Legend of the Empyrean Blacksmith

CHANGES

"Hey, brat!" Lino’s lips slowly curled up into a smile as a frown on his face mellowed . Looking up from a map on the desk, he turned slowly and saw Eggor standing on the other end of the room with a bottle of strange, crimson liquid and two glasses . He was still the same, Lino mused, unkempt as always . "You’ve really got no respect," Eggor said, slowly walking up . "Why do I have to hear about my own son getting engaged from the stranger’s lips? Huh?"

"Ha ha ha," Lino laughed freely as Eggor put down the bottle and the glasses . "Sorry, I just figured El’ would have told you . Am I going to get one of the extra-rare Egus?"

" . . . Egus?" Eggor mumbled .

"Eggor hugs . "

"Ugh, you damn brat, you’re still as hateful as always . " despite saying so, Eggor walked up slowly and hugged Lino tightly, as latter finally managed to wrap his arms around his back . "Congratulations . "

"Thanks . " Lino said . "I brought a good daughter-in-law, haven’t I?"

"Eh, I don’t know," Eggor said as the two sat down . "She’s got quite a tongue on her, just like you . I’m worried for my grandchildren . "

"As you should," Lino said, taking in a deep breath as Eggor slowly poured two glasses of the strange, crimson liquid . "What’s that?"

"It’s called <Dragon’s Fury>," Eggor replied, sliding over one glass . "I’ve saved a bottle for when my kid gets engaged . I was secretly hoping Cae would grow up and do it before you, but you can never suffer a loss, can you?"

"And miss out on one of your super-secret booze?" Lino chuckled . "Never . "

" . . . all the women are going nuts out there," Eggor said as the two clanked their glasses . "You’ve still got it . "

"I’ve never lost it," Lino grinned, taking a sip as a burning sensation washed over him, seemingly spiraling him into an infernal haze . "Goddamn, this is good . . . "

"Damn right it’s good . This one bottle is worth more than this entire goddamn fortress . "

" . . . you’re shitting me?"

"Of course not," Eggor shrugged . "It’s been brewed over two billion years ago, and the recipe has long since been lost . There are only around forty bottles of this left, and once you open it, you have to drink it, otherwise, it goes bad within a day . "

" . . . tsk, cheep booze-makers and their shitty tactics," Lino sighed . "I swear, when I get some free time, I’ll start my own brewery and make the best alcohol in the world, and then sell it for dirt cheap . "

"And you’ve just won yourself the first regular customer . "

"As if . Mom would butcher you . "

" . . . she really would," he chuckled, playing with the glass . "Have you thought it fully through?"

" . . . no," Lino shook his head, glancing sideways, outside the window into the empty sky . "I’m not clever enough to do it . "

"Good," Eggor said . "Thinking has never been a strong suit for men in this family . We leave it to our gals . "

" . . . it’s all coming down at the seams," Lino said . "Slowly being peeled back . This . . . might be the last time we can sit and chat like this . "

" . . . what makes you say that?" Eggor asked .

"Before I leave," Lino said . "I . . . want to spend time like this . I missed it . "

" . . . drinking? Isn’t that what you do all the time?"

"Ha ha ha, I suppose so . Cae’s really growing up quickly . "

" . . . he is . " Eggor nodded .

" . . . I’m going to miss it all," Lino said, taking a sip . "It’s unfair . "

" . . . it’s not like you to get so depressed," Eggor said . "Are you getting it out of your system?"

" . . . recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the days when I first started bugging your ass . "

" . . . ha ha ha . . . "

"I miss ’em, terribly," Lino sighed, lowering his head . "The innocence . . . naivety . . . ignorance . . . it’s ironic that greed is usually life’s greatest lesson . "

" . . . honestly?" Eggor mumbled, taking in a deep breath . "Both El’ and I often regretted ever giving you a choice . If you had just stayed my apprentice, you wouldn’t have been left out of anything . "

" . . . I would have," Lino chuckled . "I’d have never met so many wonderful people, I’d have never heard so many beautiful stories . . . and . . . I’d have never married the woman of my dreams . "

" . . . I have a gut feeling you two would have met somehow, either way," Eggor said, taking a sip . "I was never much of a romantic--"

"--no shit . "

"Oi!" Lino chuckled faintly as Eggor hurdled his sandal at him . "But . . . there is something about you two . . . that makes people believe . "

" . . . how are you finding your life here?" Lino asked .

" . . . eh, I don’t complain . " Eggor said, taking in a deep breath . "I’ve got a lot of time to do anything I want . I actually managed to finally have a breakthrough in smithing recently . "

"Eh? You weren’t already at the far pinnacle?"

"Humph, as if, you stinky brat . "

"Ha ha ha . . . so? How far up are you?"

