be?"

Old Zi took in a deep breath and answered as he looked at the horizon, "Some untold thousands of years ago, when this world was not plagued by Dreadlings or existed in our world, there once lived a noblewoman who fell in love with a low-born man. The man was considered low-born since he was not a Defier, while the woman was a very powerful Defier. But during those times, there was extreme prejudice and ostracization of Inerts or people who were not born with a pranic heart."

Hearing this, Arion was surprised that there was a time in history where Dreadlings didn't exist, and there was even a social bias against Inerts. However, the bias he could understand since usually stronger people would look down on the weaker ones and tag them as 'low-born' or something else.

And this would have been more prevalent in a world with powers or people like Defiers. In fact, he was surprised that in the present time, he saw no bias against Inerts, at least not explicitly.

Old Zi continued, "But the woman and the man were brave enough to fall in love with each other despite the social backlash they might face and incur the wrath of the high borns. But in fear for the man's life, the woman convinced the man to leave with her to someplace where no one would find them or someplace too far for people to come after. And so they came and stayed in this very place where we are right now."

Arion had a look of disbelief as he took a quick glance around and felt it a bit strange that the couple in the story lived in the same place he was standing right now.

Old Zi went on with a pitiful glint in his eyes, "But the woman's noble family were too relentless and pursued the couple all the way here since her father was a man who valued his status and society's opinions of them very much. And he was very angry since his daughter eloping with the low-born man had made him feel as if his reputation was smeared and humiliated. So, he took the cruel decision of killing them both discreetly by coming here alone."

Arion had a bad feeling as he could guess how the rest of the story goes, but at the same time, he felt bad for the couple since all they wanted was to love each other and live peacefully, but the society and their families stood against them.

"Even though the woman was a powerful Defier, her father was even more powerful. So, the woman already knew the outcome was bleak, and in the end, the father was easily able to deal a fatal blow to his own daughter since she was distracted as well in trying to protect the man. However, even if she was dying, she was able to use the last of her powers to help the man escape before her father could kill him. Sigh, such tragic lives," Old Zi shook his head with a sigh of pity.

Arion didn't expect that the man escaped and thought that both had died. Still, he didn't understand one thing and asked, "But how is this tree related to them?"

Old Zi softly smiled and said, "Just before the woman was about to die, her final moments moved the Heavenly Mother, and she blessed the woman so that her remains were turned into an everlasting tree that would stand the test of time and be a beacon of love to others. That is why this tree was considered sacred and most probably the reason why no Dreadlings ever dare to approach this spot."