Chapter 21 - More growing up

As always, Belphegor had no desire to argue with his wife about what she called him. After all, he loved her, not to mention that Sif held both halves of their sloth shard, so it was hard for him not to simply give in to her. 

Sif tried never to abuse this, though. She was curious but laid-back and had no interest in dominating her spouse, which Belphegor greatly appreciated.

As they hugged, Belphegor started talking, "Not that I don't love to see you, little wolf, but why are you here? You know we can't risk doing this too often lest the elders of your clan find out. Does it have anything to do with our son's awakening?" 

They were currently in their shared dreamscape, something that came to be after their sloth shards merged. Technically, this connection worked over any distance, but unfortunately, connecting two souls over such a distance would not go unnoticed by anyone paying attention. 

That was what all the preparations in Sif's room were for. And even then, there was a chance for discovery, meaning that they didn't meet up like this more than once a year, which, considering their lifespans, really wasn't that bad.

Belphegor knew their yearly date was still a few months away, but he also knew that today was his son's birthday and thus would be the day he would attempt to awaken. This was the only reason he could think of why Sif would show up today. 

Sif nodded while still hugging her husband and started shedding a few tears. Belphegor, feeling his tunic get wet, immediately started getting worried, "He… He's alright, isn't he? Please tell me nothing happened to him. I've yet to even meet the boy!"

Deciding to dispel his worries quickly, Sif broke their hug and said, "He's alive, don't worry. Wounded, but alive." Belphegor slaked a sigh of relief and said, "Thank the spirits. So, can you tell me what happened?"

Sif nodded and answered, "Yeah, Aunty Lisa called it 'elemental dissonance.' Have you heard of that?" Hearing this, Belphegor broke into a large smile and started laughing, "Haha, that's good! With a skilled healer present, elemental dissonance has almost no detriments and only benef-" 

Seeing the withering glare he was getting from his wife, he decided to shut his mouth and started coughing to cover up his embarrassment. "Cough. Right, it must have been scary for all of you." 

Seeing Belphegor was still smiling, Sif gave him an angry kick to the shin as her eyes started getting wet again, "Damnit, Belphegor. I thought our son was going to die, and all you can do is smile?!"

Realising his mistake and hearing his wife call him by his full name, he immediately removed the smile from his face and hugged his wife again while caressing her hair. "I'm sorry, my love. I didn't mean to make light of the situation. You must have been terrified, and our son must have suffered quite a bit. 

My smile is simply because elemental dissonance can bring great benefits for someone, and I want nothing more than for our son to grow up strong, powerful and happy."

Letting go of her anger and the hug, Sif snorted and pouted, "Hmpf, at least you recognise your mistake now. But anyway, Aunty Lisa already told me about the benefits of strengthening the heart focal and gaining a potential extra spirit element. Unfortunately, there is still something else concerning about this."

Hearing this, Belphegor got a little worried again and asked, "What do you mean?" And Sif continued, "It's about the elements vying for the heart focal; one is the expected blood element, but the problem is with the second element. None of us could recognise it, but it was extremely powerful! It looked like a hazy and pale light. Do you have any idea what element this could be?"

Belphegor looked stunned for a moment before furrowing his brow as if he was thinking deeply. After thinking for a few minutes, he suddenly shook his head and said, "I have no idea. I've never heard of a powerful element resembling a hazy, pale light. 

But I don't think we have any particular reason to worry. As the heart focal gets stronger with every attempt, the backlash from elemental dissonance will also do less damage after every attempt, so the worst is already past, no matter what element it is. 

And if it turns out that the conflict between the two elements can't be resolved through just the strengthening of the heart focal, I should be able to help him and guide the two elements in the right direction. 

Of course, I can't do that unless you can bring him to me, so it would have to wait until his 18th birthday." Few things were more important to half-blood clans than bloodlines. This means that, as long as Hati could be proven to have the blood of the Calamity wolf Fenrir in his veins at age 18, he would be a full-fledged member of the clan, even if his parentage was somewhat in question.

It wasn't that the elders doubted Hati was Sif's son, but it was possible that Hati's father's bloodline would suppress or even overwrite the blood of Fenrir. Usually, this would become apparent during the awakening of the heart focal, and if the heart focal never awakens before eighteen, it would happen then.

However, he still wouldn't be allowed to become the clan leader and, like anyone else, would have to accept a blood seal, preventing him from mentioning the clan's secrets to outsiders. After that, he would be allowed to leave the clan at will.

Sif nodded and thought for a second before she said, "Alright, I suppose I will allow him to continue strengthening his heart focal then, even if it will hurt me to watch him get hurt. Let's just hope this his ordeals will be worth it in the end." She looked sad at the end, but there was determination in her eyes and hope for her son to grow up strong.

She then looked at Belphegor with a cheeky smile before saying, "Alright, Belphi. With that taken care of, it's time to perform your husbandly duties and comfort your wife in her time of need. To the bedroom!" She then started marching to the bedroom while dragging Belphegor with her. The husband in question, meanwhile, just shook his head and followed her.

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Two months after his first attempt at awakening, Hati's body had healed to the point where he could move around as if nothing had happened. The only wound left was in his heart focal, which wouldn't affect him as long as he didn't try to absorb any energy. 

At this point, he started combat training with his uncle and Astrid. They only trained hand-to-hand for now, as Hati was still too young to use weapons as his balance and reach would fluctuate too much, considering he was still growing. 

Leif did tell him to start thinking about what kind of weapon he wanted to use in the future, though. There was no need, though, as Hati was already pretty sure he knew what weapon he wanted to use.

Hati, who was already trained in multiple forms of hand-to-hand combat from his previous life, obviously made great strides in his training with Leif, which impressed his uncle even more than Hati's intelligence.

Another eight months later, Lisa reported that his heart focal had healed enough to try awakening again. Something that surprised her quite a bit, as she had initially predicted this to take another two months, but she simply attributed this to a naturally higher healing factor, perhaps from his father's side. 

And so, Hati tried awakening again, with predictable results. It did hurt less, as his heart focal was more robust, and he was using his pride ability to shield his body, but he still fainted again. This time, though, there was no dark void or a mysterious voice, just nothingness until he woke again.

Like this, a few more years passed quickly. Hati spent this time attempting to open his heart focal, training Astrid and getting combat lessons from his uncle. In the meantime, his suppressed depression was slowly growing, as every year he failed to awaken his heart focal was another year he wouldn't be able to start looking for Luna. 

Obviously, he knew it might take many years before he found her, even if he started looking now, not to mention he had no idea where to start, as he still hadn't seen any information about reincarnation. 

Still, at least then, he would be actively looking instead of just preparing to start. At some point, he even started wondering if he would ever awaken his heart focal. 

At the moment, the only thing keeping hope alive inside him were the words spoken by the mysterious voice, as it not only said that his still unknown father would be able to help with his elemental dissonance but also that Luna was close by. Perhaps the voice lied to him, but he figured there was no harm in believing it for now in order to keep his spirits up.

During this time, he also finally learned more about Lisa Bönd, the healer who seemed particularly close to his parents, had helped him personally and seemed to receive high respect for someone without the Fenrir name.