Zein's training had already been underway for quite some time. Every day at the same hour, Zein and Naoko got up into the ring to "fight". Little by little, he learned to lose his fear of the impacts, reaching the point of lunging toward Naoko's fists to dodge them with greater fluidity.
Weeks passed and Zein's progress was extraordinary. The war against the remnants of the Empire on the island had stalled at a point where their presence was no longer required. At the same time, the lessons with the liquidators had concluded, allowing Zein to concentrate to the maximum on his training.
In the bar everyone had already gotten used to seeing Naoko and Zein fight constantly. Several people ended up getting into the ring to try to land a blow on Zein; this was suggested by Alexander under the idea that "not all the attacks you receive out there will come from the same person".
From a table, Lyra observed them in silence.
—What's wrong, Lyra? —Mei asked, approaching with warmth.
—It's just that Zein barely pays attention to me anymore because he's training —she said, pouting her lips—. Maybe he doesn't even need me anymore.
—Don't say that —Mei comforted her, stroking her hair softly—. I assure you that everything he does, he does for you.
Lyra looked at her with confusion, but Mei only offered a calm smile in return before withdrawing. The girl turned her gaze back to the ring, observing Zein with a new spark of admiration for his effort.
Days later, Lyra, Naoko, and Kiomi watched Zein train with Alexander in the courtyard of the house, having nothing better to do.
—He really is someone incredible —Kiomi blurted out without taking her eyes off Zein.
Instantly she realized that she had said it out loud and covered her mouth in a huge hurry, her face burning.
Naoko only let out a small, understanding laugh.
—He really is —she agreed, contemplating him with a sincere smile.
They stayed in silence for a while, until Naoko broke the ice.
—If you really think he's someone incredible, why don't you go and tell him directly? —she asked as a joke, but upon noticing Kiomi's reaction, she realized that she had taken it very seriously.
—I don't think I can... —Kiomi murmured, lowering her gaze.
—Why not? —Lyra asked, joining the conversation.
—You were on the ship when we escaped from Ilmenor. You know the horrible things I said to Zein, and you surely noticed the distance i put between us since then —Kiomi confessed with the weight of guilt in her voice—. Even if I no longer feel any resentment toward him, I can't just act like nothing happened.
—You wanna know something? Zein has always cared about you —Lyra said with total innocence—. Every time we talk, he asks me if you're okay or how you're doing. He knew you didn't hate me, so he used me as a bridge.
Lyra took a step forward and took Kiomi's hands.
—My brother is the kind of person who, even if they trample on him, will keep caring about you if you ever meant something in his life. I don't think he hates you, Kiomi —Lyra assured her, gifting her a warm smile.
—But... is it okay if I just approach him like that? As if I had never insulted him or pushed him out of my life? —Kiomi asked, her voice breaking from remorse.
Naoko approached them both and wrapped both of their hands between hers.
—You don't have to pretend that nothing happened. It's better to resolve it by being honest with what you feel, apologizing if you truly feel like doing so —Naoko advised her, smiling at her with empathy.
Kiomi contemplated both of them, emotional, and wrapped them in a tight hug.
Shortly after, taking advantage of a break in the practice between Zein and Mei, Kiomi began to walk toward him. Seeing her coming, Mei decided to withdraw in silence to give them space.
Kiomi handed a glass of cool water to Mei just as she was leaving the place. Then she approached Zein and offered him his.
—Thank you —Zein said before taking a long sip.
«I wonder why she came... Could she have an order to pass to me?», he thought to himself.
Kiomi took her time and sat next to him on the grass. Both remained in silence for a good while, looking ahead without knowing very well how to start.
—So... how is everything going? —Zein asked, breaking the ice.
—Good, everything good. How is training? —she responded.
—Pretty good. Mei and Alexander have been helping me a lot these days.
—Oh yeah? I'm very glad —Kiomi said.
The tension between the two was evident; it had been too long since they sat down to talk alone like that.
—I'm sorry! —Kiomi blurted out all at once, her voice choked—. Forgive me for everything I said to you on the ship... Those horrible things I blurted out at you in the middle of the pain and desperation of that night. Sorry for having given you dirty looks and avoided you for so long, when nothing of what happened was your fault.
Zein froze. Kiomi's face reflected a deep and sincere regret.
—You don't have to apologize... —he tried to calm her down.
—No, really. I let my pain turn into resentment and I unloaded all of it on you —she continued, lowering her head—. And even so, despite all the damage I did to you, you never said a single bad word about me.
Zein didn't know what to answer immediately, genuinely shocked by the change. The silence wrapped around them once more for an instant, but this time it felt different.
—Besides... I really think your hair is beautiful —Kiomi said, looking at him again with a soft smile—. What I told you on the boat wasn't what I truly thought.
Zein felt how the knot in his throat dissipated and returned the smile to her. He raised his closed fist toward her, offering her a definitive truce.
—So... are we good? —he asked.
She looked at his face and then at the extended fist, before raising hers and bumping it softly against his.
—All good —she assured with a huge smile full of relief.
From a distance, Naoko and Lyra contemplated them with joy, happy to see that they had finally been able to leave their differences behind.
The following day, Alexander was sitting at the top of a nearby hill, contemplating the city with his sword resting over his legs.
Without prior warning, the steel blade creaked and cracked slightly near the hilt. Alexander sighed with discouragement upon noticing the damage.
—Is something wrong? —asked Zein, who had just arrived at the place.
—Nothing serious. Just that my sword decided to crack out of nowhere —Alexander responded, storing it carefully in the sheath.
—I had never seen you use that sword —Zein commented.
