" Today is a celebration brother, both Jake and Amy have managed to reach tier 1 " Rudra said as he stroked the heads of both kids who were smiling innocently towards their uncle.
" Is that so? Well done " Max said, his voice cracking a little as he realised the reality behind the situation.
Had he not failed to save Rudra's kids in real life when the new year's attack happened, this might have been the reality he would be living in.
His brother would be alive and the family unit would be intact, with both kids shining and showing their true potential.
" Uncle Max, Now I can train with you! You are also at tier1, we can spar daily " Jake said with a competitive fire in his eyes as Max could not help but chuckle seeing his emotion.
Had he really been a tier1 fighter, he would have felt insulted by this comment, but because he was not he could just look at it as if it were the antics of a child and smile.
" Sure, Jake, we can do that pal " Max said as a bright smile formed on the kids face as well as that of Rudra's.
" Go out kids, let me and your uncle have a talk in peace " Rudra said as he instructed Jake and Amy to leave the room as his smile finally dropped after they left and he took a seat on Max's study chair.
" I'm trying to find a cure for your mana insensitivity Max, there is this artefact that can increase one's sensitivity to mana a thousandfold.
It's forged by the forger king himself and is worth a few hundred billion gold coins.
I do have that kind of funds in total, but it's for the betterment of earth and not my personal funds which is why I can't use it.
But what I can do is obtain the necessary funds in the next 3-6 months and buy the item for you.
Don't worry brother. I'll do my best to help you push past your limitations.
The kids won't surpass you. Don't worry " Rudra said with brotherly affection as Max could not help but feel his airway choke up.
The conversation was borderline poisonous for him as he had to try extremely hard to not cry.
This was precisely the kind of support his brother had given him throughout his life.
Never asked for a thing, never stopped him from pursuing his dreams, yet tried his hardest to support him without asking for anything in return.
He was the only one apart from his parents who had loved him unconditionally and with him dying there would never be anyone else in this universe to do the same for him.
Max was a strong man when it came to taking abuse, he could withstand sitting in poison baths, having his bones broken and his limbs ripped off without shedding a tear, however he was weak to unconditional love.
When his brother said these words, he felt a tear escape his eye as a fog of realisation hit him.
The reason behind him choking up today was not because the queen was showing him a difficult vision of his brother, but because seeing him once again made Max realise just how selfish he really was.
Ever since he had reincarnated, everything was about ' Him '
It was always his dreams, his ambitions, his feelings that had mattered the most and although he did feel a burning anger about his brother's death there was nothing that he actually did to avenge him.
The excuse he had for himself was that he was not strong enough.
That he was not strong enough to oppose Lucifer and needed to bide his time, but the truth of the matter was that if he wanted to, he could have always created problems for Lucifer's minions, actively disrupted his trade and pick fights with underlings of Lucifer that he could handle to slowly but surely make the life of the devil difficult.
He could have done all that and more if he was dead set on revenge, but the truth was that despite his brother only selflessly giving him everything forever, when the time had come to avenge him. Max had chosen to focus on his own dreams rather than do what was right.
He was selfish, from a young age he had only taken and taken from everyone, but now that he was slowly in the position to give back, was he willing to do so?
" Why are you crying? Your brother is a god, money is nothing to me " Rudra said nonchalantly as he patted Max on the head just like he did to the kids, his consolation inducing a poison of guilt in Max's heart that was way worse than any poison bath he had ever taken.
He hardly visited Naomi and Ruby and the kids after Rudra's demise. Although he loved him in his own way, he was never around to teach his nephews and niece the rights and wrongs of this universe. He was not around to teach them combat, or play catch with them and he was not there for his sisters in law who were lonely after their husbands demise.
There was always a good excuse for him as to why he could not spend time back home, there was always something urgent in ' His ' life.
Let alone taking revenge for his brother, Max had not even taken care of his brother's family like he should have after all that his brother had done for him.
He prided himself in the ' Rajput ' name, he prided himself in being the brother of Shakuni The Terrifying, but when push came to shove and it was time to be the less glamorous and family oriented version of the ' Rajput ' that he was, Max was never there to fulfil his obligations.
Somewhere deep down he was always aware of this, however, he had repressed this feeling up till today and had never confronted it.
Now that he could run away from it no more, he was forced to face the consequences of the actions he had taken over the course of two lifetimes.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT target, good job everyone!
I don't expect much from this month, a top 10 finish in the rankings is enough.
I will do a 5 chapter mass release on 1 June if we do ///