Journey Towards Dao

Augustine Calendar, Year 127.

Western Empyrean Continent, Bight Forest Kingdom, Capital City, Lawrence Royal Family.

The Lawrence Royal Family was one of the three Royal Families that reigned under governance of the sovereign territory, the Augustus Empire, each of which having been in power since the Augustus Empire’s hegemony began over 100 years ago. The Lawrence Royal Family controlled nearly the entire Southeastern region of the Empire, which encompassed an area of 568,000 square miles.

The annual taxes, farmland, and laws were all decided by the Lawrence Royal Family. Thankfully, the King, Cedrick Emil Lawrence, was truly a benevolent ruler, choosing to only administer relatively small amounts of taxation upon his citizens. In fortunate consequence, the economy grew increasingly stronger, the population continued to thrive, jobs were never in short supply, and the citizens were truly happy. In the end, all of these factors combined helped to increase the annual tax revenue dramatically, propelling the Bright Forest Kingdom to become the most prosperous of the three kingdoms.

…

Royal Palace Gardens.

One year old Auslen was currently sitting cutely on the freshly trimmed green grass. His little toes wriggled playfully within the cool stream that traveled throughout the Gardens, splashing droplets of water here and there.

His mother, Queen Amabella, sat behind him on a nearby stone bench, a warm smile adorning her beautiful face.

Auslen was dressed in an overly-opulent, layered red robe that was designed for toddlers, his golden blonde hair held up with a decorative silver hair pin. One small silver earring dangled from his tiny left ear lobe, twinkling imperceptibly with faint traces of light.

His mother was dressed in her usual white robes with gold trimmings. Her long hair was braided intricately and secured with a large number of ornaments resembling miniature golden feathers, atop of which sat a dainty, golden crown.

All around the mother and son were freshly blooming flower buds, embellished with a faint mist that had yet to dissipate from the light spring shower that had recently passed. Strictly maintained trees filtered the warm, enlivening sunlight, thin rays of luminescence shimmering against the trickling stream while framing Auslen's seated, infantile body with hints of angelic purity.

Amabella brought Auslen on his first visit to the Palace Gardens for the purpose of admiring the various assortments of cleverly arranged fruit trees and colorful flowerbeds.

However, Auslen wasn’t focused on the surrounding garden. Instead, his attention was enraptured by a figure peculiarly suspended in space ahead of him.

His Father, the King of the Bright Forest Kingdom, Cedrick Emil Lawrence, was floating down gently while his layered black robes billowed in the wind. Auslen remained dumbstruck until the handsome man landed gracefully before the Queen and Second Prince.

Cedrick’s indifferent gaze fell on Auslen’s stupefied expression, before naturally sliding to his wife, who happened to be smiling at Cedrick in unconcealed amusement.

His eyes twitched briefly before he quickly regained his stoic expression, walking forward at a measured pace to join his wife on the bench.

Auslen had always felt that this world was somewhat strange ever since the day he was born.

From his frighteningly attractive, but frequently eccentric parents to the particularly remarkable elixirs constantly being shoved down his throat, he was increasingly sure that there were extraordinary, and maybe even magical, methods that the native people practiced.

Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to ask, as his age prevented him from speaking however he wanted.

Even though he already understood that children mentally matured very quickly in this world in comparison to his previous one, it was still somewhat too soon for a one year old to be so aware.

Luckily, it seemed that his wooden-faced father was willing to shamelessly show off his skills for him today, skills that succeeded in shocking him speechless.

Even though he suspected that something supernatural was afoot, never in Auslen’s dreams did he think that human beings could so simply escape the confines of gravity with their bodies alone! Now that his curiosity was finally being stoked, he refused to let go of such a rare opportunity.

Quite used to acting his age by now, Auslen lifted his hands towards his father in childlike glee.

“pa-pa, wifff! wifff!” (Papa, lift me! lift me!)

Cedrick’s eyes shimmered, and he confidently made his way over to Auslen at a moderate pace before lifting up his small frame until it was in line with face.

Auslen touched his father’s stiff cheeks with his two hands as he continued to babble: “pa-pa, can yoos fwy?” (Papa, can you fly?)

Amabella’s faint chuckles could be heard in the background as Cedrick spoke calmly, “Yes Auslen, I can fly.”

Auslen tilted his head cutely, “can I fwys wih yoo?” (Can I fly with you?)

At this point, Amabella burst into pure laughter as she stood from the bench. She swiped Auslen from Cedrick’s hands before he even had the chance to agree.

“Auslen, dear, you are making it far too easy for your father.”

“Ama—”

Before Cedrick could finish calling her name, a tiny, delightful cry rang out from Auslen’s mouth as Amabella gently, yet quickly, ascended from the ground with a dramatic gust of Qi, leaving the wooden-faced Cedrick alone on the ground, hair and robes rippling as he glared at her airborne figure in faint distress.

…

Auslen’s gaze traveled down past his mother’s grasp. He stared at the garden below as it continued to grow smaller and smaller, elation, nervousness, and curiosity rapidly blooming within his old soul.

As Amabella satisfyingly observed Auslen’s excited expression, their ascent gradually began to slow once they reached the troposphere, surroundings filled with white pillows of clouds.

While the two levitated within the cloud filled sky, Auslen’s mind began to churn as he tried his best to perceive the strange changes occurring in the space around him.

Is it wind? Air? It doesn’t feel quite right… But there is certainly another indistinct force at play.

Whatever is keeping us suspended in space is not coming from the air around us, but instead originating from Mother herself.

He could just barely feel warm, gentle currents of an unknown substance emitting from his mother’s pores, but he couldn’t tell how that alone could enable a human being to deny the laws of physics.

