As he had expected, Keith was cornered by his eldest wives right after they had lunch, and now, he found himself sitting across them at the table, subject to their narrowed stares.
He found it quite amusing that both of them refused to raise any questions and waited for him to start speaking on his own accord. Then again, it was only right that he explained and clarified some things to them as he did owe it to them.
"So, how do you like the weather in this city?" He asked as he looked at his blonde wife.
"Seriously, Keith?" She glared at him and then leaned back into her chair, turning her head away, making it clear that she was in no rush and could play the game too.
Keith waited for a good couple of minutes and then started chuckling.
"Ask."
"Yexuan." Amelia immediately said, and Keith nodded to her.
"Very well."
Seeing that he was finally willing to give them some answers, Rebecca looked at him again and smiled a little as their eyes met.
However, she soon narrowed her eyes as he created a mist of crimson light on his right hand, which shimmered beautifully, and then he started shaping it in all shapes and forms.
She could feel that he was flaunting his Mana Control to her, and she was right. He was indeed teasing her but stopped as soon as she was about to open her mouth.
The crimson mist changed into a rhombohedral shape and settled into it.
"There exists a certain Divine Treasure, which holds immense power. It's so powerful of a weapon and tool that even the Gods covet it and would be willing to take all the risks to get their hands on it." Keith started speaking, and both of them seriously listened to him. "It's called the Steele of Time & Space." He revealed.
As soon as Rebecca and Amelia heard the name, their minds started racing, and the blonde soon had a deep frown on her face.
"It's a Treasure that is very elusive, which is why it has not appeared in a very long time. It is capable of travelling through Time and can be present anywhere in the Past, Present, or Future, and in any existing Timeline. Therefore, it is pretty much impossible for even most Gods of Time and Space to locate it."
The more they heard, the more pensive the two of them became.
"How did he find it?"
Sure enough, Rebecca figured out what was going on with Yexuan.
"Perhaps by Luck?" He shrugged. "However, even though the Treasure is capable of travelling in Time, it does not mean that its wielder can travel as well with its help. At least, not without the consequences."
"It is forbidden to play with Time." The blonde nodded her head.
"Yes. Even the Gods of Time have to respect the Divine Law of Time." He smiled. "Nevertheless, the Steele of Time and Space is indeed capable of taking its wielder back in Time if they are ready to bear the price."
"The price?"
"Death." He answered Amelia and smiled. "The erasure of your existence from the Present you escape from."
"Escape?" Rebecca caught onto his choice of words and smiled. "So he came back to fix the past and was willing to sacrifice his present for it."
"Possibly." Keith nodded. "The Steele can only help its Wielder travel back in a Time where he lives. It is because no living being, unless they are in their Astral form, can travel with it to the Past. And once it arrives in the Past, the future soul merges with the present one."
"So travelling in the future is out of the question if you don't even exist there." The blonde nodded.
"Yes."
"It needs to recharge?"
"Yes. It requires a very long time to be ready to travel again in Time with its wielder." Keith nodded and watched Rebecca grin.
"So, he can not escape."
Keith kept looking into her eyes, knowing well what was going through her mind. She had her mind and eye set on her target now. And given the Inheritance of Hecate, she was well aware of the consequences of travelling back in Time.
"He knows about our Future." Amelia frowned.
"Yes. And it makes him a threat to us since it is clear that he hates Keith and fears us. Whatever future he came from, he was not on our side and will not be on our side." The blonde smiled as she looked at her husband. "Maybe you stole Alana from him in that Timeline as well." She teased.
"How can I steal something that belongs to me?" He shrugged, and she giggled at his words. "But we can not know for sure that he hates me because of Alana."
Rebecca nodded her head understandably and then looked into his eyes with seriousness.
"Nyx knows about the Steele of Time & Space?" She suddenly asked, and Amelia's eyes widened at her words as she had failed to take the Goddess of Night into the equation.
"She is not interested in it." Keith shook his head.
"You talked about it?" The emerald-eyed girl asked.
"Yes."
His answer also answered some of their other unvoiced questions, which included how he knew so much about Yexuan. But Rebecca also knew that Keith seemed to have some prophetic dreams, so she was not really too curious about it.
