All seemed peaceful in the von Hohenheim estate. The rustling of leaves, combined with the pleasant warmth of the early afternoon sun, made for an idyllic scene. Kids could be heard running around in the distance, chasing each other as part of some game. Their loud giggles served as a testament to their enjoyment.
A group of maids was hanging laundry nearby, occasionally checking on them. They had fond smiles on their faces as they watched the children enjoying themselves. Such carefree scenes had been absent from the estate since the household had arrived on the Alexandria. Only now, thanks to the successful launch of the Gondola, with the constant tension dispelled, were the people able to enjoy the simple pleasures again.
Nowadays, it was a common sight to see a maid or servant skip in joy as they completed their duties. And why wouldn't they? The future looked bright once more. On top of that, Mia von Hohenheim, the caretaker of the estate, had revealed the adjustments of the salaries on the day after the Gondola launch, and the news had been a cause for celebrations ever since. The entire staff had received a massive raise.
It wasn't only the craftsmen, either. From guards to maids, Mages to artisans, everyone's salary had gone up. In addition, the entire estate was being renovated. The workshop was being modernized, the furniture would be replaced, and the kitchen would almost double in size.
A new chef had been hired as well. He was a chubby older man named Gordon. The Fire Mage had been fired from his position as head chef of a prestigious restaurant for being too experimental with his culinary creations. As Mia had learned, 'too experimental' was code for cooking with monster meat. She had hired him on the spot.
Despite the festive atmosphere that had permeated the estate for the past week, not everyone was having a good time. Far removed from the cheer and frantic activity, in the shadow of a gnarled oak tree, sat a young man. His crimson hair had gotten long while he had concentrated on the Gondola project and now hung almost to his shoulders in an untidy, dirty mess. Furthermore, his new, almost regal robe was unbuttoned and in disarray as he slumped against his wooden backrest.
Zeke blankly stared into nothingness, his eyes glazed over. Although he was physically present, his mind was far away. His [Perfect Sensory Recall] allowed him to relive a past memory in perfect clarity. He had spent the last few days like this. In his inner world, a completely different scene was playing out. Zeke and Maximilian were debating magical theory.
It was a memory from just a week before the tournament. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for the two of them to debate like this, but Zeke always recalled this specific moment with a special fondness.
"…I don't see how you could possibly make up for the downsides of focusing on passive spells," Maximilian argued. "The limit this puts on your Mana output can not be overstated."
"True, but you are not taking into account the whole picture," Zeke countered. "Life is not all about combat. There are plenty of applications for Magic that won't need you to use all your strength. Not having to supply the mana for a given spell frees your mind up to focus on other things — precision for example."
"That's…" Maximilian started," …a good point, actually. I will have to think about that."
Zeke gaped. "Did… Did I just win a debate?"
Maximilian chuckled. "Hey! I am neither all-knowing nor omnipotent, you brat. It was only a matter of time until you got lucky!"
Despite his words, there was a proud smile on the old man's face. Zeke froze the memory at this point. His eyes remained fixated on his mentor's expression. He stretched out a hand toward the old man but retracted it again before he could make contact, too afraid of breaking the illusion. He unfroze the memory, watching as Maximilian continued to heap praise onto his past self. The memory ended, leaving Zeke feeling empty once more.
Before he could dive into another memory, Zeke heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He exited his mental hideout, wondering who it would be this time. He expected either David or Mia since the two of them were his most frequent visitors. They would search him out multiple times a day to inquire about his needs.
He hated those visits. What did everyone think that they could do for him anyway? Maximilian was dead, and it was his fault. If he had never come up with that accursed meditation technique, the old man would still be fine. This was a fact and not something that could be explained away with honeyed words. However, when Zeke regained his sight, it was neither of the two that stood before him.
"What do you want?" Zeke asked in a clipped tone.
Leo just stood there, looking back at him. There was no pity in his brother's eyes, which Zeke appreciated. However, he couldn't help but feel resentful for how little the news of Maximilian's death seemed to have affected Leo. He looked better than ever. If anything, he seemed to be happier now.
"I asked you what you want!" Zeke growled.
Despite the aggressive tone, Leo didn't snap back. His eyes only turned even softer when looking at him.
"You know," Leo started, "I used to look at you the exact same way you are looking at me right now."
Zeke glared at him. How could Leo know the first thing about what he was going through? How could he even begin to comprehend-
"I used to think you were a monster, you know?" Leo admitted.
Zeke's eyes widened fractionally. The statement had caught him off guard. With an effort of will, he pushed through the fog that still clouded his thoughts. For the first time since hearing of Maximilian's death, his attention was solely on the person in front of him. "…that so?"
Leo nodded. "After Maximilian was taken, you went right back to being your old self. Not a tear, not a sob, nothing," he explained. "Back then, I thought it was proof of how little you cared about him. That you only tried to take advantage, you know?"
Leo fell silent, lost in his own thoughts for a moment. After a while, his gaze refocused on Zeke's. "I was wrong though…" he said eventually. "The reason you were able to function normally wasn't because you didn't care. No, it was because you hadn't given up. I can see that clearly now."
Zeke averted his eyes. "I was just being naive."
"And that's so bad?"
"Yes!" Zeke snapped back. "It was my naivety and stupidity that got Maximilian captured in the first place."
"How was that your fault?" Leo asked.
"If I hadn't come up with that Meditation technique—"
"Oh, come off it," Leo interrupted.
"What… did you just say?"
"I said to come off it," Leo repeated. "You can't honestly believe that was the only reason Maximilian was captured. He had been killing members of the four great families for years. You don't think that might have played a role as well?"
