Unsealing Emptiness

Ozul’s voice jolted awake Raven from her stupor. She desperately wanted to deny his words, but nothing came out of her mouth.

Because deep inside, she knew that some of what Ozul said was true even if she did not agree with everything.

She might have stopped herself from expressing her emotions to anyone other than him, but it was still undeniable that she loved him.

As if he understood what she would say, Ozul spoke first, “You cannot call it love. You only had positive feelings towards me which have bottled up to a point where you think that it is your goal.”

“If you try to argue that what I am saying is only what I think, then that little girl in the Sect that you left behind is an example for you. If you can open up to that little girl, you can do it with others too,” Ozul paused; words always drained him.

A moment later, he continued, “I am not telling you to go love everyone or something. You don’t need to become so friendly with everyone. Just express your emotions, whatever they are a little more, and you might one day realize that what you have for me is not love. Find some real purpose in your life.”

.....

Whenever Raven would try to argue about something, Ozul would beat her to the punch and say something that would cause her to think again. She couldn’t think of anything to say at all.

Seeing that it was having some effect on her, Ozul took a harsher tone, “I need people to work for me. I need someone strong and capable of working for me. I don’t need a lover, Raven.”

Being together with her for so long, Ozul wouldn’t leave Raven just anywhere, but that also didn’t mean that he loved her.

‘I have too many things to do to even think about something so unusual like love,’ Ozul honestly considered the concept complicated enough that he wouldn’t waste his time on it.

Once the unconscious strings are attached to others, it comes to a point where the opinions of those others start to hold more importance than your own satisfaction.

Though some would argue that in that case, the person in question would find their satisfaction in fulfilling the wishes of those ‘others’, Ozul felt that this was not the time nor was he free enough to contemplate such things.

His words were harsh enough that Raven felt a pang of pain jolt through her chest, but she remained quiet. She knew that what she felt towards him was love, but not only did he not believe it, he also didn’t care about it.

“What do you aim to achieve? What is your goal?” Ozul asked a question that Raven couldn’t find the answer to.

If she said that she wanted to do everything for him, it would further prove his point. Raven wanted to prove him wrong. She wanted him to know that she wasn’t afraid of abandonment.

“I... my goal... is to become so strong that one day I will be able to protect those who are dear to me,” Raven declared with a firm voice. Though at the start, it felt like she was convincing herself.

‘Well, at least that is a start...’ Ozul thought, but he knew that her definition of those dear to her probably includes only three people.

Ozul understood that just words alone wouldn’t change her in a matter of minutes, but now that he had told her these things, she would be more open-minded of her own situation.

“Just know that I have spent efforts cultivating you... do not disappoint me,” Ozul wanted capable followers, and Raven had the potential to be one. He didn’t have the option to be indifferent now.

He stood up with a sigh and muttered, “I am sure you would get out of it, Raven.”

‘Never!’ Raven shouted inside her mind. If he didn’t acknowledge her affection, then she’d stop herself from expressing those emotions. Nonetheless, she could never just forget those feelings.

As he was about to walk out of the ground, he turned around and ordered Raven, “Don’t leave him alone. Get him inside first.”

She was following him out of the training ground while Blaze was still lying there in the middle of the ground, looking as if he was dead because of his bloody figure.

“Tch!”

Ozul heard the sound, but he decisively ignored and walked out, leaving Raven to tend to poor Blaze who didn’t know if leaving her to help him was a blessing or curse from Ozul.

——-

‘Hu... I have done enough. It is up to her now,’ Ozul released a deep breath as he directly went to his room to sleep.

‘I didn’t know I could talk so much in such a short amount of time...’ he slept that day with such monologues running in his mind.

Raven’s situation was more complicated than how he described it, but now it was her problem. He had warned her, and it would be her responsibility now.

In the first place, Ozul had never imagined that the girl he saved that day would persist for so long with him. Although he had scolded Raven today, it was also true that she had never bothered him about her feelings in any way before.

The only reason he wanted to point it out was so that she would have her own life as well. He wanted capable people, not puppets.

. . .

The next day, Raven seemed extra serious, and Blaze was all patched up. There was not a sign of injuries on his body.

Ozul had controlled the blade so that it didn’t cause any fatal injury to Blaze, and the healing potion worked its wonders.

Talking about them, Ozul knew about the healing potions that his organization used, but he didn’t stop them since now that they were already made, they were better used on his people than on others.

Shaking these thoughts out of his mind, he focused on the duo fighting before him.

Although Raven and Blaze were extra prepared these days, things didn’t change much from the previous day.

Maybe because Ozul went a little easy on them, Blaze stood standing for more than half a day, and Raven started to show improvements in her combat as well.

‘Now I only have to wait...’

While training the duo, Ozul didn’t forget about the tournament.

He would occasionally call Irvin to ask if he had any news or any useful information, however, that proved to be fruitless.

Ozul didn’t get discouraged by this. He had already prepared himself for what he was about to do. And for passing the time, he started to train the duo every day.

Days started to pass, and each passing day, the duo felt their so-called ‘training’ transforming into torture.

As the days passed, Ozul didn’t slow his pace. Since he was bored, he started to give them more of his ‘focus’.

But with the increasing intensity of their training, the results became obvious as well.

Blaze started to be able to dodge the blades occasionally without getting hit by Raven.

On the other hand, Raven’s improvement became more prominent as the days passed. Ozul would have multiple needles floating around her at a time, but she got used to ignoring them.

After that, it was easier for her to fight more openly. She started using other spells than just those simple daggers. She also used the Darkness Element for Spells that blasted upon contact. It was hard considering the Element’s nature, but she had managed to create such Spells during her time in the Nine Petals Sect.

. . .

In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed and the date of the tournament’s finals was decided.

The report Irvin had brought Ozul informed him that the participants of the finals were already decided by then and they had even moved to the Neutral Lands. The Mercenary Guild, Leonhard Dynasty, the Church of Light, and the Ashin family had already taken a liking to many young talents.

This tournament also acted as the recruitment session for big factions to gain talented individuals who previously did not have big enough backing to support them.

Just like them, Ozul had also instructed Haley to keep their eyes on every participant in the finals.

“They managed to reach here; every one of them has the talent to become famous throughout the continent in the future, so it’s better if we have information on them from early on,” Haley commented and Ozul agreed for a different reason.

“Many of the factions would try to recruit the cream of the crop, but more than a couple of these kids would still be ignored. We will recruit them,” Ozul stated his plan as he was sitting on the couch while others held their meeting.

He had given a day off to Raven and Blaze.

Although the Three-Eyed Strangers had grown so much in only a few years, the participants would still be hesitant in choosing a relatively new organization.

Haley nodded her head in understanding. If these participants were first left disappointed that none of the giant factions had tried to recruit them, the Three-Eyed Strangers’ offer would look like their only hope.

Ozul turned towards Raven and Blaze, “Remember, don’t try to show off so much.”

Although Haley and the rest didn’t think that it was the right decision to stop the two from showing off, they didn’t voice out their thoughts.

In their minds, if Raven and Blaze showed off in the finals, more people would realize their organization’s strength.