Many of them lowered their heads to look at themselves. They were still wearing black robes. The contrast between the simple otherworldly aura and the feeling of the 1990s was too strong, causing many of them to feel a little dazed. After a long while, he finally confirmed that there was no one around. Only then did he walk to Nerios' side and hesitantly sit down.
This chair was very familiar. The table and chairs next to the pavilion were a common set of public facilities made of stone. There was a chessboard on the round stone table, and there were four round stools beside it. The marks on them seemed to be from a long time ago. It seemed that people often played chess here, or perhaps because of the wind and the sun, the large words "Chuhe" and "Hanjie" in the middle were already blurred.
Many blinked his eyes several times, but he couldn't move his eyes away from it.
"Childhood, isn't it?"
Nairíos's attire was surprisingly similar to Many. He sat on the narrow stone bench, but he still gave off a feeling of power without being angry. His two arms were on the chessboard, and his ten fingers were crossed to support his chin. There was an indescribable strange expression on his face.
Perhaps he was curious about this place?
Or was he curious about this person?
Many didn't have time to distinguish anything. After sitting down, he seemed to be still in a daze. After hearing Nairíos's question, he turned his face a few seconds later and said, "Why am I here?"
There were children playing in the distance, but they couldn't be seen.
Many felt very uneasy. He didn't know how to face this situation. He appeared in such an image in the neighborhood where he lived in his childhood twenty years ago. Everything was beyond his understanding.
"I'm talking about childhood … Is this your childhood?"
Nairíos pointed to a figure in the distance. Many turned his head and looked over. In the distance, the person who was trotting over was … himself when he was young.
He looked dirty. At that time, he was wearing a dirty singlet, a pair of black shorts that had changed color because of running, and there were a few scars on his knees that had not healed. Those were the scars that he got when he fell down while running. Every summer, he would always get some scars, and there were some marks of "red medicine" on them. On his face, he could vaguely see the outline of his current face. The most similar part should be his eyebrows, but they were still childish.
Nine years old?
Ten years old?
Many was not sure how old he was at that time. He turned his eyes back and saw Nairíos looking over there in a daze.
"A very ordinary childhood, without too many worries, threats that could appear at any time, and even without all kinds of life-threatening pressure."
Many didn't understand what he was trying to say. He just listened quietly and didn't say a word.
There seemed to be only one young man. His figure appeared to be thinner and weaker than his peers. He went straight to the seat next to the adult and sat on the stone bench. However, he immediately stood up because of the scorching hot stone bench. There was no anger or embarrassment on his face. Instead, he decisively took off his vest and spread it on the bench. Then, he sat in a daze under the sun.
Many of them couldn't even remember what kind of life questions they were thinking about at that time. Nerios, who was at the side, looked at the younger ones with interest. Then, he stretched out his hand and knocked on the table lightly.
Darkness spread from the spot where he knocked on the table. Then, the surroundings changed as expected. Many and the familiar scenes of Many disappeared. The hot summer seemed to have gone away in an instant. When the scene of Western Zhou reappeared, Many understood that what he was seeing now … was Nairíos's so-called "childhood".
Black hair, black clothes, short stature. The Nairíos in front of him was slightly different from the Nairíos now. Because he looked more like an elf, or rather, an elf.
The light was not bright. Many could tell that they were in a building belonging to the elves. The silvery moonlight was bright and gentle. Nairíos was sitting in front of a long desk, engrossed in a book.
There were all kinds of books placed in front of him. Many could see that the covers of the books covered almost all kinds of knowledge, such as "General Landforms", "Three Theories of Arcana", "Historical Mysteries: Wikileaks", and so on. Some of the books were even made of stone or metal. The dense magic waves on them proved that these books were "forbidden books" that required a certain level of authority.
"My childhood."
As Nairíos whispered to Many, the scene changed again. This time, it was Nairíos fighting a huge monster with his bare hands. Magic whizzed past and blasted away a large amount of rubble. The monster looked like an ancient beast. It was the Behemoth that Many had read about in the history books.
Nairíos was doing his best to fend off the attack in front of him. There were several serious wounds on his body, but he did not transform into his dragon form to fight the Behemoth head-on. Many knew that he would die a quick death if he did that. The young Nairíos seemed to be fleeing in a panic, but in the end, he lured the crazed Behemoth into a trap that he had set beforehand. After a loud crash, the Behemoth fell into a bottomless abyss.
After a few scenes, Many understood how different their childhood was from Nairíos's.
"I was about the same age as you back then."
Nairíos's words made Many feel an irrepressible sense of shame and helplessness. While they were daydreaming every day, Nairíos could already single-handedly slay a Behemoth that was at least level eight.
Was that the difference between different starting points?
Bloodline?
Identity?
Background?
World?
None of those were reasons. Many waited for Nairíos's answer.
"Did you have a father like that?"
Nairíos suddenly pointed at the sky. Many looked up, and saw an inconspicuous figure standing quietly in the distant sky. Below, the young Nairíos had just finished his battle and was lying on the ground helplessly. When he managed to look up at the sky, the figure had already disappeared.
"Orders. I didn't disobey orders."
Nairíos turned to Many. "Did your father ever treat you like that?
Every day, you have to deal with countless things that you might not even have heard of. Memorizing an astonishing number of books in the allotted time is already one of the easiest tasks, and most of the time, you are using your own life to deal with these terrifying fellows. "
"What is that? A father's love?"
Many could not help but be puzzled. No matter how noble the dragon race was, it should not be this way, right?
Were they not afraid that Nairíos would die?
"The nobility of the dragon race does not originate from our bloodline, but from our courage to face death."
Nairíos answered many questions. "The meaning of nobility does not lie in being a cut above others, but … when it comes to helping others, your arm is stronger than anyone else's."
Many were silent for a long time.