Asari's farm was somehow remote and far from the city of Arashia itself, and even far from the market where Asari sold his crops.
This made it easy for Rem and his sister Nadya to hide here and disappear from sight until Rem was ready to take his next step.
Rem and his sister Nadya stayed with Asari for three consecutive months, and every day Asari trained Rem on using his Judgment blade
He was very strict in training, so much so that permanent scars appeared on Rem's body and would remain forever from Asari's sword.
Asari and Rem were returning from the training ground. Rem was wearing different clothes, his hair had grown longer, and even his muscular build had slightly increased.
All these changes made Asari look at Rem with a silly, envious look.
"What's wrong?" Rem asked, resting the Judgment blade on his shoulder.
"Youth is so beautiful... I feel jealous."
"But you are twenty-two years old, Teacher."
"I know, but a young body has potential that cannot be reached after the passage of time."
"I guess you are right..."
"You agree with me? That doesn't happen often."
"I can feel that I am stronger! And I think I can control the curse of my Judgment blade a little too, so I think I'm ready to..."
Asari slapped the back of Rem's head hard, nearly knocking him to the ground.
"Don't rush things... Yes, you have managed to control the amount of Enza flowing from the sword, but you still cannot apply the principle of canceling Enza from the other person, and that is the reason why this sword is scary in the first place."
"I apologize..."
"So, what does it feel like to use the curse's aura to support your movements? Since you used it the first moment you released the aura of hatred, adapting was not difficult, right?"
"No, it wasn't difficult... I think somehow I manage to accept the hatred flowing into me from the sword, and then direct it to all my limbs to make me stronger..."
"Being talented is terrifying..."
"I'm not talented, I just want to see the head of the Chief Advisor's kinght fly high in the air away from his body..."
"Scary~"
"...."
"I don't know what your problem is with the King of Dingo or with his Chief Advisor's kinght, but I want to tell you that what you are about to do will make you not only heavily wanted in Dingo but also in all the neighboring nations."
"I have no problem... If the whole world wants to be my enemy... I will cut the whole world with this Judgment blade!"
The rest of the walk continued in silence, and Asari did not respond to Rem's final words because he felt a lot of determination, hatred, and anger embedded in those letters.
Asari had faced many powerful individuals, even winning wars and confronting tyrants, so Asari could recognize a threat when he saw one, and this boy would be a threat to the entire world in the future.
"Do you know what an Echo is, Rem?"
Rem and Asari were inside the shack. Rem was patting the head of his sister Nadya, who was asleep on his lap, and Asari was drinking tea at his one-chair table.
"Do you mean the tools that the Eathlths use?"
"Exactly, like this glove you are wearing. Eathlths use their sword to control Enza, but swords are not the only thing Enza can flow through."
"But Echoes require a large amount of emotion and concentration to be usable, and that is why making an Echo is very difficult."
"I know all of this, but why are you mentioning it now?"
"Echoes are an integral part of an Eathlth's gear, so you must get some Echoes too if you want to wage a one-man war against an entire nation."
"But I'm not an Eathlth..."
"But you have the curse's aura... It functions like a person's Enza, and since you are training to control the aura, it means you will have your own aura, and with it, you can harness any number of Echoes you want."
"Are you saying that by using the sword, I can match the power of an Eathlth?"
"Only if you learn to use its aura correctly."
Rem took a breath as he looked at the Judgment blade placed next to him.
"And speaking of Echoes... let's go get you some!"
"What?!"
"You want to be at the level of an Eathlth, right? Let's go get you an Echo to help you with that."
Rem stood up so quickly that Nadya, sleeping in his lap, woke up screaming.
Calming her down took time, but in the end, they entrusted her with the shack and left.
Asari gave Nadya a horn made of a bull's horn and told her that once she fills her lungs with air and blows it, Asari will be with her before she finishes.
The two ventured deeper into the forest and headed toward the mountain peaks surrounding the edges of Arashia.
"I want to ask you a question, Master."
"Go ahead~"
"Why are you helping us like this? Since you saved us, you have been feeding us, training me, taking care of us, and giving us gifts... why?"
"...." The air surrounding Asari darkened, and frustration seeped out of all his pores, but he hid it with a pained smile.
"I had brothers once... Asio and Seray. They were my younger siblings, and they were killed just to make me angry, and I couldn't get revenge for them even though I knew who did it..."
"Why didn't you take revenge for them? You are strong enough."
"Because I knew that the person who did it was already dead."
"And what was that person's name?"
"Regham... Rogahelm."
