(anwhile, Leo's POV, The Ti Stilled World)
Ti passed quietly inside the Ti Stilled World, and while Leo waited for confirmation of Mauriss's arrival on Planet Helion-6, another small milestone unfolded within the Skyshard family.
His second son, Mairon, had finally turned five.
Which ant that, starting from now, he too would join the daily combat training sessions that Leo had already begun conducting for Caleb.
The training field behind the Skyshard mansion had gradually beco a familiar sight over the past year, with wooden practice weapons scattered across the ground and several training dummies standing nearby, each bearing the scars of countless practice strikes.
Caleb stood in the center of the field with a wooden dagger in hand, his posture steady and disciplined as he repeated the footwork pattern Leo had taught him earlier that morning.
Every step was deliberate.
Every movent controlled.
Even when Leo turned away to adjust one of the practice dummies, Caleb continued practicing without pause, his small brow furrowed in concentration as he repeated the sequence again and again.
He had always been that kind of child.
Slightly rebellious at tis.
Occasionally stubborn.
But when it ca to training, Caleb listened to Leo almost without exception.
Mairon, however...
Mairon was an entirely different creature.
Standing beside the training field with his own wooden dagger in hand, the younger boy watched his brother's disciplined movents for a few seconds before imdiately deciding that the exercise looked boring.
He swung his dagger lazily once.
Then twice.
Then he looked around.
Leo happened to be facing the other direction at that mont.
And so, with the confidence of a child who believed he had just discovered the perfect opportunity to relax, Mairon promptly dropped his stance and began stretching his arms dramatically as if he had just completed an exhausting training routine.
A second later he even yawned.
Unfortunately for him, Leo possessed [Absolute Vision].
Which ant Leo did not need to turn his head to see exactly what the boy was doing.
"Continue your training Mairon, or I will increase your drills by 20 more rounds."
Leo threatened calmly without even glancing backward, as Mairon froze.
For a brief mont he looked around nervously before quickly snapping back into position as if he had been training seriously the entire ti.
"Yes, father!" Mairon said loudly, as Leo slowly turned around now.
Their eyes t.
For several seconds neither of them spoke.
Then Leo sighed.
"Your stance was correct for exactly three seconds," Leo said calmly. "The rest of the ti you were pretending to stretch."
Mairon blinked.
"How did you see that?" he asked in genuine confusion.
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"I did not need to look."
Mairon stared at him.
That explanation clearly did not satisfy the boy at all.
"Well that is unfair," Mairon complained imdiately. "How am I
supposed to relax if you can see everything?"
Caleb snorted quietly from the side, though he imdiately resud
his training when Leo glanced toward him.
Leo walked across the training field and stopped in front of Mairon.
The younger boy stood there with his wooden dagger still loosely in hand, his expression sowhere between defiant and curious.
"Mairon," Leo said calmly.
"Yes?"
"Training is not sothing you do only when soone is watching."
Mairon tilted his head slightly.
"Then why do teachers always watch students train?"
Leo paused for a mont.
That was... unfortunately a very logical question.
"Because students like you exist," Leo said finally.
Caleb coughed into his sleeve, trying to hide a laugh.
Mairon frowned at both of them.
"I train fine," he insisted stubbornly.
Leo simply pointed toward the training dummy.
"Then show ."
Mairon imdiately brightened.
That challenge was far more interesting than repeating boring footwork patterns.
With a shout that sounded far more dramatic than necessary, he
rushed forward and attacked the dummy with an enthusiastic series of swings that were technically powerful but completely lacking in
structure.
The wooden dagger struck the dummy several tis.
Then Mairon slipped slightly on his own footwork and nearly spun
himself around before catching his balance.
Caleb watched the performance with quiet amusent.
Leo watched it with a completely neutral expression.
Finally Mairon stopped and looked back proudly.
"See?" he said.
Leo crossed his arms.
"You attacked the dummy with enthusiasm," Leo said.
"That is the only correct part of what I just witnessed."
Mairon's face imdiately scrunched up in protest. "But I did more damage to it than what your training drill does.
Why should I follow your drill father, when I can do better than that
myself?"
Mairon asked, as for a mont Leo fell silent.
He had never been questioned like this by Caleb.
Because unlike his younger son, his older one seed to firmly believe that his training was the best and that his teachings were
unquestionable.
However, Mairon was not the sa.
Mairon questioned everything, and preferred learning from his own mistakes rather than through advice or lessons.
And hence, after letting out a deep sigh, Leo pinched his nose.
"Yes, you caused more damage, because you applied more force." Leo
replied calmly.
"You also nearly attacked yourself, as suggested by the bruise on your
forearm."
Caleb failed to suppress his laughter this ti.
Mairon glared at him.
"You are not helping," he muttered.
Leo shook his head slightly.
Mairon was stubborn.
Reckless.
And far too confident in his own abilities.
Yet watching the boy's determination despite his many mistakes, Leo
could not help but feel a quiet warmth inside his chest.
Because while Caleb trained like a soldier...
Mairon trained like a child.
And strangely enough, Leo did not entirely dislike that difference.
He placed a hand on Mairon's shoulder.
"Do it again, but this ti widen your stance, rotate your hips when
you thrust, and try to keep the dummy an arm's length away from you, rather than hugging it from close range..."
Leo suggested, as Mairon looked up at him with determination in his
eyes.
"That's supposed to make better?"
He asked, as-
"Yes."
Leo replied confidently.
Mairon grinned.
Then he imdiately rushed the dummy once more.
His stance was still ssy.
His strikes were still wild.
But this ti...
His footwork was slightly better.
And as Leo watched both his sons train together under the dull sky of
the Ti Stilled World, he could not help but feel a strange sense of
pride swell within
him.
As for the first ti in his life, he felt the urge to see soone else beco stronger that wasn't him.
As sohow, he could not help but wait for his children to grow into the magnificent warriors that he knew they could soday be.
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