The Conquerors Path

Eleanor's POV:

'I have been too short-sighted...'

Eleanor, in the midst of living her dream love life, seemed to have forgotten the fact that nothing in life ever came easy to her. She had struggled all her life to reach where she is. She had lost sometimes but, overall, she had won a lot.

She was gifted, and she used that to grow stronger than anyone in her generation. She took up the one weapon in her time that wasn't a main focus for anyone, yet she picked it up. Her soul yearned for it, and once she did, she took her weapon to the top of the world. After reaching there, she stopped. No, it would be more accurate to say that the desire that pushed her was snuffed out somewhere along her path.

She had achieved a position that billions couldn't dream of power, prestige, and everything was at her feet. All those enemies that sought her demise now lay underground, some not even getting that chance. Overall, she seemed to have reached the end of her path, and it was then that the small desire to have a family bloomed within her.

While she yearned for a true family, she didn't find any of the suitors that chased after her suitable for her. Plus, her experiences had closed her heart towards such a path. It was then that she was filled with the desire to have a disciple. It was partly from her loneliness, partly from wanting to have someone in her life that she can trust.

Along the way, she first found Carmel, a brilliantly talented individual, perhaps only lacking somewhat behind her in talent. She was perfect in all ways, but once again, things didn't go as Eleanor had planned. While she considered Carmel her disciple, it didn't have the same feeling as what she wanted.

Hence, her search continued until it ended with Austin. At first look, he was a freak of nature, his talent beyond anything that Eleanor had seen. But what really made her take him was his eyes, those pure globes of innocence that looked up to her completely. Even from a young age, Austin was different from anyone of his peers.

Eleanor knew in her heart that he would grow up to do great things, and her conjecture wasn't wrong. He grew up beautifully.

To her, the time she spent teaching Austin was the best of her later life. She understood the feelings of her peers, their waves of pride when they talked of their disciples, and now her disciple's name is enough to shut the mouth of any of her peers who try to show off in front of her.

Things were simple in the beginning. Her love for her disciple was as pure as it can be, but it would seem that she herself had underestimated the loneliness in her heart. Her heart was a barren desert, and Austin had filled it up completely, leaving no space left. She soon came to understand that the emotions she carried for her disciple were deeper than any.

It wasn't a love towards a man; it was just pure love of family. But her love was much vaster than anyone. Eleanor was a woman with too much love to give, something she came to understand later on. And as such, she didn't have anyone till Austin. Once he took this spot, that overwhelming love burst out from within her.

Days went by, and her pure love grew until it changed...

She could vividly remember it all, her boredom hitting her as she went to look for the inheritance that might push her further toward her power. And somehow, it pulled her down. Yet, at the nick of it all, as if fate had rung its bell, her disciple came to her rescue, scenes unimaginable in her mind playing away.

There he was in front of her after all these years, growing into a fabulous man, both handsome in body and beautiful of mind. It would be a lie if she didn't say she wasn't smitten for a moment. Even she, with all her experience, was in a daze when he gave her his dazzling smile, one which still held his innocence and admiration for her.

He saved her life, he gave her love and an adventure that shook her heart and soul. That adventure itself now stood at the top of all the adventures she had been through, being the greatest reminder of when she finally found true love and a true family. No, she found the one to form her true family.

At first, his feelings completely rattled her heart. Her common sense pushed her to turn him down gently, yet things never went her way then, and she is extremely grateful for it in her heart. She might have changed her pure love to something else, but the one she got in return for it is something she would fight tooth and nail to keep.

She went through a lot back then: burning embarrassment, soul-clenching pain, to body-soothing love. All those feelings somewhat made her fall, fall for the very boy she groomed.

From then on, everything in her life seemed to sparkle. It was as if a veil that was placed on her was taken away, making her now see the world for what it is, and to her, it was beautiful. And somehow, she has fallen into the rhythm, forgetting the realities of life. But now she is awake. She understood that the world always won't make it easy for her to hold her happiness.

But that is okay, for now, she has a fire burning within her, a fire much hotter than the one that brought her to her position.

The world wants to make the man she loves a hero, then she would stand beside him as his love and behind him as his protector. But if they wish to take him away from her...

Then she would just fight the world...

"Austin, my love, my light, my family, no one would take you away from me..."

She whispered as she looked outside the view of her office, her eyes darkening into an abyss, and the power slumbering within her danced forth to the world. The monsters within her woke up, and this time it was hungry for the blood of the world.

....

Mira's POV:

'Funny how the world looks so small from here...' Mira thought as she floated up in the sky above the academy, the very one she presided over. The power she had once dreamed of now filled her entire being, and her reputation soared high as one of the youngest Imperials.

She had lost count of the number of invitations and congratulations she had received. Her whole life had become hectic after achieving this, and the funny thing was that she hadn't accomplished it on her own. Austin, her nephew, and her family had provided the final piece she needed. Without him, who knows how long she would have remained stuck halfway.

'Huh... life is a funny thing...' Memories flooded her mind—the sadness that had overwhelmed her upon her brother's death, the anger that had burned within her family, and the little boy who held all those burdens in his heart, with no one to help him as they were all grieving.

She took him in, her family's last male descendant besides her grandfather. She cared for him and watched him grow. She had witnessed his transformation from a heartbroken young boy to the man he was today—one who wielded enormous power in the world and harbored secrets of his own. It hurt her a bit to imagine their relationship as one of pure honesty, knowing that something weighed heavily on him. The moment she heard about it, she felt a seething feeling in her heart.

"Why do this?" she asked, her question dissipating into the wind. The world had shattered the innocence of the young boy, burdening him with the weight of the future. Just thinking about it made her mana surge.

His tired eyes, finally revealing the burdens he carried, broke her heart. She had been too nonchalant, too laid back. The revelation of his feelings for her, the unfiltered flow of his emotions toward her, dulled her edge and shifted her focus onto her own feelings instead of the ones she should have for her nephew.

Austin was the brightest talent she had ever seen. His mind and abilities were exceptional, once in a blue moon, and now every gift she saw in him seemed like a curse. The world seemed to gift him triumphs and, at the same time, shackle him to face his difficulties.

'Does the world want to make him suffer?' Mira held innumerable feelings for Austin, and she knew deep in her heart what those feelings meant. She had never imagined that such emotions would bloom within her, especially toward her nephew!

Countless men had wished to capture her heart, and now it had strayed in a direction it shouldn't have. Mira was many things, but she didn't know what to do with these feelings. She couldn't accept them; it would destroy Austin. Such love between them should never have blossomed.

'But it would seem that his love towards me has been wavering a bit these days...' Such thoughts should have brought her happiness, indicating that he might be moving on. But all they stirred within her was rage—a discomforting rage. Soon, Mira shook off those thoughts, refocusing her eyes.

'For me to deal with my feelings, shouldn't Austin be alive?' She knew that not every hero reached the end, and the mere thought of losing Austin filled her heart with despair. Mira clenched her hand, feeling the power within her. She had always believed she could relax once she reached the Imperial realm, but she was wrong. She couldn't relax at all.

'I need more power, more and more, enough to never let anything be taken away from me again.' Her silver eyes illuminated with resolve.

'But then again, I should soon deal with these feelings within me.' With those last thoughts, she teleported back to her office, the skies darkening as the rain started to grace the land. A change was imminent in the world.