The Innkeeper

Marlo and Lex continued to walk in silence. The soft buzz of the various crowds in the distance was a nice change to the usual serenity of the Inn, and it lightened the mood considerably. This was a good thing, in Lex's opinion, as the situation was not hopeless. With time, Rafael would eventually be healed - even of his soul injuries. Lex had no doubt that if he continued to upgrade his Recovery room, a feature to heal the soul would eventually show up.

In fact, he was even certain that somewhere down the line, he would acquire a way to heal Rafael's crippled cultivation. That was not to say he would immediately return to his previous power, but that he would regain the ability to cultivate.

Having one's cultivation crippled was a strange thing, similar to Marlo's crippled golden core. Even those below the Golden core who had their cultivation crippled would not be able to cultivate ordinarily, even if their body healed completely. Lex did not know or understand the reason behind this, but that's just the way things were.

Eventually the two reached the hills where the Meditation room was located. Compared to the rest of the Midnight world, there were fewer people here. The night sky, lit with sky lanterns, made it seem like the stars were hanging just overheard. It made one feel like if one reached out their hand, they might just be able to capture it. But of course, it just seemed like that. Even the avian Beasts present in the Midnight world would be kept from touching them, just for safety purposes.

"Rafael was born just a couple years after we got married," Marlo said suddenly, his voice deep and somber. "He was a chubby little kid, and would play with just about anyone who would give him any attention.

"All his life, his mother spoiled him way too much. I was also approaching my peak back then, and combined with my family's background and Sophia's, there was no one who didn't try to fawn on him. Compared to the life I had lived, filled with pain and struggle and nonstop fighting, his life was too cushy.

"Maybe I should have been happy that I had managed to protect my son from suffering like I had, but back then all I could think of was that if he lived like this, he would grow up to be weak. So, I pushed him hard.

"From an early age, I started training his body. I started embedding discipline into his very bones. I treated him like a soldier, not like a son. To optimize the development of his muscles, I put the kid through medical baths. Too much strain on his bones would be bad at an early age, so I had him practice yoga to increase his muscle flexibility as I gave him combat training.

"He was seven years old when I made him kill his first human."

At this point, Marlo went silent again. He did not look sad or regretful, and his voice was steady. One would assume he was talking about something nonconsequential, like buying shoes. Only he himself knew how much anguish he suffered.

"I made many mistakes in raising him, but the worst of it was comparing his life to my own. At each level, at each achievement, at each breakthrough, I would tell him that I had it much worse than him when I was his age, yet had far more achievements. I was not trying to tear him down. All I meant was that he had better facilities than I did, so that he could surpass me. More than anything, I wanted him to be better than I ever was. More than anything, I wanted him to be more successful than me.

"The kid was good. He took everything I threw at him and worked hard to overcome every challenge. But at some point…I don't even know when, his personality changed. He went from being that happy, friendly kid to someone desperate. He was training desperately, working desperately…searching desperately for anything that would make him good enough. Instead of training him, showing him how he could be great, all I did was constantly remind him that he was not as good as me at his age."

Another bout of silence came, this time hanging between the two men longer. Marlo was completely stoic. Someone who did not know him would assume he was completely fine, yet anyone who knew Marlos regular personality would understand just how unordinary this was.

"Many years later, when I heard the Morrison family was training their heir crazily, I forced them to accept me as one of his teachers. Instead of pushing him forcefully, I taught the kid at every level how he should be thinking, how he should overcome each challenge, and how he should view the world. I could not let someone else make the same mistakes I did.

"Although the kid was training at a level beyond what anyone his age should be doing, he ever developed the same desperation that Rafael did. All because of a simple choice - the choice to quit whenever he wanted. That simple choice turned everything that was happening from something that was being forced upon him, to something he chose to do. Every time he overcame an obstacle, it was a result of his own training. Every time he completed a mission, it was his own success rather than his families. Every time he felt overwhelmed, it was his own choice to continue rather than something that was forced upon him.

"Such a small difference, to be honest, brought about such a tremendous change. Instead of becoming desperate like Rafael, the kid has grown into a confident young man - because everything he did was something he chose to do to better himself, rather than something his family chose for him. If only I had done the same with my own kid.

"Back then I didn't see the problem, but I warped his personality. I wish I could say that the reason Rafael is in his current condition is because an enemy of mine attacked him, or he was ambushed, or something evil happened. Yet the simple truth is, he forced himself to cultivate too hard. He pushed himself beyond his body's limits.

"In his early twenties, he was about to break into the Foundation realm. It can't compare with that Alexander kid, but then again, he never had the same amount of resources either. But he forced the breakthrough before he was ready, which caused the spiritual energy inside his body to destabilize and explode.

"Back on Earth, cultivation techniques are tested for their stability, to ensure their chances of deviation are minimum, but it's impossible to eliminate them. His poor state of mind, his desperation to succeed, all led him down this path.

"Sophia and I weren't home when this happened, but fortunately, his grandparents were. They managed to keep him alive, but that's about all they could do. It was impossible to treat him.

"Sophia blamed me. She said I killed her son by pushing him too hard. To be frank, I can't honestly say she is wrong.

"You know, when I think back to that time, I can't remember what the rush was. I can't remember why I was in such a hurry to have him grow stronger so quickly. We had all the time in the world. Instead of pushing him to be as miserable as I was, I should have been teaching him how to live. Instead of having him kill people, I should have been teaching him how to defend himself and live the life he wanted to live. I just… I can't remember."

As Marlo vented his feelings, Lex said nothing. He was not sure what he should be saying anyway, and he was not tactless enough to ask him about the artifact again while he was telling him about his son. But this did reveal to Lex another question he had been wondering about.

It always felt peculiar to him, a multimillionaire high leveled cultivator spending his time teaching self defense class to a bunch of nobodies. But suddenly, Lex understood. Through them, Marlo was trying to relieve some of his guilt. He was doing for them what he wished he had done for his son. By teaching them to survive, he was giving them enough time to live long enough to actually enjoy their lives. From his expression, one could not tell that the mad giant was in pain, but if one analyzed his actions it was plain as day.

"As for the artifact," Marlo continued, "I have no idea what you are talking about. As much as I wished it was something I gave him, neither I nor Sophia have any treasures that would allow someone to continue to live in such a beaten up state. It's something we can only ask him once I find a way to heal his soul," Marlo said, with unwavering determination.

There was no pain in his voice, no regret in his eyes. There was only a mission.