"So the Treasure is ours to take after we kill Yexuan." The blonde happily smiled.
Amelia frowned at her words but understood the reason why Rebecca announced a death sentence to Yexuan and did not even consider the hurt Alana would suffer in this matter.
Someone who was hostile to them and possessed the knowledge of the Future could not be allowed to exist and develop into a threat that could prove harmful to them. It was unwise to bet against it.
"Rebecca believes that he is no longer an Ashaya." She looked at Keith and said. "Is that a consequence of coming back in Time or something else?"
"It is not a consequence." He shook his head. "He got his hands on a very powerful drop of Blood, and since he had saved it in the Steele of Time & Space, it returned with him."
"Which blood?"
"One of the Divine Dragons."
Only Rebecca understood the gravity of his words and she furrowed her brows.
"Beast?"
Keith smiled at her, not answering her question.
"So, he will become part Monster." She understood what his silence meant.
"33%." He nodded again, but only if he managed to create a Bloodline from it.
Rebecca knew it was more than enough and was capable of granting a person unimaginable power. It could also become the deciding factor of an Immortal ascending into Godhood.
"However, he shouldn't be able to assimilate it completely into his body so soon. Even with the Time Dilation of The Steele of Time & Space, it should take him dozens of years. And he can't do it if he stays in the Mortal Realms."
"Time Dilation?"
"Yes, once inside its personal Space, the Time Dilates relative to the world the user lives in. Several hours inside the Steele of Time and Space could equal a few days of this world."
"What?" Amelia amazedly asked, and Rebecca too seemed shocked. But then the blonde smiled as it was all the more reason for her to kill Yexuan and get that treasure for themselves.
"When did he return in Time?" Rebecca asked.
"Three years ago."
There was a brief silence before Amelia furrowed her brows.
"Keith."
"Yes, Amy?"
"Is it possible that he holds some weapons or Artefacts as well that the Steele of Time & Space brought from the future?"
Since a drop of Blood came with him, there was a high chance that he possessed a lot more things that could be very dangerous.
"Possibly." He seriously nodded to her.
"He won't be easy to deal with." She frowned. "We don't even know how powerful he was before he returned in time and how many tricks he has up his sleeves."
"That's true." Keith nodded to her words again. "He does not possess the same strength, but he remembers his life and holds onto his experience."
"There is something else." She raised her head and met his eyes.
"Yes?"
"I saw Runic Shields on his body," Amelia revealed, taking Rebecca by surprise. "Strength and Speed Runes as well. My designs."
Silence reigned in the room for several minutes, and Rebecca meaningfully looked into Keith's eyes, gauging his expression.
"I am afraid I don't have an answer for it." He shook his head. "Only Yexuan knows why and how he has them. Maybe you taught him those Runes, maybe he learned them from someplace else or stole them. There are a lot of possibilities, and only he can answer the truth."
"Are we going to deal with him now?"
"Not yet." He shook his head at Rebecca's question.
"Keith, every passing day increases his threat." She seriously said, and he shook his head again.
"There is something else in play. We can not deal with him just yet."
"What?" She asked, but he shook his head once again, refusing to answer her. "You have a plan?"
"I will deal with him when the time is right." He nodded to her.
Neither Amelia nor Rebecca was comfortable with the thought of Yexuan growing stronger over time and becoming a bigger threat, but they both decided to trust in Keith.
They understood that he was not oblivious to the danger Yexuan posed, which only meant that he knew some more things that he was not telling them.
"Now tell me about Kiara." Rebecca immediately changed the subject and excitedly asked.
She giggled when she watched him sigh but shook her head when he was about to shake it.
"You must answer my couple of questions." She adamantly said.
"Ask." He looked into her eyes and permitted her.
"She's your daughter now?"
"Yes."
"Half-Blood or Pure-Blood?"
Keith narrowed his eyes at her question as he knew that the answer to it was an answer to a lot of questions on her mind.
She had already figured out what was going on, at least the gist of it, but wanted to ascertain the key factors of it now.
"Pure-Blood." He answered her and watched a beautiful smile bloom on her face.
"Daddy~!" She playfully called out to him, making her intentions clear, and Keith, despite trying hard, failed to hold back his laughter.
