Timeless Assassin

Chapter 1034: No Complaints Entertained

(Meanwhile, Amanda and Caleb’s POV, Inside the Skyshard Mansion, The Time Stilled World)

After the incident on Ixtal, Amanda’s behavior took a sharp turn as she became extremely loyal to Leo and deeply understanding of whatever he did for the family, as the near destruction of their home had finally forced her to realize just how much weight Leo carried on his shoulders every single day.

Inside the quiet living quarters of the Time Stilled World, Caleb sat on a wooden bench while Amanda carefully applied a layer of cooling ointment across the bruises forming along his forearms and shoulders, the young boy wincing slightly as the cold salve touched his skin.

"Ahh... it still hurts," Caleb complained softly as he shifted his arm, his voice carrying the tired frustration of someone who had spent the entire morning training under a relentless instructor.

Amanda glanced up briefly at her son before continuing to apply the ointment in careful circles, her movements gentle yet firm as she finished wrapping a strip of cloth around one of his wrists.

"Training injuries are normal," she said calmly. "Your father endured far worse when he was training under Master Ben."

Caleb lowered his head slightly as he muttered under his breath.

"But father’s training is too harsh... he never lets me stop even when I’m tired."

Amanda’s hands suddenly paused.

For a moment the room grew very quiet.

Then slowly she lifted her gaze toward her son.

"Caleb."

Her voice was calm, but the tone within it had sharpened noticeably.

"You will never again complain about your father in front of me."

The boy froze instantly.

"You are my son, and I love you," Amanda continued steadily. "But understand this clearly, there is absolutely nothing more important in my life than your father, and I will not tolerate hearing a single word spoken against him. So do not make this mistake ever again."

Caleb lowered his eyes toward the floor.

"If not for your father," Amanda continued quietly, "you would not even be alive right now."

Her hands resumed applying the ointment, though the seriousness in her voice never faded.

"That is how much he does for us."

The boy remained silent.

"And if you fail to grow strong enough to support him someday," Amanda said firmly, "then I will never forgive you."

Caleb’s head lifted slightly in surprise.

"I am not strong enough to stand beside him in every battle," Amanda admitted softly. "But you and Mairon must become warriors who can someday lessen his burden."

Her voice grew quieter.

"Right now your father is a one-man army carrying the weight of tens of billions of lives on his shoulders."

She tied the final bandage around Caleb’s arm before gently placing her hand on his shoulder.

"But fifty or sixty years from now, I want you and Mairon to become pillars that support him.

So that one day... he might finally have some free time in his life."

Caleb stared down at the floor as her words slowly settled inside his mind.

For several long seconds he said nothing.

Then Amanda’s expression softened as she reached forward and brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead.

"Do not worry," she said gently. "I know you can do it."

Her voice regained its warmth.

"I know the training feels difficult right now, but you are Leo’s son... and you are my son."

She smiled faintly.

"I have faith in our bloodline."

Caleb finally looked up at her.

"You may feel weak today," Amanda continued calmly, "but one day you will become as strong as your father."

Her eyes gleamed with quiet pride.

"Perhaps even stronger."

The boy nodded slowly as he absorbed her words, the earlier complaints now replaced by a quiet determination forming deep within his young heart.

Amanda did not know it, however this one talk was going to prove to be life-changing for Caleb, as the young boy quietly realized that complaining about training was not acceptable, and that speaking poorly about his father was something that should never again leave his lips.

More importantly, from the way Amanda had spoken about Leo and the burden he carried for the Cult and their family, Caleb now understood something that many people only realized much later in life.

He finally understood what was expected of him.

For the first time since Leo had begun training him, the exhausting drills and endless repetition no longer felt like meaningless punishment meant to toughen him up, as they instead had a purpose, and a future.

And although Amanda herself did not realize it, in that moment, Caleb had silently made a decision that would shape the course of his entire life.

He would become strong.

Not simply strong enough to survive.

But strong enough to stand beside his father.

Strong enough to one day carry a part of the burden that Leo had been forced to shoulder alone for so long.

He decided to become his father’s support, just because it would make his mother proud.

"I see...."

Caleb muttered quietly, as he lowered his head slightly and clenched his small fists, a quiet determination beginning to take root deep within his heart as the weight of his mother’s words settled firmly inside his young mind.

Although he did not fully understand the magnitude of what had been said to him, he knew one thing with certainty.

From this day forward, he would try harder.

Much harder.

Years later, when others would ask Caleb Skyshard where his iron discipline had come from, they would expect tales of brutal training under Leo or stories of the countless battles he would one day fight.

But the truth would be far simpler.

It had begun here.

Inside the quiet walls of the Time Stilled World.

With a single conversation between a mother and her son.

The moment when a tired child stopped thinking like a boy...

And began thinking like the son of Leo Skyshard.

A scion of the Timeless Assassin’s bloodline.