The Wheel Of Samsara

He was not as chubby as he remembered him to be, nor did he have that glint of curiosity in his small eyes, questioning everything.

The youth had a wide smile on his face, but it paled in comparison to the ones he used to give. His small arms and legs had grown and he was now as tall as Daniel, and all of the excess fat he had was subst.i.tuted by muscles.

Daniel simply couldn"t believe what he was seeing as he looked at the person his younger brother became over the years.

"Jake…" Daniel found it hard to choose the words he wanted to say. What could he say? It had been ten years. He loved his brother, but the sad truth was that he didn"t know him.

He didn"t know if he should open his arms for a hug or test the waters first. It took him a while before he managed to say something. "It is good to see you."

Jake smiled wryly at his words. "Too bad you had to almost die for this to be possible."

"How are you doing?" Daniel asked, feeling awkward.

"Just fine. Master treats me really well and father, well, as long as I improve he doesn"t care." Jake had a sad smile as he said that.

There was an awkward silence again, lasting for a few seconds. Daniel felt that the longer it took for any of them to speak, the harder it would become.

"How is mother?" He asked, squirming a bit, trying to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling he had.

"I don"t remember much of how she was before, but she"s been really quiet over the years." Jake shook his head. "I would say she is very lonely and depressed."

"She told me tell you that no matter what father says, you will always be her son. She will always love you." Jake looked down, depressed.

"I love her too." Daniel"s eyes were turning hazy. It had been so long. He barely remembered his mother"s face.

"I feel it is too bad that she never managed to stand up to father." Jake looked at Daniel as he said that.

"It is not her fault. You know how father is. The moment she brings trouble to him he will get rid of her." Daniel shook his head. Then, he look at Jake, with an intense gaze. "She already gave him all that he wanted from her anyway."

What could Lawrence Meyer want from a woman? Love? Companionship? Of course not. He wanted nothing more than a worthy heir to his mighty name. When Daniel was born, Lawrence did all he could to try to make the most of his poor talent.

Unfortunately, Daniel"s affinity was too low. He never managed to purify a single wisp of Qi. All that was left for him was to be stuck at the late stages of Body Tempering, dealing with his worthlessness during the centuries he still had in front of him.

The expenditure his father had with him was not low. Not only that, the bigger problem was his father"s reputation. How could the Second Protector of the Abyss Sect have a son that would never get past Body Tempering? Every breath Daniel took was a slap on his face.

Luckily for Lawrence Meyer, Jake was born blessed by the Heavens. He was all he wanted on a son and even more. As such, not only did Lawrence cut all resources available to Daniel, he even banished him from the household, trying to get rid of that walking reminder of his failure as a progenitor.

He also hoped Daniel would forever leave the memory of everyone that knew his name. He refused to have such abominations a.s.sociated with him.

Lawrence Meyer believed in absolute strength and in nothing else. He was probably the second strongest cultivator in the sect, losing only to the Sect Master, Lars Borgin.

"Oh, there was something else." Jake said, ignoring what Daniel had implied in his comment. "We killed that Direwolf that attacked you and that kid."

"Didn"t the talisman kill him? Wait, what kid!?" Daniel asked, anxious.

"He said he was friend of yours, Amon. Strange kid, with golden eyes and ashen air…" Jake said, describing Amon as he tried to remember his traits.

"Amon is alive! Hahahahaha!" Daniel started laughing out loud in relief and happiness. Amon was alive. He had managed to save him in the end.

"Want to hear the story?" Jake asked as he quietly took a chair and sat by Daniel"s bed. Daniel nodded heartily hearing that.

As Jake told of the events that followed Daniel being rescued, Daniel frowned more and more. Still, only relief showed in his face by the time Jake was done.

"He said he is thankful for what you did, and very glad that you are alive." Jake finished telling the story and added, "He is a good kid."

"Yes, he is." Daniel said, in deep thought. So Amon even asked to kill the Direwolf himself… Maybe he was really starting to grow up. He raised his eyes, facing Jake "I"m glad that both of you are fine."

