For the next five days, Sokram's routine remained unchanged until he received an official letter.
It was the invitation he was waiting for: The eting with the other families’ heads.
That night, he called for another family eting.
They gathered around the dining room table once again.
Hannah’s absence weighed on Sokram, but he couldn’t afford to wait for her.
With his family gathered, they started discussing what he would offer to the other founding families.
Hilda's shoulders were drawn tight, a familiar knot forming in her stomach at the re ntion of his secrets.
Her gaze flickered to Sokram, then to the closed dining room doors, as if expecting hidden eavesdroppers.
But seeing that Brunhild and Margiory were on his side, she didn’t find the voice to stop him.
Miralyn, however, leaned back in her chair, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips.
The sight of her unwavering calm offered Hilda a sliver of reassurance.
The reason Miralyn was so calm was that she realized there were too many differences between the techniques created by Sokram and the ones from the Empire.
What truly astounded her was the undeniable superiority of Sokram’s techniques.
That’s when Sokram said, “I know your greatest worries about these techniques concern the Southern Feral Clans, Dracony, and the Elven Empire. For that, we have blood contracts of secrecy ready to prevent the family head from leaking that we were the ones providing these techniques. We also have the Purple Pavilion protecting us from what we can’t see.”
Hilda watched him silently.
A familiar ache, a mix of fierce maternal protectiveness and burgeoning pride, swelled in her chest.
Her hand instinctively went to her heart, pressing against the conflicting emotions rippling within her.
The older Sokram got, the more he spoke as their families’ patriarch and less like her baby.
Sokram’s warm gaze t his mother's, his words firm. “This is not the ti to hide and cower. The greatest threat to Eversnow was cast out, an enemy from within. Now we need to strengthen our city, and this is the best way.”
Sokram’s words carried the weight of the truth, and none of them could rebuke it.
“What Great Uncle Sahvus said that day was true. How many tis has each of you reset to Tier 1? Do you truly think people wouldn’t realize once you reach the level of Exalted or Semi-Perfect Existence? Because look at Nana Marg and Nana Brun, they are already Tier 6 Flawless, how long do you think until they beco Exalted?”
Once again, they knew he was right.
Their only answer was silence.
“So, instead of holding back, we go all out.”
Sokram t Hilda’s gaze once more; this ti, his eyes were resolute and unwavering.
“I know you and Aunt Moira are holding back your advancent, but this isn’t the right way to go.”
Sokram extended his hand toward her, as if he were about to hand her sothing.
Then, from the palm of his hand, a dark fla with crimson streaks blood like a chaotic flower.
“If you want to protect what you love, you need to have the strength. Because I don’t want to live a life of Stagnation just so you can be at ease. So instead, beco so strong that no one can ever threaten us, stop holding back, and use what we have so we can stand at the top.”
As his words sank in, Hilda’s gaze sharpened as she watched the chaos flower burn in her son’s hand.
Another chaotic spark igniting deep within her, a flicker of understanding, a nascent resolve she hadn't felt in years.
Sokram was right.
She had beco too dependent on Miralyn and Hannah.
She was depending too much on others when the sense of security she needed should and could co from within.
Hilda knew he ant the Steelhearts when he spoke of the enemy from within.
But wasn’t she playing that role in her own heart? Realizing this, Hilda nodded and told him, “You’re right, dear.”
Everyone at the table looked at her, surprised, as she spoke, “Since that day… When that mad dragon… I an, Garuth, your father, kidnapped us… I haven’t been the sa. I’m always scared, and I grew overly dependent on others.”
Hilda exhaled a long, shuddering sigh, the weight of years of fear seeming to lift with it.
Miralyn’s hand, resting gently over hers, squeezed once.
Miralyn’s presence had been a silent anchor grounding her against her own turbulent emotions.
Hilda t Miralyn’s eyes with a smile and continued. “And when you were born, it was different. With Astrid, I showed her the way. Mikhail always had Adulwulf. But you… I just felt like I couldn’t lose you. I still rember Mira’s screams of agony, and I know it’s selfish and unfair to her. But I’m happy that I was the one carrying you. But with this happiness ca also this fear of feeling what she felt when she lost you.”
“Hilda…” Miralyn tried to speak, but Hilda only gripped her hand firmly.
Their eyes t, sharing an unspoken understanding, and Miralyn let her finish.
“The day you were ambushed and Savannah entered through these doors in desperation, all I wanted was to be strong enough so we wouldn’t have to live in fear, but I failed to realize that you already had given the key to that strength.”
Hilda approached Sokram and hugged him, “I’ve been foolish, thank you for being patient, dear. I know what I have to do now. You’re free to walk your path, but whenever you need a lap to lay your head on, I’ll be there.”
Saying that, Hilda released her hug and walked away.
Astrid, this ti, didn’t make any jokes; In thoughtful silence, she followed Hilda outside.
“Sigh… she is right, but in my case, I’ll be counting on you in the future to beco stronger. Until then, this is a vacation for , haha.”
