Chương 337: Epilogue 11. Freedom of the heart

"Oh Gods. He should be arriving soon, shouldn't he? Have– Have I made a mistake? Did I answer too quickly? Will this be awkward and terrible for both of us? It's… It's such a commitment, after all. Possibly a bond for life. I'm… Am I too young for this? For taking such a step?"

"Rachel, you are a gold-ranker of the Geller family closing in on sixty years of age," Phiona Geller - cousin, teammate and slayer of dramatic flair in Rachel's life - remarked dryly from where she sat patiently on a nearby bench in Godenberg's small portal plaza.

"Taking on your first apprentice is none of those things that you just stated and is most overdue."

"Bah! Just because you had your first time back at bronze rank doesn't mean that we all have to rush into things."

"I sure hope that nobody is listening in, because your phrasing leaves much to be desired when it comes to accuracy."

"Nobody is listening in, Nona. At least no one who isn't too powerful for us to notice, and thus too powerful for us to do anything about anyway. What I'm saying is–""That you're nervous, dear cousin," Phiona interrupted.

"Which isn't that odd. A bit undignified, perhaps, but understandable."

"Undignified?! I'll show you undignified–" the red-haired Geller began shouting, but was once again interrupted. This time though, it wasn't by any remark of Phiona's but by a somber, gray archway suddenly appearing in the portal plaza, seeming to contain a row of identical archways within, giving the illusion of an endless tunnel. Then a moment later, a young man of perhaps eighteen years stepped through, clad in dark green silken robes of a style most familiar to the two Gellers.

"Thank you, Mistress Riz," he said, turning and speaking into the portal as he bowed once with his hands clasped together before rising and looking around at his new surroundings with clear awe both on his face and in his iron-ranked aura. Then he spotted the pair of Gellers, causing his eyes to widen slightly again as he straightened and walked over.

This finally caused Rachel to snap out of her stunned, frozen state as she did the same, although her gold-ranked looks certainly helped smooth over the rather undignified expression from mere moments prior.

"I– Lady Geller!" the young man called as she approached, stopping in place and bowing once more to such a degree that he risked toppling over.

"This humble student greets his teacher!"

"H-Heron. You've… Grown…" was all that Rachel managed to get out at first as she tried to fit together the seven year old boy she had last met with this iron-ranker. Gods, had it been… What? Eleven years since they last visited Kite? Time did fly.

And so it had for Heron too, the fair features of a child replaced with features clearly a mix of both his father's and mother's, with some of Dragonfly's face shape - albeit more masculine - and curly hair combining with Kite's blue-brown eyes hinting of gold, resulting in someone who would no doubt grow to become more beautiful than ruggedly handsome.

"I… Hope I am not arriving at an inopportune time, Teacher," Heron eventually said, nervously filling the silence which followed before Phiona decided it was time to step in and help her cousin along. If only a little bit.

"Greetings to you too, Azure Heron Seeks the Clouds," she said, executing a well-practiced Hua-Xian bow in return.

"I hope you can forgive your teacher, as I can relate to her needing a moment to reconcile the you of the past with the one of the present. To think that time has flown so swiftly. And allow us to welcome you to Godenberg and the Boreal League. I assure you that you will find it as welcoming as it is different from your home."

"Ah, Lady Geller! My father and mother send their deepest regards!" Heron said, bowing to Phiona as well.

"And yes… This place is indeed… Quite something…" As he finished, the young man kept taking in the landscape rising around the city of Godenberg, with pine-covered mountains as far as the eye could see in one direction and a chilly ocean view in the other. Phiona remembered well the humidity of Bastion, and thought that young Heron would probably need some time to find his bearings in this place. But that unfamiliarity should also be a nice, clean blank slate for them to start filling up with training and tutoring.

This was also when Rachel finally seemed to find her stride again, and Phiona gracefully left the floor to her cousin once more. She was the young man's teacher, after all.

