Absolute silence filled the training ground.
Then—
*CLAP*
*CLAP*
Namari’s voice rang out, breaking the silence.
"That was amazing, Renan," she said, clapping lightly, a small small on her face.
Renan, who had heard Namari’s compliment, was suddenly brought out of his reverie. His eyes blinked twice as he quickly turned his head in her direction, his expression shifting as he processed her words. After a brief pause, he spoke up, his voice filled with gratitude, "Thank you, Mother." His words carried genuine appreciation, yet his focus quickly shifted back to someone else—someone who, unlike him, was still lost in thought, completely absorbed in his own world.
Gracen, who had yet to recover from what had just happened, remained lying on the ground, staring blankly up at the vast ceiling above. His mind, unlike his body, was still engaged in battle—only this time, it was a battle within himself.
’I lost,’ the words echoed in his head, slow and heavy.
’I lost… I actually lost.’
The weight of this realization bore down on him, but not in the way one might expect. He wasn’t feeling anger. He wasn’t feeling despair. Instead, his mind replayed the events of their spar, his thoughts gradually settling on one undeniable fact:
’I lost to a child. A mere child who has only been training for five years. Five years! And yet… he defeated me. Me—who has trained for over two hundred, no… closer to three hundred years.’
His fingers twitched slightly as he processed the truth of the situation. By all logic, this should have shaken him. It should have made him feel humiliated, or at the very least, frustrated. And yet…
’But…’
A soft exhale left his lips as a new emotion took hold of his heart, spreading through him like a warm current.
’I don’t feel discouraged. I don’t feel sad. I don’t feel disappointed in myself at all. All I feel is… pride.’
His golden eyes softened as he let the thought take root within him.
’I feel pride. Pride in the one who defeated me. My son. My own son.’
The warmth in his chest expanded, growing stronger with every passing second.
’I feel proud that my son—someone this young—has already managed to surpass me. Shouldn’t this feel strange? Shouldn’t I be filled with bitterness? With resentment? After all, if it had been anyone else… anyone other than him… I would have surely been filled with disappointment in myself. If someone else had defeated me in something I had always believed myself to be the best at, I would have been shaken to my core. And yet, because it was him… because it was Renan, all I feel is pride.’
He exhaled once more before slowly tearing his gaze away from the ceiling above and instead settling it on Renan, who was now walking toward him.
’Yes. He is my son.
And I… I am his father.
A father…’
A soft smile graced Gracen’s lips as these words fully took hold in his heart. He reached up without hesitation, his hand grasping onto Renan’s outstretched one—the hand that had been offered to him without a second thought. With a small pull, Renan helped him up, and for a brief moment, Gracen simply stood there, watching his son in silence.
Renan, completely unaware of what had been going through Gracen’s mind, had been lost in his own thoughts as well. However, unlike his father, his thoughts had taken on a slightly different path.
’Huh… is he going to feel sad because of this loss?’ Renan pondered, his brows furrowing slightly in concern. ’I mean… I am only six years old, and he’s a thousand. It wouldn’t be strange if he felt at least a little down after losing to me, right? I know for a fact that if I were in his place and someone way younger than me defeated me in something I believed myself to be the best at, I would definitely feel… well, bad.’
The troubled look on his face deepened as he tried to figure out what to say—if there was even anything he could do to make Gracen feel better about this.
Gracen, who had been quietly observing him, took note of the troubled expression that had formed on his son’s face. A small chuckle threatened to escape him, but instead, he simply tilted his head slightly and asked,
"What’s wrong, Renan? Do you have something on your mind?"
Renan blinked at the sudden question, his thoughts momentarily disrupted. "Huh?" He looked up at Gracen, confusion evident in his eyes before quickly realizing what was being asked. "Ah, yes. I do."
Gracen nodded, signaling him to continue. "Then go ahead and say it. Why are you hesitating?"
Renan took a deep breath before speaking. "Hmm, yes… it’s about this spar. I was thinking that maybe you might…" His voice trailed off, hesitation evident in his tone. He wasn’t entirely sure how to phrase what he wanted to say, nor was he sure how Gracen would react to it.
However, before he could overthink it any further, Gracen suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
Renan flinched slightly, blinking up at his father in confusion.
"Renan," Gracen started, still chuckling. "What in the world made you think that I would feel jealous or discouraged over my own son’s talent?" He shook his head in amusement, a wide grin forming on his face. "Look at me. Look at my face and tell me—do I look even the slightest bit discouraged to you?"
Renan, upon actually taking a proper look at Gracen’s expression, finally understood it.
’What was I even thinking? Of course, he wouldn’t feel sad or discouraged. He’s my father. If anything, he would only feel proud and motivated to grow even stronger.’
The realization hit him all at once, and before he could stop himself, a smile of his own formed on his lips.
Gracen, seeing the shift in Renan’s expression, smiled back.
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And just like that, the tension that had once hung between them dissolved into nothing.