Miralyn relaxed on the chair, hands behind her head, and winked at Sokram.
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But the truth was that she was happy this day had finally co; a genuine warmth spread through Miralyn, a quiet satisfaction settling in her chest. She pictured Hilda, unbound by fear, rising to her full potential, and a triumphant smile, subtle as it was, touched Miralyn's lips.
She was eager to see how dominant Hilda would beco once she was strong enough.
But these thoughts, she would keep to herself.
“So, it’s decided, baby.” Margiory nodded, smiling proudly at him. “We’ll follow the will of our patriarch.”
Brunhild only chuckled and winked at Sokram playfully, but she was happy that she no longer had to bear that weight.
She knew he was young, but he had already proven himself more than just capable.
After the eting with his family, Sokram went back to the palace.
The conversion of Lymus’s Cores was going so smoothly that Sokram believed it would be fully concluded in two weeks.
But once he entered the arena, he saw Kamus and another of Norwinter’s powerhouses there, with ashen grey hair, and the appearance of a woman in her late forties, around 1.8 ters tall, a curvy, well-trained body like Karini’s.
She had gray eyes, with white-furred wolf ears and tail.
Dressed in layered gray robes, tight-fitting black pants tucked into knee-length boots.
Her na was Kasine. She was Kamus’s wife, Karini’s mother, and co-creator of the Killing Blade Art.
A nostalgic smile ford over Sokram’s lips, a wave of bittersweet mories washing over him as he took in the familiar scene: Kamus, scrambling like a scolded pup, and Kasine, wielding her bokken with an authority that both amused and intimidated.
“Woman! Calm yourself! Leona’s disciple will arrive soon, I’m sure he will explain to you… Ouch!” But Kasine only swatted him again.
“This is for you, making those boys fight until my grandson was knocked out! You old brute!”
The mont Kasine spat the words, Sokram's instinct scread to flee.
Yet before he could, Karini’s eyes locked onto him.
“Mom, he is here,” Karini snitched on him and flashed him a mischievous grin.
‘Damn, my luck is running out, it seems. Fate, why turn your back on ?’
Sokram thought, and he could swear he heard Fate giggling back in reply.
He walked toward them slowly and with careful steps.
Leona, who had her head lowered, looked at him apologetically, while the twins mimicked Karini’s expression.
Kasine, seeing Sokram, frowned, not bothering to hide the anger in her eyes, “You’re the one who beat my grandson to a pulp?”
“Nana!” Lymus complained.
“Yes, ma’am,” Sokram admitted, but he couldn't fight the fear born out of the great respect he had for the wolf-kin woman in front of him.
Even more than Kamus and Licarus.
“How old are you?” Kasine tightened her grip on the bokken, glaring at Sokram intently.
“Thirteen, ma’am.” When Sokram said that, Kasine was taken aback.
“Thirteen? An Energy Master, Battle-Mage, and a True Existence?” Kasine’s eyes squinted, scrutinizing Sokram, studying each of his micro expressions and not hiding the skepticism in her tone.
“Businessman, Tar, Rune master, Formation Specialist, Arcane Alchemist, and soon I’ll be an enchanter and Geomancer, too. But my real aim is to beco a Biomancer.” Sokram smiled at her, but soon he beca embarrassed, noticing she didn’t take his joke well, even though he wasn’t lying.
“You’re also an alchemist, too, hm?”
Kasine looked Sokram straight in the eyes, her gaze firm and inquiring, “You either told no lies or you learned how to deceive your own heart.”
“Why did you send this old wolf to destroy my Frozen-White-Lotus garden? Do you know how long it takes to cultivate one of those?” Kasine marched toward Sokram, who instinctively stepped back.
“I didn’t know where Grandmaster would get those from, ma’am, but whatever he got, I’ll buy it, is that fine?”
Sokram knew her well, and beyond alchemy, there was another interest they shared.
“Oh, how much? How much do you think is enough for FIFTY YEARS OF HARD WORK!! How much?!!”
The bokken trembled in Kasine’s white-knuckled grip, its wood creaking.
She was clearly struggling to resist swatting Sokram with it as well.
“Fifty-year-old frozen lotuses?! Really?” Sokram’s eyes widened in delight as all his fear vanished.
“You managed to keep them alive and not turn into ice for that long?!!”
A mischievous glint crossed his eyes as he knew exactly who he was dealing with, “I’ll pay five thousand gold for each flower. Ten thousand if they have more than 100 petals. But if it’s more than forty flowers, I’ll ask you to wait, ma’am. So I can gather more gold.”
When she heard the price, Kasine’s icy anger lted under the heat of Sokram’s flattery and shiny coins, leaving only the fertile soil of greed.
Her expression, a ready-to-change mask, shifted from utter rage to overly friendly in a heartbeat.
Kasine released the bokken and slapped her hands over Sokram’s shoulders, “Hah! I knew Leona had found a good one!”
Everyone froze, everyone except Kamus, who smiled, knowing his wife's personality well.