As he had expected, Keith was cornered by his eldest wives right after they had lunch, and now, he found himself sitting across them at the table, subject to their narrowed stares.
He found it quite amusing that both of them refused to raise any questions and waited for him to start speaking on his own accord. Then again, it was only right that he explained and clarified some things to them as he did owe it to them.
"So, how do you like the weather in this city?" He asked as he looked at his blonde wife.
"Seriously, Keith?" She glared at him and then leaned back into her chair, turning her head away, making it clear that she was in no rush and could play the game too.
Keith waited for a good couple of minutes and then started chuckling.
"Ask."
"Yexuan." Amelia immediately said, and Keith nodded to her.
"Very well."
Seeing that he was finally willing to give them some answers, Rebecca looked at him again and smiled a little as their eyes met.
However, she soon narrowed her eyes as he created a mist of crimson light on his right hand, which shimmered beautifully, and then he started shaping it in all shapes and forms.
She could feel that he was flaunting his Mana Control to her, and she was right. He was indeed teasing her but stopped as soon as she was about to open her mouth.
The crimson mist changed into a rhombohedral shape and settled into it.
"There exists a certain Divine Treasure, which holds immense power. It's so powerful of a weapon and tool that even the Gods covet it and would be willing to take all the risks to get their hands on it." Keith started speaking, and both of them seriously listened to him. "It's called the Steele of Time & Space." He revealed.
As soon as Rebecca and Amelia heard the name, their minds started racing, and the blonde soon had a deep frown on her face.
"It's a Treasure that is very elusive, which is why it has not appeared in a very long time. It is capable of travelling through Time and can be present anywhere in the Past, Present, or Future, and in any existing Timeline. Therefore, it is pretty much impossible for even most Gods of Time and Space to locate it."
The more they heard, the more pensive the two of them became.
"How did he find it?"
Sure enough, Rebecca figured out what was going on with Yexuan.
"Perhaps by Luck?" He shrugged. "However, even though the Treasure is capable of travelling in Time, it does not mean that its wielder can travel as well with its help. At least, not without the consequences."
"It is forbidden to play with Time." The blonde nodded her head.
"Yes. Even the Gods of Time have to respect the Divine Law of Time." He smiled. "Nevertheless, the Steele of Time and Space is indeed capable of taking its wielder back in Time if they are ready to bear the price."
"The price?"
"Death." He answered Amelia and smiled. "The erasure of your existence from the Present you escape from."
"Escape?" Rebecca caught onto his choice of words and smiled. "So he came back to fix the past and was willing to sacrifice his present for it."
"Possibly." Keith nodded. "The Steele can only help its Wielder travel back in a Time where he lives. It is because no living being, unless they are in their Astral form, can travel with it to the Past. And once it arrives in the Past, the future soul merges with the present one."
"So travelling in the future is out of the question if you don't even exist there." The blonde nodded.
"Yes."
"It needs to recharge?"
"Yes. It requires a very long time to be ready to travel again in Time with its wielder." Keith nodded and watched Rebecca grin.
"So, he can not escape."
Keith kept looking into her eyes, knowing well what was going through her mind. She had her mind and eye set on her target now. And given the Inheritance of Hecate, she was well aware of the consequences of travelling back in Time.
"He knows about our Future." Amelia frowned.
"Yes. And it makes him a threat to us since it is clear that he hates Keith and fears us. Whatever future he came from, he was not on our side and will not be on our side." The blonde smiled as she looked at her husband. "Maybe you stole Alana from him in that Timeline as well." She teased.
"How can I steal something that belongs to me?" He shrugged, and she giggled at his words. "But we can not know for sure that he hates me because of Alana."
Rebecca nodded her head understandably and then looked into his eyes with seriousness.
"Nyx knows about the Steele of Time & Space?" She suddenly asked, and Amelia's eyes widened at her words as she had failed to take the Goddess of Night into the equation.
"She is not interested in it." Keith shook his head.
"You talked about it?" The emerald-eyed girl asked.
"Yes."
His answer also answered some of their other unvoiced questions, which included how he knew so much about Yexuan. But Rebecca also knew that Keith seemed to have some prophetic dreams, so she was not really too curious about it.
