It had been years since I'd last been in these areas. As I returned home, I found worn-out paths and new structures that I had never seen. The land still retained a hint of familiarity, but now it was mixed with a strange new sensation of a world that had kept advancing.

It makes sense that the world didn't stop changing when I left, but the rate at which things had changed was rather shocking. As I traveled through, I was greeted by the site of buildings peppered around.

In those buildings, I saw my siblings and what looked to be my nieces and nephews.

Watching them from afar, I felt only happiness as I saw them living their lives in peace and prosperity. My journey back home was elongated because I took the time to look at all the new changes.

I looked for my siblings and found them all living away from the temple. It seemed as if the only ones still there were mother and father.

The last house I visited was located under the giant leaves of the sky-piercing tree. Unsurprisingly the one who inhabited the little house was my brother Marco and my sister Alice.

They had two children who, by the looks of things, had only recently started to walk. They were twins, and they looked strikingly like perfect hybrids of their parents.

I'd almost wanted to join them, but I'd decided to keep my distance. Our reunion would happen in due time. There was no need to rush it.

I waited atop the tree until my brother came out of his house. He walked to a field that housed a herd of around 50 water deer. They were locked in by a wooden fence that should have been easy for them to break out of.

At the very least, it looked like that on the surface. I hadn't done much more investigation.

Watching my brother enter the field without fear in his eyes was surprising, to say the least. The force multiplication ability of these beasts made a herd of this size incredibly dangerous. It would take an immense amount of effort for me to cull them at my current strength.

Yet when he walked in, they showed no signs of hostility at all. It seems like my family had figured out a way to tame these prideful beasts.

Discreetly I activated my false divination and peered into my brother's strength.

I was mildly impressed at the sight of the same qi passages that my father had created all those years ago. These qi passages were slightly different than the ones my father had possessed. They seemed smoother and more robust. I was surprised to see a river of qi flowing through these passages.

I had never seen that level of qi in any single individual before. I had seen beasts with this level of qi, if not more, but I hadn't witnessed it in my family.

With that amount of qi, I should have been able to sense it without false divination.

My face broke into a slight grin as I realized that I wasn't the only one that had gotten stronger over these years. It was expected, but I had never expected it to reach this extent.

I was happy since that meant that they were all more capable of defending themselves. Though that did not bode well for my goal, It did make it more exciting.

He did, however, still need to work on his awareness. He hadn't noticed me observing him the whole time. As he left towards the direction of the temple, I decided against following him.

Instead, I opted to drop down from the tree and gently glide to the front door of his house.

Tak Tak Tak

I knocked on the door. " Alice, open the door." The words sounded strange to me. I hadn't used my voice for speech in such a long time.

I heard the shuffling of feet inside. "Who is it?" My sister's voice sounded from behind the door before it was flung open. She paused as her gaze took in my unfamiliar visage before her eyes widened.

The surprise didn't last long as she flung herself at me.

"William!"

I embraced her in a hug. "Alice, it's been so long."

As she pulled herself away, she gave me a stern look."You didn't tell us when you were leaving. I was so worried about you." Once again, I was pulled into a hug.

"I didn't want a grand farewell. Knowing you guys, that was what would've happened."

"That is true. Come in, come in. There are some people I want you to meet." As I walked into the cozy little house, my eyes landed on the two little toddlers.

"You had babies?" This information wasn't new to me, but I didn't want to take away the joy of introducing her children. "Yes, these are Shona and Maxim. As you can tell, they're twins like Adam and Kristen."

The twins looked at me with curiosity before the boy, who I assumed was Maxim, tentatively approached me.

"Don't be shy. Come and say hi to your uncle." Her encouragement boosted their confidence, and a couple minutes later, I found myself playing tag with them.

It was a rather relaxing experience that came to an end when Alice called them for feeding time. She had gone off and prepared a meal for them to eat.

"Come, William, you gotta try my cooking." She said as she ushered her children into another room where the food awaited.

"I should be heading to the temple by now."

"Really, William, you can't just drop by and not have some food."

"I sure can."

"Well, then don't. Come and sit." She gestured at an empty chair, and I relented.

She had made some sort of stew filled with meat from the deer and various other plants. It tasted quite delicious. The deer meat was a bit too soft for my liking, but it contained more flavor than what I used to eat in the wild. So I wasn't complaining.

