The family of five discussed a few more things before Mitchelle started to rise to her feet, the others mirroring her motion. Since they were done with their family time, they prepared to return to their various territories and places. Despite the conversation having ended, there was still a lingering warmth in the air, the kind that only came from spending time with family after a long period apart or going through dangerous situations together.

"We will be taking our leave, Anthony," Mitchelle began to speak. "It seems you are in quite a hurry for some reason," she stated as a portal began to open behind her.

Anthony arched an eyebrow. He wasn’t in a haste. Yes, he wanted to go meet Vega, but that didn’t mean he was in a hurry to leave his parents and grandparents.

Anthony didn’t argue. He simply tagged it under the thing called "women’s intuition" and simply smiled at Mitchelle.

"Goodbye, Mum, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma," Anthony stated as he rose to his feet and gave everyone a hug.

"If anyone hears you saying goodbye and giving hugs, they would think we or you are about to die," Michael stated as he ruffled Anthony’s hair, reminding him that no matter how powerful he got, he remained the Father and Anthony remained the child.

With that, the Sword Saint turned and stepped into the portal his wife had created, vanishing from the Null Estate. Anthony didn’t say anything; he simply smiled at his father’s words.

Everyone else said one final thing before they also all entered the portal, which snapped shut before Anthony, who stood there now staring at the empty space for a moment.

Yes, he was stronger than them, yes, he had given them the Golden Blood that had allowed them to become so powerful, but he would never be disrespectful toward his parents or grandparents. Instead, he would remain grateful. Strength was strength, but family was family. To Anthony, those were two entirely separate matters that should never be confused with one another.

People who weren’t orphans wouldn’t understand the void that the absence of parents created in children. Anthony understood that void. It was one of the reasons why he was who he was today.

There had once been a time when he had wondered what it would feel like to have a family that cared about him, people he could rely on and call his own. Back then, such thoughts had been little more than distant fantasies. Now, however, he possessed something many people took for granted, and because he knew what it felt like to lack it, he treasured it all the more.

After standing in silence for a moment, he sighed and decided to carry out the first step in his plan that he was initially going to carry out; meeting up with Vega, then together they would go meet with Aaaninja and the rest.

But before any of that, he would first need to step into the shower.

One had to understand that the shower was a thinking place, a place where even when you weren’t thinking, various thoughts would still come to you for no reason, and it was in this shower that Anthony thought of two people; Aaaninja and Lucian.

Of course, it wasn’t in any sexual or weird way, but particularly about their girlfriends; Altheria and Veronica.

One of the hardest things about Ascension was that it broke relationships. While one might be able to break the good news of Ascension to their parents, and they would all discuss it over dinner and drinks, with the parents wishing them good luck and happily bidding farewell to their children, after all, which loving parents didn’t want to see their children succeed?

It couldn’t be so easy with romantic relationships. One couldn’t just break the good news and expect their lover to simply smile, nod, and wave them goodbye.

Some men and women in romantic relationships who weren’t the ones ascending would immediately disagree and say that the other party should stay and not leave them behind. Some might threaten to break up, leading to fights and all that. Of course, some would simply accept their reality, understanding that they couldn’t hold their partners back, hence even waving them goodbye with a smile and gifts to remember them through the coming years.

Anthony didn’t particularly know which category Veronica or Altheria fell into, so he couldn’t particularly say, despite knowing both women to a certain extent.

Which was why Anthony couldn’t help but feel for Aaaninja and Lucian. He wondered if they would leave them behind and come back to the Acarnis Galaxy once in a while to see them, or would they take their girlfriends with them and ascend. After all, with both of their abilities, it wasn’t exactly hard, as Aaaninja could just tell the River of Time to make it happen and it would.

But that would lead to them always having to stay protected and all that. After all, they weren’t even Planetary-level beings within the Lower Galaxies, meaning that in an Upper Galaxy, they would be even weaker.

There was also the matter of perspective. For Aaaninja and Lucian, Ascension represented opportunity, growth, and an endless future. For Veronica and Altheria, however, it could very easily represent uncertainty, danger, and being uprooted from everything they had ever known.

Of course, while Anthony thought of all of this, he didn’t plan to interfere or say anything about it. At the end of the day, they were just his thoughts and nothing else. If Aaaninja and Lucian brought their women with them, he would simply nod at their decision and move on.

And if they asked for his advice and support, he would willingly give it. After all, they were both his best friends.

All these were part of the reason why Anthony had said that everyone would be allowed ample time before their Ascension... or they could just ascend on their own later on if they decided to wait for their girlfriends to receive the Calling.

After all, not everyone was Vega, and besides, Vega was simply too broken because of her special lineage. One couldn’t have Klaus and Amara as parents and become some random genius like Bryan and Tiara. No, they had to be monsters. Even among monsters, Vega was abnormal. Her talent, lineage, abilities, and sheer potential placed her in a category that most people could never hope to reach.

With that, Anthony stepped out of the shower, put on a fresh set of clothes, and dressed to go see Vega. He hadn’t told her that he was coming. He didn’t need to. With her Cause and Effect ability, she should be able to find out such things, just like how Amara had found out about his first time visit to their Estate.

Although he hadn’t seen Vega in about two weeks, to Anthony, a man in love, it was no different from a few decades or centuries. With one last look in the mirror, Anthony activated the Authority of Severance, tracing the threads linking him and Vega, and with that, he severed the space between them as he immediately vanished from the Null Estate. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Need your power stones and golden tickets... please.