Supreme Magus

Chapter 4357: One-Sided Rivalry (Part 1)

”Do you remember my name and can you also speak it?” Zinya lifted the baby girl, who giggled with joy. ”You are a big girl now, Ely. Almost a lady.”

Elysia looked at Valeron in triumph, only to notice that her brother was too happy for being praised by their grandmother and mother to be envious. There was no fun in a one-sided sibling rivalry, making Elysia grumble.

”Mama!” Raldarak called Zinya while extending his little arms to be embraced.

”I’m not your mom, little imp, but I’ll hold you for as long as you want.” Zinya choked, and her eyes veiled every time she heard the baby word despite her best attempts to act normal.

”Ba.” Elysia mumbled in annoyance.

Names were unique to each person, hard to remember, and even harder to pronounce. She couldn’t understand why her little brother always received a bigger reaction than she did, even though he used the same word for every woman he met.

”Mama!” Raldarak hugged Zinya and then threw himself on his sister.

”No mama!” Elysia said while her brother grabbed her nose, and covered her face in drool as he rubbed his cheek against hers. ”Me-”

She used the Dragon Scales to better communicate with him, feeling only love and joy from him. Raldarak didn’t understand or care about what word he used, only about the feeling it conveyed.

”Me ba!” Elysia felt stupid for competing with her brothers and returned Raldarak’s embrace. ”You goo, Wal.”

”Me?” Valeron asked, pointing his chubby finger at himself.

”Yah.” Elysia replied, inviting him to join them rather than waste time clearing the misunderstanding.

The three kids huddled in Zinya’s arms, forming a bundle of love that made the three women cry and sniffle as silently as they could.

”Gods, they are so cute.” Zinya had rarely felt such a warmth fill her chest, but the moment was ruined by the burning envy she felt.

’Kami has her husband’s full trust, two beautiful children, and she can still have more. I would gladly become blind again if it meant being blessed with such a joy.’ She inwardly griped.

”Do you want to join your friends, sweetie?” Elina asked Surin.

”No.” The baby girl shook her head to emphasize her answer. ”No, no, no!”

Surin wasn’t a fan of cramped spaces, and she loved having her mother’s arms and attention all to herself.

”What a little rascal.” Elina chuckled. ”I’m sorry, Zin.”

”Don’t mention it, Elina.” She smiled at the little girl clinging to her mother’s clothes. ”I already have my hands full. Literally.”

They chatted a bit longer about their respective households and the most recent news from the Kingdom, until Bash swooped down on the ball that had landed near one of the living room’s windows.

The Cron’s wings darkened the room for a second, and a lot of friendly growls followed his victory screech.

”I’m glad to see that the kids are doing much better already. Especially Lenart.” Zinya said, looking at the boy patting Myrdin’s muscular neck. ”They went through a lot. You all did.”

”You can say that.” Elina sighed. ”I wasn’t sure about giving the triplets a magical beast so soon, but it turned out to be the right move. The kids love their new friends, and taking care of the beasts is teaching them responsibility.

”Moreover, playing outside helps the kids to stay out of their heads, and the presence of the magical beasts makes them feel safe. Sometimes I wonder how we lived all these years without them.”

”You don’t have a magical beast, Elina, but you seem to have made great progress as well.” Zinya had noticed the changes in her friend.

Lith’s treatments kept Elina youthful, but now she looked even younger. Her movements had a subtle grace and a vigor that Zinya was certain Elina had never had before. It was as if everything had gotten lighter and easier for her.

”Thank you.” Elina took Zinya’s words for a compliment and gave her a warm smile. ”It must be because I took the first steps towards overcoming that horrible experience. I still have a long way to go, but at least I’m not a bundle of nerves anymore.”

”I’m glad to hear that, and a little surprised.” Zinya tilted her head. ”It took me much longer to recover after... my accident. How did you do it?”

”I couldn’t forgive myself for letting my baby girl get taken away from me, and the thought that it might happen again robbed me of my sleep.” Elina put her cup down, shuddering as she spoke.

”So, after mulling over it for a while, I asked Lith to Awaken me.” She released a dull yellow aura, and the babies imitated her, thinking it was a game.

Zinya’s lap flared with Ral’s orange, Elysia’s deep yellow, and Valeron’s yellow. The mana core development of the babies was limited by their small bodies, giving Valeron the Second a slight advantage over Elysia.

”You Awakened?” Zinya was flabbergasted. ”What did Raaz say?”

”He asked to be Awakened as well.” Kamila studied her sister’s reaction carefully, knowing what was at stake. ”That’s not all. Rena and Senton made the same decision.”

’There is no point in hiding the truth from Zin.’ She thought. ’I’m certain that Tezka already noticed the mana flows of the newly Awakened, and even if he didn’t, Zogar would the first time we go to his home.

’I’m worried about Zin doing something rash, but she’s an adult woman. I must trust her judgment.’

”Are all the Verhens Awakened now?” The news hit Zinya harder than she expected.

She wanted to be happy for them, yet she felt betrayed and left behind instead.

”Of course not.” Elina chuckled. ”The triplets are not Awakened, and neither is Surin. Lith told them to work on it themselves, as Aran and Leria did.”

There was no deep meaning behind that remark, but it stung Zinya nonetheless.

’Aran and Leria self-Awakened because they were blessed with powerful cores, and their parents allowed Lith to teach them magic. Filia and Frey might have been as powerful as them if it weren’t for me.

’My children always showed a great interest in magic despite their weak cores, and Tezka said they are talented, but I always forbade him to teach them anything. I’ve let my fears clip my children’s wings, forcing them to crawl while everyone else flew over their heads.’

She did her best to suppress those thoughts, but Kamila noticed the fleeting expression of outrage as it flashed over her sister’s face.

”Tell me about your training, Elina.” Zinya said with a warm smile that didn’t extend to his eyes until she managed to calm down her inner turmoil. ”Is learning magic hard?”

”More than you think.” Elina groaned at the memory. ”I have to read a lot of complex books, exercise like a soldier, and spend my free time breathing.”

”That last part doesn’t sound that hard.” Zinya chuckled.

”It’s not hard. It’s boring!” Elina replied. ”Imagine spending hours doing nothing but focusing on your breathing. At least reading and exercising give you a sense of accomplishment. Breathing just makes you feel dumb!”

***

Zinya and her kids stayed at the Mansion for lunch and returned to the Vastor Household in the late evening for dinner.