Later that evening, the long tables in Ravens Grave’s main hall were crowded with guild mbers passing plates, laughing, and talking over one another as Bernard continued serving food.
It was Dinner Ti.
Aiden sat off to the side with his wives, eating alongside everyone else. But as it had been for the past month, he wasn’t doing it out of enjoynt.
He ate only to see if the food would bring any sense of satisfaction like food used to.
But it didn’t. It felt like nothing more than filling his stomach out of habit.
Then a knock echoed from the front door.
The room didn’t quiet entirely, but a few heads turned toward the sound.
Bernard, closest to the entrance, wiped his hands on his apron and walked over to answer it.
When he pulled the door open, a young woman with white hair stood on the other side, her hands clasped in front of her.
"Good evening," Lysandra said politely. "I’m here to see Aiden."
Bernard blinked in surprise, montarily struck by how pretty her face was, before glancing back toward the corner where Aiden sat.
But Aiden had already heard her voice. His enhanced hearing had picked up her words the mont she’d spoken them, and now he was already rising from his seat.
When he reached the entrance, Lysandra stood just outside, still waiting.
They faced each other for a mont, and the silence between them was sort of awkward.
Aiden finally broke it. "Let’s take a walk."
Lysandra nodded in agreent.
And so they began, walking side by side down the quiet street, neither of them speaking at first.
Finally, Lysandra broke the silence this ti
"I ca to find you because I wanted to say thank you," she said. "For coming to rescue ."
Aiden glanced at her briefly before looking ahead again. "There was no need for that," he replied. "But you’re welco."
Lysandra nodded and took a breath before continuing.
"I also wanted to bring myself to forgive you," she said. "For killing our father."
Aiden turned towards her for a mont.
Lysandra let out a short, bitter laugh.
"For a while, I was even plotting with Lady Arnarra to kill you," she admitted. "That’s how bad it was."
Aiden scoffed lightly but said nothing.
Lysandra’s expression crumpled then, and tears began streaming down her face.
"Did you really have to kill him?" she asked in a breaking voice.
Aiden took a slow breath in, but he didn’t answer.
"Answer !" Lysandra yelled, as she stopped walking and turned to face him fully. "Was it?!"
Aiden sighed and stopped as well.
"Jarius deserved everything he got," he said in a calm voice.
"He was an awful man, even to the very end. That’s all I rember."
Lysandra’s tears fell harder now, and she shook her head.
"But that man was my father," she said, her voice trembling. "He may not have been the world’s best dad, but he treated like a princess. And you took that away from ."
Aiden said nothing.
Lysandra wiped at her eyes, trying to compose herself, and after a mont, the crying stopped.
She took a shaky breath and looked at him again.
"I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive you," she said. "But I won’t do anything against you anymore."
She paused, then added:
"Thank you again. For saving ."
She inclined her head slightly in a formal gesture of respect, then turned and began walking away.
Aiden watched her go for a mont, while whispering, "Lysandra..."
He shook his head, before finally turning and heading back toward Ravens Grave.
——
Much later that night, Aiden sat alone in his room.
Then, with a slow breath, he activated his Dinsional Sight. As an Elder Dragon now, that perception had evolved significantly.
He no longer needed avatars or ti variants stationed in other dinsions just to get a full view of what was happening there.
He could peer directly into them from where he sat, scanning their landscapes, their skies, their inhabitants, all without ever setting foot inside.
Aiden shifted his focus toward the dinsion where Lilith and the demon lords had been hiding.
The mont he tried to peer into it, he saw... nothing. It was as if the dinsion had stopped existing altogether.
Aiden frowned and focused harder, trying to find even the faintest trace of it.
Still nothing.
His eyes narrowed as confusion crept in.
"That’s weird," he muttered.
Every other dinsion he could access was still there, only that one where Lilith and the demons had been in, was gone.
None of his avatars or ti variants stationed across the other dinsions had alerted him to anything unusual either. No trace of Lilith or any of the demon lords crossing into another space.
That ant they were still there, in that sa dinsion.
They just didn’t want to be seen.
"Lilith," Aiden said quietly to himself. It had to be her doing.
And whatever thod she’d used was powerful enough that even his Elder Dragon-level sight couldn’t pierce through it.
Aiden had a frustrated look. He’d grown stronger. His abilities had evolved since becoming an Elder Dragon.
And yet here he was, unable to see what they were doing because soone stronger than him was blocking his view.
He sighed, then whispered. "I really hate this"
——
anwhile, at that very mont in the City of Eden, within Adam’s throne room, three gods stood close in conversation.
The room was a marvel of divine craftsmanship, with tall white marble columns streaked in gold, and light filling the space.
Adam had long blonde hair that fell past his shoulders, and his expression was troubled.
Beside him stood Gaia, with her green hair floating around her. She looked radiant in turquoise and white robes, though her attention was fixed intently on Adam as he spoke.
Umgadi stood to the other side. She had the constellation patterns on her face glowing faintly.
They had been in this conversation for so ti now.
"We both have to make sure no one knows Lilith is out of her confinent," Adam said. "We also have to co up with a way to deal with this quietly as well."
He paused and looked between Gaia and Umgadi. "We don’t need another division amongst us at this mont."
Gaia nodded slowly, with a somber expression. "Agreed," she said.
Umgadi said nothing in particular, but she was in just as much agreent as Gaia.
Adam exhaled slowly and nodded. It had been the power their Laws that sealed Lilith away in the first place.
It was also how they knew when the seal was undone.
Before any of them could say more, there was a knock at the door.
All three gods turned toward the sound.
"Enter," Adam called out.
The door opened, and a female god stepped inside.
She was dressed like a soldier, with armor of bronze and silver covered her torso and limbs, and a short sword hung at her side.
Her dark hair was tied back tightly, and her expression was serious as she crossed the threshold.
The mont she entered, she dropped to one knee and bowed her head respectfully.
"Father " she said.
Adam’s gaze softened slightly as he looked at her.
"Aveta," he said. "What is the matter?"
Aveta lifted her head just enough to et his eyes.
"A eting is being held by the Council of Gods," she said. "And it is best that you co there yourself to deal with the matter."
The three gods exchanged glances imdiately.
Could this have been what they were avoiding? Had word already gotten out?
Adam turned back toward Aveta and gave a nod.
"I’ll be there."
——
The Council Chamber was a circular hall with walls of crystalline stone.
Eight seats were lined in a semicircle around a table. Six of these seats were currently occupied by an Archon god.
And there were whispers between themselves.
"two of them?"
"—unprecedented, this has never happened before—"
The gods seated there had expressions ranging from concern to anger.
Then the doors opened, and the sound cut off instantly.
Every head turned toward the entrance as three figures stepped through.
Adam entered first, in his gleaming golden armor. It was his presence that commanded the imdiate silence.
The two empty seats were to ant to be for both Gaia and Umgadi.
And at the head of the table was a much larger and higher seat.
Adam’s.
When Adam got to the table, they all stood, then inclined their heads respectfully.
"Father..." they said
And after that they remained standing until Adam reached his seat and sat, before they all did afterwards.
"Now soone tell , why is there a council eting starting without my knowledge?"
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