The Martial Unity

Time passed as Ria grew from an infant to a toddler. As the months flew by, her body grew larger as her arms and legs began growing stronger, until they eventually began to be able to support her own weight under them. Much to the surprise of her parents, Ria began walking at the age of eight months, which was significantly sooner than the vast majority.

She held herself up, holding the edge of the royal bed, able to prop herself up with her arms, before slowly letting go. Her expression grew adorably concentrated as she put her entire mind to the task, her little amber eyes sharpening as she tried balancing.

“She stands up so well!” Amare beamed at her daughter, sitting cross-legged on the other end of the bed.

“Ah, our Ria is so good. Yes, you’re so good, aren’t you~?” Rui was seated beside Amare, as he stretched out his arms, beckoning Ria to come to him. Ria laughed at the sight of her parents as she took her first step, staggering unsteadily.

“She—! She’s actually walking!” Amare beamed with amazement.

Rui smiled, beckoning his daughter forth. “That’s good, baby, keep it up. You got this.”

Step after step, she came forward, making her way to her parents, who immediately embraced her when she got to them, smothering her in heartwarming kisses and hugs.

“You’re so brilliant, Ria! You’ve already begun walking!” Amare lifted her girl up in her arms, earning a squeal of laughter from Ria, who basked in the praise and affection from her family. “Mama! Mamamama!” She pointed at Amare with her little puffy fingers. “Yes! I’m your mama, my little precious angel!”

Ria burst out laughing as Amare smothered her with love, before turning towards Rui with her arms stretched out. “Papa! Papapapapa…”

Rui smiled, accepting her from Amare before pecking her with an onslaught of kisses, earning even more laughter from her. Very quickly, however, the amber eyes she had earned from her mother began to brim with curiosity as she studied Rui with knitted eyebrows, gazing at his translucent body.

She had long figured out that there was something strange about this fellow in front of her, but she wasn’t able to quite understand what. Rui smiled at her knowingly, almost in a challenging manner, as if trying to get her to verbalize what was off about his ethereal body.

“Papa whoosh!” She insisted. “Papa whoosh!”

Rui chuckled at her nascent vocabulary despite her young age. She had loved her first field trip to the Port City of Farund, where she got to experience all kinds of new experiences. New smells unlike anything she had ever smelled before, new sounds unlike anything she had ever heard before, new sights unlike anything she had ever seen before.

She had mentally associated that with the sound ‘whoosh,’ using it to get Rui to take her somewhere new. Amare’s face puffed as she pouted at her daughter in an immature charade. “Mama can do whoosh, too, you know? But Ria never asks me…”

“Papa whoosh!” She knitted her eyebrows, as if confused why the magic incantation wasn’t causing the desired effect. “Papa whoosh!”

“Alright, alright,” Rui directed a smug smile to Amare. “I guess Papa will have to do whoosh. Since Ria asked us so nicely. She didn’t ask anybody else. Only papa.”

Amare glowered at him while Rui basked in the light of his daughter, lifting her up and taking her out, teleporting to different parts of the nation and even the continent as he showed her many new sights.

He showed her the forests in South Kandria, taking her to her equally young uncle, who resided with Mother Alicia. He took her to the Silas Clan, showing her her grandmother’s side of the family. He took her to Kane’s and Fae’s place, showing her their home, as well as Fae’s pregnant belly, allowing her to play with Runark.

Each time she asked to cast the ‘papa whoosh’ magic spell, Rui would be sure to show her something she hadn’t seen before. And there was plenty to show. The Panama Continent and even the true world was a broad and diverse place with many sights for her to see. She relished in each and every experience he gave her. Each was entirely new and unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Each nourished her mind and her memories with more sensations outside of her prior set of experiences. Each helping her grow a little more than she already had. He could feel her internalizing everything she learned.

“You’re truly brilliant, Ria.”

WHOOSH

He stood high in the night sky, kissing her on the head lightly, where her hair had fully grown, covering her entire head. Her hair and skin were indescribably soft, beyond what words could even begin to describe. They found themselves in the darkness of the night sky, gazing down upon the stars of civilization that were spread across the surface of the Empire.

This time, she didn’t cry. Rui smiled at her warmly, kissing her once more on the head as she gazed at the Kandrian Empire in wonder. Countless buildings and homes still had their lights on, and many carriages flashed their front lights to illuminate the road amid the darkness. Streets had street lights dispelling the darkness.

It was unlike anything she had ever seen, save for the stars in the night sky.

“You wouldn’t have seen this several years ago,” Rui remarked knowingly. “The Kandrian Empire has grown a lot in a short amount of time. No…”

A hint of satisfaction entered his ethereal voice. “All of Panama has grown in a very short amount of time.”

She turned towards him with wonder brimming in her amber eyes. “Papa?”

Her voice was that of a little pixie. It was like that of a little bell that rang ever so gently and lightly, squeezing his heart with just how utterly adorable she was. The sheer amount of cuteness she radiated with each word she uttered was utterly lethal, making him stagger with the psychological force with which it struck him.

“Yes, precious baby?”

“We wand wader.”

His ethereal eyes flew wide open in shock. “…What did you just say?”

“Wader,” she insisted. “We wand wader.”

Rui stared at her in shock as she mundanely uttered her first full sentence.