"It was nothing much." As these words left his mouth, Jake regretted them. Luckily, Daniel didn"t seem to take them in a bad way.

"There is something else." His face turned serious as his brows creased. Fury was showing in his eyes. "Father has a message too."

Daniel"s face fell hearing that. It was surely nothing good.

"A Promotion Compet.i.tion will be held by the end of the year. Everyone in the Outer Sect is eligible. The ones that reach the top ten will be promoted to the Inner Sect, regardless of talent or cultivation."

"There will also be a chance for the Elders to pick disciples from any of the partic.i.p.ants, so not only the best ten will enter the Inner Sect."

"That is a good opportunity for many." Daniel nodded. Jake"s face turned darker.

"Father said that it was about time you stopped messing around with business that is not yours." Jake took a deep breath as he tried to control his anger.

"He said that you will prove that even if you are trash, as you are his son you can still crush everyone else on the Outer Sect with one hand." Jake"s voice trembled for a moment, and Daniel wanted to laugh.

His father was truly heartless. Not only did he make fun of his lost arm, he even gave Daniel a warning to stay away from Rebecca and Amon.

"He said that if you can"t do that, there is no reason at all to keep you on the sect." Jake"s voice was so low it was almost like a whisper. Daniel laughed again. Turns out this was what was happening.

"I"m sorry, Daniel. It is my fault. If I hadn"t defied him when I went to kill the Direwolf…" Jake had a regretful expression on his face as he spoke. It was the first time in ten years that he had seen his brother and it was only to give him such news.

Lawrence knew that Daniel would never win. He might have had a shot before the Scavenging, but with one arm crippled there was no hope at all. Lawrence banished Daniel from his household ten years ago, and now was banishing him from the Abyss Sect.

"It is not your fault. It is not about you." Daniel had a strange smile as he said that, and soon started to laugh.

"What do you mean?" Jake was taken aback.

"Father… no, Lawrence is mad because I got hurt by a mere cla.s.s 4 spirit beast, showing weakness and giving him trouble with the medical expenses. Worst of all, I did so saving the life of the son of the person he hates the most." Daniel had a hard time speaking as he was laughing like a mad man.

"Wait, Amon…" Jake"s eyes bulged hearing that. How couldn"t he know of this?

"Yes. Amon is the son of the White Flame of the Abyss, Rebecca Skoller. And also the son of our former Fifth Protector, Lloyd Kressler." Daniel explained, still laughing. Tears were streaming down his face as he did so, making for a very sad scene.

"You know, there is just one person that I loathe as much as I do Lawrence Meyer." He said as he tried to recollect himself, "He is just a bad a father as he is, and is also a traitor. Still, he has one redeeming factor on him."

"I am really glad that Lloyd Kressler wrecked our father as he stole from the sect and got away unscathed." Daniel smiled widely thinking on how bad his father had been beaten for the rumors to spread all the way to the Outer Sect and no one manage to suppress them.

Jake was in silence for a very long time as he heard that. Even if he held some hope in his heart, now he knew that his family would never be together again. He had grown up dreaming of making his older brother make up with his father and seeing his mother smile again. Now, this dream had been shattered by his father himself.

"Maybe if I speak with Master…" Jake wanted to say something, but Daniel stopped him.

"It will only makes thing worse. The moment Lawrence realizes how far you are willing to go for me, the more he will want to get rid of me." He gave a wry smile, "I am just a dead weight in your life."

"Daniel…" Jake"s voice trembled and tears started spilling from his face. How long ago had it been that he had cried? He didn"t remember. Looking at his brother and what his father was doing to him was breaking his heart.

Seeing his younger brother crying, Daniel couldn"t help but feel emotional too. All of the awkwardness between them was cast aside as Daniel gave him a hug.

"You are my brother, Jake." Daniel said as he patted his brother"s back. "We are family. This is all that matters."