“This week’s been like every other week.” Said Karim, picking up his napkin and spreading it on his lap.

“I see.” Hearing the usual reply Korina faked a smile and waved her hand, signaling Sherry to serve the meal.

Familiar with Korina’s mannerisms, Karim decided to say a few more words. He smiled, saying faintly, “I’m fine, really. You don’t have to worry anymore. I just reached a bottleneck in my training, and I don’t feel I’m improving…. fast enough, that’s all.”

Seeing the smile and hearing the rare emotion in Karim’s voice, Korina couldn’t help but get excited. She was right, her son was finally normal. The nightmare was finally going to end. However, before she went too far with her thoughts, she remembered to reign herself in. She needed to make sure he was completely alright before she told him what the Old master of the family proposed.

“Is that so? The last time your father was here, he was extremely pleased with your progress. He said your foundation is much more solid than even his was at your age.” Replied Korina with pride.

The fact that Karim was hardworking was the only saving grace of his ‘mental demon’ for his family however, the House Night was one of generals not compromised killing machines. Thus, they were always reluctant to invest in him or groom him but now, things were changing. Even the Old Master upon hearing of his recovery was interested in his development.

“Lunch is served.” Interrupted Sherry at this moment. She pushed a trolley to the side of the table and served the dishes.

Karim’s plate held a huge juicy steak, with a creamy paste on the side while Korina’s meal was much more reserved. A tantalizing fruit salad that appeared to be glowing even in the daylight was placed before her.

“A foundation in the end is only a foundation.” Said Karim, repeating the very words his father had told him when last they met, before proceeding to pick up his fork and knife to eat.

“Is the spirit food not enough?” questioned Korina, as she too picked up her fork.

Shaking his head Karim said, “It’s not that it’s not enough, it’s that even if I get higher level spirit food, I won’t be able to digest it with the training I’m doing now.”

The reason Karim could train so religiously without completely burning out had a lot to do with the constitution of the beings of this planet, Binguni. Most people were physically strong, any ordinary man would have a warrior’s capabilities at adulthood however, those who practiced, had talent, and honed it, would walk an even greater, longer path towards true power.

A path the force within Karim seemed to want him to follow. Unfortunately, even with the talent that being born as a son of House Night afforded him, he was still pushing it at thirteen to be working as hard and as much as he was. Thus, to supplement his body’s need for energy and recovery, he would consume a lot of spirit food on a daily basis, just like the meal he was eating now.

The steak was most likely from one of the many spirit beasts that inhabited Binguni. These were animals that just like the people of Binguni, walked the path of power although through different means. They absorbed the dense spiritual energy in Binguni’s atmosphere and across countless years grew and evolved to become the second greatest force on the planet.

However, that was it. They were only the second greatest force. To the barbarians of Binguni who took the path of physical strength to the extreme and had little to no ability to sense the abundant spiritual energy in the atmosphere, let alone being able to absorb it, the spirit beasts were simply walking nutrients and one of their many uses was as food.

Just like Karim’s meal today. The beast was probably caught, slaughtered, preserved and purchased at market by Sherry, a qualified spirit chef, who could not only preserve the energy contained within the food but also enhance it.

Of course, only the rich and powerful could eat spirit food as much as Karim did. A perk of being of noble birth, not that he cared.

Other people would still have to struggle to hunt the spirit beasts before coughing up quite the large amount of money to hire a spirit chef to cook it for them. Of course, there were quite a number of powerful spirit beasts and their true strength lie in their reproduction rates as well as their population.

“So higher level spirit food won’t help?” inquired Korina. Being educated, she already knew the answer but she was still eager to hear his answer.

“Maybe when I get stronger but right now it’d be useless, I doubt I’d even be able to fully digest a bite. I need enhancements that’ll help me advance and increase my capacity for energy.” He said.

“That’s great…” exclaimed Korina much to Karim’s confusion.

“Ehem…I think I have a solution for you.” Clearing her throat, she said.

“Solution?”

“Yes, your recovery has left many people in the main family especially you father, quite happy which is they’re thinking of ending your stay here.” Said Korina.

“Ending…my stay here?” Although he only widened his eyes a little at that prospect, inside, Karim actually felt like a bombshell had hit him. He had lived his current lifestyle for ten years and now he was to leave? Memories of his time at ‘home’ couldn’t help but crop up.

However, before he got too lost in his head Korina continued, saying, “Of course. You’re the youngest and only son of the current generation of House Night, you’re to succeed your father one day. Staying in this…place forever, is not your destiny.”

Lost for words, Karim simply waited for Korina to continue as he inwardly questioned himself as to whether or not he was ready to go back to the world of ‘masked people and endless noise’.

“The Old master has already said that as soon as the summer break is over, you are to join the Imperial Academy. Isn’t that great? You can go back with Prince Kufu, he’s already been there a year. With his help you’ll settle in in no time.” Unbeknownst to Karim, underneath the table, Korina was desperately clutching the hem of her dress hoping he would agree. Him leaving this place, coming back home, going to school, making friends, announcing himself as the proud scion of House Night, these were all things she could only dream of and all he had to do now was say yes for this wish of hers to come true.

“Grandfather?” The vague memory of a smiling domineering old man came to mind. When he first showed the signs of his ‘sickness’ his grandfather had thought it the work of an enemy of the family, as a mental demon forming in a young child was rare, especially one who had been through no traumatic experiences. Unfortunately, this enemy was never found and ‘mental demon’ was the approved diagnosis as well as the most believable agenda the family could push to its many members as well as to the members of the public.

Taking a moment to think of the consequences of his training lagging behind and the threat of annihilation from the force within him, Karim sighed in defeat. “Do I have choice?”

Thus, he gave his answer, “Sure.” And the cogwheels of fate began turning.