The Martial Unity

"Hmph, Miriam," Matriarch Nephi snorted softly. "That sounds just like her."

She turned to Rui with a deep gaze. "Yet, despite not having her or your father, you did well. Too well, in fact. I am unable to fathom how a thirty-two-year-old Awakened and reached the peak of the Bodyforger rank, especially when your great strength is not your body but a mind brimming with more thought than I have ever seen amongst bodyforgers."

Rui smiled wryly. "I had a good family that took care of me in place of my parents…I have also been blessed with miracles."

That was what his reincarnation in a new world was, as far as he was concerned, a miracle.

"Do not give all the credit to talent," Matriarch Nephi huffed. "Talent is worthless without drive. Utterly worthless. It must not have been easy to arrive at the power that you possess."

Rui smiled, accepting her compliment.

"You must wonder why we never came for you."

Her voice grew heavy.

Rui's eyes softened.

He would be lying if he didn't. The Silas Clan was undoubtedly one that cared about family deeply. It was probably the second most important thing to them, based on what he saw, after prophecy.

He didn't know why the Silas Clan had never come to adopt Rui as a baby after Miriam died. He didn't understand why they had never once come to see him or speak to him. He didn't know why he was the one who sought to find them when they had known about him for more than thirty years.

He would be lying if he thought of them positively with this in mind.

"I can understand if you resent me," Matriarch Nephi closed her eyes. "Every child deserves the love of a large family. And we deprived you of what we were obligated to give you. It was a painful but ultimately necessary and inevitable decision."

Rui gazed at her deeply, waiting for her to continue.

"I was heartbroken that Miriam chose to entrust you to your bastard of a father," Matriarch Nephi's eyes darkened. "It was painful to accept that she found us, her own blood and kin, who had raised her with all the love in the world, to be lacking in comparison to her husband. A man whose family was filled with hatred. It drove me away from you, a mistake I deeply regret today."

She turned to meet Rui's eyes with sorrow and a hint of guilt. "I should have fought to bring my grandchild back into my family, but alas, I was too weak back then. Mentally and Martially. Back then, I was a high-level Mindforger, which, while powerful, is not enough to protect the Silas Clan from those who wish to get their hands on our prophecy at any cost. I only gained enlightenment unto my current rank a few years ago."

Rui's eyes sharpened as he latched onto what appeared to be a clue about the Sage Realm!

She had blundered in her emotional state, revealing something she probably shouldn't have.

"Forgive me," Matriarch Nephi heaved a shaky sigh. "Forgive me for failing you as a descendant of the Silas Clan. It has been decades since the death of my daughter; only now do I possess the clarity of mind to see the error in my choices."

The air grew taut as the emotions of a Martial Sage wrung at it.

Rui shook his head. "…I understand. I don't bear any hostility or hatred towards the Silas Clan. You may think that I have been deprived of a family, but I told you, thanks to my mother and father, I gained a family that gave me all the love that I will ever need in my life."

The elderly Sage smiled at his words. "That is good to hear. Tell me, what is your full name?"

Rui stiffened inwardly, maintaining his composure outwardly.

She shook her head. "Your apprehension is understandable. However, three decades have passed. Hearing his name is not going to evoke me to break a relationship with my grandson."

"…Rui Quarrier Kandria."

"Hmm…" She considered the name. "It suits you as much as I dislike the last name. As far as your middle name…"

"It's the name of the orphanage where I was raised," Rui explained.

"A good name," she concluded.

"Though, it's been going to grow even longer after I gain the name of Silas," Rui smiled wryly. "I don't know how I feel about a name that is four words long."

"Long names are a sign of prestige in our culture," Matriarch Nephi reassured. "Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria. That is a splendid name. If only your first name was longer than two syllables. If I were Miriam, I would have chosen something like, hmmm, 'Ruina,' for example. In fact, I would suggest you change your name to that. Your current one is odd."

"That sounds like a girl's name."

"We do not distinguish names as masculine or feminine in the Silas Clan, young man," Matriarch Nephi snorted lightly. "If you wish to bear the name of Silas, you must familiarize yourself with our culture."

"Right…" Rui smiled wryly. "I'm a bit too busy for a cultural class at the moment. And I am fond of my name; I have lived my entire life with that name. It was also given to me by my mother."

His grandmother frowned. "If that is the case, then it is an even more odd name. Tsk tsk, if Miriam were here, I would scold her for picking such an odd name to give to her son. I suppose it doesn't matter outside of the Silas Clan, though."

Rui furrowed his eyebrows, amused. "I don't see how it's an odd name."

"It's an odd name to those who understand the Silas Dialect," Matriarch Nephi indignantly huffed.

Rui raised an eyebrow, curious. "Does it mean something in the Silas Dialect?"

"Of course it does!"

"Oh? What does it mean, then?"

She turned to him with a deep gaze.

"Reincarnated."