"But... that isn't enough to stop you from dying..."
Crystalline's big, beautiful green eyes lost their usual glow as never-ending tears painted her face with extre anguish...
"Th-" Azmond wanted to refute her and say that he could 100% survive anything thrown at him, but he knew... He knew that wasn't the truth.
'I see. I am weak... This is happening right now because I am weak... My Little bundle of joy is in such a state because of my weakness...'
His eyes started to lose their shine as well...
'Why?... Why does everything revolve around strength and weakness...? Can one not live a peaceful life with the people they love without soone who's 'stronger' than you throwing your life into disarray and destroying everything you love on a whim if they so feel like it...? Why...? Why? People are weak... But why are they weak...?' He thought before a pondering look erged on his face.
After a few seconds of brooding, he realized sothing as he thought, 'I see... They are weak because the strong won't allow them to beco strong... They are weak because they aren't willing to push hard enough... They aren't willing to give everything they have to defy a fate that was already against them from the get-go...'
Upon understanding this, he realized sothing about himself as well.
'I am weak...'
A self-deprecating smile ford on his face as extre pain was felt when he looked at the sight of his love balling her eyes out in his arms...
'I know that much myself. That silly blue-haired girl, Aqua, drilled that fact into my head when she told of all the realms that lay in front of ...'
'If even a single random cultivator who was in the Soul Transformation Realm and above passed by here and felt like they were a better fit for Crystalline than I was...' Azmond's expression started to morph into sothing evil.
However, his resistance to notion was contended with as he deeply frowned and thought, 'There would be nothing I could do about it... I would fight that person to the death. But what would that change...? Crystalline would still get taken away after my lifeless corpse fell to the ground.'
His expression turned into one of defeat as his thoughts continued spiraling.
'Her fate would be whatever the person who took her decides it to be...'
'I am weak... I know I am weak... I try to put on this facade where I make myself believe that I am so one-in-a-billion talent, but... deep down, I know... I know that I am no better than the people who refuse to fight against their fate—people who refuse to fight against the strong.'
Azmond's gaze hardened as he stared at the ss of a woman hanging off of him. Her face lted into his clothes as if she were trying to disappear into his body and never show her beautiful face to the world again; her tears soaked his robes...
.....
After looking at this heartbreaking sight, Azmond thought, 'She is like this... because of . Would she be crying right now if I were strong enough? Would she be crying right now if I were strong enough to flip her entire sect upside down with a wave of my hand? No. She wouldn't be...'
'I am not strong enough... I will not be strong enough to be capable of doing that anyti soon, but...'
Azmond's self-deprecating face suddenly gained back its glow as he clenched his fists with a newfound passion—a passion that was already greater than the sun itself—that started growing to such an insane degree that it almost consud his entire mind.
'Strength... I just need to beco stronger!! No matter the cost, no matter how much pain I have to go through... My slow way of cultivating is not enough. I need... I need to beco stronger faster. Faster than anything ever before seen in the world of cultivation,' he thought with a passionate expression.
'I will not sit idly by and let Crystalline's fate be determined by a bunch of old geezers who can't keep up with the tis; I will beco stronger... I will beco stronger than them all, and if people still have the gall to question my relationship with My Little Ice Flower, then...'
Azmond's expression turned into one bereft of emotions as he gazed out into the distance with an indescribable look...
"...I guess I would just have to get rid of them all, right...?"
His voice ca out in a static tone as his face morphed into sothing... malicious.
It was a face that would scare his little Ice Ball if she weren't snuggled up into his chest with tears streaming down her face.
Crystalline was in this state because she had already passed out quite a while back from the massive pain she was feeling within her heart...
The sight of her in that state left Azmond absolutely devastated, as he muttered, "She is going through so much pain because of ..."
His face beca ashen as he spoke out loud before it eventually crumbled away when he thought about his little Ice Crystal, who was going through so much pain because of him.
.....
And it was through viewing and understanding these things that a newfound wave of resolve washed over Azmond!
"No more going easy on myself... unless I'm on the verge of dying during every cultivation session, then I am not pushing myself hard enough,' he thought with clenched fists.
'I can take any amount of physical pain, and I can take on any of the consequences that co along with that pain... However, what I can't take is this sight before . My bundle of joy is in such pain because of ...'
His eyes softened for a second before they hardened a hundredfold!
'Strength... That is what it all ends up coming down to. I just need enough strength to ignore the buzzing opinions of any flies who get in the way of my happiness.'
Determination filled Azmond's heart as blood started to draw from how tight he was clenching his fists.
"Let's go and acquire more strength right away. What am I waiting for? A fucking invitation? I will not allow anyone to take away Crystalline, and I will not allow myself to die on this little marble in space called 'Asterion'."
His voice echoed out with a solemn tone before he wrapped Crystalline around him tighter than before and started walking.
*Step Step*
He didn't know where he was talking to; he just knew he needed to walk sowhere else if wanted more power. He needed to find sothing more, sothing that could allow him to increase his power faster than this waterfall was capable of providing.
Azmond didn't even know for sure if sothing like that existed or in which direction that sothing was. He just knew he needed to find it...
He ultimately ended up deciding to walk to the west. He had so unfinished business to finish there, so it just made the most sense for him to start walking in that direction.
........
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