Chapter 129: A Sister's Tears
After running her tests, Mobius discovered that Rovel did, in fact, seem temporarily incapable of absorbing other mediums to activate new Authorities. The finding left a flicker of disappointment in her ancient eyes.
However, she mused, this limitation might be tied to his current physical state. Although Rovel had successfully fused with the essence of Taiyi, his actual physical fitness hadn't seen a proportional improvement. At least, when compared to the other MANTIS warriors, he appeared almost frail.
"By the way, Doctor, I have to leave for a while," Rovel said suddenly, a sense of urgency coloring his voice as if a crucial memory had just surfaced. "My sister is probably still worried sick about me."
"Your sister?" Mobius raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
"Her name is Yuki. She's also a member of World Serpent now, so you might have a chance to meet her in the future. Goodbye, Doctor." With that, Rovel initiated the log-out sequence without another word.
He could already picture the scene vividly: Yuki, her face streaked with tears, waiting anxiously for him.
The gaming pod hissed open, its transparent canopy retracting with a soft mechanical hum. But the heart-wrenching scene he had braced himself for—of Yuki rushing into his arms, crying his name—never materialized.
Slurp...
Instead, the distinct sound of someone slurping noodles echoed through the quiet room, which was now saturated with the rich, spicy aroma of Malatang.
The world seemed to fall silent for a beat. Yuki, a pair of chopsticks halfway to her mouth, chewed thoughtfully before swallowing the noodles.
How should he describe the feeling? To his own surprise, Rovel felt a faint, almost comical pang of disappointment.
"You're awake, Brother," Yuki stated calmly, her tone suggesting his awakening was the most expected event in the world. "Want some?"
It made a certain kind of sense, he supposed. Through the transparent door of the gaming pod, Yuki could monitor his physical condition at all times. The moment the ominous purple patterns had faded from his skin, she would have known he was out of danger.
"...Yeah, I'll have a bit." Rovel pushed aside his strange sense of letdown and focused on replenishing his own empty stomach.
"While you were asleep, Brother, I finished all the games we bought," Yuki announced, picking up a nearby game console and proudly showing him her save files.
"Really? In a way, that's seriously impressive."
Rovel's eyes drifted to the dozen or so game cartridges stacked on the table. He had been unconscious for less than four days, at most. For her to have completed all of them... she must have pulled several all-nighters. He could see it in the faint redness rimming her eyes.
"Thanks for taking care of me these past few days, Yuki. You should get some proper rest," Rovel said, his voice softening as he gently patted her head. He then stood up and began tidying the room, collecting empty takeout containers and stray wrappers.
A few minutes later, he returned with two glasses of warm milk, placing one in front of her.
The gentle, golden light of the evening sun slanted through the window, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air and falling upon Yuki's hair like a tender caress.
Yuki, who had been engrossed in her game, suddenly went still. She turned her head slowly and simply looked at Rovel.
"What is it?" he asked, a little confused by her sudden intensity.
She didn't answer. She just kept staring, her gaze unwavering. Rovel, not understanding the shift in mood, found himself caught in her silent challenge, and the two of them fell into an impromptu staring contest.
Seconds stretched into a minute. Then, a glistening sheen began to form over Yuki's eyes. Her lower lip trembled. The next instant, the dam broke.
She launched herself from her chair and threw herself into Rovel's arms, her body wracked with uncontrollable sobs.
"Waaah... Bro... Brother...!"
"I was so scared... I was really, really so scared... If Brother was gone... Yuki... Yuki would also..."
Her cries, fractured and desperate, mixed with her choked words, reached Rovel's ears in intermittent waves.
Rovel's expression softened completely. He wrapped his arms around her trembling frame, gently stroking her back and soothing the emotions that were clearly on the verge of shattering her composure.
'It's a classic case of emotional isolation,' he thought, recognizing the psychological phenomenon. The brain, in order to protect itself from overwhelming trauma, actively severs the channels for painful emotions, plunging the individual into a state of functional numbness. It was a self-preservation mechanism.
Perhaps until this very moment, Yuki hadn't truly processed the terrifying reality that Rovel, her most beloved brother, had been on the brink of being lost to her forever.