"Ah, yes. Our homeland can be harsh, but it is a great place for an iron-ranker like you to start out," she said, attempting to adopt a sage and teaching tone that almost held up to scrutiny. Almost.

"But believe me when I say that before we are done here, you will know these lands like the back of your own hand. We Gellers have deep foundations of teaching our young, and given that you are the son of a friend, I can assure you that you will be welcomed with open arms. That is, as long as you are willing to work hard!"

"Aaand she oversold that last part…" Phiona murmured softly, wanting to slap a hand to her face before she realized that Heron was still taking it all in with wide, earnest eyes as he nodded solemnly. There was apparently rather a lot inherited from his father when it came to that particular trait, at least, and Phiona couldn't help but smile as she remembered Kite as an early bronze-ranker back in the day.

"O-of course, Teacher! You will find me lacking in neither discipline nor fervor," young Heron exclaimed, bowing again.

"Good, good," Rachel nodded along magnanimously.

"So, pray tell, my student. What are your essences? And your powers?" Before Heron could answer - which he definitely seemed on the verge to - Phiona found herself breaking in again.

"That particular topic might be better discussed back home in the hall rather than in this very public place, might it not, dear cousin?" she asked while jabbing Rachel's aura, causing the other woman to realize her blunder. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Ah. Yes, of course, cousin," Rachel backpedaled, turning and waving for Heron to follow as she started heading away from the plaza.

"Follow me, student. Time to get to know your second home for the foreseeable future."

"So… Settling in a bit? It can be rather overwhelming, traveling across the world in an instant like this," Phiona said as she sat down next to Heron that very evening after finding the young man seated outside the main hall of the local Geller compound outside the city where he had seemingly been absorbed by the stars now clearly visible on the early night sky.

"Oh? Lady Geller. Thank you for asking but… I'm fine," Heron replied, bowing briefly where he sat.

"It's a lot, but father did take us to all kinds of places every now and then while growing up, so at least I didn't make a fool of myself right after stepping out of the portal."

"I can imagine. It's a bit special, growing up with powerful parents. Not that we should be complaining, mind you. But it is special."

"Indeed it is, Lady Geller," Heron agreed, the silence afterwards growing a bit awkward even though Phiona could clearly sense that the young man wanted to keep it going even if he was just a bit more overwhelmed than he wanted to admit. And as such, she threw him a metaphorical rope.

"And you even kept your promise from back in the day," she said, smiling.

"Rachel might never tell you, but she was deeply moved when she heard that you did. Children change their mind as often as the winds change direction when it comes to choosing essences. Or at least those with the luxury of that choice. That was what we thought at least, but you certainly proved us wrong."

"It's almost embarrassing, the way I proclaimed I would be like Teacher back then," Heron said, blushing.

"But she remains as impressive today as she was back then, as does her path. The hydra… Such tenacity."

"And you have the same essences as Rachel too?"

"Indeed, Lady Geller. Snake, myriad, renewal, hydra. And a path so far showing plenty of multi-target or rapid special attacks, self-healing and a familiar that has become most dear to me. I am most honored that my parents were willing to pay such expenses. Myriad and renewal both are rather…"

"Oh, I am most aware," Phiona replied.

"I already have funds tucked away, should Mikayel and I settle down in the future and have a family. But how about your powers then? Your path? Rachel did get to show off a bit on the way back, so you know hers. At least part of it. Are yours similar?"

"Both… Yes and no," Heron replied, growing a bit anxious.

"I hope she will not be too disappointed in how I differ. And that she will still be willing to teach."

"Of that I have no doubt, Heron," Phiona said, giving the young man an encouraging nod.

"You'll get a good chance at showing her when we head out tomorrow, but just to put your mind at ease… I believe that a question is in order."

"Oh?"

"Indeed," Phiona said, starting to walk off as she called over her shoulder.

"If I tell you that it wasn't your parents, who do you think contributed your renewal essence?"

