"ARE YOU awake, Brother?"

Kalel, seated on a sofa with a numb body, could only glare at Auro.

Right now, it seemed like they were in his room. He wasn't sure if his instinct was correct but as of the moment, his father and his mother weren't there.

Still, he hated that he couldn't move his body.

Mother probably poisoned me when she bit me earlier.

But fortunately, it seemed like his mother didn't brainwash him this time.

"Please don't be angry at me," Auro, seated on the sofa across from him, said without an ounce of guilt. He even had the audacity to make a pleading face. "I have a reason for doing this."

"Reason?" Kalel snarled at his brother. Fortunately, he had the strength to speak. Although he had to admit that doing so was already draining his remaining energy. Now he was reminded of how fatal his mother's poison was. "You better have a sound reason for doing this, Auro."

"Brother, I want to be a god."

"That's bullshit, Auro."

"You wouldn't understand because you were born a god."

"I'm not the only god that you've met, Auro," he said sternly. "I'm pretty sure that you already know by now that gods aren't special. We just happen to be beings with divine powers. But most of us behave worse than corrupted humans."

"But the gods who ascended the heavens have a luxurious life, Brother."

"You're a king, Auro," he reminded him with a hiss. "You're already living a luxurious life."

"I still feel empty, Brother," he said as if he was a child whining. "By 'luxurious life,' I mean the gods have the luxury to toy not just with human lives– they also have the privilege of toying with the fate of weaker beings."

He couldn't refute that.

After all, he knew that the major gods in the heavens were currently fighting because they wanted to control the human race in different ways.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" Auro asked with a raised brow. "The Moon God wants to be a human to be able to 'raise' the human race the way he has always wanted them to behave. But the Sky God wanted to stop the Moon God. Thus, he sought the help of the Sky God. The Sky God doesn't particularly care for the human race. But he doesn't want to lose his control over the lives of the humans that he wants to 'protect.'"

For a 'human' like Auro, he knew a lot about the affairs of the main gods.

"You already know how complicated the current situation of the gods is," he said to his younger brother. "And yet, you still want to be one of them? You even worked with my father."

"Lord Kyro and I understand each other's greed very well, Brother," the foolish king said proudly. "He wants to control the middle world by taking over the human race. On the other hand, I want to ascend the heavens and take over the gods."

He still didn't understand his brother's goal.

After all, he never cared about power in the first place. He just wanted to live a quiet life. And after meeting Soleil, all he wanted now was to build a happy and complete family with her.

Taking over the human world and the heavens sounded boring to him.

"But Brother, there's one person standing in our way."

"Don't tell me it's my wife?" he asked sarcastically.

"It's indeed your wife, Brother," he said while carefully nodding. "Lady Soleil Rosenberg is the biggest hindrance to our plan."

"How come my wife is a hindrance when she's not interested in any of this?"

"Exactly, Brother," Auro said in a frustrated voice. "It's not fair that Lady Soleil Rosenberg doesn't have greed for power and yet, she's the strongest one among us."

"What are you saying?" he asked, confused. "I acknowledge that my wife is as strong as the Beast Gods. But how can she be more powerful than the main gods?"

He was not underestimating Soleil in any way.

But he couldn't really understand why their enemies fear his wife.

"Since we're talking about your wife now, I will offer you a deal, Brother," Auro said, swiftly changing the topic. When he spoke again, he said something that made him forget about interrogating his brother regarding Soleil. "Brother, if you want a quiet life with your wife, then give me Lady Soleil Rosenberg's heart."

That awakened every fiber in his being.

Thus, he was able to break free from the effect of his mother's poison.

Before Auro could even open his mouth, he was already standing in front of his brother while holding an ice dagger against his throat.

"Are you crazy, Auro?" he asked coldly. "How can I live peacefully with my wife if you're asking me to rip her heart out and give it to you?"

"Calm down, Brother," Auro said with a confident smile on his face. "You know that you can't kill me, don't you?"

He still didn't drop his weapon.

"Brother, I won't let Lady Soleil die," his brother explained. "You know that I have the ability to bring someone back to life, don't you? I can revive your wife as long as she hasn't been dead for half a day. Since Lady Soleil is a special being, she won't easily die even without a heart. So if you can find a suitable heart for her, I can revive her without a problem."

"Do you think that's enough for me to rip my wife's heart out?" he snarled at his brother. "And won't you die if Soleil dies because you tied your soul with hers?"

"As long as Lady Soleil's soul hasn't reached the Plane yet, the spell won't get activated," Auro said with an annoying smile on his face. "If I revived Lady Soleil before her soul completely leaves this world, everything is going to be fine."

He still didn't buy it.

"Why do you need my wife's heart?"

"Lady Soleil's heart is needed to complete my transition into becoming a god," his brother said. "Brother, just find a new heart for your wife and then, the spell that ties my soul with her."

"Do you think I'll easily believe you?"

"You have to, Brother," he said with a soft laugh. "While my soul is tied with Lady Soleil's soul, I have absorbed enough Mana from her that I have become stronger now. I don't need to depend on your wife's Mana anymore."

Of course, he didn't believe that.

But he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to force Auro to tell him things that he didn't want him to know.

I have to coax him first.

