The Lantis Republic. The Prince’s Manor. Main Courtyard.

Darkness fell upon the weary souls of the Lantis Republic, bringing along a carpet of dark velvet stars and a luminescent moon. After the mayhem caused by the Black Masks, the members of the Lantis Republic needed a nice, silent night where no one would bother them. Well, not that any of them slept soundly. Millions stayed up, watching the skies in caution and praying that nothing harmful will come upon their families.

The Heigui Enclave had just been destroyed… They didn’t need another catastrophe.

Likewise, Shin was feeling the same way as the many common folk that called the Lantis Republic home. He sat alone on the marble stools that were pinned down under a gazebo. As with any other of his subordinates, Shin was having trouble getting some shut-eye. After the High Council meeting, the man had been moving from place to place without getting any rest. If not for Lady Seph personally stepping in, Shin would have likely slept over in the Chancellor’s office, stamping documents while Jingyu Shenxian was out of commission.

“But I’m not tired...” Shin sighed to himself. How could he be tired? The Lantis Republic had just suffered one of the worst setbacks in its history. An entire Ancient Clan had just lost sixty percent of all its resources and the cornerstone of every supernation, a Spirit Saint, had just betrayed them for the enemy.

“This is a mess… Kanari, I wish you were here...” The Prince kicked his feet up and stared at the western skies. During times like these, Shin’s wife would always be there to comfort him and offer some worldly advice. Alas, Kanari was still tied up to the affairs of the Himmel Empire and her Master. For now, Shin was all alone… At least, that was what he’d thought.

“Father? You’re still up?” An innocent voice sounded from the other side of the garden, prompting Shin to turn his head around. A pretty little girl, who had her gorgeous black hair untied, rubbed the sleepiness off her eyes and walked over to Shin’s private gazebo.

“Cassiel? It’s past midnight… You should be sleeping.”

“I was just coming back from the toilet,” Shin’s daughter replied. “What about you, Father? What are you doing up this late?”

“Me? Nothing much… I was just admiring the stars while thinking about your mother.”

“Eyyyy, no fair! You get to think about Mother while I stay cooped up in bed!” Cassiel puffed her cheeks and instantly turned into an adorable squirrel in Shin’s eyes. She stomped her feet right at the steps of the gazebo, not moving an inch closer or back. It was evident what the young girl wanted, and her pure innocence made Shin chuckle.

“Five minutes… You can stay with me for five minutes only! I can’t have you sleeping late and waking late like your Uncle Isadore...”

“Hehehe, you’re the best Father!” Cassiel hoped onto Shin’s free thigh in a blink of an eye, comfortably nestling herself down like a rabbit would in its own burrow. “So, so, so… You were thinking about Mother, right? What were you thinking about?”

“About how I miss her?”

“Eyyy, that’s no fun!” Cassiel pouted. “Tell me about how the two of you got together or something! Like how you fell in love!”

“I’d thought you’d knew?” Shin was genuinely confused. Shin and Kanari’s story wasn’t a well-kept secret or anything. Practically every living soul in the Lantis Republic knows of their history, and that includes Shin’s children.

“I know that you’ve met in the Himmel Empire as students!” The jubilant daughter waved her hands in excitement. “However, how did you fall in love? Who was the one who initiated the first move? Where and when did you have your first kiss?”

Cassiel’s eyes sparkled as brightly as the stars above, tying knots in Shin’s tender heart. Girls of her age were just starting to come into contact with romance, and the closest romance that Cassiel was exposed to were her parents. She wanted to know all of the details and nothing was going to stop her.

“Haha, one at a time dear...” Shin laughed as he gently stroked his daughter’s hair. “Well, firstly… It was Kanari who chased after me.”

“Mother was the beast?”

“Beast?”

“Yeah! Aunt Elrin says that in every relationship, there’s a beast and the meal. The beast would always be the one hunting for the meal.” Cassiel innocently regurgitated everything her impish Aunt had taught her. “She’d also said that although men are mostly the beasts if I were to find a guy that I like, I should become the beast instead! It’s way more satisfying that way!”

“Okay… I think we need to limit your time with Aunt Elrin...” Shin smacked his forehead, not knowing the words to say. “Don’t listen to that gibberish, Cassiel. You’re way too young to be talking about love and what not...”

“Mmmm… Okay! Honestly, I didn’t understand much from Aunt Tina either...” The ten-year-old girl furrowed her brows.

“Haha, you don’t have to worry about that! Alright, now where were we? Ah, how your mother and I forged a relationship… It’s a little long, so sit tight, okay?”

By this point, Shin had utterly forgotten the five-minute limiter he set on his daughter. With all the travelling, fighting and mental fatigue that Shin had been put through over the past few weeks, the man felt like he deserved a break. And what better way was there to relax than to chat with his adorable little daughter?

The pair talked for hours upon hours, until the young girl’s eyes completely went shut. Cassiel’s body was heavy, and snot bubbles were forming out from her nose. It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing sight, a noble daughter that was set to inherit Celestial Island one day. However, Shin didn’t care about whipping manners into his daughter. As long as they lived happy lives, lives that were unlike those that suffered under the Black Masks, Shin would be content.

Shin held Cassiel up in a princess carry and slowly edged his way into her bedroom. Although a ten-year-old in a deep sleep wasn’t light, Shin made it seem like he was carrying a mere feather rather than a deadweight. He gently placed Cassiel onto her soft, woollen bed, and tucked her in while humming a soothing song.

“Such a precious child...” Each time Shin looked at this jewel of his, a warm, fuzzy feeling crept up his inner chest. Before he became a parent, Shin would often wonder why some family members would go above and beyond to protect their child, even if it were to the point of pampering. However, as Shin stroked Cassiel’s soft skin, he sympathised with all the families he’d cursed before.

“Family… A universal feature in both humans and Spirit Beasts...” Shin groaned. Now that he had some peace and quiet, the blackened thoughts of yesterday came pouring back in. How Momo sacrificed herself for Kin and Gin. How Midori sold his soul to the Allfather to separate the Uncharted Wilderness from the Terre Continent. In a sense, all of Shin’s adversaries were fighting for the same ideals that he had.

To protect their families…

“Family, huh?” Shin looked down at his eldest daughter one more time. He laid down right next to her bed and just like the youngster… Shin began his steps into the Garden of Hypnos.