TILLY flinched when a loud thunder roared in the sky.

Even Leni and Lani stopped braiding her hair in surprise.

Then, the three of them turned to the window at the same time. She was pretty sure that the twins were just as shocked as she was to see that the sky had turned gray when it was still sunny just a few minutes ago.

"My lady, is it normal here in Oakes to have a sudden change in weather?" Lani asked curiously.

"I'm surprised, my lady," Leni added. "It was just sunny a while ago…"

"I know, right?" Tilly agreed. "I also find it strange. I'll ask Father about it later."

"Are you still going to play outside, Your Grace?" Lani asked worriedly. "What if it suddenly rains?"

"I'll be fine," she assured the maid with a smile. "Anyway, let's continue."

The twins bowed and continued styling her hair.

She just changed her clothes into her usual training outfit: loose linen shirt, trousers that fit her like modern-age leggings/yoga pants, and a pair of comfortable boots.

Leni and Lani were giving her twin braids right now.

Tilly didn't want to admit this but she saw the dark clouds outside, she felt gloomy for some reason. Am I under the weather?

***

ONE WOULD think that Oakes was having thunderstorm right now, minus the rain.

Forrester let out a sigh. "Geez, Father. Calm down," he said. "I know what I'm doing."

He was met with another loud thunder.

This time, he bowed respectfully. "I apologize for giving you the nasty finger, Father. Now please keep quiet and let me do my job." He raised his head to look up at the dark sky. "Both of us will be screwed up if I don't find my Holy Scepter soon, right?"

Only did then the sky calm down.

Just a few moments later, the dark clouds started to vanish and the bright sun cleared up the sky again.

He knew that the sky god was looking after him. They may fight a lot, but he knew that at the end of the day, his father would still "forgive" him and let him do whatever the hell he wanted. After all, he was the favored son.

"What did you do to me, Your Holiness?"

Forrester turned around to see the Black Serpent standing straight while doing a side-to-side head rotation exercise. Okay, he didn't expect the duke to be able to snap out of his spell easily. Heck, he shouldn't have been able to stand up as if nothing happened.

Based on the amount of divine power I used, he should have been knocked out for at least ten minutes.

But it had only been two or three minutes.

Gods, with or without a seal, are ridiculously strong.

At least, the Black Serpent didn't hear him talking to the sky god.

"I sealed your ability to control ice," Forrester said. "If you want to master the water technique, you must start from the bottom."

"Ah, okay," Kiho said casually. "Anyway, can you give me the kind of training that will allow me to master the water technique in just a day?"

He lost his memories but arrogance still runs in his veins.

That was only proof that this little snake was a god, indeed.

"Sure," Forrester said with a smirk. "Just don't blame me if you died."

Just like any god with ego as vast as the sky, the duke scoffed at his warning. "A training to master a certain technique can't kill me."

Well, the Black Serpent had the skill to back up his arrogance.

But I still want to teach him a lesson.

"Are you sure about that, little snake?"

The duke's furrowed brows made it obvious that he didn't like the pet name he gave. "Why are you calling me "snake?""

"Your eyes look like snake eyes." Heck, your son is also a serpent.

"They don't."

He just waved his hand to dismiss his complaint. "Aren't you being a little too hasty, little snake?"

The duke paused for a while before he answered. "I told Tilly that she shouldn't be hasty. That she should take it easy. But I can't apply that to myself. I'm the head of the family, so I need to be stronger to protect my loved ones. And I have to do that as soon as possible."

"If you have already decided, then let's begin," he said. Then, he put his hand up with his palm facing the little snake's face. "I'll trap you in a box that will be filled with water in twenty four hours. If you want to get out before you drown, you have to master the water technique."

"Uh, so how will I master it?" the Black Serpent asked. "Aren't you supposed to teach me something first before you give me a test?"

Forrester just smiled, and then he closed his hand.

Kiho Nystrom disappeared in just the blink of an eye.

"What can a mere half god-half mortal teach a full-blooded god like you, fool?" Forrester whispered to himself. "All you have to do is remember a little bit of your real self, Black Serpent."

***

THAT damned saint.

Kiho was pissed when he found himself inside a tall but narrow box. He doubted if he could even stretch his long legs if he sat down. When he looked up, he realized that he was completely locked inside. It made him wonder how he could still breathe while he was trapped there.

Now what?

His thoughts were cut-off when it suddenly flooded inside the box. When he looked down, he cursed under his breath when he realized that the water was already ankle-deep.

He couldn't see where the water was coming from but it was coming in fast.

Kiho let out a deep sigh to calm himself down. "I better get out of here soon and hit that damned saint."

***

"WHERE'S Kiho, Your Holiness?" Tilly asked when she didn't find her husband in the saint's room when she went there. She knew that Kiho stayed with His Holiness to request him to start his training as well. "Did his training already start?"

"Yes," Saint Forrester said. "I already gave the duke his test."

To say that she was surprised would be an understatement. "How can you send someone to a test when you haven't taught him anything yet?"

"Kiho Nystrom is a genius."

Okay, she didn't have a retort to that.

My Kiho is really a genius– but I won't lose.

"Let's begin my training, too," she said excitedly. "I don't want to get left behind."

"Wow, someone is fired up."

"My mother left me a message, Your Holiness," she informed him. "According to Sentinel, the Fire Tree in my mother's resting place is covered with an ancient magic. Apparently, I can also undo the magic and read my mother's message if I burn the tree down using my own flame. But I can't produce the amount of flame that I need. So I want you to teach me how to release more fire power."

"If I do that, your heart might awaken," he said while shaking his head. "You only need to burn down the tree, right?"

She nodded. "How can I do that if I won't release my full power?"

"Little Supreme, don't underestimate yourself," the saint scolded her lightly. "You don't need your full power just to burn down a tree– even if it was covered with ancient magic. In the past, the Supreme could burn down a whole town with just a snap of her fingers.

She gasped aloud. "That's so cool. I want that kind of power, too."

"Take it easy," he told her. "And one more thing, the Supreme never wasted her flame even though she was a master of it. She knew how to conserve her energy and take care of her body. Just because she could produce powerful flame didn't mean she had to use it in every single battle that she was engaged in. I'm sure even your husband doesn't use his ice all the time. That's why he's also a swords master, isn't he?"

She nodded while absorbing the things that the saint said. "Your Holiness, are you saying that the first Supreme wielded a weapon in the past?"

"Precisely," he confirmed. "And it wasn't just one. The Supreme in the past was a double weapon wielder."

"Really?" she asked in excitement. "What were the Supreme's weapons in the past?"

"A bow and a dagger," Saint Forrester said. "Both weapons were made of flame."

"I want to master both weapons as well," she said excitedly. Gosh, the Supreme was really cool. No wonder the Moonchesters were so adamant to eliminate her. "Is it possible for me to master the Supreme's weapons, Your Holiness?"

"That depends on your tenacity, little Supreme."

She still remembered the face of the first Supreme.

Imagining her ancestor with a flaming bow and dagger was easy. She could clearly see how cool did the first Supreme look when she was still alive. God, the older woman was most likely something akin to a goddess of war because of her coolness.

I want to be like her.

"Your Holiness, please teach me how to make a flaming bow and a flaming dagger," Tilly said politely. "The first Supreme is now my icon and I want to follow her footsteps."

"Teaching you how to master the fire technique is the exact reason why I'm here," Saint Forrester said. "Now, let your training begin, little Supreme."

***

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