The Martial Unity

They weren’t accustomed to seeing their aunt dressed so casually and lightly. After all, after the Era of Expansion began and the threat of the blood supremacy was revealed, she had become a busy leader of a growing political, militaristic, and social organization, dressing formally and in a manner that suited her position.

Here, however, she looked like how one might expect an aunt to look, though she was significantly younger as a pathwalker than a woman her age would be expected to look. “Your home looks so simple,” Runark muttered as they walked towards the front door, comparing it to the buildings beside it. “I would have expected something more extravagant from the President of the Blood Humanist Society.”

Arastia huffed as she closed the door behind them. “I don’t care for extravagance. Growing up, my caretakers, Max and Mana, raised me in Quarrier Orphanage. Even after my status as a member of the Kandrian Royal Family came to be revealed. I chose not to move to the Royal Palaces.”

Ria’s expression darkened at those words. She hadn’t had that choice since her father was the Emperor, and she was too young to have her freedom. She needed to wait until the age of sixteen before she had broken through to the rank of Master. She glanced around at the place where Arastia was staying. It was neat and simple, with little furnishing. Arastia hadn’t gone very far with decoration since she didn’t stay on Planet Sarantel most of the time, but she had taken the effort to put pictures of her family and friends on the walls and on the tables.

There were images of Arastia as a child surrounded by Max and Mana, with her young friends. She had numerous images with others in the Quarrier Orphanage circle, pictures with Julian. Pictures with her sisters, Ru and Ranea. And, of course, pictures of her with Ria and Runark as children. Ria’s eyes softened as she saw her younger self enjoying what was perhaps the closest thing to a utopia she could imagine.

She would be woken up by her parents, who took the time to prepare her and dress her up personally, go to school with Runark, meet up with her other friends, then get home and immediately go to play in Quarrier City, where she would meet up with Arastia and her other friends and play until sunset.

Sometimes she would train too, with her mother and father, though she simply viewed that as playing with her parents. She would spend more time with her parents in the late evening before eventually going to sleep.

What more could a person want?

Ria’s amber eyes shifted as it fell upon an image of a young Arastia with Rui and Amare. Amare held her in her hands, cooing at her, directing a pointed gaze at Rui, who had simply turned away with a wry smile.

“Good times.” Arastia’s voice came from behind her with a hint of nostalgia. “But nothing can remain the same forever, unfortunately. And perhaps more importantly, we shouldn’t want it to be.”

Ria knew what she was trying to tell her. She perhaps even knew in her heart that her aunt was right, but it was a hard pill to swallow.

“Hey, look, you have a picture of my dad too,” Runark pointed to one with a young Arastia trying to catch Kane in a game of Catch. “I forgot he didn’t have a beard back then.”

“Uncle Kane was always fun to play with. Still is even now,” Arastia smiled. “Even now?”

“I had the opportunity to spar with him the last time I visited Gaia Prime after his advancement,” she replied with an amazed expression. “He was even more untouchable than he used to be.”

A smile emerged on Runark’s face as he grinned at her. “Yeah, my dad’s the strongest.”

Ria found herself staring at the picture of her parents as Runark and Arastia chatted about Kane. They looked a lot younger than she remembered. Not physically, of course, but in spirit. There was an energy about them in the images that was perhaps a little more impetuous and immature. Like they were still a young couple.

But the father and mother she had grown up with were towering figures in her mind. They were wise, mature, calm, and composed. They raised her as well as anybody could ever hope to expect from parents, especially parents who were as busy as they were. Her father still found time for her despite being the Emperor of Kandria and the Chancellor of Gaia.

She had heard that her grandfather had taken a different approach, choosing not to involve himself in the lives of his children; having fathered so many of them, he wouldn’t have the time to even make the commitment.

She was happy that her father didn’t go that route. “Enough brooding.” Arastia placed her hands on Ria’s shoulders, startling her. “We’re here to have some fun after all. Just like old times. Oh!”

Her eyes lit up. “Are you two hungry? Because I had something nice prepared for you.”

She walked towards the kitchen of the home. It was comprised of an empty platform. Until she tapped it, causing it to light up.

VMMM

In the blink of an eye, numerous devices emerged from the surface of the kitchen platform. The smart metal technology was a relatively recent application of material engineering; it had blazed across human civilization for its tremendous convenience and modularity at the molecular level. The kitchen platform transformed into a busy kitchen filled with food.

“You made this yourself?” Runark’s eyes were raised. “How could you possibly have time for that?”

“Well, made it myself is perhaps a stretch of the truth,” Arastia smiled wryly. “I just made use of some of the pre-installed recipes. So it was essentially just pressing some buttons. But…”

She pulled open the oven as a delicious odor spread across the kitchen and the home, stoking a voracious appetite and hunger in them. Inside the stove was a creamy stew, of meat and vegetables. While a tray of baked bread also emerged beside it. The other food items quickly began popping, much to their delight.

“We have three hungry pathwalkers, so I made sure to have as much food prepared as necessary,” Arastia flicked her finger, causing a spurt of blood to pick up the dishes to the living room, where the table was. “Let’s dig in immediately.”