He dropped the ice dagger in his hand and it melted before it even hit the floor.

"Do you swear that you will let me and my wife live peacefully after getting what you want from us?"

"I swear, Brother," Auro said, then he stood up and hugged him. "I will give you the North and let Solarium, your wife's birthplace, remain an independent country as we invade the whole continent before I ascend to the heavens."

"Keep your promise, Auro," Kalel warned his brother. "I will give you what you want as long as you leave my family alone."

***

"I CAN'T believe that my brother left just like that," Auro said while pouring himself a glass of whisky. "I thought he was going to destroy my palace before he was satisfied."

"Don't estimate my poison, child," Yumi, seated on the sofa across from him, said while she was in her human form. Then, she sipped her wine before she continued. "It will slowly but surely poison my son's mind until he returns to us completely."

"Slowly?" he said, then he sipped his tea before he continued. "I didn't know that you're the patient type, Yumi."

"I must be patient this time," she said, then she put her wine glass on the table. "If I suddenly filled Nystrom's body with poison, my despicable daughter-in-law will notice it."

He raised a brow at that. "It's not the only reason why you're being patient, is it?"

Yumi smiled, then she sipped her wine before she spoke again. "My darling Kyro will soon take over my son's body to end the Red Phoenix."

Auro smiled a satisfied smile. "I can't wait for that day, Yumi."

***

"SO, you're my godson, huh?" Kalel asked the little boy wearing the temple's white and gold robe standing in front of him. "You look more like Alec Forrester's son instead of his younger brother."

Asher Forrester, Alec's younger brother, looked up at him with a scowl. "My big brother isn't here."

By 'here,' the child meant the temple dedicated to the Sky God.

It was hidden in the Mountain of Azule and only a select few could enter it. People without permission from Alec Forrester wouldn't be able to find it in the first place.

In fact, even he took two weeks before he found the temple.

"It's fine even if Alec isn't here," he told the child. "Since you're also the son of the Sky God, you will do."

"What does Lord Black Serpent want me to do?"

"I want to talk to your father."

"Are you crazy?"

He was surprised by the rude tone that the child used on him. But he didn't dislike it. "As expected of my godson, you have guts," he said, then he patted his head. The child scowled but he didn't complain. "I hope my child turns out to be as unbothered as you, little Asher."

"Your request is still hard to grant, Lord Black Serpent."

He was aware of that but he really needed to talk to the Sky God right now.

Since he could no longer trust anything that Auro says, he had to confirm some things from the Sky God. Especially about the things related to the spell that his brother used to 'hostage' his wife's soul.

For that matter, he had to talk to the Sky God no matter what.

"Hard but not impossible," he said to the child. "Do it or else, I'll destroy the temple."

The child's eyes widened in shock. "Lord Black Serpent, I'm cruel."

"Yeah, I'm cruel," he said. "I only care about my wife and our child."

His godson fell silent. Then, he looked up at him with a serious look on his face. "Lord Black Serpent, my powers is greater than my older brother. I can sense things that he cannot. And I have bad news for you."

"I don't like that tone, child."

"The Moon Serpent is dead," Asher Forrester said in an emotionless voice. "He was never meant to be alive in this lifetime."

Kalel's bloodlust suddenly burst out of his body. "What did you say?"

***

SOLEIL clutched her stomach when she suddenly felt a sharp pain as if an invisible yet strong force punched her.

She was in the middle of having tea with Solenn when it happened. The Sun Priestess immediately stood up and checked on her. She didn't need to say anything because as soon as Solenn saw her clutching her stomach, she checked on her right away.

The face that the Sun Priestess made when she touched her stomach made her worry.

"What's wrong, Solenn?" Soleil asked in a weak, worried voice. "Is my baby alright, Solenn?"

"I'm afraid not, Lady Soleil," Solenn said in a voice filled with confusion. When the Sun Priestess raised her head to meet her gaze, she saw the fear on her face. "My lady, I can no longer detect your child's heartbeat."

"What?" Soleil asked in disbelief, then she wasn't able to stop herself from sobbing uncontrollably. "No, my baby…"

***

"OUR son is the Black Serpent?" Kalel asked in disbelief why looking at the golden flame in the huge goblet. Right now, he was standing in the middle of the prayer room where Asher Forrester brought him to. The genius child fell asleep after using up his divine energy to summon the Sky God. "Then, why did Auro let me marry Soleil if he knows that the Moon Serpent is the only thing that could kill him?"

"Because Aku Moonchester knows that the Black Serpent can't be revived after he crushed its heart in the past," the Sky God explained. "He probably 'allowed' you to marry the Supreme to use you against her."

He heard what the Sky God said but he didn't care about that.

"If our child is dead from the beginning, then what was the heartbeat that we heard and felt from him, huh?" he asked, still in disbelief.

"That was his remaining Mana," the god explained. "The Moon Serpent's Mana is alive after all."

"No," Kalel said weakly, worried about Soleil. Now he hated himself even more for leaving his wife for more than a month. "I need to be at my wife's side."

"Don't leave yet, Black Serpent," the Sky God stopped him. "You want to know how to undo the spell that Aku Moonchester cast on Soleil Rosenberg, don't you?"

***

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