Will you come in?
Four words that didn't seem one bit difficult, one question, and one wooden door that didn't look more ordinary than usual, suddenly felt like a great chasm between two worlds for Leonardo.
Intuition is a very curious thing. Just like how Leonardo could perceive imminent danger whenever he brought out the thought of returning to the higher realms, he could almost foresee that what lay behind that door was a product of his flesh and blood.
This was something entirely different from his seed with Valeria as Nier had in her body the potential of reaching the Rebirth realm, the potential to fully fertilize his seed and awaken the thinnest traces of his Eternal Night Bloodline.
He could tell that Valeria's body wouldn't have the sufficient energy and nutrients to fertilize even a normal life, let alone awaken the bloodline within his genes. Hence, her pregnancy would most likely last from one to three years, and during this period, the World Tree in the Forest of Eternal Spring would focus on nurturing the seed, modifying the lifeform within Valeria into the perfect body of an Elf High Lord.
In a sense, Leonardo was but a source for the foundation, Valeria functioned as a vessel— a carrier, and the World Tree would do the rest. At most, however, the child's potential would be limited to divinity, and his fate would end as an Arcadian Elf Sovereign in the future.
His seed with Nier represented something else entirely.
Although the trace of his bloodline was unbearably thin, it was still there and he could feel it, hence his current uncharacteristic reaction. Leonardo took a deep breath, a bitter smile on his lips as he muttered to himself.
"Whatever… Since there's no going back, I might as well just go big."
If there was anything about Leonardo, then just like when helping Wendy and her people; if he decided to do something then he wouldn't just do it, he would go with an explosion.
Thus, after composing himself, he pushed the door open.
…
Baby Aria suddenly found herself in a world unfamiliar.
There was no scarlet sky or crimson lands, not even the endless red rivers pouring into depthless bloody seas.
Moreover, she could feel that this new environment was very bad and filthy compared to the place she was in.
Moreover, and most importantly, she couldn't sense her Mama anywhere close. Just as she was about to freak out and cry, her round eyes landed on that ordinary wooden door, stupefied.
A baby's intuition was always frightening, and just like Leonardo, she could tell that someone very important in her life was standing behind that door.
Someone as important as Mama if not more. Thus, baby Aria who was on the verge of snapping into tears suddenly went quiet, and this change in mentality was of course noticed by mature Aria to the side.
However, at this moment, Aria's mind was occupied with something else.
What should she say when he inquires about this baby's name? This powerful Immortal in her own rights felt flustered and embarrassed, she didn't even mention to her daughter that she accompanied Leonardo with the alias Aria, how would she tell this man?
Click!
At this moment though, the door opened.
Mature Aria's heart jumped.
Baby Aria's heart jumped.
Leonardo's heart, however, went absolutely calm as he met eyes with a pair of round and curious beads.
A faint smile graced his handsome, once indifferent face as he slowly entered the room, the wooden door silently closing behind him.
There was no cheering, no excessive excitement, and no words shared between father and daughter. In fact, the entire scene seemed so anticlimactic it looked absurd in Aria's eyes.
Although there was a touch of warmth in Leonardo's pitch-black eyes, they maintained that stone-like lifeless expression for the most of it. However, in baby Aria's worlview, that hint of warmth in the endless darkness was all that mattered, it was the focal point of her attraction and focus.
Leonardo took a deep breath, closing his eyes to withold a layer of mist from transitioning into a mosit teardrop.
His hands clenched.
Leonardo approached the crimson cradle, picking up the baby wrapped in crimson robes with both her and that woman's scent intertwined. That scent was like a soft pebble that rocked the calm lake in his heart, a fragrance that seemed to carry some message of domineering longing and determination.
It was this scent that had him recall something he overlooked for the longest time now, even though it was right before his eyes.
It was the fact that he had inherited the bloodthirsty martial intent, which reflected the fact that on that night, that woman was also a virgin much like himself.
That night, this daughter, and this scent seemed to translate into a promise of devotion that transcended space-time, a bond that wouldn't be broken by the mere weight of a King's karma. However, that was only if this mother-and-daughter pair had enough power at their disposal, and the sufficient time to nurture that power.
"It is inevitable…"
Leonardo whispered these words as he carried the baby, who instinctively reached out to touch his face all over as though to imprint this face into her heart and soul, her round eyes ever so curious.
Then, her eyelids grew heavier by the second until she fell asleep.
Leonardo rested the baby back in her cradle, his actions confusing Aria.
"This baby…"
"It's unnecessary, don't tell me her name, and don't tell me your daughter's name either. This plane's level is too low, and the lines of destiny aren't sturdy enough to handle my karma, hence House Hestia's destiny should be in quite a disorder right now. This could be considered both good and bad; think of it like walking on a tightrope where one side his heaven and the other side hell."
These words might sound confusing to some people, but Aria instantly linked them to the words spoken by that Fortunate Immortal. When she went back to the higher realms this time, she learned the shocking news of that person's death and the withering of the Immortal Kingdom, the sudden event taking the higher realms in a storm of shock, followed by a storm of blood for that Kingdom Essence.
If she didn't know the truth behind the Kingdom Essence, then perhaps House Hestia would have been involved too. However, this is also good, now everyone will truly believe she was at a critical point of her seclusion.
"This will at least buy you and your mother enough time to grow up, I will divert those people's attention in the meantime," Leonardo spoke to this sleeping child, closing his eyes to tap into the endless black sea that he now assumed to be his bloodline condensed into his sea of consciousness, somewhere no one could sense or probe.
Then, two streams of dense black blood poured out from his eye sockets, condensing into two drops of blood. Then, Leonardo lifted the baby's eyelids, allowing these drops to enter her eyes, the window to the soul.
He also planned to conceal this bloodline along with the cultivation scripture he had just learned into her sea of consciousness, and it would periodically transform her body, awakening, and guiding her cultivation in the future.
With his expression turning a bit pale, he sighed.
"I guess this means that you can freely come and go from here to the higher realms?" Leonardo asked this question, his expression resolute. If this was the case, then some bold alterations to his plans could be made.
"Indeed I can," Aria responded with a nod, lazily lying down on the sofa to the side. She sighed, "I wanted to send you and my daughter into the Interstellar Supreme Institution's Holy Lands of cultivation.."
On that night, Leonardo and Aria discussed many, many things.
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