The girls all sat down, patiently waiting for him to wake up. Hours passed, and suddenly, Archer moaned as he began to move.
Instantly, he sat up, looking around with groggy eyes. Spotting the girls, all staring at him with excited smiles on their faces, he watched as they rushed over to him.
Archer spoke, "Where am I? Wasn't I in the church?"
His head felt foggy, but it soon cleared up when Nefertiti beat the rest of the girls and took hold of his face, giving him a kiss.
It shocked Archer for a few seconds before he returned her kiss, making the girl extremely giddy.
After a couple of minutes of kissing, Nefertiti stopped and stared at him as she spoke, "What were you doing, idiot? Why were you so injured?"
When she spoke, everyone else listened. Archer looked at her and sighed, "The creature caught me off guard. At first, its tentacles got my arm and tore it off. My healing kicked in, but soon it got me again and chewed through my legs."
Feeling really dizzy, Archer decided to lie back down and closed his eyes as he checked his status.
'Status.'
[Experience: 2000/15000]
[Level Up: 173>192]
[SP: 2>40]
[HP: 5220>5900]
[Mana: 25600>28000]
[Strength: 4600>4800]
[Constitution: 4500>4700]
[Stamina: 4600>4800]
[Cosmic Sword: 5>6]
[Element Bolts: 6>7]
[Dragon's Breath: 4>5]
[Celestial Beam: 0>2]
[Elemental Fury: 1>2]
[Solar Flare Barrage: 0>1]
[Stone Wardens: 0>2]
[Arua Detection: 4>5]
The girls started talking amongst themselves, assuming he had gone back to sleep, but Archer was actually doing some math and realized that their chatter annoyed him.
He stopped their discussions and calculated that he had earned 266,500 experience points since he last checked, leaving him content with his gains.
Archer proceeded to upgrade his stats, putting ten points into HP and five into every other stat. He checked it again.
[HP: 5900>6000]
[Mana: 28000>28150]
[Strength: 4800>4850]
[Constitution: 4700>4750]
[Stamina: 4800>4900]
[Intelligence: 4410>4460]
Feeling better with the improvements, he sat up. This time, each girl, except for Hemera, came over and gave him a kiss.
Hemera's mother, Cassandra, stepped forward and replied, "We sent soldiers to the church where you were found, and they discovered a caved-in hole. Was that your doing?"
Archer looked at this woman, who had the same golden blonde hair as Hemera but had bright green eyes and the same skin tone.
He nodded, "Yes, Empress, it was me. More creatures appeared from there, so I collapsed, but some managed to sneak through."
Just as Cassandra was about to reply, the chamber doors swung open with a loud thud.
In walked a tall and imposing man, his eyes searching the room anxiously until they found his beloved daughter.
His face brightened with relief when he saw Hemera, and he hurried over to her, embracing her in a heartfelt bear hug without hesitation.
She was taken aback but quickly returned the embrace, her surprise turning into a radiant smile.
He held Hemera at arm's length, his eyes filled with love. "Hemera, my dear, I was so worried about you," he said, his voice filled with emotion.
She smiled and reassured him, "Father, I am safe and with good friends. There's someone I want you to meet."
"I can't help but worry for you, my precious gem," he said, "Your well-being, along with your mother and sister, is my greatest concern."
He stopped fussing over her and realized what she said, asking, ''Who do you want me to meet? And why are you in here?''
That's when the brown-haired man saw all the girls and spoke, ''You must be the friends Hemi mentioned. I'm Emperor Agamemnon Helios, Hemera's father.''
The girls gave a small bow with a smile before Hemera introduced them. ''They are Ella, Teuila, Aquaria, Sera, and Nefertiti Sharifi.''
She then turned to her father and continued. ''Remember my friend Hatshepsut, who used to attend the academy with me?''
Agamemnon stroked his chin and nodded. ''Yes, I remember that crazy girl. You two caused havoc at the academy. I'm honestly shocked you've been attending for years and met so many people, but she stands out.''
Hemera smiled as her father spoke about her friend with whom she shared many fun memories.
''It's the unique pink hair; well, Nefertiti is her daughter.''
He turned to Nefertiti, and his eyes widened as he nodded in response to his daughter's comment. He greeted all the girls with a smile and then turned to Nefertiti.
