The Rise of a Master: It Starts With Rejection

In their terror, the two masked figures could only watch as their opponent raised a finger. At that moment, it seemed as if the air itself had stopped moving.

They clutched their throats, their expressions twisted in agony as if all the oxygen around them had vanished. Within seconds, they collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Felix drew in a sharp breath as he witnessed the scene. Staring at the woman's back and her pale gold dress flowing around her, his mind went blank.

Was she a Grandmaster? Or perhaps another master who had achieved the mastery of Transcendent Realm? If she was the latter, her power was terrifying. They both belonged in the same realm, yet she could instantly kill others.

Coming to his senses, Felix straightened his back and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for saving me."

The figure remained silent, her back still turned. It left Felix feeling awkward and uncertain of what to do next. He wished she would say something.

After ten seconds of silence, her voice rang out, "Felix."

Felix barely registered how melodious it sounded, for his body had gone rigid. Something about her voice felt intimately familiar, as if it resonated from within his own body.

At that moment, she turned around. Her beauty was indescribable. She appeared regal, gentle, beautiful, and all those positive descriptions that could apply to her.

One glance was all it took. Felix trembled as his mind flashed back to the video from the memory card where his birth mother's face was shown. The middle-aged beauty before him looked remarkably similar, despite the years that had passed. "I'm sorry, Felix. Even now, I don't know if I should have revealed myself to you." Indeed, this was Felix's birth mother. She was Martial City's strongest warrior and the Empress of the royal family.

Her eyes were filled with guilt. She couldn't even meet his gaze. Memories surfaced, particularly the moments when she was forced to abandon her own flesh and blood.

Silence stretched between them. After what felt like an eternity, Felix sighed and bowed to her. "I saw what was in the memory card."

Cordelia trembled, something she hadn't done in many years. "I don't expect your forgiveness. Regardless of the circumstances, a mother abandoning her child is unforgivable."

Felix shook his head.

"Perhaps. But I'm grown now, aren't I? When Rearned you were forced to abandon me, honestly, I felt relieved. At least I knew the parents I'd forgotten weren't heartless Onoveldrama

monsters."

He never imagined that the Protector's trump card and the powerful ally they called would be his own mother-the Empress of the royal family.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Cordelia asked shakily, "Does... Does this mean you forgive me?"

Felix nodded. "Yes. I was too harsh on Victor before, but I've paid my respects at his grave. You probably already knew about his passing, right?"

Tears blurred her vision. Of course she knew, but she could do nothing. Even as the strongest, she had her constraints.

The day Victor died, part of her died, too. She hadn't cried since then, maintaining a facade of calm if not, indifference. But today, facing the son she had felt guilty about for

decades, tears flowed once again.

"If he knows in the afterlife that you've forgiven us, he must be at peace."

She did not expect Felix to call her "Mother". After all, too many years had passed, and she was the one at fault, This moment of reconciliation was more than she could have hoped for.