Chapter 6: Meeting

"Now, you call me father?" Clicking his tongue, the old man shook his head in annoyance before continuing, "None of you bastards even bothered to come back and visit."

Letting out a dry cough, Marquis was the one to reply, "A lot of things happened that needed our attention-"

Not letting him continue, the old man answered with a smirk, "A lot of things? Heh, like what? Staying holed up inside that empty pocket realm?"

"Uh, I-"

Turning his attention towards Amon, the old man motioned with his head as he spoke, "And you, what do you think you're doing?"

"Hunting monsters?" Amon hesitantly replied.

"Hahaha! Hunting monster he says. Is that why the bounty on your head keeps on increasing?"

Scratching his head awkwardly, Amon mumbled, "It's not my fault they keep on trying to kill or scam me."

Shaking his head, the old man let out a long tired sigh, "No wonder our reputation is in the gutters. Kill you? Can they even do that?"

Shrugging, Amon answered in a nonchalant tone, "I don't know, but wasn't it you that taught us not to show mercy to our enemies?"

"That was when we were fighting real monsters, you damn idiot. What are the mortals even capable of doing to you?"

A chuckle escaped Emra, who hurriedly covered her mouth. Her reaction did not go unnoticed by the old man, "And what are you laughing at, you damn battle junky?"

"You think you're any better?"

"That's not fair, father! At least I don't cause any problems!"

"Yes, you only cause me a bloody headache! Heavens, what did I do wrong in this life," He sighed.

"Oh, come on, father, you're exaggerating again. Aren't you going to tell us why you summoned us back?" Emra quickly tried to change the subject.

Her words caused the old man's eyes to sharpen. His face turned serious as he motioned them to sit down. "Sit first."

The trio moved to their respective seats around the table. "It seems like the others will take a while."

"The world is big, father. Who knows where they might be at." Marquis was the one to answer.

Letting out a long tired sigh, the old man rubbed his temple and spoke, "I understand why you all chose to leave."

"Father, we-" Emra quickly tried to speak but was stopped as he raised his hand.

"I may be old, but I haven't gone senile. This place, I know all too well that all of you would rather forget it even existed," Leaning back to his chair the old man's sigh deepened as he continued, "I know because I am the same."

"Father..."

"This place holds too many painful memories. That, I know. Still, someone had to stay behind. I wish things would have ended during that last battle..."

Hearing what he said, Amon quickly shot to his feet, his aura surging as he questioned, "You mean?!"

"Yes, it is as I feared all these years."

"But that's impossible?! The portal is stable!" Marquis quickly added.

"And we already killed that bastard. I saw it with my own eyes. Hell, you were there! We all were!" Emra continued.

The old man lowered his head and spoke, in a soft voice, "I had a dream."

Gasp

The hall suddenly descended into an oppressive silence. The old man's ability was related to divination. His dreams were terrifyingly accurate prophecies of things to come. It was no exaggeration to say that, thanks to him, they managed to survive annihilation. He was akin to a father figure to all Abyss dwellers. One that protected, and shielded them from danger, hence his nickname, father.

After a few seconds of silence, Amon's voice came out unusually hoarse as he spoke, "How bad is it, father?"

"That's the thing. I'm not quite sure yet."

Emra quickly added, "But the fact that you called us back here means..."

"It means we'd do best to prepare for another invasion."

Bang

"I-I don't think I can do it," Marquis abruptly stood up, and suddenly replied. The chair fell to the ground behind him.

Shaking his head, the old man spoke with a sigh, "It's not a matter of want Marquis, it's a matter of need. Whether we like it or not, this war is happening, and it's going to find us. The only thing we can do is prepare for it. It's our duty as Abyss dwellers."

Marquis's face twisted into an ugly expression as he lashed out, "Our duty?! No! That duty ended when we closed the portal! That duty ended when Maya and the others sacrificed their lives for it!"

"Marquis-" Amon moved to calm his friend, yet Marquis quickly shrugged him off and continued while glaring at the old man.

"Father...Ron..." The old man flinched as Marquis used his real name, "I no longer care for this world. I no longer care for humans. What little emotion left in my heart is towards you guys. I'm not ready to lose the rest of us to another misguided sense of duty. The world could burn for all I care," Saying that, Marquis fixed his chair and settled down with his head between his hands.

A solemn silence descended once again on the hall. Amon moved to stand by Marquis's side was gently patting his back. Emra's gaze was complicated as she kept glancing at Ron and then back at Marquis. It was then that the doors to the hall suddenly creaked open. All eyes turned to the entrance as three individuals walked inside.

A beautiful, black-haired eastern lady, wearing tight-fitting brown armor, by her sides was a short-haired winged blonde man dorn in loose white robes. The last person was a muscular brown-haired, middle-aged man with a long beard reaching his chest and an enormous axe hanging on his back.

"Oh? Are we late by any chance?" Smiled the blonde man, his short fluffy hair and golden eyes gave him the feeling of a benevolent celestial.

"I'd say not so late, Hector," Amon answered, his eyes moved to glance at the man's transparent golden wings before he continued, "It's good to see you still enjoy playing a deity after all these years."

Shrugging, Hector replied with a smile, "It's a fun hobby, and it helps keep me sane. You should try it sometime."

"I think one Hector is enough," Added Emra.

"Ouch," Pretending to be hurt, Hector turned towards Ron and spoke, "Are you seeing this, father? I told you they don't like me."

Shaking his head, Ron muttered to himself with a disappointed sigh, "And here comes the pervert, really just where did I go wrong?"

"I can hear you, you know!"

"We came as summoned, father!" The bearded middle-aged man interrupted. The short eastern lady by his side gave a deep bow in greetings.

"You're late, Dameon, you too, Hana. I'd expect it from this pervert, but you guys."

"That's harsh, father. I'll have you know I was the one to pick them up!"

Dameon, Hector, and Hana then moved to greet their old companions. A satisfied smile hung on Amon's face as everyone settled back to their places. Even Marquis's mood seemed to take a turn for the better as the group engaged in idle chatter for a few minutes.

"Now then, the reason I summoned you here..."