"So the little girl grew up and had a child herself. She was a spirited girl full of jokes. Time sure does fly by."
Agamemnon approached her and said, ''Well, the same privileges your mother had are extended to you, Nefertiti, and you girls. We welcome you to the Solari Empire.''
As the man was talking to Nefertiti, Archer tried to get up but ended up falling and slamming hard into the floor.
His head hit the cold, unforgiving stone floor, and an explosion of memories erupted inside his mind. His past flooded back to him, overwhelming him with a whirlwind of emotions.
He saw the moment of his birth, his mother Larka cradling him tenderly while recovering from the arduous process of childbirth.
Old memories continued to surge, forcing him to relive the hardships of his childhood and the relentless beatings endured by his siblings.
Painful moments of his mother's neglect resurfaced, adding to the weight of sadness tugging at his heart.
As the girls rushed to his side, their faces etched with concern and worry, Archer found himself unable to bear their touch.
Gently pushing them away, he distanced himself, seeking some space to process the overwhelming flood of memories.
The deluge didn't stop there, as everything he had learned on Thrylos and Earth merged seamlessly, no longer fragmented.
Finally, he came to the realization: he had never been two different people but one being.
Archer understood that when Tiamat gave him her gift, it had put up a dam blocking off his old memories.
The shock of finding out he reincarnated on Thrylos and not merely transmigrated hit him like a thunderbolt.
He grasped the passage of countless years, his heart hurt knowing that his family on Earth had moved on without him and probably forgotten about him.
The weight of these revelations bore heavily on his soul, leaving him with a mixture of sorrow and a sense of loss for the life he was forced to leave behind.
Empress Cassandra and King Agamemnon stood back, observing the strange and unexpected scene before them.
They watched in concern as the white-haired boy, adorned with four white horns and covered in white scales, clutched his head and mumbled to himself, clearly in distress.
Cassandra's eyebrows furrowed with curiosity and worry, and she exchanged a knowing look with her husband.
They both understood the importance of this moment. Not wanting to add to the boy's distress or interfere with whatever might be happening, they made a silent decision.
With a mutual understanding, they left the chamber, allowing the girls to take charge of the situation.
Archer sat down on the floor as everything returned in full force making his head spin and giving him a splitting headache.
Memories of neglect from his mother, Larka, echoed in his thoughts as he recalled the times she put him down for not being like his father, leaving him feeling unloved and abandoned.
Then there was Ksara, the sharp-tongued and cold-hearted woman, who never missed an opportunity to belittle him and put him down.
Her hurtful words replayed like a broken record in his mind, chipping away at his self-esteem. Archer remembered when she ordered her children to bully him at every opportunity.
Gianna stood there and watched him with judgmental eyes, her disdainful gaze slicing through him like icy daggers.
He remembered every punch, kick, and barrage of nasty words his siblings hurled at him, leaving scars that ran deep.
As these painful memories returned, Archer found himself overwhelmed and couldn't contain his emotions any longer.
His anguish spilled over, and he began talking to himself, worrying the girls who had come to care for him deeply.
That's when the memories of the two people who cared for him surfaced. Ella, the half-elf maid who had always been by his side since they first met, and all the time they spent together.
Then the last person appeared in his memories, Sia Silverthrone, with her bright blue eyes and black hair.
The older woman claimed him as her husband, and if he was honest with himself, he would marry her.
He remembered that their trip to Riversong City wasn't just a memory from the old Archer but his own experience.
He smiled when he recalled how caring she was. But that's when the girls approached and started comforting him.
Their presence started to calm him down as his fractured soul began repairing itself, causing him to relax while still mumbling about his Earth family.
All the girls heard him and wondered what he was talking about. Hemera walked over to the door and locked it, but before she could turn around, Nefertiti and Sera were there.
Nefertiti grabbed Hemera by the scruff and spoke in a menacing tone with lifeless eyes, "What's your goal? Why are you always watching him? Why do you smile like that when you look at him? Tell me now!"
Hemera was shocked at their sudden change. She turned to the redhead, who was watching her with narrow eyes while her claws appeared.
She decided to tell the truth and spoke, getting embarrassed as she remembered the dream she had a while ago. "Artemis."
Sera heard her and quickly spoke, "What's this Artemis?"
[A/N - Leave some comments, power stones, and gifts. It all helps support the book. Artwork in the comments or discord
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