A Will Sovereign Chapter 32: Chapter 32— the beginning of a path.

Read chapter 32 of A Will Sovereign by Sloche on NovelPedia.

----- When Soldret opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was the night sky. The second was a familiar figure sitting beside the medicinal bath. Silver moonlight filtered through the bamboo leaves overhead. Zephyr sat quietly nearby, one leg raised and an arm resting lazily across his knee. Unlike usual, the small white beast wasn't anywhere to be seen. Soldret blinked. "…Senior Brother?" Zephyr glanced at him and smiled. "Oh. You're awake." Soldret slowly sat upright, the medicinal liquid rippling around him. He instinctively glanced at Zephyr's shoulder, then his lap, then around the area. Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "Looking for something?" "The little guy. Your contracted beast." Understanding flashed across Zephyr's face, and he laughed. "You mean Mu Bai?" He nodded. "He's sleeping somewhere else." Soldret blinked. "It doesn't stay with you all the time?" "Of course not." Zephyr looked amused. "He has his own life. His own hobbies. His own things to do." Soldret wasn't sure how to respond. The idea of a beast having hobbies still felt strange. Then again, Mu Bai wasn't an ordinary beast — he was a Primal Beast capable of cultivation. Seeing his expression, Zephyr laughed again. "You'll understand when you get your own." The conversation relaxed naturally. Zephyr looked him up and down, a smile appearing on his face. "You improved." Soldret immediately smiled back, not even trying to hide it this time. "I know." "Oh?" Zephyr sounded amused. "You sound confident." Soldret leaned back into the medicinal bath and began recounting the fight — every dodge, every mistake, every successful movement. Everything he could remember. Zephyr listened quietly, never interrupting, never correcting. Only listening. By the time Soldret finished, the older disciple looked thoughtful. He nodded. "You finally learned how to move." "Is that so?" Soldret sighed. "But despite that, it still feels like my body can't keep up." Zephyr nodded immediately. "That's because it can't." Soldret blinked. "Right now your eyes are ahead of your body," Zephyr continued. "You can see the attacks. Understand them. Even predict them to some extent. But your body doesn't have enough speed, stamina, durability, or experience to follow what your eyes are showing you." Soldret frowned. That was exactly how it felt. Several times during the fight, he had already known what Radahn was going to do, yet his body couldn't respond quickly enough. Zephyr smiled. "Honestly? That's normal for most people." Soldret raised an eyebrow. "For most people?" "Seeing Master's attacks after only a few days isn't normal." Zephyr shrugged. "Actually, it's ridiculous." Soldret couldn't tell whether that was praise or criticism. Probably both. Zephyr's expression slowly became more serious. "You know… I'm not entirely sure whether I'm doing the right thing." "What do you mean?" "The advice. The dodging. The movement. The way I fight." Zephyr stared upward toward the stars. After a while, he sighed. "My style works because it's *mine*. I've spent years building everything around it — my instincts, my body, my habits, my understanding, my perception." His amber-golden eyes reflected the moonlight. "You can't become another Zephyr." Soldret nodded. "I know. I'm not trying to." "I know you're not." Zephyr smiled. "But sometimes people don't realize they're doing it. A disciple sees something impressive, imitates it, copies it, forces themselves into somebody else's mold… and eventually becomes a cheaper version of that person. A poor imitation. A weaker copy." The medicinal bath grew quiet. Soldret thought about those words, then slowly nodded. He understood. Zephyr wasn't worried about teaching him — he was worried about limiting him. Worried that Soldret would chase his shadow instead of finding his own road. Seeing the understanding in Soldret's eyes, Zephyr relaxed slightly and laughed. "Fortunately, if that happens, Master will beat it out of you." Soldret immediately laughed.