12 Orb Birth - Sky vs Orb Birth- Heaven (2/2)
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Arnin was walking with blood stains and his clothes in tatters. He wasn't seriously injured or had any deep wounds, but he got punched around enough for him to spill some blood. However, Arnin didn't care about any of these things. He was fully engrossed in the threads inside his body. During the fight, he learned a new use of the threads and even thought of ways to implement them in different ways.
While walking, he was trying to figure out how to strengthen his body rather than numb it. The threads could go into the blood and stop movement, which would cause some numbness. If more threads were added, then they could even reach the nerves, which would amplify that numbness. However, he still couldn't figure out a way to strengthen his body parts. Suddenly, Arnin stopped walking and a thought crossed his mind. He strengthened Lilise's body with his threads by placing symbols in her blood vessels. Those symbols, like a vacuum, absorbed worldly essence which then strengthened the body to a new level. However, this strengthening would take a long time because it would be permanent. Arnin created the symbols once more and started to gather them onto his right hand, however it was still slow. Arnin thought for a long time before thinking of another possible solution. What if he added the symbols directly onto a portion of his orb threads? Then couldn't he strengthen the area that the threads pass through for a short period of time?
Without even knowing, Arnin reached his home. He got out of his trance and found Ashia and Florian putting clothes on a line. Lilise and Nekaia were nowhere to be seen. Ashia bent down to grab another wet piece of clothing when she saw something on from the corner of her eyes. She turned her head and found a bloody and tattered Arnin. Her eyes widened before she rushed towards him.
”ARNIN!” She screamed. Her eyes were already watery when she reached him. Florian heard her scream and when he saw the scene, he darted towards Arnin with a heavy heart. Nekaia and Lilise who weren't seen before rushed out of the house and saw Arnin's state, almost tripping over themselves. Arnin was surprised because of everyone's reaction, but when he looked down and saw how he looked, he released a sigh. He completely forgot that he was in a 'bad' state. Ashia reached Arnin and began to inspect his body. Her red eyes were misty, which hindered her inspection. Florian noticed and moved Ashia aside. He did the inspection and tried to see if there were any major injuries. Arnin was stripped by his parents, but he didn't think much about it. He was five years old. His dirt and blood covered shirt was thrown onto the ground by Florian, who used a clean cloth to wipe the sweat and blood off him. After Arnin was slightly cleaned by the cloth, Florian began another small inspection, but couldn't find anything major. There were a couple of bruises, but nothing serious. Florian also released some of his orb threads into Arnin's body just to make sure nothing was wrong inside of him. He sighed in relief when nothing was found.
”Arnin, what happened? Who did this to you? Tell dad and I will go teach them a lesson!” Florian was furious. He wanted to go and find the person who put his son in such a condition. He didn't question whether it was someone else who hurt him or if it was just an accident. The bruises looked like wounds from a fight, so he didn't need to ask.
”Arnin dear, tell mom what happened. Who did this to you?” Ashia tightly hugged Arnin and questioned what happened. Arnin just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
”Mom, dad, it was nothing. I just sparred with someone, so I have slight injuries. It is nothing too bad. If someone really wanted to hurt me, would I only have light bruises?” Arnin's question stumped both parents and made them embarrassingly cough. Of course, they knew about spars between children. It was very common to get injuries during a spar, so what Arnin said was reasonable. Florian calmed down and dragged Arnin to the bath area.
”Arnin, since you are here and dirty, come take a bath. Let your dad give you one.” Florian smiled before pulling Arnin away. Ashia was left with Nekaia and Lilise in front of the house. Ashia laughed before wiping her eyes that were filled with tears that didn't drop. She took a deep breath before walking back to the clothes.
”Nekaia, Lilise, make sure that when you train with Arnin, do not let him do anything too strenuous. If anything happens, tell me immediately. Also, try to ask him about the spar if possible because I have a feeling he is hiding something.” Ashia was feeling uneasy about the whole spar thing. Arnin was already much stronger than any of the children in the village, so he wouldn't need to spar anyone his age, let alone get injured. That only left the older generation of the village. Arnin was stronger than Orb Birth - Hell cultivators, at least he was able to defeat the village elder in one hit when he was in Orb Birth - Hell, so the person he 'sparred' with was most likely high ranked in the village. But who?
Ashia was distracted and didn't notice that Nekaia and Lilise already left. While she was putting up the clothes, Granny Varena arrived with her two grandchildren. Ashia was oblivious to their arrival so she couldn't go and receive them.
”Little Ashia, are you busy? I need to speak with you.” Granny Varena walked closer and spoke in a somewhat reserved manner. Ashia turned around and smiled gently towards her.
”Aunt Varena, I am sorry, I didn't see you there. No,I am not busy, so of course we can speak.” Ashia smiled at Aunt Varena and the two children. She wiped her forehead before taking Aunt Varena to the clean grass. Both women sat down with the children, but aunt Varena had a serious expression.
”What is it, aunty? Did something happen?” Ashia got worried and questioned. Aunt Varena took a deep breath before speaking.
”I want to talk about what happened today at the lessons. Arnin was there as well and this is about him. Has he come home yet?” Ashia nodded slightly before gesturing towards the bath area.
”So he is already here? Well, you probably saw him in a tattered state, right? I am here to talk to you about that. Today at the lessons…” Aunt Varena slowly recalled the events with some fear and worry. Ashia felt like she was struck with lightning. She grabbed her head with one hand while the other was placed on her chest. Both her head and heart felt like they were tearing slowly. Ashia couldn't help but breath rapidly before her eyes shut and she blacked out.