Chapter 425: Bloodline Part 5
One by one, the trapped figures slipped free from the bark. They fell slowly at first, drifting through fractured gravity before hitting the ground or catching themselves with weak bursts of mana.
Ashley was among the first to move.
His fingers twitched. His lungs pulled in a rough breath. He pushed himself up, vision blurred, the battlefield still half-drowned in silence.
"Ashmay..." he muttered, then forced his eyes open wider.
Around him, others were waking the same way—confused, disoriented, pulling themselves out of wooden hollows and broken roots that had once held them like cages.
Above them, something stood in space. Asher
At first glance, it felt wrong to even confirm his presence. If they hadn’t been looking directly at him, they might have thought nothing was there at all.
His presence didn’t press on the world. It didn’t disturb it. It simply existed beyond it.
And yet, the space around him bent slightly, as if reality was trying to adjust and failing to keep up.
Below him, the titan that had treated them like insects was gone.
Cut down in a single strike.
Asher descended slowly and landed on the broken lunar surface.
He looked over the group, then exhaled lightly, a small smile forming.
"Thank you, everyone. If not for your help, we wouldn’t have been able to escape that prison."
Arken frowned immediately.
"’We?"
Before anyone could respond, the sword in Asher’s hand spoke.
(I am Pantheon. One of the Dragon Gods. And your father’s partner. Show proper respect.)
Asher closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.
"Don’t phrase it like that. It can be misunderstood."
(I spoke the truth.)
Pantheon’s tone remained unchanged.
Asher didn’t respond further. He simply let it go.
Arken narrowed his eyes. "So what now, ? You already got back. I want you to be honest about your promise to us."
"Of course." he answered without hesitation.
He raised his hand.
Golden light gathered in front of him, forming into several small orbs. Each one pulsed with energy, dense but stable.
"If you use these to integrate with your mana bodies, you’ll grow much stronger. You’ll reach a level that would normally take hundreds of years."
His gaze moved across them.
"But with this, it will be within a year. Less, depending on your talent. How much you gain from it will vary."
For a second, no one spoke.
Normally, he would have scoffed. Anything promising that kind of growth sounded like the kind of lie people used to control the desperate.
But his feat wouldn’t leave there minds
The Queen. The roots. The moon turning into a forest. And then—nothing.
After Asher handed them the golden orbs, he decided to stay a little longer and talk with them.
The conversation started awkwardly at first. There were too many years between them, too many things left unsaid. Questions turned into complaints, complaints turned into arguments, and arguments eventually became laughter.
"Once again, I want to thank all of you for helping me."
Asher paused, looking at each of them in turn.
"I know many of you still resent me for leaving. You have every right to. If there’s one thing I regret most, it’s not being a better father."
The group fell silent.
"I know these words come far too late, and I don’t expect them to change anything. But if any of you ever need my help—or if you simply want to talk to me—you can use this."
He waved his hand.
Golden rings materialized on their fingers.
The rings looked simple, almost ordinary, but each carried a faint trace of his mana.
"As long as you’re wearing them, you’ll be able to contact me."
His expression softened.
"And this time, I’ll answer."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Asher smiled faintly.
"No matter where I am, I’ll make sure to be there."
No matter how much resentment they still carried, the way they looked at him begun to change.
For most of their lives, they had judged him . A man who had left and never returned. A man who had missed birthdays, victories, failures, and entire Chapters of their lives.
But after everything they had witnessed, that view no longer felt that distant.
For the first time, they understood that the scale at which he existed was far beyond anything they had imagined.
The responsibilities on his shoulders, the enemies he faced, and the burdens he carried were not things ordinary people could comprehend.
That did not erase the pain of his absence.
It did not magically heal old wounds.
But it made those wounds easier to understand.
The anger that had once felt absolute began to soften.
Not because they had forgiven him completely, but because they finally saw the full picture.
Asher was their father.
But he was also something far greater.
And perhaps it was unfair to measure a godlike existence by standards meant for ordinary men.
No words were needed as there expression already told him that they had now reach an understanding.
With a flick of his finger, portals began to form behind him, each one opening toward their respective planets.
They were ready to leave, but none of them moved at first.
Instead, they turned toward each other.
One hug turned into another, then another after that. It wasn’t dramatic or loud. Just a quiet refusal to let the moment end too quickly. Even after everything they had been through, they lingered, holding on a little longer than necessary.
Asher watched them in silence.
He noticed it then—how easily they had fallen into each other’s presence.
A bond had formed without permission or planning. It simply happened.
After a while, he spoke.
"The rings have another function."
"You can use them to contact each other as well. Not just me. Distance won’t matter."
This improved their mood a lot.
"Don’t worry," he added, his tone lighter now. "I’ll also make fix portals you can use anytime in the future. That way, all of you can visit this world whenever you want."
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