"Oh sweet heavens, what even are these things?" Heron swore under his breath as he once more stepped back and thrust forward with his trident as the trio of sharp points flashed to unleash glowing lights that multiplied to strike down even more of the oncoming small but most ferocious rodent-like monsters Heron had been pitted against.

Crossing of Departing Winds, a special attack of his myriad essence, was at least adept at handling these numbers, but most of all there was another present who was enjoying themselves much more.

"At least you're having a good time, Cloudburst," Heron noted to his familiar who floated behind him, looking like a cloud about a meter across - now slightly gray with hints of thunder in its depths - with three serpentine heads poking out of it as they emerged from the fluffy material to bite and tear at the monsters.

With Cloudburst's three heads readily keeping his back safe, it was fortunately only a matter of time before the charge of the rodents eventually broke, leaving Heron and his companion among a sea of dead monsters. That was, until a loud squeal suddenly rang out among the pine trees.

"Eeeeeeeee! By the gods! It's so cute! Why didn't you show me yesterday?! How was I denied this beauty for so long?!" Rachel Geller hollered as she suddenly appeared in the blink of an eye, startling Cloudburst at first with her sudden - and loud - appearance, but quickly alleviated any concerns of the creature as she started stroking and rubbing all three heads with tender vigor. Heavens, Heron even thought he could hear Cloudburst make some kind of triple purring noise.

"I… Teacher?" Was all he managed to get out, rather nonplussed.

"Student! Tell me at once! What is this beautiful creature of yours and why have I not heard of it before?" Rachel demanded, things finally clicking for Heron.

"Oh? Cloudburst? He is a cloud hydra, at least according to what our research told us after I awakened the familiar summoning power. They are apparently rather rare and only appear at gold rank or above naturally, hence why few have heard of them."

"Well I sure had not, and for that my life was just a little less bright. Wasn't it, my cute little Cloudburst with your cute little heads. Just how many will you get in time? Who's a pretty little hydra? Yes you are. Yes, all three of you!" Heron could only stare in disbelief as his teacher, who had seemed so imposing during the admittedly few hours he had known her as an adult, descended into a rather epic session of scritches and general cuddling right there in the middle of the blood-stained forest.

Fortunately for him, Lady Phiona appeared a moment later, apparently willing to give some actual answers.

"And there we have her," Phiona remarked, gesturing towards Rachel, now completely mesmerized by Cloudburst's general existence.

"Your true teacher, rather than the act she tried putting up. I didn't expect her to last even a day as she did. Her love of all things snake-related has only grown over the years, leaving… This. Disappointed?"

"W-what?" Heron asked, seeming startled by her question.

"Why would I be disappointed?"

"Well, given how you usually treat mentorship in your homeland, I thought that you might want something a bit more… Serious."

"Lady Geller, if you'll excuse me… I've been raised with Auntie Wander being a semi-constant presence in our home. This? This is nothing," Heron said, even laughing a bit.

"Honestly, it's even a bit of a comfort."

"Oh? How so?"

"Hopefully this means I too can let out a bit more of what I seem to have inherited of my mother and… Relax a bit. Not in my diligence in practice, that is," he quickly added.

"But… I did remember Teacher a bit like this, so… Free. In expressing herself. And this is what I as a child wanted to become as well. The indomitable hydra, with such resilience that it could act the way it felt like while confident that none could do it proper harm. At least not lasting one. That did sound like the most worthwhile freedom to me. Freedom of the heart." As Heron kept speaking, his eyes had started glittering slightly, and Phiona was once more struck by memories of Kite back at bronze rank.

This earnestness, but here combined with a bit more of Dragonfly's passion simmering in his aura. Oh. Oh dear. Phiona was suddenly unsure if she should be pointing eligible young members of the family Heron's way, or if she should instead try and lock them up to keep them as far away from this young man as possible. For the sake of their hearts.