This old brother? Everyone but Ryatt and Kiya’s mind short-circuited at this form of address. However, Divine Creature Northson paid them no heed. "Old Brother Northson!" Ryatt had no qualms about addressing this divine creature in such a way. Divine Creature Northson smiled at Ryatt, signaling him to speak. The latter took a deep breath before asking, "Is Thoth Academy strong? Are they as strong as Wonder Corporation or the World Government?" "Stronger." Divine Creature Northson only said one word, but the confidence and dominant pressure it carried was inscrutable. "Okay, then," Ryatt suddenly grew excited. His greatest desire was to have more power than that man. Any place that could help him achieve his goal was worth a visit. "Sure, Old Brother Northson. I’ll go!" (News flash: This was NOT how I was first informed about Thoth academy. In my own timeline, my mother simply told me one day that I would be attending the school. Could it be possible that she met with Divine Creature Northson on her own? Prior to now, I had never even questioned this.)

"Excellent choice, young brother," Divine Creature Northson laughed heartily, clearly in a great mood. "At Thoth Academy, you shall receive an education comparable to the elites in the capital of Supreme Plato. Disaster County is one of this Kairo Mountain Region's major powers, comparable in reputation to Kairo Mountain itself. Of course, Disaster County isn't only a part of the Kairo Mountain Region. We are considered neutral territory for all four major regions on New Origin Continent." "Really?!" Ryatt turned to look at his mother. Kiya smiled sweetly at her excited little boy and nodded her head. Ryatt’s excitement immediately soared through the roof! What was Kairo Mountain? It was one of the mystic lands, a place inhabited by millions of formulators. There were many heroes in the mystic lands, but there were rarely any humble denizens that weren’t slaves, even amongst children or the elderly. However, the vast majority of the formulators in mystic lands were at the profound state or higher! What was higher than the profound state? The young Ryatt had minimal knowledge of this level of power. All he knew was that only by taking this path could one eventually become a pharaoh life-form. The exalted pharaohs were the only ones capable of ruling over this world, that was common knowledge. As for the path to becoming a pharaoh? One could only learn this at a mana school!

-------

Lucky's Heart:

"Mom," I quietly snuck behind my mother’s leg and pulled her skirt. When she glanced down at me, I pointed to my head. I didn't know another way to quietly convey my intentions. My mother smirked as she knew what I was asking her to do. After all, this wasn't the first time. However, it had been years since I last asked her to speak to me telepathically. This was because my mother seemed really different before last week. I couldn't put my finger on it, but she was oddly similar to the strange state Micayle was in back then.

My mother opened up a mental channel between herself and me. This was a form of telepathy my mother had often used to scold me or remind me of things over the years, often at the behest of her husband. After all, I hated the man. If she didn't reinforce his rules, would I listen? It was unlikely. Years of physical labor punishments were proof enough of this.

"What is it then, my darling little Lucky?" Mom's voice appeared directly in my mind. My eyes widened in shock as I just realized something. Before now, I didn't know much about power levels, but suddenly I became aware that my mother should be pretty amazing. Looking at my mom, I thought, "Woah, how can you do that? I heard from my friends that only profounders can do this. Mom, are you a profounder?" "Even stronger. You only noticed now?" sent Kiya mentally with a proud smile. "This is a technique called Profound Telepathy. It allows us to communicate with each other through our souls. You only need to think and I will hear you, so to speak." "Kay. Do you think I can really become a hero, mom?" I thought, completely trusting my mother's words. To my mother, it almost seemed like a whisper. She was stunned, and her heart ached when she saw how anxious her son was right now. Thanks to the mental link, I could understand her emotions right now. My thoughts continued to flow, but this time they were a lot louder and more frantic. "Marc said I don’t have any talent…isn't that why you send me to humble school so I could have a normal life? Do I really not have good talent, mom? What if I don’t make it? Will I really be weak forever? I’m scared! But, I can’t be scared, or my friends will see."

------- Kiya's Heart:

I was momentarily speechless. Many emotions flashed through my delicate blue eyes. How long had I been under that spell? At this point, I could no longer be certain. After all, I couldn’t completely dispel it. Otherwise, those devils would definitely discover the truth. If that happened… I shuddered at the thought. 'However, look at what that asshole is doing to my son’s confidence,' I thought privately, gnashing my teeth in anger. 'I swear I’ll kill bury him myself one day. If it wasn’t for these kids, even that other bastard could die for all I care…'

I cleared my thoughts, making sure they didn't leak into the psychic channel I had formed between my son and me. He didn't have a power base, so the power of Lucky's soul could never compare to my own. I then looked at my son. His face was completely calm as if nothing was more normal about today. However, I could clearly feel his emotional disorder. His inner state didn’t match his calm exterior in the slightest. How often was it like this for him? The child’s face looked like this 90% of the time, so even I found it difficult to notice a problem on most days. In this way, he was very similar to his father. Nigh, perhaps he fits in with all Draco Volos from time immemorial. "You are truly your father’s son…" I said aloud, unconsciously touching my son’s face. Unaccustomed to being touched, Lucky flinched then blushed slightly. Thankfully, he still had zero resistance towards his mother. Actually, I used to rub Lucky’s face like this when he was a toddler. I let the memory of those times flood into our mental channel, watching as my boy's eyes widened once more. These fleeting memories caused my boy's calm face to fade and reveal his real emotions. Seeing this, I suddenly realized I had truly failed my son in many ways. Honestly, I was hardly allowed to pay any attention to him.

