The house was quiet again.
Luciferus slept first—curled on his side, white hair spilling across the pillow, one small hand clenched as if gripping something unseen. Serenity followed soon after, silver lashes fluttering once before stillness claimed her, her breathing soft and steady.
Ashura lingered at the doorway longer than he meant to.
He watched them the way only someone eternal could—measuring time not in seconds, but in moments worth remembering. Then he closed the door gently and turned back.
Lysera was already lying down, one arm tucked beneath her head. When Ashura joined her, she shifted without opening her eyes, instinctively moving closer. Her arms wrapped around him, her head resting against his chest, listening to a heartbeat that no longer needed to beat—but still did, for her.
She tilted her head up.
"I missed you," she whispered.
Ashura lowered his head and kissed her—slow, familiar, grounding. "I'm here now."
The night deepened around them.
They didn't speak much after that. They didn't need to. The world outside the room faded, and what remained was warmth, closeness, and the quiet reaffirmation of something that didn't require words. When the moment passed, Lysera stayed pressed against him, arms tight around his waist as if anchoring herself.
After a while, she spoke again. Softer this time.
"I'm afraid of losing you, babe," she admitted. "I don't know how I'd manage if you were to die."
Ashura didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he brushed his fingers through her hair, steady and unhurried.
"I will never leave you," he said at last. "Not you. Not our kids. Not my mother and sister. You're my reason to keep going forward—to make existence better, not just for you all, but for the mortals who earn it."
Lysera listened, silent.
"I'm something that cannot die," he continued. "I am the Eternal One. The Sovereign of Black Light. The only thing I fear… is you all growing old."
She shifted slightly, looking up at him.
"I could make you eternal," he said honestly. "All of you. But wouldn't that go against some of your wishes?"
He exhaled slowly.
"My mother loves living naturally. She loved my father. She loves her children, her daughter-in-law, her grandchildren. Her wish is to spend her days as they come—and when she passes, she'd want to be beside him. Making her eternal or resurrecting her would betray that."
Lysera smiled faintly.
"So I won't," Ashura said. "Instead, I'll change this universe itself. I'll reshape its cosmological structure. I'll make the laws kinder—so mortals can pursue their dreams without being crushed by fate."
He glanced down at her.
"I govern life, death, balance, reincarnation. I could judge all beings by force—but you know me. That's not my way."
Lysera's hand tightened slightly against his chest.
"I understand," she said softly. "Just… do what you have to do. I won't worry."
Ashura smiled. "Yeah."
A moment passed.
"Tell me about Earth," he said. "About the dungeons. The gods. Everything."
Lysera didn't answer right away.
Her eyes unfocused.
Ashura felt it instantly—the shift. The stillness that wasn't sleep.
A trance.
Her breathing slowed, her presence stretching forward through probability. Ashura watched without interrupting, sensing the threads she was touching.
Then she spoke.
"One month," Lysera said quietly. "Into the future."
Ashura listened.
"The All-Denying Father is gone," she continued. "And because of that… Absolute Entities will move. Before coming themselves, they sent Tier Zero beings to terrorize Earth."
Ashura's gaze sharpened.
"They met Armageddon," Lysera said. "Four died. But they were strong enough to injure him. They retreated—not because they won, but because Armageddon wasn't expected."
She swallowed.
"They'll report back. The Absolutes will respond differently. They'll send monsters first. Portals will open across Earth—some integrating with existing dungeons. Everything will grow stronger. Humanity too."
She inhaled slowly as the trance released her.
"A new era," she finished.
Ashura leaned back, thoughtful.
"Interesting," he murmured.
Lysera looked at him in surprise. "That's all you have to say?"
He glanced toward the children's room.
"It'll be a stepping stone," he said calmly. "For our kids."
He stood and walked quietly to the doorway, opening it just enough to look in.
Luciferus stirred in his sleep.
"He has Black Light," Ashura said softly. "Not the depths I command—but enough for Earth. Enough to grow endlessly. He won't govern life or death like I do… but at his peak, he'll be able to destroy a multiverse."
Ashura smiled faintly.
"Limitless potential."
His gaze shifted to Serenity.
"And her…" His voice softened. "She holds death—and divine light. The Deynar blood flows strong in her. Restoration. Vitality. The power to return youth and mend what should never have been broken."
He turned back to Lysera.
"She'll rival him. Maybe surpass him in ways I can't predict."
Lysera smiled through quiet awe.
"Our kids are going to be monsters," she said.
Ashura chuckled. "Yeah. But I'll prepare them."
He raised his hand.
Two sigils formed in the air—intricate, gentle, precise.
"For Luciferus," Ashura murmured, weaving Black Light into structure. "The Neo Ascendant System."
The system embedded itself seamlessly.
"Training-focused. Discipline-based. Physical trials. Instant zones. Martial growth. Sword mastery. Early Black Light—never the depths. Penalties for neglect. Rewards for perseverance."
His lips curved. "An Ascendant."
Then he turned to Serenity.
"For you… the System of Equivalent Exchange."
This one felt different—weightier.
"Judgment. Choice. Balance. Reaping and restoration. The Abyss. My throne hall. Death and renewal in equal measure."
He placed it gently within her.
"A Reaper."
The room stilled.
Ashura exhaled and returned to Lysera's side, lying back down.
"Our children will walk their own paths," he said quietly. "But they won't walk them alone."
Lysera curled into him again.
Outside, the world slept.
And somewhere deeper than time—
The future waited.