It was almost noon when the kids finally woke up and gathered to have a te breakfast. The trio was still sleepy, having been up te, only falling asleep close to dawn, still turning and tossing from the experience they had gone through.

  "Where is Ren?" Valen asked, rubbing his eyes.

  "She had to go, she got an… important message." Anniel smiled softly, as now she was the one who took care of them, and luckily for her, the kids didn't notice the worry in her eyes.

  "Oh? A mission? So cool…" Elyse murmured.

  "Mmm, an important one, but she will be back ter. Until then, you stay with us." Anniel continued as she patted Valen's head gently.

  "Yey! I like being here!" He grinned without worry, happy to spend more time with his cousins.

  …..Hours earlier..….

  It was still before dawn, while Ren waited patiently at the observatory's top floor, watching the slowly disappearing starry sky, when Aerthus finally came up to her.

  "Was it her hobby?" Ren asked gently.

  "Yes. Even before I met her. Honestly, it was because she was fascinated with the night sky that I met her..." Her Master nodded, speaking with a soft smile on his face, "She had a vivid fantasy, always making up wondrous tales about the stars, and I never met a more optimistic and happy girl in my life! Even when things weren't going well, you wouldn't see her compin or cry."

  "I can see why you have fallen for her." She smiled softly, watching him.

  "Yeah…" Aerthus chuckled a little. "I hoped she could accompany me… she tried to cultivate, but she couldn't. She had a fragile body; it couldn't take the strain of cultivation, so she never went past the 2nd stage of body refinement, and even reaching that… she did so only with my help. She never gave up, but there were no results, and when I tried to share… I almost killed her with it."

  "That was when you developed the technique, passed down in your family? To keep her young like what Father-in-w did?"

  "Yes." Aerthus nodded, "I couldn't let go of her, nor did I ever want to. We spent centuries together." He expined with a nostalgic glint in his eyes, looking up at the sky. "I still think back to those years with fondness. It was during the time I established the Empire. She was my Queen, sitting next to me as we id the foundation... But after a while, she got tired… seeing her children grow up and grow old before her…"

  "You had…?" Ren asked, surprised, but then stopped.

  "What?" Aerthus ughed, looking at his disciple. "Yes, I had six kids. Only one became a cultivator, and he inherited my position; the rest chose mortal life. Do you think I would force my children to follow in my footsteps? No. I offered every one of them the chance, but if they found happiness elsewhere, why should I force it on them? Some of my bloodlines are already broken, but others still continue to this day. Maybe not even knowing they are connected to me after 2,000 years! And... That is how it should be. Life goes on, no matter what, as time flows forward mercilessly, and you can't stop it."

  "Not even if you are a God," Ren added.

  "Exactly."

  "I understand. Yet…” Ren pursed her lips, shaking her head. "No matter how long I live, I'm not able to let go if I hold someone dear to me."

  "Ahahaha, you say it like you lived long enough, girl!" Aerthus ughed loudly, knocking on her head as Ren just stuck her tongue out. "You are not even past 50 or 100! Come speak to me about it when you pass your first 1,000!"

  "Ahaha… um~!" Ren nodded, not expining more as her thoughts had already slipped out a little, without thinking about it.

  She was about to stand up when a hurrying aura closed in, alerting both of them. From the shadows, a panting, injured figure appeared, wearing the Shadow Corp's uniform, bleeding from multiple, deep cuts. His codename was Ink, the member of the organization who previously kept an eye on Ren and Leinor when they were still teens.

  “Ambush… west… Lady Anya… injured…” He moaned before fainting and just falling face forward, unconscious.

  Hearing his words, Ren was already standing in front of the man, catching him, but he was out cold by the time he opened his mouth. Everything he told them, he did so instinctively, with the st shred of his energies... He was dying from the loss of blood and overuse of his ability to get here as fast as he could; there was barely any life left in him.

  "He… he burnt his own life force as energy to get here," Aerthus whispered, pcing his fingers on his chest.

  "Master!" Ren stood straight as an arrow, and she needed not say anything more as her Master just nodded, throwing a ball of white light at the fainted Ink, quickly healing his most serious injuries while they disappeared into thin air.