Marc seriously wanted Lucky to fade into mediocrity, that way the boy's death could be made to seem accidental. I knew Marc wanted to kill my son and daughter, but what could I do? I had to let the plan run its course, it was my only chance at escaping this nightmare. 'It’s probably so he can kill my son in secret…’ I privately guessed at the motive for the umpteenth time, easily arriving at the truth as usual. 'I have to hurry up and raise my divine power through this world’s methods. Is there a secret method to accessing the Twilight Mainframe? Meno probably can't add me on his own. Luckily, they have some convenient shortcuts in this land. It isn’t so different from the cultivation of the Ancient Immortals. Could that be Meno’s plan too? Was that the purpose of trapping me in this body?' Most days I was truly at a loss as to how to proceed. I had been wrapped up in a plot from the moment I fell in love with that man, the father of my children. Unfortunately, it couldn’t exactly be helped. We were both just pawns in a greater game. Long ago, I was a powerful and pampered goddess. Now, I was no better than an outcasted divinity’s slave. Unless I managed to reach a more powerful level, my circumstances would only become worse. There was no way I could focus on becoming stronger in secret while protecting my son from Marc. Since Lucky’s father had already intervened in this matter, I decided to let it work itself out. "Listen to me, Lucky," I knelt down and looked my son in his eyes while my voice floated into his mind. "You are a true negus from birth. A supreme deity trapped in the mortal coil. One day you will understand what you truly are. Until then, you promise mommy to do your best. Fight to become strong. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks because I believe in you. You need to always believe in yourself. You must do this, I will accept nothing less from you. Do you understand mommy's words?" Ryatt was stunned for a moment before he smiled brilliantly and hugged my neck.

(News flash: My mother truly loved us. I never appreciated how much she sacrificed so that we could grow up proud and strong, so we could escape the circumstances that my father and Marc Raizen placed us in.)

------- Lucky's Heart:

My mother's words rang through my heart like a gong being hit.

That was right! Ever since I could remember, I had been blindly confident in myself. The deepest parts of my soul whispered that I would one day stand far above this world. How could I let Marc shake my confidence? What I really cared about was what my mother thought of me. 'If mom believes in me, then I’ll definitely do it!' I said in my heart, determination lighting a fire in my eyes. As she had yet to cut the connection, my mom knew what I was thinking. She held me for a moment more, finally feeling a bit of the ice on her heart melt.

------- Universal Heart:

While the mother and son pair had their silent conversation, Divine Creature Northson formally introduced himself to his new disciple Axel Harding. Axel fell to his knees and kowtowed, honoring Divine Creature Northson as his master. After embracing her son for a while, Kiya sent Ryatt to talk to his friends. Meanwhile, she entered a mental conversation with Divine Creature Northson and Flash Northson. "I can’t believe you, little North!" Kiya sent mentally, clear displeasure in her voice. "Could it be that you are still upset with me, mistress?" Northson sent back, sounding rather docile. "What do you think?" sent Kiya as she gazed coldly at this brat who she had half-raised. "You lied to me about the affairs between your master and that woman. Now, you serve under that woman while I suffer. You even sought to inspire awe and veneration in my son, hoping to lure him out of my presence. You tell me, should I be upset?" "This…" Northson was at a loss for words. How did the lady goddess know all this? He cleared his mighty throat and spoke humbly, "These were master’s directives. I dare not disobey a direct order from the master." "Hmph, a convenient excuse," Kiya snorted disdainfully. She felt she had doted on this brat in the past for nothing. "I know to him and many others I am nothing more than a pawn. However, I did not expect you to treat me that way as well. So be it, I’ll let bygones be bygones." Divine Creature Northson’s heart actually ached when he heard these words. For the first time, he suddenly felt guilty. He had honestly just been following orders. Did the commander really see his lady goddess as a pawn? Northson didn’t believe that was true. However, he couldn’t deny things had gone too far. Merely, that was due to the plots of the enemy. They could only blame themselves for not being proactive. Suddenly, Northson’s body shuddered as a voice rang out in his heart. "My Lady, I do have something to report," Northson suddenly said, catching Kiya’s intrigued gaze. "Guru Majestic Nature has just become the Earth Disaster of the Disaster Court’s Seven Disasters. Her status in the Disaster Sect now eclipses that of the Vice Sect Masters. Only the Sect Master and Ancestors stand above her. As such, the academy is prepared to make a few changes. This is all because fate whispers that the young master would arrive soon. It is my greatest honor to have actually found him." (News flash: With this, I could be sure that the reason I ended up at Thoth Academy remained unchanged. Even though some minor changes had happened in this timeline, it still followed the same trend. My soul could relax a little more thanks to this.)

"You did not find him," Kiya interjected coldly. "It was I who walked him into your son's office which reeked of your presence. We found you, not the other way around. And that woman decided to stop hiding her strength? Big surprise. How is this news?" Divine Creature Northson was momentarily startled. Although he wasn’t accustomed to the lady goddess being so brutal with words, they…seemed to be true. "I am ashamed, mistress," Northson bowed in apology. "Nonetheless, our guru would like to meet with you privately. She, too, regrets that the situation was manipulated the way it has been. She hopes that you would accompany the lad to Nibiru City and meet with her at that time." "Hmph," Kiya snorted coldly, not responding at all. Would it be easy for her to travel to Nibiru City under Marc’s hawk-like gaze? The answer was no. In Kiya’s opinion, this just made things more difficult. It would be much simpler to sneak Lucky out of the city immediately, and then she would have no worries. "Mom!" Just as Kiya was thinking all of those things, she heard her son’s voice and felt him anxiously tug on her arm.