The trees leaned gently toward the clearing, as if bowing to something they couldn't comprehend. Shadows stretched quietly across moss-wrapped stone.
Jalen stepped into a familiar region of the Rage Forest—one untouched by roaming beasts or wandering cultivators. He reinforced the natural formations with a layered defense glyph—a spatial alert perimeter laced with kinetic rebound formations. If anyone trespassed, the cave itself would notify him instantly and trigger reactive countermeasures.
It wouldn't stop someone equal to him. But it would make the mistake unforgettable.
This place wouldn't be found unless Jalen wanted it to be—or unless someone equal to or stronger than him came looking.
Jaquan carried Lara into a cave nestled beneath a jagged ridge. The walls glowed faintly from spirit crystals embedded deep in the stone—soft hues of purple and ice-blue casting quiet light across smooth stone.
Jalen approached gently, his gaze resting on Lara's unconscious body. Her aura was stable. The baby within her thrummed softly—a rhythmic pulse of lightning and life. He also notice the tracking formation placed on her and destroyed it.
"She's alright," he said. "She just needs rest. Her core's exhausted."
Jaquan nodded, jaw still tense from everything they'd just endured. A storm had passed—and left more than scars.
He whispered something only Lara could hear, then pressed a kiss to her temple. Jalen watched quietly. There was nothing to worry about, but out of concern for his father's peace, he remained close.
About twenty-five minutes later, Jaquan stepped away from Lara's side and pulled Jalen into a hug.
"I know it's months late, but happy belated sixteenth birthday," he said softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to celebrate like we always do."
Jalen had forgotten what true warmth felt like. The hug was brief. But it cracked something inside him.
He nodded. "Thank you, Dad."
They held that silence a moment longer before Jaquan pulled back and looked him over—top to boots, eyes to aura.
"So… How are you doing, son? How were these past couple of months?"
Months? To Jalen, centuries had passed since he last saw his father. In the real world, it was like nothing happened. It felt like a dream—a very long dream.
Jalen's mouth curved into a dry smirk. "Not as interesting as your life, apparently."
He didn't mention the years spent in void realms. Or the nights without stars. Or the battles fought with no one to remember them.
Jaquan chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "It wasn't intentional. Things just kind of... spiraled."
"'Spiraled' is an understatement—for getting someone pregnant."
"Are you mocking your father, boy?"
"I would never. Just wondering what took you so long to find me a new mother. Honestly, you should've been on your sixth child by now."
Jaquan laughed aloud. "What, were you hoping to become an older brother six times over?"
"No, but I want you to be fruitful while you're still in your prime."
Jaquan knocked Jalen on the head lightly, smiling. "I just hope you didn't turn me into a grandfather while you were away."
"Sorry to disappoint. I'm still a virgin." One over three hundred years old at that. "And I don't have a girlfriend either."
"You say that like it's a badge of honor."
"Isn't it?"
Jaquan rolled his eyes.
"Well," he said, "I see you've reached Star Realm. And your thunder qi and core—it's evolved beyond anything I've seen. You even awakened a Thunder Physique. That's not just progress. That's revolution."
Jalen's thoughts drifted at that—Rana's face, the Ruona Continent, everything he'd left behind in pursuit of purpose. He wondered if they were okay.
Jaquan gave Jalen a brief account of his experience in the thunder-locked realm. Of course, he didn't say anything too intimate about Lara—but Jalen was no fool. He explained the Thunder Cultivation Technique, what he endured to obtain it, and how it improved his realm.
"Guess you're lucky," Jalen said.
"Lucky is one word for it."
Jalen tilted his head. "Did you come to the Reign Continent to see Mom?"
Jaquan didn't answer immediately—but the look on his face said everything.
"I did," he admitted. "I wanted to make her regret abandoning us."
Jalen didn't press. He didn't need to.
"But I'm over that," Jaquan said. "I have a fiancée now. I have a child on the way."
"Who might grow to be stronger than his dad and older brother one day."
Jaquan raised an eyebrow. "Is that even possible?"
Jalen's smile returned, this time with quiet heat. "Not only does he possess a thunder seed—he also carries an ice seed. If I can get them to bloom before he's born, not only will he have dual physiques… there's a real possibility he could be born at Diamond Realm with two fully formed spirit cores."
Jaquan's jaw dropped. "You're serious?"
"Yes. Elemental seeds are rare—light, sound, ice, and shadow being the rarest. They carry cultivation potential rooted in bloodline and elemental resonance. If cultivated correctly, they accelerate growth and density like nothing else."
Jaquan stared at the earth. It had taken him months of agony to reach the Diamond Realm. Others spent centuries clawing through bottlenecks—and yet, his unborn son might begin where they ended.
Someone out there is playing a joke on the cultivation world.
Jalen continued, "But it depends on Lara. I need her to reach the Diamond Realm first. The child's initial power will scale to the mother's realm at the time of ignition. If she's still at Peak Gold, he'll be born at Peak Gold."
"That's still incredible."
"I know. But I want more. I want him born in the Diamond Realm."
Jaquan exhaled. "A child born with that much power... that's terrifying."
"Not terrifying," Jalen said. "Liberating."
He quietly envied his little brother. Jaquan had found a cultivation technique on par with Jalen's shadow arts. And Lara—while she didn't possess an ice physique—held an ice bloodline strong enough to conceive a child with one.
It wasn't just lineage—it was legacy.
Jaquan leaned forward. "Let's leave that for later. Right now... let's catch up. Have a meal, a drink. It's been forever since I saw you."
Jalen nodded in agreement. Jaquan checked one last time on Lara, who looked at peace, before leaving with his son.