  As they flew, Ren was dragged behind her Master, who was speeding through the air, high above everything. When people below heard the explosions from Aerthus's speed, they were already long gone. It only took them at most an hour to arrive at the other end of the Empire, the sun barely rising above the horizon behind them.

  The Western Region of the Empire was an arid pce, but not unlivable. Still, the closeness of the great Western Desert and the usually hot weather made it the least poputed area of the Empire. It was on this nd that most of the military's training took pce, where, thanks to the harsher conditions, people could challenge themselves and train to become more resilient. It did not mean there were no cities here; quite the opposite: there were seven great cities, which contained 80% of the region's popution.

  However, this year has been especially dry since spring, and no rain or clouds have blessed them, leaving the local water supply quickly depleted. Relief caravans and aid were sent here by Feynor when the first reports of the drought arrived, but it wasn't enough. That was when Anya had arrived, using her powers to revitalize the few deep-underground water sources the Empire maintained, so the cities could keep functioning without a strict crackdown on water consumption. For weeks, everything went without a hitch... Still, two days ago, as Anya and her accompanying helpers from the Empire were working on a dig site, unearthing an underground river coming from the northern Grindstone Mountains, they were attacked by a bandit group.

  It was an unknown gang, wearing weird clothes, their origins and features concealed from view. Their strength ultimately overwhelmed the group... Beside Anya, there were just a few Harmony Realm cultivators present and not even another one like her, someone who passed their tribution at the 9th stage. Yet the enemy who ambushed them was all in the Harmony Realm, numbering fourteen people, and what was even more surprising was that at least two of them exuded the same strength in aura as Anya.

  When Aerthus and Ren arrived, the forward base was burnt to the ground and destroyed; dismembered corpses littered the dry ground, left there in the hot sun, already rotting as the earth below them was soaking up all the blood that was spshed onto it.

  "Mother!" Ren cried out as she flew down, noticing Anya floating in the water, deep inside a hole they had dug out.

  It was a 4-meter-deep gush, and the water in it went almost just as deep, if not deeper. As Ren approached, she could see that it was dyed red with a mix of greenish-yellowish oil covering its surface. Stopping there, she fshed next to her mother, gently turning her, revealing multiple deep wounds on her body, going from her chest, down to her waist. The bck and purple robe she wore was tattered, showcasing the residue of multiple attacks, be it burn marks, frozen strands of fabric, or still having the foul-smelling poison sticking to it.

  "They clearly focused on her; this was not a robbery or anything; this was an assassination attempt." Aerthus flew down, putting her hand on Anya's stomach as his energy quickly flew into her. "She was smart..." He twitched his eye a little.

  "Of course, she is my Mom!" Ren nodded, still kneeling on the water's surface, holding her gently as Aerthus supplied his lifeforce into her body. "The injuries would be fatal if not for the uniform's resilience," Ren murmured with a calm but cold voice as she checked the injuries on her body. "Luckily, she fell into the water and used it to seal off the most serious wounds… also…" She put her finger into the pool, scooping out nasty, greenish, slimy poison, encased in an electric bubble she summoned. "It helped her contain some of the poison that got into her body." She sighed, gently stroking her face.

  "Yes. But it is still serious." Aerthus agreed, "She won't die because I am here, but she is in critical condition; even with my help, I can't force too much into her. If I try, I risk breaking down her organs or even destroying her energy points and cultivation."

  "Master, can you bring her back to the Sect?"

  "Of course. Are you confident?"

  "If you send others or come back, I won't compin." She looked at him with a calm expression. "But it may be unnecessary."

  "Still, be careful!" Aerthus stood up, holding Anya's unconscious body as he disappeared.

  Saying nothing, Ren just slowly flew up, looking around, scanning the bodies and clues left by the battle, flying over to a body cd in white garments from head to toe. Unraveling his face. There was nothing distinct about it; there were no tattoos or old scars that could help, or distinct features like rare hair or eye color. What really bothered Ren was the fact that she recognized the poison. She had already met the one whose affinity had the same tinge of smell and taste... A rabid dog whom she had already let escape once.

