Although Dyon had made himself some more enemies, he had also made some people very happy.
A 12-year-old girl clapped happy, ecstatic when she saw Dyon’s name. One might think that this was Dyon’s little sister, Lyla. However, the truth of the matter was that this was a former member of the 6 beauties, Saru Shruti!
If Dyon knew how right he was about how young Saru was, he would only be able to laugh bitterly. This time line meant that at the time Dyon fought her, she was just 8 years old!
Now, however, she had no obligation to hide her identity, so, she had reverted back to her true appearance.
Currently, she was an adorable little girl wearing an Indian style dress. Her skin was a delicate and soft brown, but her eyes were a clear blue, giving her an ethereal presence even with her young age. One could tell that in the future, her disguised appearance didn’t do her true beauty justice at all. She would definitely be a world toppling woman.
“Daddy! Didn’t I tell you about him? I told you, I told you!” Saru had completely lost the air of a princess she held during the World Tournament. Instead, she was a little girl being looked upon by an imposing man who somehow still had a gentle look in his eye.
Currently, they were in a throne room encircled by ministers of the kingdom. They were supposed to be describing battle plans for the skirmishes against the kitsune, but instead, Saru had come sprinting in looking incredibly adorable.
Emperor Shruti didn’t have the heart to berate his daughter, so he simply laughed and picked her up to place in his lap. However, his daughter’s next words caused lines of black to surface on his forehead.
“Remember? Remember? I told you my future husband was great!”
Empress Shruti giggled, pinching her daughter’s cheeks and taking her away from her husband.
“Little Saru, what do you mean future husband? I thought we agreed that there would be no more talks of this?”
The surrounding ministers tried their best to hold their laughter in, but they were failing miserably.
“You said that he was too weak, but look!” Saru said defiantly, pointing to the intricate metal array plate in her hand.
Emperor Shruti was at first uninterested in the new argument his daughter was making, but when his eyes swept over the plate, they couldn’t help but sharpen.
“This… You said you know who this boy is?” Emperor Shruti nearly lost control of his voice.
Seeing her husband act in such a way, Empress Shruti couldn’t help but look at the plate herself. But, what she saw shocked her just as much as her husband.
“You see? You can’t say I’m too young either because by the time he finishes his trials I’ll be of age too! I thought he was dead, but my husband is clearly too great to die!” Saru giggled to herself triumphantly.
Saru remembered what happened four years ago when she had made it home. She had begged her father to go and help Dyon. But, how could Emperor Shruti agree to such a thing? In the end, even the lovable Saru didn’t speak to her father for months.
Emperor Shruti reigned in his emotions before sighing, “You have to understand that this only means his future will be more dangerous. From what you’ve told us, he has no backing at all. How is he going to build a faction in the inner world? Do you think the other God key wielders will sit by idly? There’s a reason building up your real world presence is a mandatory part of climbing the tower.”
Saru pouted, “Don’t you understand what it means for him to be alive right now daddy? It means he survived a fight against a celestial!”
Emperor Shruti frowned. “Or, that celestial won easily and is using him now. Remember, a celestial means nothing to the full power of the quadrants.”
Unfortunately for Saru, she had no rebuttal to this. She had no way of knowing what happened after she left, for all she knew, her father was right. And, as much as she wanted to go and check, it would soon be her turn to take the trials. Her 13th birthday was coming up soon, so her father would finally let her become the first Shruti to become a God key wielder. If she wanted to be ready for that, she couldn’t do any travelling…
In all likelihood, this meant the earliest time she could meet Dyon would be 100 years from now since that was the average amount of time the God trials took.
“Mommy?”
“Yes darling?” Empress Shruti smiled, stroking her daughter’s dark cascading hair.
“If he takes first place in all of the rankings, you’ll let me marry him, right?”
Empress Shruti giggled, “Only a man so great is good enough for my little girl.”
Hearing this Emperor Shruti sighed in relief. There was no way this Dyon Sacharro could do such a thing. This was the equivalent of his daughter silently giving up.
Although Emperor Shruti appreciated Dyon’s talent, there was a reason why backing was so important. Dyon marrying Saru, regardless of his talent, would mean the Shruti would be taking on the burden of protecting him. Although they were a top 30 quadrant, that was because of their power coupled with the kitsune’s.
Emperor Shruti wasn’t scared of anyone in existence when it came to a one on one battle. But, in terms of overall kingdom strength, he knew very well that he was lacking. The constant wars with the Kitsune were largely to blame, but excuses meant nothing to anyone.
Unfortunately for Emperor Shruti, he didn’t understand his daughter enough. Saru didn’t say this to give up, she had just already built an unshakeable confidence in Dyon.
One could imagine the kind of heartbreak this would cause for others in the future for her suitors.