We made small talk and recounted the changes that had happened throughout the years. Only after the meal was finished and the children had been tricked into napping did the conversation take a more serious tone.

"So what brought you back, brother? Have you found whatever you were looking for?"

"I think I have, and I'm ready to return home."

She stared me in the eyes and seemed to be looking for something."Why do the winds not speak of you anymore?"

It was a question that I'd been expecting to be asked, but I dreaded it nonetheless.

My travels through the lands had bestowed upon me many hardships but also many gifts. In that journey of self-discovery, I had managed to make a lot of progress on myself as a person. That progress also included the reason as to why I was no longer visible by the north winds.

"I'd rather not speak on it." Her continuous stare made it abundantly clear that she wasn't pleased with my answer, but thankfully she didn't push harder.

"Things have changed around here, brother. We have moved past old relationships and forged them into better ones." She looked out a little window in the room and observed the water deer.

"We have let go of our hate and disappointment."

"That's bullshit." The words came out of my mouth automatically.

"I can understand saying that you've forged stronger relationships, but please don't act as if you've completely moved on. It's rather insulting."

The ensuing silence was not comfortable and was broken only a while later by a sigh from Alice.

"You're right about that, but my point is we're advancing, and everything is being put in place for a better future. We have come to an understanding with our parents, and I'm worried that your anger might still linger. I'm anxious that you might mess things up." Her gaze was questioning.

She wanted reassurance that I wouldn't do anything to mess up whatever they had going on. It was slightly insulting that she thought that I still had anger in my heart against my parents, but I understood her perspective.

Plus, she wasn't exactly wrong.

My newfound lack of presence probably wasn't helping to relieve her worries either.

My fingers rhythmically tapped against the table. " Don't you worry sister, I have no dreams of messing up whatever has been built here. I am many things, but petty is not one of them. You should know that."

"I know what you were like a couple years ago. The current you is unknown. I don't need the winds or numbers for me to know that. What I don't know is how you've changed, and I'd rather be sure than regret later."

Once again, silence descended upon us.

"What do you plan on doing now that you're back?" She said as she leaned back against her chair.

"Nothing much, I'm just going to say my greetings to our parents, and then I'll be living the same life that all of you are."

"For some reason, I doubt you'll be satisfied by that."

I hummed lightly in agreement. "Maybe I'll take on some new projects or go on to another trip, but for now, I'm here. I should probably go say my greetings."

She escorted me to the door. The cheery mood that had once been there was no longer anywhere to be found.

"Please don't take my questions as me not being happy to see you. It's just that you're a completely unknown factor." She looked saddened as she spoke.

"I know. Don't worry about it. If I were in your position, I would feel the same way too."

"Thanks for coming."

We hugged each other once more before I started my trek to the temple.

That meeting had actually gone smoother than I'd expected. None of my family would be used to my absence from the winds. This was one of the lesser reactions that I had envisioned.

In that conversation, I had lied just a little.

My intent for going to the temple was not only to say hi. I didn't plan on anything drastic. That didn't mean that I didn't plan on doing anything at all.

My travels had developed in me an itch for combat.

I'd grown in power over the years, and I wished to test myself. The perfect candidate for that test was, of course, my father.

My journey of growth and discovery was over. This fight wouldn't change any of that.

It was more to simply release whatever pent-up anger I might still have in the most healthy and cathartic way I could come up with.

It was slightly petty.

The journey to the temple was a short one. When I arrived at the grounds, a little boy sat atop one of the pillars. In his hands was a book that he was completely immersed in. It didn't look like any from the library, and its rather shoddy appearance led me to believe that it was made by someone in the family.

I did not bother to stop and say hi. I simply followed my senses until I arrived at a clearing located away from the entrance.

It was where my father always trained, and it was there that I found him. His fists smashed against giant rocks and crumbled them into pieces. His forehead shone with sweat, and his muscles glistened in the sunlight.

"Father."

He did not stop his actions.

"I have come to challenge you to a fight."As his fist smashed against the last boulder in front of him, it completely shattered into an explosion of pebbles and dust.

As he faced me, I could see the slight amusement on his face.

"Really, William, is that how you greet someone." He sighed before glancing behind me.

I didn't turn to look, but I knew that Marco and mother had arrived. They made no actions to stop the fight.

"Fine, let's get this over with."