Zeke remained silent, having no words to refute his brother.
"Moreover, the Trinity Project would have been even more damning if discovered. So were many other of his secrets. Face it, Maximilian had been playing with fire for years. It was never your technique that did him in. You are just deceiving yourself in order to continue your pity party."
Zeke gnashed his teeth, his muscles tensing. However, he slumped back down only a moment later. What was even the point of getting angry about this?
"…so that's it, huh? You're just gonna continue like this? Moping around and feeling sorry for yourself? What will it take for you to finally snap out of it? Does someone else need to die? Maya maybe?"
Before he had even finished talking, Zeke had already teleported right in front of him. With all his strength, he punched Leo in the face. Contrary to his expectation, the strike didn't land. Leo ducked left, returning the attack with his right fist in the same motion. Zeke's head snapped back. However, despite the punch hitting him square across the jaw, it barely did anything.
A single tensing of his neck was enough to invalidate the attack. Even the red blotch on his cheek was already disappearing. He didn't waste any time, continuing his offensive. Leo lunged forward as well, a blur of motion, a whirlwind of punches aimed at his opponent's core. But Zeke effortlessly weathered each blow.
The ground cracked beneath Zeke's feet as he retaliated, his punches whirling through the air with earth-shattering force. Leo's instincts kicked in, guiding him with an uncanny sense of timing. He weaved, ducked, and dodged, narrowly evading Zeke's strikes, his body moving with an almost supernatural grace. Even so, the fight was hopeless. Zeke's body defied the damage, healing instantly from every injury Leo inflicted.
It only took a couple of minutes for a winner to be decided. Despite Zeke having taken a majority of the blows, he still looked unharmed, if a bit winded. Leo, on the other hand, was laying flat on his back, gasping for breath. One of his eyes was swollen shut. Additionally, bruises could be seen all over his face and body. Even so, there was a wide smile on his face. "Feeling better?"
Zeke lowered his fists. "You meant to do that."
"Do what?" Leo asked.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Zeke said. "You provoked me on purpose."
"Ohh that," Leo responded with a smug grin. "Yes, I did do that on purpose."
"Why? There was no way you could win in a brawl."
"Are you feeling better?" Leo asked again. This time, Zeke actually considered the question. He rolled his shoulders. His muscles had been quite stiff a moment ago, probably because he had been sitting for too long. Now, his body thrummed with vitality. His melancholic mood also seemed to have improved a good bit.
"…yes," he admitted reluctantly.
"Thought so," Leo said, his expression turning sober in the next instant. "Believe it or not, I know a thing or two about dealing with loss."
The reminder of Leo's past caused Zeke to grimace. His adopted brother had lost both of his parents before even turning ten. Zeke averted his eyes in shame. What right did he even have to feel sorry for himself in the face of someone like Leo?
"I didn't say that to make you feel bad," Leo quickly assured. "It's just that… I have this system for getting myself out of a slump. For me, whenever I feel down I would exercise. Moving your body is an excellent way to improve your mood. It's just hard to get motivated when you're depressed..."
"… hence the provocation," Zeke finished.
"Hence the provocation," Leo repeated with a nod.
Zeke leaned against the trunk of a tree. He angled his neck and swept his gaze upward, looking at the single cloud adorning the otherwise pristine sky. "He's really gone, huh?" Zeke said after a while.
"Yeah," Leo replied, still lying on the ground, looking up at the same solitary cloud.
"It hurts…" Zeke said intelligently.
"Yeah…"
Nobody spoke anymore, and Leo pretended not to hear the occasional sniffle. Or the sound of wet hot tears hitting the ground. They both silently continued to look up at the sky. Leo's wounds had almost fully recovered by the time Zeke broke the silence.
"Sorry about that," he said. He didn't specify if he was talking about the wait, the crying, or the beating he had inflicted on Leo. But it didn't matter anyway.
"Don't worry about it," Leo responded, finally sitting up. "From what I've been told, that's what brothers are for."
The corners of Zeke's mouth lifted a fraction. "You are not half bad at this brother thing, you know?"
"Yeah?"
"…For a complete amateur, I mean," Zeke added.
Leo burst out laughing. A moment later Zeke joined in as well, his eyes still moist from previous tears. It wasn't about the joke, but the relief of letting go. It took them a while to calm down, but eventually, they did.
After a moment of companionable silence, Leo spoke, "What are you gonna do?"
Zeke sighed. "You might have merely been trying to provoke me, but you were right. It's time I stop feeling sorry for myself."
"Do you have a plan already?" Leo asked with shining eyes. "Revenge?"
Zeke shook his head. "No, it's nothing that elaborate. It's more like…" he looked down at Leo and extended a hand to help him up. "I… no, not I — we! We will need to get a lot stronger before we can even begin to contemplate revenge. We have too many people relying on us to try something so foolish. For now."
Leo didn't hesitate as he grabbed Zeke's hand. He entrusted his full weight to the offered limb as he gracefully swung himself to his feet. "How do we start?"
Gradually, the long-dormant spark in Zeke's eyes rekindled as he contemplated the question. Now that his senses were focused, many ideas came to mind. Slowly, the disjointed insights and ideas started to form the outline of a plan. Godfrey Goldfinger had managed to shatter his feelings of accomplishment on the day of the event. However, the monetary success remained, giving Zeke options he had previously not even been able to dream of.
There was so much to do. He needed to build his reputation, forge new alliances, improve his strength, grow the company… the list was endless. But every journey started the exact same way.
"By taking that first step."