  Holding the corpse's head, she shook her own, returning her focus to the body. The next moment, Ren's powers flowed into the dead body, stimuting its nervous system, taking control, ordering the heart to beat once more and start pumping blood. Only after a minute or so did the body start working and 'live' again as Ren began tapping into the brain, trying to read some of its test, somewhat intact memories. The dead body constantly convulsed before him as electricity circuted inside its veins, giving random orders to muscles, making it 'breathe,' even opening his eyes, yet there was no light in them. When she was finished, letting it go, the body still trembled once in a while, but Ren was already flying upwards and towards the north.

  "I hope you are going back to your little ir," She murmured, flying forward as the wind fluttered her hair wildly, giving her a savage appearance. "I don't want to hunt you down one by one, but I will if I must."

  …….…..

  Far, far away, in the city of Rozex, or more precisely the city where the Naulins ruled over their and the other kingdoms, King Rudrick stood at a balcony of a tall spire, painting a picture of the morning sun.

  "I have a report to make," an old man in a butler uniform came in the next moment.

  "Mhhm. Go on." Rudrick nodded, continuing to paint, not looking at him.

  "The water has been drained successfully."

  "Oh, really?" He chuckled, looking at him sideways, gently putting down his brush. "As the message didn't say the rotten wood has been burnt, I guess they failed." he patted his hands, shaking his head. "Cut every connection, eliminate those who knew about it before it can be traced back to us. Tell the King of the Enjins to come and meet me."

  "Yes." The butler bowed, quickly leaving to carry out the orders.

  When he left, Rudrick turned back towards his painting, marveling at his own work as a voice resounded near his ears.

  "You did well. I like your decisiveness. That is why I chose you as the King back then!"

  "Forefather!" He gasped, immediately going to kneel towards the east, lowering his head.

  "Stand. You only need to kneel when we meet in person."

  "As you order!" He stood back up, still lowering his head towards the rising sun.

  "Knowing that my old rival is back, you did especially well. Ordering to destroy the bodies of the targets we mark for death is the best option... They failed to do that, so she must have survived. That cockroach can even bring himself back from the dead, and thus, most people could live through anything around him, if not beheaded or chopped up to pieces!" Of course, the one who was speaking was Zelig himself, the Forefather of the Naulin line. "They are going to pay with their lives for their mistake."

  "Yes, Forefather."

  "I'll be out of seclusion somewhere between one... or two years. I have already finished; I am just consolidating what I learned."

  "That is great news!"

  "I can't py around now, can I? Especially now that he is back!" He answered, his voice sounding... excited, "What he did is so typical of him. I heard they already intruded into one of our territories?"

  "Yes, they are trading heavily with the Elroths. We let it be as we obtained plenty of pills and other useful things through them, boosting my chosen candidates even further. Should I put a stop to it?"

  "No. But we are going to make a move."

  "I am listening, Forefather."

  "Announce that I am going to establish a Sect when coming out of seclusion. I am going to be its Master."

  "..." Rudrick just blinked his eyes slowly before forming a wide smile, cupping his hand. "Yes, Sect Master," he said as he caught on quickly.

  "Good, good… Sect Leader Rudrick."

  "M-master?" he asked with a surprised voice.

  "He calls himself Sect Head, then I'll be a Master to everybody, but I need someone who is going to lead them."

  "I am honored by your decree, Sect Master!" he went to his knees once again with an excited voice.

  "Mmm… pn out everything and make it public as soon as you can! I want those fools in the Empire to hear it, loud and clear. Two can py the same game…" Zelig chuckled before his voice slowly disappeared.

  Knowing his presence was gone, Rudrick slowly stood back up, unable to wipe his grin off his face, finally ughing out loud.

  "Hah! Maybe I'll see one of the legendary battles of Aerthus and Zelig reenacted? What a sight it would be…" came a hearty ugh with a tinge of a weird and slimy tone mixed into it as he hurried inside his spire to start organizing everything. "Especially..." He added, in a way, only he could hear, "If both of them would die..."