Evee had dark circles under her red eyes. She had been crying a lot in the last few weeks. It made sense.
Even though her father wasn’t dead, he was still in a coma. He didn’t wake up since Last Tear pulled him to the Nest when he was on the verge of death. He was hanging on the last string of life for weeks, and it was still uncertain if he would make it through.
Evee believed in her father’s resilience, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t worried. If anything, Evee was more worried about her father’s situation than ever. She had never seen her father in such a bad condition. It was a first…and she never wanted to see him like that again.
Michael understood Evee’s worries, but it wasn’t like he could abandon his friends and the people he loved dearly. His friends’ families, the Awakened working for him in his territories, and everyone he’d gotten to know in the last few years were still back in the Tritan Alliance. He didn’t want to abandon them, just like his parents and brother abandoned him. Michael couldn’t do that.
“I don’t like this, but you will hate me and the Nest if I keep you here with force,” Selena said bitterly, “I cannot promise you that you will survive in the Tritan Alliance. There may not be any Divine Lifeforms anymore, but the Tritan Alliance has at least a dozen Tier-6 powerhouses. Some of them might be on your side, but you should keep in mind that the Blaze Patriarch was given the Primordial Bloodline technique and some of the Superior Soul Techniques used in the Supreme Human Alliance. The Blaze Patriarch and his people are probably much stronger than you and your allies.”
Michael knew that, but that didn’t mean his plan changed. It might be a little foolish, but that was okay. He had a plan up to his sleeves. His plan was unlikely to fail, but if that happened, Michael could always flee. He would hate himself for running away, but it was better to avoid impossible fights than die.
“The Supreme Human Alliance puts much more importance to the Tritan Alliance than expected. That’s probably because of your Descendants. The Descendants have much stronger Soultraits than Lesser Humans are supposed to possess. Keep that in mind,” Selena added before retrieving a few objects from her War Rune. She pushed them into Michael’s hand and explained how to use them and what to pay attention to when more people – unwelcome guests – appeared in the doorframe of the Nest Leader’s room.
“We heard you returned and wanted to talk to Michael and…Daniel. That is, if his resurrection worked out,” Hesta was the first to appear in the frame, a wry smile plastered on her face, “His resurrection worked out, right?”
Selena finished explaining all items before turning to the trio of the Fang family standing in the doorframe. Hesta, Evalynn, and Peter Fang stood there, their eyes glued on Michael. Peter Fang’s eyes narrowed to slits as he recalled something from several weeks ago.
Michael stared straight into his father’s eyes without showing an ounce of emotion. After a few seconds, he scoffed, circulating origin energy through his body and mind to suppress the urge of his Curses to pounce forward and beat the trio before them.
“Daniel is back. He has a flawless body, void of impurities, and no Curse drags him down. Daniel finished the Awakening of his Soultrait a few minutes ago. It’s stronger than your Soultraits,” Michael glanced at Hesta, “Even stronger than yours.”
He didn’t pay much more attention to them.
“Either way, I will give him more Soultraits and make sure to give him everything you guys took away from him. He raised me, and I will give him everything he needs to thank him.”
There was no need to say this much, but Michael felt like saying everything. He cleared his throat and looked at Selena.
“I will talk to my brother and tell him everything. After that, I’ll leave. Do I need special access to use the bridges, or can I use them already?”
Selena wasn’t going to say something about the Fang’s family dynamic. That was their issue to deal with. She minded her own business and nodded toward Michael.
“I gave you higher authority for a bunch of things in the Nest. If not for that, you would have a hard time using the Relic I gave you. Your authority is high enough to use the bridges freely.”
“Perfect. Thank you,” Michael nodded before turning to his parents and sister. He pressed his lips together and scratched the back of his head for a second, “Bye, sis.”
A moment later, Michael manifested the Runic Gate and walked through.
**
Something big must have happened to Michael. Daniel understood that point right away. Nonetheless, he was happy to see his brother again. His first hunt was amazing. The flawless vessel he’d created was extraordinary, and his Soultrait was even better. Even the Artifacts were marvelous. Daniel had nothing to complain about.
“I can sense that you’ve displayed your Soultrait,” Michael uttered lightly to his brother when he emerged next to Daniel, “Our link shows me that it’s a powerful Soultrait.”
Daniel smiled from one ear to another, “It is a powerful Soultrait.”
He gathered his Sword Artifact and coated it in the Sword Aura with the little bit of aura he’d replenished at the last minute.
Daniel released the sword aura in a crescent arc, hitting one of the massive tree trunks near him. The attack wasn’t strong enough to cut down the tree right away, but a good portion of the trunk was chipped. It would only take one, maybe two hits at the same spot to lumber the energy-infused tree.
“9-Star Sword God at your service!”
Michael’s eyes widened for a second. He thought Daniel’s Soultrait was stronger than Hesta’s because Daniel’s Awakening changed a lot in their Link of Loyalty, but a 9-Star Soultrait?
“That’s amazing!” Michael exclaimed, his mind spinning, “Doesn’t that mean your Soultrait can advance to a Pseudo-10 Star Soultrait as long as I give you more Soultraits suitable to Sword God?”
The thought of transforming Daniel into an Awakened with a Pseudo 10-Star Soultrait was exhilarating. For a moment, Michael forgot about his worries altogether.
Daniel was stunned for a second but smiled at his brother after a second.
“I can probably handle another Soultrait or two since my Souls is at the level of a Higher Lifeform even though I’m still a Tierless Lesser Lifeform, but I don’t think my body and mind can take anymore right now. I’ll have to refine my body and mind before taking on more Soultraits.”
Danny chuckled lightly.
“In the first place, I need to study Sword God in-depth. I have yet to finish digesting the information influx Sword God provided when it manifested. That will take a while. After that, I have to study Sword God. Once that is done, I should have advanced to Tier-1 or Tier-2. Maybe I can take another Soultrait then.”
“Do you want Qi back then? Qi should be highly compatible with Sword God,” Michael asked, only to see his brother hesitate.
“I…don’t know. I’m unsure if I want to retrieve anything from my last life… Reinforced Sword Qi was a powerful Soultrait, but Sword God’s aura is more potent and efficient. I think Sword God is the Soultrait I was always supposed to manifest. Reinforced Sword Qi was just a…punishment given to me because I was Cursed…”
Michael nodded slowly, smiling lightly.
“If that’s what you want.”