Arken clenched the armrest of his throne. Even he could tell that the items before him were of far higher quality than anything currently available in Eryx.
At the sa ti, he had no desire to act chummy with his father, so it was much easier to accept if their relationship remained strictly business.
"Very well. I'll agree to your terms," he said at last. "But aside from this, I also want you to teach more advanced magic."
"Deal," Asher agreed.
"Secondly—after I'm done helping you, promise this," Arken eyes turned colder "Never show your face to again. Just looking at you makes sick."
"Arken!" Lizana raised her voice.
"No, Mother. That's my condition." His gaze didn't waver. "You have to choose—him or ?"
She hesitated—proof that even after being left behind, her love for Asher still ran deep. Arken knew this all too well. It was why his mother had never remarried.
Still, he couldn't forgive what his father had done to them, and the bitterness in his chest refused to fade.
"How about this," Asher stepped forward. "I'll create a way for Lizana to co to anyti she wishes. That way, she won't be tornted—and you can go on with your life."
It was an odd way to handle things, and Arken didn't like it. But after seeing his mother grow excited at the idea, he could only sigh and nod.
"Fine. Now tell the details. How can I help you?"
Asher began to explain what happened—how his real body was sealed away in an isolated dinsion, and how only a network of anchors could help him open an exit.
"Each of you resonates with . If you act as anchors, your combined existence can lock onto my real body's coordinates and form a stable portal long enough for to pass through."
Arken leaned back in his throne, fingers tapping lightly against the armrest. He was an expert in space magic himself—in fact, he had not only mastered the spells Asher left behind but also enhanced them with his own unique modifications.
"So, you're not just opening a gate, you're forcing two separate spatial realms to overlap. That ans the space your original body is trapped in follows laws that don't exist in our reality. But..."
He kept tapping the armrest. "It's impossible for laws to not exist in reality. Reality itself is all-encompassing. A law can be hidden or undiscovered, but it must still exist across past, present, and future.
So does this an you sohow entered a dinsion belonging to another universe?"
Asher was impressed. Arken had figured all of this out just by listening. He was right—the space where he fought R was outside this universe. In other words, it existed entirely outside of this reality.
Asher nodded. "You're right."
Arken's eyes glowed. "If that's the case, then the multiverse really does exist. And the reason you can't freely use your power to return is because you don't belong there. Simply put, you vibrate at a different frequency."
He tapped the armrest once more. "So, when you say you need anchors, you want all of your children to generate a compatible frequency—one strong enough to bypass this universe's laws and resonate with you, like a tuning fork forcing two realities into harmony temporarily."
'Amazing.' That was the only word that ford in Asher's mind.
Arken's intelligence was astounding—he had co up with this hypothesis despite having been confined to a single world.
If he ever ventured into the wider universe and get more lucky encounters, there was no doubt he would soon beco soone formidable.
However, he could never be the strongest—his father was an anomaly, a being that could not be asured by any standard.
Asher got so much luck that it wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say the entire universe revolved for him.
"That seal isolates you not by distance," Arken continued, eyes narrowing, "but by severing causality links, space itself refuses to acknowledge your location."
Silence followed.
"That's exactly right," Asher said slowly.
Arken let out a quiet breath. "Then if one anchor fails, the portal collapses. Worse—your real body could be torn apart by spatial backlash."
"Your comprehension is unusually high," Asher admitted. "Among all my children… you may be the most gifted."
Arken didn't look pleased. "Flattery won't make like you."
But for the first ti since arriving, Arken let out a satisfied smile.
Not reconciliation.
Recognition.
With everything else settled, Arken ordered his stepsister and brothers—who also served the royal family—to be summoned.
He also issued a gag order—simply because Asher's existence was too important.
His re presence could disrupt the balance of politics, not just in Eryx, but across the world, which was now essentially governed by the current Sorcerer King.
Unlike Asher, who had no interest in such matters, Arken was born to lead. Under his rule, he transford the world into a functioning society with a united purpose.
Cities were built not just to house beast folk, but to give even the most common people a better life, providing access to essential needs like nutritious food, clean water, dicine, and more.
He also abolished slavery and developed inexpensive golems to handle hard labor.
On top of that, he provided designated areas for humans to call their own city—an issue Asher had never addressed, having long forgotten the promises he made to them.
Through his benevolence and clever strategies, he beca the most beloved ruler in the world.
If his father was called the most powerful Sorcerer King, then Arken was the wisest—and the most beloved.
But if there was one thing he was truly known for, it was being a loyal husband.
Despite being the most powerful and influential person in the world, he took only one wife—and never strayed. He did this deliberately, refusing to follow in his father's footsteps, a man infamous for having too many won.
Hearing this from her over a cup of tea, Asher realized that his son had grown into a better man than he could ever hope to be.
"Thank you, Lizana, for raising him to be a good person." Asher held her hand, and in that simple gesture, the weight of the sins he had committed against her vanish in an instant.
If Arken were here right now, he would be furious at his mother—and at all the won who tolerated Asher's selfishness.
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