Two years passed.
Sirius was now twelve years old. He was still waiting for his grandfather Aurelius to keep his promise and answer all the questions he had. Yet, so far, Aurelius had shown no sign of being ready.
Sirius deeply wanted to escape from this house, to escape from Aurelius. Even if he knew that Aurelius had tried his best, it wasn't enough, not for Sirius. The only reason he remained here was because, without Aurelius's answers, Sirius didn't believe he could survive on his own. No money, no particular skills, no social relations, nor abundant knowledge, if he left now, he would simply die.
It was a particularly realistic analysis of his situation. The greatest and only skill Sirius had was his patience. It was anything but normal for a child, from five to twelve years old, to almost never ask questions about life, never try to play with his grandfather, nor do anything reckless. His patience and maturity in such a situation were rather insane, but he had nothing else.
One might believe he had some talent for craftsmanship, after all, he had crafted a few weapons and tools he'd seen in books when he was younger, but in truth, he had only built a few things in almost two years. Nothing particularly impressive.
So, Sirius had no choice but to wait, and to hope that Aurelius hadn't lied. He had stopped believing that, just because a book said promises were sacred, they truly were. After finding lies in some books, he no longer believed their knowledge to be absolute.
And Sirius's decision turned out to be the right one. Almost exactly a week after he had given up the thought of leaving, Aurelius appeared in the living room, ready to talk to him.
"Are you here to keep your promise, grandfather?"
Sirius was puzzled. Even if he had hoped for this moment, he never truly believed it would happen. For him, Aurelius was too deep in his cycle of hatred, too far gone to ever come back. Yet, here he was.
"Yes, my child. I'm here for that."
Aurelius looked at Sirius, and realized he had never really looked at the boy before. He had seen him, countless times, but it was as if his gaze had always passed through him. Before sitting down in the living room, he had no actual memory of what the child really looked like.
Sirius, twelve years old, was a handsome young boy, with well-cut red hair reaching his shoulders. He had beautiful golden eyes and a nicely shaped nose. His cheeks still held some of their childhood roundness, but not for long and his voice had started to grow louder and firmer.
He was a little tall for his age, around 156 cm. Yet despite his good looks, he still wore the innocent expression of a child. His gaze met Aurelius's with nothing but curiosity, and a hint of surprise, as if he hadn't truly believed he would come.
Aurelius smiled at Sirius and apologized.
"I'm truly sorry, my child. Because of my anger, I never took care of you."
Sirius didn't answer. His eyes seemed to say that he wanted to say it was okay, that he forgave Aurelius but his mouth remained closed.
"So, as I promised... ask, my child. Ask every question you have. I will answer everything."
Sirius was, at first, a bit dazzled. Then, after several seconds, he finally started to speak.
"First... are you really nice, grandfather? Since I've known you, you were... a little troubled, because of what happened to my parents."
"Yes. Don't worry, my child. I'm finally back. It was a... hard time, but I truly needed it. And now... I've finally come through."
For the first time in Sirius's short life, he saw an honest and happy smile. Aurelius was sincere, he had truly come through the darkness.
"So, maybe I should ask first about your life? Your childhood, your relationships, your work, who my grandmother was... and who my parents were?"
After this question, Aurelius began to speak about himself in a long monologue. As for Sirius, he listened intently, because for him, this was more important than anything else.
Aurelius was born poor, but to loving parents. They took good care of him, and his childhood was particularly happy. His dream was to become the greatest martial artist in the world, an absurd goal, perhaps, but he didn't care what others thought. He believed he could do it, so he tried his best.
At the age of eighteen, Aurelius left his parents' home and began living on his own. It was difficult at first, but once his understanding of martial arts deepened, he was accepted into a mercenary guild and started to live a good life.
It was there, in the guild, that he found love, Lea. She was a very funny and adorable woman, a little too harsh with others' mistakes, but he didn't mind her flaws. He truly loved her.
They got married and eventually had a child: Samaël. At that time, Aurelius's life had reached its pinnacle. Everything was good. Everyone was happy. Life felt like a utopia.
But one day, when Samaël was five, tragedy struck.
They were attacked by a group of half-lizard, half-human slaves who had escaped their horrific conditions and were fleeing for freedom. Aurelius, though an experienced martial artist, failed to react in time and Lea was killed instantly.
Blinded by rage, he tried to take revenge on the escaping slaves. But before he could strike, a mysterious martial artist appeared and killed them all instantly.
Aurelius knew at first glance, this man had reached the Crimson Step realm. He understood he could do nothing. If he tried to argue with the man, he too would die.
That was how Aurelius lost, for the first time in his life, someone he truly loved.