"Is that you…Dad?" Harrala approached the tree Yennda had slumped upon, asking as she stared at his back.
It felt like he had been electrocuted upon hearing her voice. Yennda was unable to react as he watched Harrala slowly come into his line of sight. She was nervous, sad, afraid, and slightly hopeful. Her body trembled subtly as she didn't know how the interaction would go.
"You're…Harrala." That was all Yennda was able to utter, turning silent as he stared at the woman before him. He stared at her and she stared at him. There was an awkward silence in the place, one that was disturbed a couple minutes later by his statement, "You look just like her."
"Like Yuza."
"Dad…Can I call you that?" Harrala asked hesitantly, feeling her thumping heart almost reach her throat. For almost two decades, she had never managed to even glance at Yennda. He was the sole individual her omniscient perspective was suppressed against, allowing her to just be a normal girl before her father.
"I'm not worthy of that title," Yennda said and stared at her, feeling difficulty in maintaining eye contact, "But if you want, you can call me that."
"Then…Dad," Harrala stressed on the word, not knowing when she could utter that word again, "Why haven't you come to see me, Dad?"
"What can I do even if I come see you?" Yennda chuckled helplessly as he tapped the tree he had leaned against, causing it to turn into mush in a matter of seconds, "I'm the personification of toxicity. I'll do you more harm than good by being near you."
"And if I manage to get the Attribute, then no one would be able to enter my Spirit Range without mutating into grotesque monstrosities."
"Do you…want to be alone?" Harrala tried her best to ignore all the cues, for the first time cursing her intelligence. Unfortunately, her Empyrean Tusk brain pieced together all of Yennda's body language, actions, and choice of words, allowing her to understand that Yennda didn't want to see her.
And then, came the critical strike as Yennda's words resounded. Though it was an utter from his side, it felt like it was a thunderclap, reverberating loud and clear in her ears, the words echoing in her mind, "Yes."
"Leave me alone."
"…" Harrala didn't say anything else and turned around, silently walking away, her footsteps silent, and her face stoic. Though, once she had come far away, her visage crumbled. Tears streamed out of her eyes profusely as Harrala lost strength in her legs, slumping to the ground. "Why…"
She wanted to force her way into Yennda's life and spend some time with her father. Originally, she assumed that Yennda was simply refused to meet up with her by Yahard Tusk, since Yennda was from another Settlement.
But there was no such memory in Yahard Tusk. So, she thought Yennda was unable to see her because he was constantly being chucked into the most dangerous of regions. She thought…she thought he was a pitiful individual who, despite wishing to see his kid, was unable to, because of the Mammoth Clan Chief's orders.
No matter what she saw and heard, Harrala tried to delude herself into believing that Yennda cared about her but was unable to show it due to the circumstances revolving around him. But that short interaction grandly shattered all the delusions she had built up over the past nineteen years.
The tinge of hope she had was brutally snuffed out. Even though she didn't want to admit it, as an Empyrean Tusk, having been reading the memories of all Mammoth Clansmen part of her Settlement, Harrala could easily judge someone.
And irrespective of how much she wanted to refute it, she was unable to. Yennda…wanted nothing to do with her. His gaze, when pointed towards was devoid of love, affection, or anything of the sort. There was just…detachment, a repulsiveness born out of fear.
That was the extent of emotions Yennda had towards her. And she could feel it transparently that Yennda had never thought about her. She never had a place in his heart or mind.
"Ahhhh…" Harrala covered her mouth and sobbed in silence, unwilling to dampen the happy mood of the other Empyrean Tusks that were finally able to run around as they pleased in human forms. As she continued to cry, a hand gently appeared on her shoulder as she was embraced in a hug.
Harrala knew who it was without even staring at the latter, "Gannala…"
"It's alright, I'm here for you, always." Her eyes moist, Gannala hugged Harrala, "I, your sister, will be by your side."
"You…can't understand my situation," Harrala sobbed, "My Dad despises me."
"Heh, that's not a surprise." Gannala smiled wryly, "Mine wanted to kill me at the start."
"Are you…serious?" Harrala's eyes widened in shock, "Inala did that? How? He doesn't strike me as such an individual?"
"He was conflicted, but was also brimming with rage." Gannala continued to speak, "My existence threw all his plans in the trash and forced monumental responsibilities on him. He had merely reached the Body stage back then, but had to worry about being chased by the Boar King."
"He was forced to live in hiding and focus every second of his being to think of a way to survive the situation." She smiled wryly, "And the stress related to all was directed towards me. He never expressed it directly, but had bottled them up in his mind."
"If I couldn't read his memories, I wouldn't have known much." Gannala's eyes turned moist, "Until we left the Sanrey Plains, I was merely his responsibility, since his Settlement would be doomed without me. Practically, he did everything a father figure would have done, but emotionally wasn't there for me."
"Asaeya was the one who took care of me." She stared at Harrala, "You should have read her memories."
"Yes," Harrala nodded, "I did notice that you spent most of your time with Asaeya. But I never expected Inala to be…as you said."
"It took him a while before he began to treat me as a daughter. Even now, even though I read all his memories, I'm not sure if he loves me as a father from the bottom of his heart." Gannala sighed, "If Asaeya were to have his child, I'm damn sure he or she'll easily become the apple of Inala's eyes. After all, unlike me, this child was someone Inala wanted to have."
There was silence between the two after that as Gannala began to speak once again, "Similarly, Yennda had a child on Earth. His family abandoned him. And that affected him psychologically. He wasn't even that boring, to be very frank with you, but was gaslighted into believing that he was the most boring individual in the world, because the woman smitten with him came to despise him shortly into marriage."
"His kids too started to hate him. Though, if I'm being honest, that woman was the one with a problem. She pursued Yennda relentlessly and was also the one to abandon him." Gannala began to speak as she shared Yennda's past with Harrala through a Bone Slip, "The scars from that incident have been etched permanently in his mind. After coming here, he wanted to let go of everything and change."
"But the approach he used for that was the complete opposite and took advantage of Yuza for his plans. In the end, Grehha stopped his plans and saved Yuza." Gannala concluded as she stared at Harrala who managed to comprehend all the memories related to the incident.
As Gannala had the memories of both Grehha and Yennda, she was able to send in all the details to Harrala, using it to allow the latter to have a complete understanding of the picture.
"Since he failed once, he assumed he was a good for nothing and since then has avoided everyone." Harrala said, focusing on one interaction between Yennda and Virala as she was pleasantly surprised, "Dad…wants to change. It's why he collaborated with Virala."
"He does," Gannala nodded, "So, what do you want to do, Harrala?"
"Give up on him? Or try again?"
"I won't give up," Harrala clenched her hand into a fist, "He hasn't given up on me either, but is too damn afraid to approach me. His scars are the issue."
"You won't hold him accountable for what he did to Yuza?" Gannala asked next.
"I will, but he's my family." Harrala expressed longing, "Even if I were to scold him, I want to do it as his daughter and not Harrala."
"There you have it." Gannala smiled as she patted Harrala, "It won't be easy, considering the circumstances of all seven Mystic Paths and the influences they are subjected towards."
"Our mothers are dead and we're only left with our fathers. So, we can only try to improve our relationship over time." Gannala laughed as she hugged Harrala tight, "Inala came around eventually. I'm sure Yennda will do so too. Never give up, alright?"
"As Mystic Path inheritors, we're guaranteed to reach the Mystic Grade and fight the Boar King in the future. So, let's try our damn best to have a loving family so that we have no regrets, even if we're killed by our enemy." Gannala held Harrala's trembling hands. The duo locked eyes and firmed their minds, vowing to exert all effort to create a desirable future.