—Kiomi's father gave it to me as a gift —Alexander explained, setting it aside on the grass and picking up two wooden swords—. By the way, speaking of her... did something happen between you two or why are you coming with that happy face?
—As perceptive as always. But that I feel good doesn't mean everything has to do with some girl, you know? —Zein replied.
—Then who was it with? —Alexander joked, passing him one of the swords.
—What happened is that I finally managed to settle things with Kiomi. The atmosphere between the two of us was very heavy since that day we abandoned Ilmenor —Zein said, adopting his combat stance.
—I'm very glad for both of you —Alexander expressed with sincerity—. I suppose then I won't have to have any mercy on you today, since you're coming full of energy, right?
—Have some pity on me —Zein asked with a smile.
They spent a large part of the day practicing under the sun.
During a break, both sat in the shade to drink water and dry the sweat from the intense training.
—You know? You two remind me a lot of Meliora and Kiomi's father —Alexander commented.
—Really? I never got to meet Kiomi's father —he admitted.
—Yeah, they had a very similar dynamic —Alexander responded—. If you're curious, stay a while and I'll tell you.
—Sure —Zein said, settling on the grass in front of Alexander.
—I've known Mei, Meliora, Lucian, and Kiomi's father for many, many years. We met during some indoctrination classes held in Ilmenor, right when the colossus of Sylvaris was officially integrated into the Empire. Back then the nuns never attended anything outside their faith, but Meliora was the exception. Lucian and I met her there: she was someone cheerful, flamboyant, and deeply kind —Alexander recalled, with a look heavy with nostalgia.
Zein listened to him in silence, attentive to every word.
—Kiomi's father, on the other hand, was a rebellious, temperamental, and contentious boy —Alexander continued with a faint smile—. The first few times they coincided, they spent all their time arguing over any nonsense. When we went out in a group, their fights were inevitable, until one day Meliora got tired of that friction and preferred to keep her distance.
—And what happened next? —Zein asked, completely hooked by the story.
—He did everything to apologize and regain her trust, until he finally succeeded. Over time, that closeness transformed into something more and they started dating. Around that time we also met Kio; I spent some time with her, but life took us down different paths and later I married Mei. We moved to Mirathun before Kiomi was born, and six years ago Mei and I had our daughter.
—Wow... I'm surprised you have a daughter, to be honest —Zein admitted, opening his eyes.
—I'm not that old for it to be impossible either —Alexander joked, though his face quickly recovered a serious and deep calmness—. You know, Zein? You are the living image of Lucian. You carry his fighting style, his principles, his way of seeing the world... I know that, wherever he is, he would be incredibly proud of you.
Zein felt a warm squeeze in his chest and smiled at him from the heart, without needing to add words.
—And where is your daughter right now? —he inquired after a moment.
—I sent her with some relatives to Thargrund —Alexander sighed, looking toward the horizon—. When the resistance started gaining strength and the conflict became inevitable, the atmosphere was too dangerous for her. I had to send her away... but it hurts me every day. I know how heartbreaking it is to grow up without your parents by your side and I don't want my little girl to go through that.
—What do you mean? —Zein asked with a soft voice.
—My parents abandoned me when I was just a child. I had to learn to survive on my own in the streets, until an extraordinarily kind man picked me up and raised me like a son —Alexander recounted, letting a shade of gratitude color his voice—. He taught me everything I know, the same thing that years later I passed on to Lucian. He was absurdly strong... and he had a particularity: he didn't age a single day. By the time I became independent, he looked exactly the same as when he took me in. I owe my entire life to that man.
—Wow... —Zein murmured, shaken by the story.
Alexander looked at him with absolute serenity.
—Do you believe in the gods, Zein? —he asked suddenly.
—Well... I know there is one out there who for some reason wants me alive. So more than believing, I know they exist —he responded, weighing his words.
—I want to share with you something that my mentor told me a long time ago; something that has marked every stage of my life and has sustained me in the darkest moments. I am sure it will serve you as well —Alexander said, fixing his gaze on the young man's eyes.
Zein settled in, waiting in silence for those words.
—The gods envy us —Alexander began with a firm but measured voice—. They envy us because we are mortal. Because any impact, any second in combat can be the last. Everything in our existence becomes beautiful precisely because we are doomed to end. Feeling pain and bleeding is not a weakness, it is the irrefutable proof that you are alive. You will never be more valuable than you are in this precise instant.
Zein lowered his gaze for a second, processing the depth of the idea with a certain doubt circling his mind. Noticing it, Alexander smiled warmly and added:
—Do you know why a real rose will always be infinitely more beautiful than one made of wood? Because the rose is going to wither.
—So you aren't afraid of death? —Zein inquired, seeking his gaze.
—Of course I'm afraid of it —Alexander confessed, turning his eyes toward the distant horizon—. But I choose to live bravely and contemplate the beauty of life despite the fear. You live terrified, Zein. You are in constant fear of losing Lyra, but because of that very fear you haven't allowed yourself to appreciate what you have in front of you. I'm not saying you should stop taking care of her, but rather that, instead of living overwhelmed by the future, you enjoy every small instant by her side. Swim through the river of life; let the current take you, but instead of suffering over the destination you are going to reach, enjoy the journey. The true beauty of things lies in the fact that, someday, everything will come to an end.
After a moment of healing silence, Alexander stood up in a fluid motion and pointed his wooden sword at him, offering him a warm, defiant smile.
Zein felt his chest lighten. With a renewed determination shining in his gaze, he rose from the grass and raised his own sword against his master's, ready to continue.