Main Island, Guardian Islands.
A huge palace floated high above the ground. Made of red and white crystals and with white fog under it, it looked like a land of myths.
In the guardian palace, Julius got up from his desk and the ring on his finger shone.
Space twisted and the next moment, he was in a deserted land at the edge of the main island.
'The Resting Abode'
He read the golden signboard and stepped forward. His body easily passed through a transparent barrier and he was standing in front of a grave.
It wasn't here a couple of weeks ago. Julius looked around and noticed that there was only one grave neighboring his son.
"It was you…are you laughing at me, father?" Julius asked with a bitter smile.
Ceaser Xander's grave was spottles and clean. The flowers he presented from last time hadn't withered yet.
Perhaps no one could've guessed that Julius would regularly visit his deceased father and pray following a tradition long forgotten with Blink.
Julius clapped his hands twice and finished his prayer to his late father and stood up.
As he was about to offer the flowers, Julius hesitated like always and looked at his hands.
The hands that killed his own father.
Raising his head, Julius stared at the grave with a complicated expression.
It happened long ago…yet, it haunted him to this day.
Except for him, no one knew the truth.
*** *** ***
That day, his father killed Demon King and returned home with severe injuries.
He teleported to the guardian islands and was in a deep medical pool that had the best medicine Xanders had to offer.
"Father! Father!" Julius looked at his father in the glass pod with a face as pale as snow.
Ceaser's eyes were still closed and his vital signals weren't showing any signs of improvement.
"Don't worry, Julius. He'll be alright. He's a Sovereign! My brother killed a Demon King and he will be a living legend!" Cail Xander patted Julius and reassured the young nephew.
Julius was already a peak level 9 and was hailed as the most talented human.
Yet, seeing his father, who was his role model, fighting for life as helpless like any other human, Julius couldn't muster the courage.
Two days passed and Ceaser Xander hadn't woken up yet.
Cail Xander had to manage the family which was growing turbulent due to the absence of its head and rumored 'death'.
So, Julius was left all alone with his father. No one else was allowed to enter the medical facility.
And as Julius stared at the man with handsome features, his eyes suddenly snapped open.
"Father!" Julius exclaimed in joy and rushed to the glass pod.
Ceaser lightly gestured with his hands and Julius hesitated for a moment but opened the glass pod lightly.
The healing wasn't affected, but it allowed Ceaser Xander to speak.
"J-Julius…" A weak voice, completely contrasting the usual majestic voice rang in his ears.
"Yes!" But Julius responded with the same respect.
"…I have a r-request." Ceaser spoke with a strained voice. His body was almost non-existent when he entered—it was barely together and two days of healing strangely didn't heal him. Even worse, he continued to remain in that state.
"Please do tell!" Julius looked into his father's eyes…or the single eyeball and a hollow socket.
He felt aching grief but kept his gaze focused.
"…Kill me."
The words were like a thunderous clap and Julius abruptly stood up.
"Y-You…what are you…"
"…Kill me, please. This is your father's last wish." Ceaser pleaded in a weak voice.
"I can't! You will survive father! Don't give up! You're a Sovereign! You're the strongest, okay? You even killed the Demon King. I believe in y—"
"…I'm n-not that strong." Ceaser's quiet, yet bleak voice filled the room. His single eye stared vacantly at the ceiling as he muttered.
"…you know son, I can indeed survive."
Julius' face brightened.
"…But only in this state. The injuries I have…I can't ever heal from them."
Julius flinched and collapsed onto his knees. "W..W-What are you talkin—"
"…so kill me, you know it too right?" Ceaser's voice was filled with defiance as well as grief. "The Heaven's Will…as long as I'm alive, it won't allow a ninth Sovereign."
Julius immediately shook his head. "I don't care, father! I will gain strength by myself. I will break the barrier with my own efforts! I don't need that shitty Heaven's help—"
"But the people of the earth do, the people of the federation do…they need your help." Ceaser's weak but adamant tone stopped Julius.
Julius clutched his hair and shook his head. "You're more important to me."
"…Kahh." Ceaser groaned in pain before he resumed talking. "W-We are Xanders, the guardians of earth…we protect."
"Not at the cost of your life! I am not so selfless." Julius shook his head vehemently.
"…well, I am..ha..hahaha." Ceaser's weak, broken laughter pierced Julius' heart.
As the greatest genius lowered his head and held back tears, Ceaser's voice continued.
"…but I am a selfish father too, it turns out…"
Julius raised his head and stared at his father.
"…Don't live like me, Julius. It was only during these moments I realized the value of strength…if I was strong, if I was strong enough, I could've killed the demon king without being reduced to this state.
All my life…I worked hard to save people, to help people and as I lie down here, trapped between life and death, I wonder what if I never helped anyone?
…W-What if I spent all my time pursuing strength?"
Julius froze as he stared at his familiar yet unfamiliar father. What he said was completely opposite to what the man named Ceaser Xander would say.
As his voice weakened, Ceaser coughed weakly and continued. "…I don't mean you should abandon your people…but when you're strong enough, you can give them peace…when you pursue strength, your strength gives them peace, no?"
Julius clenched his fists and painfully nodded.
"Yes."
Then he hesitated for a moment before saying. "But a lot of people will die in my pursuit of strength."
Ceaser answered without hesitation. "But with sufficient strength, you will save a lot more people.
…Count the number of people you can save as a level 9? How many can you save as a level 8?"
Julius' face paled. "That's cruel, father. Lives are not numbers."
Ceaser paused for a while and said stiffly. "We can't save everyone, Julius…I really wish there was a way.
I..I just don't want to be like me. You're the most talented human history has ever witnessed, and I-I'm confident that you can break beyond the Sovereign state…"
When he said those words, Ceaser's voice was suddenly filled with enthusiasm.
"…Then you can protect e-everyone! And for a long, long time. Far more than the lives sacrificed."
"…" Julius wasn't convinced.
Ceaser sighed painfully and said. "M-Maybe I am twisted in this pain, but do you remember the mercury slaughter?"
Julius nodded and froze. It hit him what his father was trying to say.
During the first human-abyssal war, the strongest awakeners were all focused on battles of their own levels.
They didn't go out of their way to help the weaker humans. They used that time to improve and prepare for their next battle.
Except for Mercury.
The high awakeners in mercury aimed to ensure the least number of people were killed.
And they did achieve their goal by dispatching a lot of powerful awakeners to protect the weaker ones.
But as a result, their progress slowed down.
And after a few years, their slow down finally showed consequences.
Mercury had seen a brutal massacre that nearly led to the extinction of humans on the planet.
Whatever the number of humans these 'kind' acts saved, the massacres killed hundreds of times of that figure.
And not just then, but in the subsequent years, more and more people continued to be killed.
It was only after the artifact was found and a Sovereign rose that mercury escaped the fate of being a Pluto.
But even then, the losses were immense.
"Father," Julius said in a shaky, but calm voice.
"Cherish people, but also cherish your life. And for that, strength is paramount. Don't be like them, don't be like me…be strong, my son. " Ceaser said.
"I will," Julius said and closed his eyes.
"..good, now I can…"
Julius raised his shaking hand and gritted his teeth.
A light flashed and Ceaser Xander breathed his last.
That was the day….Sovereign Julius was born.