Dimensional Descent

His mind continued to whir as he looked back toward the Silver Tablet for the first time in a long while. Ever since he got the Life Tablet, the Silver Tablet felt a bit redundant. Other than that time he used it to trick the world into thinking he was someone else, he hadn’t had a need for it at all.

But right now the Silver Tablet was invaluable because it was the tablet that housed the souls of the people here.

‘It really is here…’

Leonel shook his head and sighed.

It was just a sliver, and it was easy to miss, but there was a piece of Elthor’s soul right there.

It was no wonder his lifespan was hindered. This should be why the other Oryx were experiencing this as well because some of them had been resurrected the first time along with Elthor as well.

‘I’m actually so incompetent.’

Leonel shook his head.

He wasn’t the same as the past.

He remembered the first time he came across these Tablets… he thought they shouldn’t exist, that they made life feel cheap, and he had even gone into a bit of an existential crisis about it.

But now he understood far more. Life wasn’t just about the intrinsic value of a soul or a body itself, but rather the culmination of experiences… a mix of nature and nurture that couldn’t be replicated.

Maybe there really would be some way he could revive his dad in the future, but the man he knew would already be dead because the culmination of things that had made his father, his father, were simply no longer there.

Goggles had been the biggest wake-up call and he learned that these Silver Tablets weren’t a way to cheat death, they were just death by another form…

He couldn’t treat them as carelessly as he had in the past.

‘I will help Elthor recover properly, then… but there’s still more people. There’s the little Rapax still in my world, there are the Sea Gods as well…’

Ever since he formed his Inner World, he hadn’t had the time to care for those matters. All of those people were very much still there and it had already been almost four years or so.

‘It’s about time I put some real effort into growing this little Kingdom.’

Leonel was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even pay attention as Elorin killed the last of them.

Elorin returned to the ground in his tracksuit, his eyes seemingly still blazing with a fighting intent that slowly waned. This was the first time he’d gotten to fight in a long while.

“Anastasia.” Leonel suddenly said lightly.

At that moment, an adorable little girl with a lower body of floating clouds appeared. She smiled brightly, seemingly still happy that Leonel had finally gotten up.

After taking a deep breath, Leonel summoned Aina as well.

Aina looked around in a bit of confusion, but sensing the hints of seriousness coming from Leonel’s soul, she focused herself quite quickly.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Leonel gave Aina a reassuring smile and then looked at Elorin.

“As early as the Heir Wars…” Leonel said slowly, his gaze far more stern now. “…I could have brought your grandfather back from the dead.”

Elorin’s pupils trembled fiercely when he heard this. Although he quickly regained his calm, this wasn’t something that could escape Leonel’s notice.

It was only after he felt Elorin’s reaction to this information that he continued.

“And your parents.”

Elorin was far more prepared this time, so his face remained placid. However, Leonel could still see the blood draining from his face.

His parents were the reason he had a falling out with his grandfather at all. He couldn’t accept the fact that the Fawkes had just let them die on those Paradise Islands when they knew exactly what would be coming. It was simply unacceptable.

“However, I didn’t.” Leonel continued. “And do you know why?”

Elorin’s heart rate slowly calmed down as he waited for Leonel to continue.

“It’s because I didn’t want my wife to know that it would have been possible for her to revive her mother as well… had she not entered the Seventh Dimension.”

Aina’s eyes widened, her own heart shaking. She gripped onto Leonel’s hands fiercely, trying to keep herself stable.

It hurt. It definitely hurt. She had been striving to get stronger to avenge her mother all this time… only to find out that her pursuit of that strength was the very thing that stopped her from seeing the woman that she wanted to with her entire heart and soul…

It was devastating.

The worst part was back then… she had only just entered the Seventh Dimension. Just a few days shy and maybe she would be holding her mother right this moment.

A flash of rage lit Elorin’s eyes. To know the reality of it all now, and that Leonel had simply not wanted to upset his wife so he let him wallow in his own pity… well, how could he not be infuriated?

But, he managed to calm himself once again. It would make sense if Leonel simply wanted to hurt him… but why would he do that at the expense of his wife? Why summon her?

Plus, if he wanted to do that, why wait until after he had given him all this power and room to improve? Was Leonel truly still so confident that he could defeat him?

“However, things have changed. I have the Life Tablet now, and between your ingenuity for Time Force, and Anastasia’s power, it’s possible to go through the stream of time to revive them.

“But, I will only ask you this once. Is it really what you want?”

Leonel let the words hang in the air.

He could feel Aina’s hand tightening around him to the point her arms were trembling. However, he couldn’t do anything to help fix her internal turmoil. As much as it hurt, he could only allow her to make the decision herself…

Even though he knew exactly what the result would be.