She wasn’t just greedy; she also loved to receive recognition for her work.
But if money ca with it, it would sweeten the pot even more.
Placing an arm around Sokram’s shoulders, she brought him to Kamus, but before she could say anything, Karini whined, “But Mom! What about him beating Lymus?!”
“Mom?!” Lymus complained, embarrassed.
Kasine grimaced, hearing that, “Hmph! He got beaten by a thirteen-year-old! What do you think I am? Your personal avenger?!”
Sokram didn’t dare even glance at Lymus; his grandmother’s words were emotional damage enough as it was.
But Kasine didn’t stop there. “Besides, this young dragon here can recognize the value of my work, while all of you only know how to play with swords all day! You should learn sothing from him!!”
Leona and Karini couldn’t believe how fickle she was.
The twins looked at her, utterly shocked.
And Lymus only excused himself, saying, “Excuse , I need to ditate to put myself back in condition to cultivate.”
“Son, wait! Mommy just wanted to help!” Karini went after her son, while the twins sat in a corner, feeling dejected and betrayed.
“Now, give him the ring,” Kasine ordered, and Kamus handed Sokram a spatial ring.
While Sokram checked its contents, Kasine began explaining.
Though it felt more like she was bragging...
“There are 19 in there, very hard to keep, I had to create an artificial lake with a very costly formation. There should have been twenty, but I got overly emotional seeing this thief collecting them, made a mistake, and one was ruined, instantly turning into ice.”
“Amazing! Each has more than 200 petals! That formation must be a work of art!” Sokram's eyes shone with sincere amazent.
He leaned closer to the spatial ring, his breath catching as if he could sll the cold mana exhaling from each petal of the lotuses.
His mind raced with countless possibilities.
He knew how hard it was to cultivate such a plant in an environnt with so little mana as his ho planet.
He had to give it to Kasine; she was truly one of the greatest alchemists he knew.
“Nope, that formation is nothing close to the ones you set.” Leona bragged only to gain a glare from Kasine and recoil, stepping back in fear.
Kasine turned back to Sokram, with a greedy glint in her eyes, “So you know about formations too, hm? Mine wasn’t that much, just so simple work, lots of trials and errors until it worked properly. But I would be very grateful if you could help with that too, you wouldn’t say no to your future grandma, would you?”
“Of course not, Nana Kasine!” Sokram smiled brightly at her, and she matched his smile.
Kamus looked at Sokram, studying him carefully, ‘This kid has so scary eyes… With one look, he found her weakness… Her greed. Maybe because he is greedy too? Takes one to know the other, or so they say…’
“Amazing, now how do you plan to use those?” Kasine grinned, her mirth a mix of greed and curiosity.
Sokram did answer her straight away.
Instead, he summoned a ring from his Void Glove and handed it to her, “There is 200 thousand gold in there. For the nineteen in this ring and the one grandmaster ruined. I wouldn’t be filial if I let him pay for a mistake he made while doing sothing I asked him to. As for what I will do with these… It’s better if I show you.”
Kasine's brow arched in surprise, but she only nodded.
Sokram turned to Kamus and asked, “Grandmaster, did you bring the blood too?”
“Yeah, here.” Kamus retrieved a bottle from his personal ring and handed it to Sokram.
Sokram, while studying the blood, asked casually, “Are you in good condition to advance today?”
“Hah, of course, I’ve been waiting for this mont for years!” Kamus smiled excitedly, but then his eyes fell on his wife.
Knowing he might already be asking for too much, he gave an embarrassed smile, scratching the back of his wolf-like ear as his tail wagged slightly. “Can you check if it will work for Kasine too?”
“Sure.” Sokram nodded promptly, as he was already planning to offer it.
Still, his generosity surprised the two old wolves.
Sokram quickly sat cross-legged behind Kasine and was once again impressed.
Her cultivation was as well consolidated as Kamus’s. “Well, I hope you don’t have any plants to tend to for the next few weeks, Nana Kasine,”
Sokram smiled as he retracted his mana from her body.
“My younger daughter is there with our clan, no need to worry.”
But then, Kasine's smile turned mischievous, “Since you’re calling Nana, does that an you will be marrying my granddaughters, right?”
Kamus’s and Leona’s eyes looked at him with a look that scread gotcha!
And Sokram realized he had fallen into their trap, “Sigh… I’m not against that, truly. But I want to wait until we’re of age. Until we are mature enough to understand what a marriage truly ans in the Path of Evolution.”
A sincere smile spread on his face, his gaze shifting between Kasine and Kamus.
“I want sothing like what you two have. Master told you’ve been married for centuries, and your affection for each other is still as clear as day. And that is what I want with my wives, a love that shines like the sun, to bring light even in the cloudiest days.”
“Haha, I see what you an now, kitty,” Kasine smiled knowingly at Leona.
“Well, we’ll speak about it when the ti cos.” Kamus nodded with his arms crossed, acting like a wise and gentle grandfather.
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