8.1

Of all the memories and scenes in which the adults were having "sex" or "sex" related behaviors, one in particular caught the little boy's attention. When he was inside Heroclades' room. That moment in which his master got rid of his clothes and was preparing to spend the night with two women. The little boy remembered the vivid image of his master's "penis," which stood firm and was as large as one of his arms. "If it were the case that he were to put such a thing inside me, I think I would be split in half, maybe I would die...", he thought somewhat disturbed after swallowing dryly.

Maryam, keeping the smile of on her face, said:

"What I want to say, regardless of what you may do or want to do, is that you have to do it by your own choice and not because someone else is manipulating you. My son, listen to a warning this mother has for you. Many of the people you may meet in the future may want something from you. Your heart. Your body. Your power. The reality is that in the end, no matter how hard you try, two people cannot become one and separation is inevitable... If any of the things we are talking about happen without your consent, it is called taking advantage, and if there is non-consensual penetration it is known as abuse and your father is willing to kill anyone who takes advantage of someone else's weakness, that is his honor, his motto and his warrior's way. Leaving that issue aside, why did you try to escape... I ask you not to try anymore."

"Any particular reason?" asked Rey curiously.

Maryam kept the smile that lit up her face. She acted like a mother who didn't mind listening to her son's complaints, and was willing to even patiently explain herself to him. However, she knew that her son was as extraordinary as he appeared and if she gave him a little chance, he, with her argument, could perhaps create a convenient excuse and get away with it. Rey, in the face of his mother's silence, eventually relented:

"I need just a second chance."

"Mmm, a second chance. What a problem that would create. Nor would I gain anything by forbidding him to do it as many times as he wanted behind my back," Maryam thought, to say aloud:

"Do we have a deal?"

Rey nodded.

"Just one more chance" The vampire, let out a prolonged sigh, to continue. "I'm sorry, my son, forgive me for all the pain you have had and will have to endure. Your mom is a selfish woman and I hope you will understand that someday. Hearing the footsteps of two people, the vampire got up from where she was sitting."

Wulfgang spoke to his wife:

"Hero is already aware of everything that is going on. did Rey say anything about it?" he asked once he was close enough.

"No," said Maryam, "Whatever it was, it was consensual..." As one who was changing the subject, she continued. "We're running late to go see Jhades; then we can stop by and pay Dante a visit and call it a day."

Once the pair left, Heroclades put his hand on his disciple's shoulder.

"It's quite a commotion you caused, but, still, I'm proud of you. Your father told me a bit of everything and it's clearer to me now why you beat me today: you learned from Silvia. She must have taught you how to control your aura in combat" he said with seriousness in his gaze. "Incidentally, your actions served to touch some overlooked green areas. The Great Wise Wizard told your father that Silvia was not responsible for what had happened and that, if he wanted to prevent the same thing from happening, he had to speak up and educate the little ones not to return to the house at night. When the lights are turned off, the maid is authorized to die, kill or play with the life of whoever enters the interior of the house. If you had said otherwise, your father planned to stay up at night and enter the house with the intention of killing her and regaining your honor. You still have time to change your mind and see who is stronger in a fight. Or, on the other hand, you can keep trying to escape... I think you noticed, but if Maryam can't use her powers, you won't be able to pass the initiation."

Heroclades' words were ambiguity incarnate. Is he Wulfgang's friend or not? With this in mind, the little boy asked:

"If I were to escape, with his sense of smell, could he follow me to the exit?"

Heroclades finished the little boy's sentence thoughtfully:

"And escape too. Yes. That's what your mother fears most."

"Hmmm, the light still shines, but unlike the darkness, you may not stay bright forever."

He turned his injured body and, limping, set out to walk in the direction of the forest, but not before saying:

"It's best if I get going. Mother gave me one last chance to explore... I don't intend to waste it."

Bringing his right hand up to his face to groom his immaculate beard, which grew splendorously from his chin, Heroclades made a bitter grimace as if he were someone tormented by a guilty conscience. His disciple's condition was not the best, not counting the scrapes and wounds. Rey had cracked ribs that prevented him from fully inflating his lungs, a broken arm bone that did not allow him to lift his arm and an almost disfigured face. But it was the result of training and the price to pay for finishing all the tests on only the second day. "Still, watching him walk is painful. I don't think it was necessary to want to end it all at once and push himself beyond the limits," he said to himself.

