Chapter 109: Chapter 103: The Return
As soon as the drop entered each cocoon, it was instantly absorbed by the sludge. The sludge started shaking violently as drops of extremely black sludge began separating from it. This went on until the sludge had divided into two parts.
One was crystalline red, while the other was so black that it seemed to absorb all light. The black sludge shook slightly and disappeared from the cocoons. Then, the boys’ bodies started regenerating from the sludge.
They had fallen asleep, so they couldn’t see it, but their bodies were very different from before. Zeke looked exactly like his Asuran form. He had two horns, two wings, and four arms. His body was adorned with intricate tattoos.
Cass, on the other hand, also looked different. He had two wings and four arms. He didn’t have horns, nor were there any tattoos on his body, but a pale golden armor had grown on his torso. It didn’t cover his arms per se, but the pauldron-like scales on his shoulders synergized perfectly with it. A pair of pale golden earrings also appeared on his ears.
Finally, their Aureliarcs changed. The single line split into two, and they intertwined with each other.
As their awakening was nigh, the skies changed. It was noon, but the skies suddenly turned dark, as if the darkest of nights had blanketed the sun. There was no moon nor stars, just pitch-black darkness. But then, something changed. A star suddenly appeared. People watched as more stars continued to appear until they had formed a pair of wings. In the middle of both wings, three stars appeared.
These six stars shined the brightest. The first star in the left wing was dark red, almost as if it was a coagulation of red and black, while the first star in the right wing was the complete opposite: a coagulation of golden and white.
The second stars in both wings were also opposites — white and gold in the left wing, red and black in the right. Finally, the third stars in both wings were the same: a bright purple star.
The constellation then disappeared, and so did the night. It was day once again.
While scientists all over the Federation scrambled to figure out what was going on, Dean and Leonel stared at the cocoons.
Dean said, "What have the boys done now?"
Leonel had a strange look in his eyes as he said, "The boys’ myth has leveled up. They are now constellations. That was their Constellation, the Twin Arbiters of Equilibrium—"
Dean continued, "Ardralok. The name just popped up in my head."
Leonel said, "It’s not just you. Everyone who just witnessed its birth knows the name Ardralok."
They didn’t continue their talk as the cocoons started shaking. A fist pierced Cass’s cocoon, while two wings pierced Zeke’s. Both boys ripped the cocoons of mana apart and took a deep breath, absorbing all of it.
Everything about the boys had changed — their aura, physical features, and their looks. Their faces hadn’t changed much, but their features seemed to pull Dean and Leonel in. It was as if they were not witnessing two people but a creator’s masterpiece.
The boys opened their eyes and put some pants on. Somehow, they still had their space rings.
Although the pants didn’t fit, it was enough for the moment. Zeke severely missed his Demonic Spirit at that moment. Dean and Leonel teleported in front of them.
Dean said, "Zeke—"
But he was forced to stop when Zeke stared at him with an indifferent expression. Even Zeke hadn’t noticed what he was doing. Dean and Leonel glanced at each other but said nothing. They had sensed the World Gate when it appeared, so they could understand that something must have happened on the other side. Major personality changes were not uncommon in Players after they returned from another world.
Most recovered after some time, but there were some who didn’t. Hopefully, Zeke was the former.
Dean said, "I’ll take you to the family. Everyone has been worried sick about you guys."
Dean grabbed them and teleported them back to Reed Residence. They appeared in the living room and... Cass hurled. Zeke, on the other hand, maintained the same indifferent expression.
(Play End of Beginning by Djo for the best effect.)
But that indifference melted as soon as he saw Alexi holding the twins, and Katherine with tears in her eyes. He was no longer the Heavenly Demon. He was no longer the man who had massacred everyone who stood in his way. He was no longer Cheon Ryeong-Hwang.
He was just plain old Ezekiel. He didn’t even realize when Katherine had wrapped both of them in a big hug. Unknowingly, tears had appeared in his eyes. Both boys just hugged her back.
Especially Cass. He’d forgotten the last time he had any real human contact. At some point, Alexi and Leonel also joined in.
Cass spoke in a muffled voice, "I missed you guys so much."
After a while, they broke the hug, and the boys looked at the babies in Dean’s arms. They each held one. Ezekiel watched as Zia laughed in his arms. She wasn’t scared one bit. She even reached out for his horns.
Zein was the same with Cass. He just played with his earrings. The boys had a number of System Notifications, but they had had enough of the System. They wanted a break.
Cass said, "Let’s go out for dinner tonight."
Katherine said, "That’s a great idea, Zeke. You guys choose where you want to go."
Cass said, "Let’s go to Twilight. It’s been so long since we went there."
Alexi said, "I’ll make a reservation."
Twilight was a local restaurant. Katherine used to take the boys there often after they started living with her. They had some great memories there.
The boys had to improvise a little with their four arms. The wings weren’t a problem as they had also gained the ability to retract them like the babies.
When they arrived at the restaurant, they saw that a customer was making a fuss. Because of that, the reception was too busy dealing with them and had to leave their post empty.
This annoyed Zeke. And Cass.
Zeke looked the customer dead in the eye and said, "Get lost."
At the same time, Cass just stared at him.
The customer, a young man, experienced true fear that day. It was as if he wasn’t staring at two little boys, but death itself. He was so scared that he nearly pissed himself.
So, he ran out.
Behind him, the receptionist yelled, "Sir, your bill...!!"
Zeke said, "Don’t worry about that. We’ll take care of it. Can you please lead us to our table? It’s under the name Reed, party of eight."
The receptionist, flustered after seeing Zeke’s face, quickly recovered and said, "Right this way, Sir."
