Enigma of Sin

The day Kayn turned 16 finally arrived. As much as Kayn opposed his parents' decision to have a party, he couldn't win. Clementine went around the entire day before to prepare the ballroom for guests while Ezekiel took care of all the gardening and hedge trimming that Zerana would usually do.

Kayn was instructed to take care of his mother and make sure that she didn't do anything strenuous. During the time that he helped his mother, he learned that she had been pregnant since a month after his 14th birthday. That would mean her entire pregnancy lasted around 2 years. Kayn couldn't imagine having to deal with that for two years.

Zerana spent most of the days before Kayn's birthday making various calls through communication crystals in order to set up catering and music for the party while also inviting the guests. It was a short notice for an invitation, but those who were called would be glad to put their plans aside to attend a party for the General's son.

Clementine invited many of her friends that she would graduate with in the next year as well. Most of them remembered Kayn from Clementine's party, and they couldn't wait to see what kind of a man he had grown to become.

…

On the night of the celebration, Kayn was instructed to stay inside and greet guests as they arrived at the ballroom. The one escorting them this time was Ezekiel, the General himself.

Most of the single women guests were flustered when Ezekiel offered them his arm, he was renowned for his killer looks after all. This made Zerana a bit bitter when she noticed them clinging on to her husband, but he was professional about it and would always promptly excuse himself to go receive the next guests once he delivered them to the ballroom.

Kayn had said his greetings to many people thus far and also received multiple complements about his looks. There were even those that were professors at the academy. They would usually ask about his core, his affinities, or why he didn't attend like his sister did as they were excited about teaching the younger brother of the prodigy that was Clementine.

Kayn could only answer to these questions with the answers his family had agreed upon to not reveal anything too important. He was also wearing a sealing ring that would restrain his mana core's output to the first stage as some of the guests that would be coming were very sensitive to the flow of mana coming from a person.

His generic answers were that he had affinities for light and fire, much like his father. His core was still in the first stage. And lastly, that he was focusing more on healing arts and was being personally tutored on them.

All of this brought sadness to Kayn though. Talking about healing made him think about Lydia, whom he still had not heard from. The family had attempted to call her multiple times, even contacting the royal aide, however, they received the same response as always, she wasn't available and was on a mission.

For Kayn, this day felt a little bit less special without his Master being here. He owed so much more than he thought he could ever pay back. He wanted to show her just how much he had improved, but he wasn't able to do that.

It was around this time when Kayn was lost in his thoughts that a guest appeared that neither his parents nor their guests expected to come. The Emperor's personal aide.

As the personal aide of the emperor of an empire, his power and influence were naturally massive. The emperor himself would almost never show up for anything other than his own parties, and his aide was only sent to coming of age celebrations when the Emperor was expecting great things from the individual in question.

Ezekiel escorted the aide and his wife in, which were followed by four guards who each took to one corner of the ballroom before proceeding to stand like statues. Ezekiel introduced his wife to both Arlan and Maria, the aide and his wife respectively.

As Ezekiel returned to his duties, Zerana brought the new duo in front of Kayn and introduced them to him. After giving a polite bow, Zerana took her leave so that they could chat. Kayn was a bit dumbfounded at first, but quickly straightened himself and gave a polite bow as a greeting. "I greet the Emperor's aide and his wife."

"Hoho what a well-mannered young man. Smarts and looks as a young man of 16, I'm almost jealous! Not to mention, it seems your core is closing in on the 2nd stage already. Incredible! Why General Ezekiel kept you hidden in his home is a mystery as you could have probably achieved more at the academy or with royal tutors, but a father must have his reasons." Arlan the aide spoke jovially.

"Ah, that was by my own request. I prefer solitude than an environment with a lot of people around as I learn better that way. In order to provide better services to the Carnet Empire, I found it important to learn in the most suitable environment." Kayn responded without a single change in his expression.

"Ha! It seems General Ezekiel has taught you how to speak well too. Indeed, you can serve our Carnet Empire better if you learn well now, that is surely the correct path! I'll have to have General Ezekiel keep me updated on your progress from now on. I expect big things from you." Arlan shook Kayn's hand before grabbing his wife's arm and meandering back into the ground to mingle with other guests.