He looked up at his mother’s beautiful face, curiously babbling, “Ma-ma, how yoos fwy wike dis?” (Mama, how can you fly like this?)

Pleased with his curiosity, she answered, simply, “I use a special energy that travels within my body. With it, I can fly at any time I like.”

Not satisfied with the answer, Auslen pressed, “enewy? wats dat? cans I uze dat?” (Energy? What’s that? Can I use that?)

Smiling softly, Amabella held out her left hand as she balanced Auslen with her right. Soon, vast amounts of sunlight began to converge within her palm, condensing into a small golden ball of flames that danced at the center of Auslen’s vision.

Auslen’s small eyes couldn’t possibly grow any bigger as he stared at the spectacle in disbelief.

“This energy is known as Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, and it’s a special energy that can produce miracles! It takes a strong body and long years of practice to wield, so you will have to wait for now, my dear Auslen. But once you turn six years old, you can also learn to create miracles, just like your father and I.”

With that, she casually waved her hand to throw the flames away, sending it flying like a shooting star. After the flame reached a certain distance, the ball of flames exploded in a shockwave of dazzling light and heat, sending shivers of anticipation down Auslen’s spine.

Five years? You can’t show a grown man something like that and tell him to wait five fucking years…

Twisting with mild frustration, Auslen begged in a way that only a child could get away with: “but I wants pwimodio chee now! can you giwves me some ma-ma, pwetty pwease?” (But I want Primordial Qi now! Can you give me some, Mama? Pretty please?)

Amabella giggled once again, gently caressing his hair in playful exasperation.

She reached her left finger to the side of Auslen’s head and fiddled with the silver earring dangling from his left ear.

“Silly boy, I've already given you the greatest of miracles, and it’s hanging from your little ear. As long as it’s with you, no harm can come to you. I promise.”

…

Eventually, the duo began to descend, the Palace Gardens quickly returning to focus.

As they landed, Auslen turned within Amabella’s embrace, glimpsing his father who was waiting nearby.

However, he saw a new figure standing beside his father.

It was a short boy in gold trimmed black robes, around the age of seven or eight. An ornately designed golden circlet crown was placed on his medium length, light green hair that hung freely just to his shoulders.

His face was like a mirror image of Cedrick, as if he was trying his hardest to imitate that notoriously stiff face of his. His small blue eyes were quite active though, carrying impressions of cheer and happiness, with slight traces of jealousy contained within as he gazed at the descending mother and son. It was unknown which of the two his jealousy targeted.

Auslen internally laughed at the boy’s obvious emotions. But externally, he filled his expression with joy as he gazed at the brat.

He smiled brightly and exclaimed, “bwothew aiwen!” (Brother Aiden!)

That’s right, the light green haired boy standing next to the King was none other than his one and only older brother, the little Crown Prince, Aiden Tyler Rinaldi Lawrence.

…

Amabella gently lowered Auslen to the ground, stepping back to watch his small, red clothed figure waddling through the grass towards her eldest son.

Love filled her eyes as she turned her gaze smilingly towards her silent husband. She was opening her lips in preparation to gloat about having taken Auslen on his first flight when the suddenly serious Cedrick interrupted her.

“We have to make a trip to the Imperial Palace.”

All the joy twinkling in her eyes died in that instant, signs of boredom blanketing her face.

Frowning in growing annoyance, she silently transmitted her thoughts to Cedrick: “And what occasion would necessitate a trip to such a dreadful place?”

Cedrick transmitted back: “The Emperor just successfully had his first child. There will be a banquet to celebrate the birth of the Prince Imperial. All of the royals from the three kingdoms are invited.”

Shock washed away the frown previously governing her features. Letting out an imperceptible sigh, she glanced at her children before continuing: “How much time do we have?”

“We have to leave within the hour.”

“What will we do about Auslen? He's never been separated from me before! I can see about calling my father over…"

Cedrick sighed and shook his head, “Don’t bother, he'll be attending as well. We'll leave Auslen with his brother. Metsavana and the others will still be here to guard the Palace grounds, and Aiden’s manservants and guards will ensure that they don’t get themselves into trouble. We'll only be gone for a couple of days, at most.”

Amabella closed her eyes, attempting to quiet the anxiety-filled chirps that rang from her Dao Soul.

Successfully reorganizing her disoriented emotional state, she opened her eyes and walked to the two children chatting cheerfully to one another.

She kneeled gracefully as she spoke softly to the duo: “Your father and I will be leaving the Palace very soon. Aiden, I need you to look after your brother carefully, do you understand?”

Aiden’s impassive face almost immediately cracked from the surprise of his parent’s imminent departure. It was well-known that years could, and often did, pass without the King and Queen stepping a single foot outside of the Royal Palace grounds.

Auslen, on the other hand, nearly broke out in smiles from the news. It could be said that he had never once been given a day’s reprieve from his mother's overly affectionate care.

Of course, he didn’t let a squeak of glee leak through his expression as his eyes grew misty and his lips grew heavy.

“how wong wiw yoos be gon?” (How long will you both be gone?)

“Two days at maximum. Auslen, make sure not to leave you brother’s side while we are out, and Aiden, be gentle with your brother. If you need to contact me, look for my maidservant Diana.”

Witnessing Auslen’s teary eyes nearly broke all of her efforts to remain calm, so she quickly leaned in to give each of them a kiss on their foreheads before walking briskly back on the tree-lined, white stone pathway towards the Main Palace. She needed to dress herself properly for such an Imperial occasion.

Cedrick stepped forward and said to Aiden, “Don't forget your daily cultivation and Martial Technique training. I'll be testing you once I return.”

Aiden’s eyes grew brighter and replied, “Yes father.”

Cedrick gave a small nod to both children before following in his wife’s footsteps.