"S-Sarah!" Evander was taken aback for a moment before he quickly regained his composure.
"Why are you here?" He asked with a cool voice.
Unlike before, he seemed more strict and also more distant.
Sarah's eyes dimmed and she clenched her hands on her lap. "Varian…sent me."
"What?" Evander raised a brow.
Ting!
At the same time, his comm rang again.
[Master, clear up the misunderstandings. We aren't running a drama company, are we?
Just speak your heart out.]
'Wait, what? Misunderstandings?' Evander was confused and looked at Sarah. What misunderstandings?
[Sarah only wants you to be proud about her and I'm sure any father would be proud to have a daughter like her.]
'Of course I'm proud of her. But should I tell her face to face that I'm proud of you…? Even to Sam, I only said it thrice directly.
I told Richard many times I'm proud of Sarah. What's your point?'
[My point is some things, especially feelings…must be said out loud. It will cost you some embarrassment, but it will make her happy.
If you love someone, tell them you love them. She's your only family, isn't she? What's wrong with telling her that you love her and are proud of her?
I wish I told that to my mom before she passed away.]
'….' Evander was silent as he glanced at Sarah who stiffly gazed at the floor.
Now that he thought about it, after her mother's death, he never once spoke to Sarah normally.
He used to tell her the tales about moon. He only told them to Sarah. Not even Sam. It was a special bonding between him and her.
After he narrated the stories, Sarah used to tell what happened that day. What she found interesting, what she was happy about, what she was sad about...
And he would listen with a smile.
As she got older, the stories changed. From children's tales to fairy tales to the stories about Old Earth's peaceful moon.
But the bonding remained the same.
...Until he stopped everything after their death.
He was solely focused on revenge, revenge and revenge because he wanted to avenge his family.
But wasn't Sarah also his family…? She was the only family left.
'I avoided her because she reminded me of their deaths…but I neglected how I would appear to Sarah. To her…I am avoiding her. So, she thought it must be her fault.
Even if she knew I was depressed by their deaths, there's no way she isn't affected by it.
I thought she'll be fine with Anna…no, I just threw away my responsibility.'
[And…Sarah is pretty depressed she's a dual awakener. She feels guilty for something that isn't her fault.]
'Wait, what? I am disappointed that you can't be a Sovereign but that was never your choice to begin with. Why are you guilty, Sarah?' Evander clenched his fist and smiled wryly.
He looked at Sarah who blankly stared at the floor and felt a pain in his heart.
Sarah used to smile a lot at him, but now…she didn't even speak. It was all his fault.
[And what if she's a Dual Awakener?
Even if she's a normal awakener, it'd take at least twenty to thirty years for a level 7 to reach Sovereign state, if not more.
By then, we humans would've already defeated Abyssals!]
'Indeed.' Evander thought. Humans were growing stronger every year. They just needed one or two more Sovereigns.
They were expected to appear in a decade or two.
He only hoped there were no accidents until then.
[And you know my progress speed. I'm level 6 already by the way. Five years, and I'll be a Sovereign. And I'm not bragging, but once I reach the Sovereign state, I can end the Abyssals by myself.]
'What?! Level 6 already?' Evander almost bit his tongue. It's not even…two months, right?
Seriously!
Even if Varian told him that he'd reach Sovereign state by the end of the year, it might be…
'That's too absurd, haha.' Of course, he denied such unrealistic thought. Poor Evander, he didn't know that his disciple was a much bigger monster than he could imagine.
[So, tell her that it's okay even if she's a Dual Awakener.
I didn't say it on the stage, but my actual request is this.
Four hours of your time to make up with your daughter.
She deserves every bit of affection you can give her.]
'Thank you.' Evander took a deep breath and as he was about to close the comm, he found a small note at the end.
[PS: If you still don't treat her well, I shall sever our relationship!]
'...threatening me?' Evander didn't know how to feel. Should he be angry that his disciple is threatening him or should he happy that his daughter has someone who cares about her?
'Whatever, I'll take care of him later. Now...' Evander took a deep breath and looked at the girl in front of him and his habitual cold expression melted.
"Sarah." He spoke in the most gentle voice he could muster.
It came off as pretty awkward, after all, he didn't speak like that for years! Heck! He didn't even smile like that!
But no matter how awkward it was, Sarah's body shook as she stared at him with wide eyes.
"F-Father…"
"Sarah." Evander slowly stood up and sat beside her.
"..Y-yes." Sarah's voice shook uncontrollably. She didn't know why, but she felt like her chest was about to burst.
Why?
Before she knew it, the world blurred. But Sarah kept her eyes open and tried to stare at the man in front of her.
She was afraid…afraid it was all her dream.
Then she finally felt warm hands wipe the…tears off her cheeks.
Evander took a deep breath and his face slightly reddened, but he still said. "I…I'm sorry, but Sarah, can I continue the story of white moon from where we left off?"
With tears rolling down her cheeks, Sarah nodded with a bright smile.