…

The party continued and all of the guests eventually arrived. One of the good things about Kayn being an unknown, was that he didn't really receive any marriage requests. There were the odd few parents that purely wanted to have him marry their daughter based upon his family's prestige, but those were rare.

A couple of Clementine's friends whom he had danced with during her coming-of-age celebration danced with him again and would offhandedly mention marriage, but Kayn's response was always the same. He wanted to wait until he truly set up a life of his own before he considered marrying anyone.

It was a bad excuse and he knew it, but they had to accept it none the less. As Kayn's thoughts ran while he danced with various people, he noticed that something was off. One of the four guards that the aide had brought was no longer at their post.

Kayn assumed maybe they had to use the restroom or were escorting Lady Maria, but even after a long time the guard didn't return to their post. He had even spotted the Lady and Arlan together during this time.

Upon glancing over at his parents, he noticed that they were having a conversation by themselves and looked slightly distressed. When they sensed Kayn looking, they quickly separated and went back to their business attending to guests.

Kayn regretted not activating his Sense Extension to listen in on their conversation, but knowing his father, he definitely set up some kind of magical muting barrier. If they didn't want to bring it up or talk with him about it, there was nothing he could do but continue on with his party.

Throughout the night he met several influential individuals and was able to make multiple connections with people throughout the capital simply because his father was that famous.

He even met and talked with an individual who was willing to turn the recent hide he had received into an armor. Apparently Rocky Hide Hippopotamus's leather was a great material to work with and have as an armor. The leather worker asked if this was a gift from his father to which he quickly affirmed that it was as he couldn't let anyone know he hunted it personally.

Late in the evening, Kayn sneakily observed as the guard slipped his way back into the party and acted as if he was patrolling the room the entire time before approaching Arlan and whispering something to him.

At that point, Arlan and his wife along with their guards bid their farewells and wished Kayn the best in his future endeavors. Shortly after his departure, the other guests began to leave one by one before finally all that was left was just Kayn and his family.

Finally, Kayn could let out a relieved breath and plopped down on the couch inside the family's living room. His sister sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder as if she was also exhausted from the party.

His parents entered shortly after and sat on the couch opposite of Kayn holding different things in their hands. First his father came forward and presented his item to Kayn.

"I haven't had time to hunt like I did for Clem's present, but I got something for you that I believe will be an immense help in your future." Ezekiel spoke as he removed a black rucksack from a cloth bag.

"This bag has been enchanted with space expansion magic. It can hold up to 10 times the amount a normal bag its size can carry and also reduces the weight of items by up to tenfold as well. So, you can carry 10 times the items with the same weight as a regularly filled bag. While not nearly as handy as this ring," Ezekiel waved his hand to show the ring around his index finger, "it will be very helpful to your future adventures."

Kayn received the bag with sparkling eyes. This was just what he had been needing. Carrying around a larger bag that could carry more was inconvenient. Now that he had this bag, he was sure he would be able to make it from town to town as he wandered without having to worry about running out of space for everything.

Next Zerana pulled out a small black box that was decorated with gold lining flowing in intricate patterns along the lid.

"This is the culmination of all of your efforts in the training you received from me. Inside of this box is a relic of our Obsidian Void Dragon race which almost none could handle properly, not even me. I am positive that you will be the one to continue on this tradition in the future."

Zerana handed over the box, but before Kayn could even open it, she spoke up once again drawing his attention.

"Inside you will also find a manual of sorts. It's the culmination of knowledge of all the past users and their methods on how to best utilize the artifact. Knowing you, once you begin reading through it, all of your time will be devoted to that, so for now please focus on your sister's arriving birth and prepare for it accordingly."

Kayn's neck turned red as he knew his mother had seen right through him. New knowledge and knowledge that had been accumulated over many millennia was obviously going to fascinate him. So, in order to curb his curiosity, without opening the box, he placed it inside of his new bag in order to store it away for a time he was able to properly take a look at it.

Kayn was reminded of his birthdays back on Earth and how different it was here, but his sad smile quickly transformed into a heart-warming smile as he looked up as his now mother and father.

'This is what I've wanted. I'll work hard to protect this happiness.' Kayn thought to himself as he closed his eyes and leaned his head onto his sister's head, who was now fast asleep on his shoulder.