" . . . I’ve managed to craft a Primordial-tier item," Eggor said with a prideful smirk . "It’s of lesser quality, but it’s still Primordial-tier . Right now, stinky brat, you’re sitting in the presence of the only person in the entire world who can do it . So you better show some respect, humph!"

" . . . are you settling?" Lino suddenly grinned strangely .

"Settling?"

"I’m coming for your title, old man," he chuckled strangely . "There’s still a whole tier to go above that . If you settle, I’ll undoubtedly surpass you one day . "

" . . . knowing how you can hold a grudge, you might actually do it just to spite me . "

"Of course I would . I’m a stinky brat, after all . "

" . . . then it’s only right," Eggor suddenly smiled warmly . "I’ll have all people who claimed my children would be farming beans eat their hearts out . "

" . . . tsk, talk about holding a grudge . "

" . . . what will you do now?" Eggor asked .

" . . . I don’t know," Lino sighed deeply, rubbing his temples . "So far in my life, things were much simpler . Now? Ah, I can finally understand why Kings go mad seemingly out of nowhere . There’s simply . . . too many things to keep an eye out for . And, as I said, I’m not terribly clever . "

" . . . nobody ever said it’s gon’ be easy," Eggor commented . "But, I know you can do it . "

" . . . how do you know that?" Lino chuckled bitterly . "The only reason I’ve even come so far is because I’ve had all of you helping me . "

"Did we all suddenly disappear when I wasn’t looking?"

" . . . "

"You still have us, little brat," Eggor said . "We haven’t gone anywhere . "

" . . . no man’s an island indeed . " Lino chuckled, taking a sip . "One day . . . when it is all over . . . I’ll have a shitton of favors to repay . "

" . . . in some ways, you’ve grown a lot since you were that shitty brat," Eggor said suddenly, surprising Lino . "You’re far more patient, less hotheaded, more understanding, even wiser . You’ve learned how to see through the cracks, when to retreat when need be and when to advance . . . in some ways, you are like an entirely different person . "

" . . . and in other?"

"And in other . . . you haven’t changed at all," Eggor said . "You still think it’s your duty, and yours alone, to uphold the sky for the rest of us . You still believe it’s on your shoulders to guard us from it all . You still can’t with an easy heart ask us for help, and each time you do, you feel like you’re simply burdening us . I know . . . it’s not easy, Lino . To let go of the crutches of heart . It’s not easy to expel our demons . Trust me, I know . Even today, I sometimes wake up drenched in sweat, having dreamt of the distant past . And, each time I do, El’s right there, with tears in her eyes, apologizing, over and again . Truth is . . . " he took a sip, sighing lowly . "Some things . . . we never escape or expel . They stay with us till our graves . My past . . . will always haunt Ella and me . But, my love for her . . . will always overwhelm it . I know . . . that you will never be able to trust others completely . There will always be parts of your heart that are locked away perpetually from the rest of us . And, that’s fine . Have ’em . But," he smiled, pouring Lino another glass . "You also have to realize that we see it . In your eyes . If you can’t trust the rest of us, at least trust what will be the mother of your kids . Let her in and let her see it all . Good and bad . Noble and despicable . Honorable and otherwise . Else, you will forever remain a cripple, daunted by his own thoughts . "

" . . . I trust you," Lino said slowly, taking a sip and smiling . "I really do . I’ve trusted you since the day I began calling you my father . "

" . . . "

"But, I don’t trust myself," Lino sighed . "Not yet, at least . Because, each time I did, I was proven wrong . And, time and again, I was forced to pick up the shattered pieces and start anew . I can’t do that anymore, dad," he chuckled bitterly . "Rather, I’m well past the point of having the luxury of breaking down . If anything . . . anything at all . . . happened to you, or mom, or Lucky, or Hannah . . . I’d end up just like all the other Empyreans before me . Maddened, bloodied and crazed . I would genuinely carve out your names across the world from their corpses . "

" . . . goddamn, you creepy son of a bitch . . . " Eggor shuddered for a moment as he felt a cold chill . "Fucking hell, what do you mean carve out my name from their corpses . . . bloody fucking hell . . . you and your weird goddamn thoughts . . . "

"Ha ha ha ha . . . " Lino laughed joyously as he slowly drank the fiery liquid, stirring his heart . He thought many things at that moment and felt just as many emotions, flashing back through four decades of his life . It’s been a long journey, he mused inwardly, yet, all things considered, he didn’t hold all too many memories . Just a few, in the grand scope of things . Those that truly matter . Most of the forty years are but a blur or vast nothingness . He found it quite strange and fascinating, not remembering too many things . In a way, it made those moments he did remember even more special, and him even more passionate about guarding them . All the way until the end .