"So the Treasure is ours to take after we kill Yexuan." The blonde happily smiled.
Amelia frowned at her words but understood the reason why Rebecca announced a death sentence to Yexuan and did not even consider the hurt Alana would suffer in this matter.
Someone who was hostile to them and possessed the knowledge of the Future could not be allowed to exist and develop into a threat that could prove harmful to them. It was unwise to bet against it.
"Rebecca believes that he is no longer an Ashaya." She looked at Keith and said. "Is that a consequence of coming back in Time or something else?"
"It is not a consequence." He shook his head. "He got his hands on a very powerful drop of Blood, and since he had saved it in the Steele of Time & Space, it returned with him."
"Which blood?"
"One of the Divine Dragons."
Only Rebecca understood the gravity of his words and she furrowed her brows.
"Beast?"
Keith smiled at her, not answering her question.
"So, he will become part Monster." She understood what his silence meant.
"33%." He nodded again, but only if he managed to create a Bloodline from it.
Rebecca knew it was more than enough and was capable of granting a person unimaginable power. It could also become the deciding factor of an Immortal ascending into Godhood.
"However, he shouldn't be able to assimilate it completely into his body so soon. Even with the Time Dilation of The Steele of Time & Space, it should take him dozens of years. And he can't do it if he stays in the Mortal Realms."
"Time Dilation?"
"Yes, once inside its personal Space, the Time Dilates relative to the world the user lives in. Several hours inside the Steele of Time and Space could equal a few days of this world."
"What?" Amelia amazedly asked, and Rebecca too seemed shocked. But then the blonde smiled as it was all the more reason for her to kill Yexuan and get that treasure for themselves.
"When did he return in Time?" Rebecca asked.
"Three years ago."
There was a brief silence before Amelia furrowed her brows.
"Keith."
"Yes, Amy?"
"Is it possible that he holds some weapons or Artefacts as well that the Steele of Time & Space brought from the future?"
Since a drop of Blood came with him, there was a high chance that he possessed a lot more things that could be very dangerous.
"Possibly." He seriously nodded to her.
"He won't be easy to deal with." She frowned. "We don't even know how powerful he was before he returned in time and how many tricks he has up his sleeves."
"That's true." Keith nodded to her words again. "He does not possess the same strength, but he remembers his life and holds onto his experience."
"There is something else." She raised her head and met his eyes.
"Yes?"
"I saw Runic Shields on his body," Amelia revealed, taking Rebecca by surprise. "Strength and Speed Runes as well. My designs."
Silence reigned in the room for several minutes, and Rebecca meaningfully looked into Keith's eyes, gauging his expression.
"I am afraid I don't have an answer for it." He shook his head. "Only Yexuan knows why and how he has them. Maybe you taught him those Runes, maybe he learned them from someplace else or stole them. There are a lot of possibilities, and only he can answer the truth."
"Are we going to deal with him now?"
"Not yet." He shook his head at Rebecca's question.
"Keith, every passing day increases his threat." She seriously said, and he shook his head again.
"There is something else in play. We can not deal with him just yet."
"What?" She asked, but he shook his head once again, refusing to answer her. "You have a plan?"
"I will deal with him when the time is right." He nodded to her.
Neither Amelia nor Rebecca was comfortable with the thought of Yexuan growing stronger over time and becoming a bigger threat, but they both decided to trust in Keith.
They understood that he was not oblivious to the danger Yexuan posed, which only meant that he knew some more things that he was not telling them.
"Now tell me about Kiara." Rebecca immediately changed the subject and excitedly asked.
She giggled when she watched him sigh but shook her head when he was about to shake it.
"You must answer my couple of questions." She adamantly said.
"Ask." He looked into her eyes and permitted her.
"She's your daughter now?"
"Yes."
"Half-Blood or Pure-Blood?"
Keith narrowed his eyes at her question as he knew that the answer to it was an answer to a lot of questions on her mind.
She had already figured out what was going on, at least the gist of it, but wanted to ascertain the key factors of it now.
"Pure-Blood." He answered her and watched a beautiful smile bloom on her face.
"Daddy~!" She playfully called out to him, making her intentions clear, and Keith, despite trying hard, failed to hold back his laughter.