What really worried the master was that his disciple would enter the forest once again.

"You remind me of me...without anyone's love. Hmm, when was it that I realized that I wanted to fight...I think also when I was born. At that time I saw that I had no choice but to go on. Just like you, dear little one... I can do nothing but wish you luck... No..."

Heroclades, unable to restrain himself from saying something, called out to his disciple:

"Rey..."

The little boy stopped at the call of his name.

"Everyone is free to go through the work he wants to go through, but it is not weak to understand when to accept things that cannot be solved. Nor is it cowardly to seek the easy way out. Nor is it dishonorable to sit back and wait for problems to solve themselves. But, if you still make the decision to go ahead, I'm afraid it's because you still have a lot to learn and to be an adult...."

Rey turned his face and looked out of the corner of his eye at the tan-skinned gentleman who was pretending to give him advice. Of course, the little boy had seen in the past and was aware of his master's position. That he had given up to continue fighting and that he followed Fang because he or one of his descendants solved the problem he had been unable to solve.

"Looking at you well... living without doing anything is hard and hurts a lot. Isn't it Hero... You can keep calling me arrogant, haughty and arrogant. I don't want to be an adult if it means that time makes me weak and afraid of death. I am never to live among miseries, but among opportunities to make a difference...."

"Just like when, you asked me, "Do you think I won't be strong enough to face any situation?", when I gave you the chance to escape every night.

"Do you still remember those words?"

"I...have memorized every word you said."

Rey turned and continued walking. Talking to Heroclades was much more thorough than talking to his mother:

"That was in the past. I don't live in the past..."

Laughing out loud, Heroclades clapped his hands in the air four times and continued:

"A round of applause for the little one. You are splendid. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have believed it. Though it is of no use that you have discovered the malady from which I suffer. Let's see how far you get without changing, without becoming weak, and without being afraid of death."

...

With his faithful companion at his side, the little boy left the green pastures of Heaven to go once more into the interior of the Ever-Changing Forest. Walking as he walked, Rey with his now characteristic limp and, staggering from side to side, left the light behind. That which illuminated whatever it touched gradually disappeared and turned to darkness, but the darkness no longer existed for the white eyes, nor for the little cub. Both could see without any problem, as if it were daytime. Unlike the previous time, Rey had not waited for the "guardians of Paradise" to finish their work and go to sleep before wandering through the forest.

It was far more likely that he would encounter one of these creatures that was looking for something to eat to kill boredom, as, indeed, a crouching black-camouflaged beast flung itself before the battered little fellow and his companion. From the air, its claws exposed, the creature made its most powerful attack.

White was taken by surprise. He could do nothing; he could not even notice the ambush. The little feline knew that his companion was at a disadvantage and could not survive such an attack; although he witnessed the unthinkable, he could do no more than stand stunned on the spot.

Rey, with a simple but coordinated combination of steps, was able to move to one side, while with intelligence and speed he made his movements. The effectiveness of his blows was not in where he hit his opponent, but in that while he evaded, he attacked his opponent's vital areas. With one of his outstretched fingers he harassed the pressure points of the cloaked Great Beast. "The body of animals is less complex... As far as I could study, there are several zones that, if stimulated in different ways, can immobilize the enemy, hinder and provoke involuntary movements. As these points are located along the nervous system, a power user would have a greater affinity for this style because he can multiply the effectiveness of these techniques a hundredfold, but I always wanted to try. Now is a good time...let's start with the pain." Rey struck just above the feline's ear, on the trigeminal nerve. Under the jaw, on the sides of the neck, on the inner area of the biceps, over the pit of the stomach, on the liver and when he went to the testicles, he couldn't find them... "Oops, it's female, I guess," he said to himself.

The Paradise guardian barely landed on the ground, propelled itself against the nearest tree, climbed up and attacked again as fast as it could.

Rey shifted again:

"Looks like the pain wasn't enough. I understand, I wouldn't let pain break my concentration in a fight, how about I try hindering your movements... According to the mechanics of the body, certain hard and soft areas are prone to fractures, sprains, dislocations and strains if you hit them at the right time." This time, with the back of his hand still good, Rey sought to intercept the bony sutures of the beast's skull, nose, neck vertebrae, floating ribs, elbows and knees.