Rem froze in place, his breath catching. The sweat flowing from his forehead was almost a torrent that would not stop.
Asari's words slowed Rem's time until it stopped completely, and his world was no longer running as usual.
Regham Rogahelm, Rem's father whom he cherishes and respects, was the cause of Asari's brothers' death, or rather, he was the one who killed them with his own hands.
Fate had played its dirty game and thrown Regham's children to the one person they should never have met in their lives.
"Rem... Rem!"
Asari's calling voice cleared the cloud of confusion surrounding Rem and brought him back to reality.
"Why the tension? This was a long time ago, and I think I was able to rest a little knowing that he's rotting in hell now."
"What... if he had a family."
"A family? Why would I care about his family?"
"My name is... Rem Rogahelm."
Asari's smile gradually vanished from his face, and his brow furrowed.
Rem took two steps back and slowly reached for Judgment blade
On the other side, Asari did not move or even try to approach his sword, he just... laughed.
Asari laughed with the loudest sound he had ever made, so much so that some tears fell from the laughter, but he did not stop, he just wiped his tears and continued laughing.
After moments of hysterical laughter, Rem remained frozen in place.
"It's okay..."
"What?!"
"It's okay... A person should inherit their father's virtues, not his sins."
"But..."
"I told you not to worry. I am a killer, not a good person. I also killed people who had families and children, and that's why I won't hold a grudge against an entire lineage because of what one person from them did."
"I don't understand! I am the son of the man who killed your two brothers! Why don't you draw your sword and end my life?"
With a quick flick from Asari's , Rem fell to the ground with the edge of the sword at his neck.
"The hatred you carry should not exceed those you want to kill, or you will end up like the sword you possess: just a pathetic pile of hatred roaming around."
"Kill! And fight! And shed blood! But never allow your hatred to lead you. A warrior is led by his resolve and motive, not his hatred and anger."
The sword slowly moved away from Rem's neck, and he felt a heavy weight lift from his chest.
The crimson image that encompassed all of Dingo shrunk around Rodan's white fortress and became lighter than it was.
Asari and Rem continued their journey toward the mountains, climbing to the highest peak where the wind whipped around their bodies.
At the top of that mountain, there was a stone crafting table bearing close inscriptions, and a large amount of Enza flowed within those inscriptions.
As soon as Asari and Rem approached the table, it lit up intensely, and amidst the strong wind, Asari spoke:
"You must think carefully about what you want to create! Place the thing you want to turn into an Echo in the center of the table."
Rem took out a silver necklace from his pocket in the shape of a small star. It was like the one his father Regham used to wear.
"Now saturate your Echo with Enza!"
Rem took off his gloves and grasped his Judgment blade, and the rot spread to both of his hands.
He extended the Judgment blade toward the table, and the curse's aura began to flow into the table, rather, it was forcibly pulled into the table.
Rem's consciousness was fading due to the intensity of the physical and psychological pressure that the aura extraction put on him, but the inscriptions around the table lit up with the color of the curse's aura.
The necklace rose into the air, and Enza exploded from all sides. Before it could fall, the powerful pressure flung Rem away.
Asari took the necklace, which was overflowing with the aura of hatred, and gave it to Rem.
As soon as he put it on, the aura surrounding it calmed down and returned as if it had never been saturated with Enza.
"So?"
"I think it works..."
"What ability did you add to your Echo?"
"Attack me with the intent to kill..."
Asari was surprised by the request, but he stepped back and swung his sword, and a fast wind blade rushed toward Rem.
As it rapidly approached, the necklace lit up, and the wind blade was burned by the flames of the curse's aura. The burnt fragments scattered around Rem and dispersed.
Surprise was etched on Asari's face, and a smile on Rem's.
"If someone attacks me with the intent to kill! Their attack is nullified, and the sword drains the Enza used in the attack and absorbs it for itself."
"You are a truly annoying genius!"
"Aren't I~"
With loud laughs, Asari and Rem descended the mountain and returned to the shack.
As they approached, Asari heard the sound of the horn he had given Nadya, and he rushed with the speed of the wind, followed by Rem.
A knight was standing in front of the shack door, holding Nadya by her hands, and she was smiling.
Nadya did not know that he was related, as her memories of that day were blurry, but Rem drew the Judgment blade, and anger flared in his eyes.
"I haven't seen you in a while, Cousin."
He was a knight in complete crimson armor. Just by looking at him, one could tell the nobility he attained. He had short red hair and a sword whose aura trembled with a love for conflict.
"Williams..."