Only when these pent-up, suppressed emotions are finally allowed to be released can a person truly begin to heal and find themselves again.
Yuki's heart-wrenching cries filled the small apartment, and she wept for a long, long time. It was so long that even after she had cried herself to sleep, she was still hiccuping with soft sobs, her small hands gripping the fabric of his shirt with a desperate strength, unwilling to let go for even a second.
Holding her gently, Rovel found his mind drifting back, back to the day they had first met.
At that time, he had only recently been brought into the Zhou Family household. His days were a suffocating whirlwind of study, a relentless curriculum that dragged him from basic academic courses to the rigid nuances of high-society etiquette, and then to the mastery of various artistic talents.
Though he was perpetually exhausted, he persevered. As a "genius," he felt an immense pressure not to disappoint his mother's expectations.
He hadn't seen his mother for many days, though. The servants would say she had gone away temporarily so as not to disturb his studies, leaving behind instructions for him to work hard and strive to become a worthy heir to the Zhou Family.
Rovel had dedicated himself to this purpose, constantly pushing himself to improve. Until one day, while gazing out the window of his study, he saw an exquisitely made-up noblewoman leading a small, doll-like girl into the manor.
The little girl seemed to sense his gaze and looked up, her eyes meeting his.
What kind of eyes were those? They were hollow, utterly soulless, like the polished glass lenses of a machine that only knew how to follow instructions, devoid of any light or emotion.
"Rovel, come and meet your sister."
The Head of the Zhou Family had appeared silently behind him, his voice a calm command.
"Yes, Father." Rovel nodded, his own expression carefully neutral. This was his first time meeting Yuki.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Brother Rovel. I am Yuki Suou."
This was the first time she spoke his name. Her etiquette was flawless, impeccable. Every movement, from her curtsey to the slight tilt of her head, seemed to have been practiced thousands of times. Even the curve of her lips was fixed in a perfect, pleasant arc.
"Yes, a pleasure to meet you as well."
Rovel's gaze lingered on her face. She looked to be about a year younger than him.
"Let the two children go and play. Get to know one another," the Head of the family instructed a nearby servant.
'Play?' The word felt foreign on Rovel's tongue. Since arriving here, every minute of his life had been carefully planned and scheduled. Was he actually allowed to play?
"Yes, my lord." Two servants bowed and led Rovel and Yuki away.
However, this so-called "play" was nothing more than a thinly veiled facade. It was less about playing and more about making the two of them compete, wasn't it?
And so, for the first time in her life, Yuki Suou tasted defeat. Whether it was in their advanced studies, their tutored talents, or even the piano at which she was supposedly most gifted, she was completely and utterly defeated by Rovel.
As a certified genius herself, she found there wasn't a single thing in which she could surpass the boy who was now her brother.
This ignited a defiant spark within her. She began to actively seek him out, challenging him in every discipline.
But it was futile. Even for subjects Rovel was encountering for the very first time, he only needed a brief period of familiarization before he could rapidly surpass her. A skill that took her a month of grueling practice to learn, Rovel could master to a proficient level in less than a week.
It was an absolute, impossible gap in raw talent.
Their rivalry continued until one day, during an Aikido sparring session, she was injured. A sharp, lancing pain shot through her arm, making her brow furrow. Rovel immediately stopped and retrieved a first-aid kit, kneeling to apply medicine to the scrape.
"If it hurts, you can cry," Rovel had said softly. "It might make you feel better."
"...Tears will not earn sympathy from an enemy," Yuki had replied, her voice as detached and factual as ever. "On the contrary, they only make one appear weak, thereby exposing one's vulnerabilities."
"Enemy? I'm not your enemy. I'm your brother," Rovel stated simply. "So it's okay to cry in front of me. I'm going to apply the disinfectant now, it might sting."
Yuki curled her lip in disdain. Had this boy truly not realized that the two of them were locked in a silent, bitter struggle for the position of family heir?
He dabbed the cotton swab onto her broken skin.
"Hiss—it hurts! Brother, be gentle!"
And just like that, Yuki's tears flowed, hot and uncontrollable, spilling down her cheeks before she could stop them.
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