Even after that, I kept on going on about it, only to face her punishment even more.

Overall, it felt good teasing her.

This might be the very first time, I have talked with her like this and ghe very first time, she have expressed herself like this.

Her face that have been smiling for a while now is the confirmation for that.

I cannot believe that such a person is going through such things.

She have been acting restrained ever since I have seen her. Her inability to ascend have been a major setback on her.

Well, since we have been having a comfortable conversation, let's bring it up as well.

"Mother, that old dragon, isn't he the grand elder of dragons and an ascended person?" I asked her.

I decided to not ask her directly, it might hurt her. But there must be something that is stopping her from ascending.

"Yes, he is. He is one of the very few ascended people we have. But we, the people of faction, don't call him an ascended person, we call him saint." She answered me with a smile on her face.

There was admiration on her face for him. It's understandable when I look it from her perspective, she has known him for a very long time and he even treats her like his daughter.

"What's a saint?" I asked.

"Saint is the realm after the archmage. You know there were 8 ranks before, after those 8 ranks the rank that comes is the saint rank. Currently, we have 13 saint ranks in our planet. And my mother and grand elder are two of the people who are in that realm." She calmly answered me.

"They must be powerful then?"

"Yes, they are very powerful. Me and Eleanor can't even hold candle to them."

"By the way, mother, which rank are you on right now?" I asked.

Now is the time to ask her, it won't feel direct now.

Hearing my question, she froze for a second. Her insecurity was taking over.

"I am on rank 8 right now."

"Huh? So you are about to become a saint as well. That's so cool, mother." I said excitedly, even though I have known about it even before I was born.

Her face darkened a bit, her voice fell low, so did her head.

"I am not so cool..." She have lose all of her confidence. She doesn't even have a glimmer of hope that she will advance now.

Now that I think about it, she has been stuck in that same realm for 12 years?

That's really strange. Even if she had to take long time, it shouldn't have exceeded more than 8 or 9.

That was the longest period someone was stuck at rank 8 without advancing.

Reaching rank 8 is already a great feat. not just now but even in the era of war.

Those are the only people who are thought to be capable to becoming something.

Even a trash can advance after 9 years. So there is no problem with her.

She is a prodigy not a trash. She has all the resources that someone needs, that isn't the issue for her.

Her core is also a supreme rank, that alone is great.

But now that I give it a proper thought, the problem doesn't lie with her.

The actual problem here is... the law.

The law or the path that stands before her. That's the issue, maybe her path is so great that she with her current capability is unable to handle it.

Yeah, that is the only reason.

And the path she is going to follow is...

"What are you talking about, mother? You will always be great for me."

I kneeled down in front of her, my hands reached out to her face, holding her cheeks gently.

She looked at me surprised, her eyes widened a bit.

"You are about to cry?" I asked. There was no intention of teasing her for now.

A red taint appeared on her fair cheeks.

"You don't have to feel sad, mother. I can sense it, you will soon ascend to saint realm. I don't know why, but maybe because of this godly core I have, I can sense that you are very close to reaching the saint realm."

Hearing my words, I can see a glimmer of hope in her eyes. She raised her body a little and looked at me with expectation.

"Are you saying the truth?" She asked me, she was still hesitant to trust something like this as ascension have become a false dream for her, just as mine dream is for me. But I cannot give up on that and she shouldn't as well.

Were my words lie?

Yeah they were.

But not completely. She is very close to ascending, there is just a single gap between rank 8 and rank 9 anyway, so she is extremely close, though it is a different matter that how long will it take her to reach that.

If what I think is correct, then it might just take a day, a month or even years.

Only the right moment will make her ascend.

"I am telling the truth, you are very close to ascension, mother." I repeated myself.

Even though she wanted to trust me but her hope has long been perished.

So to make it alive again, I need to show her a proof and that proof for her is extremely easy for me.

"If you don't believe me, mother, then can I ask you something, mother?" I raised a question.

She didn't speak anything, so she was ready for it.

"Is there a mark on your body that wasn't there previously?" I asked.

As soon as she heard that, her facial expression shifted, she blushed a bit, but her pupils widened a bit.

I indeed hit the bullseye.

***

Thanks for reading everyone.

Wait for a bit more, i won't sleep tonight without finishing all the remaining chapters.

Stay tuned for more...