A heavy breath escaped my lips. My body felt weightless, drifting in a liminal space between waking and dreaming.
The golden dust of the temple had faded, and the warmth of Suryi's presence was gone.
I blinked—
And gasped.
I wasn't in the temple anymore.
I was… ho.
The room around was one I knew all too well.
My pulse quickened, and for a second, I thought this was another one of the Goddess's tricks.
A cruel jest.
But then my gaze fell upon the fra on the wall.
And my heart almost stopped beating.
It was him.
A man sitting on a grand throne, his presence commanding even through the stillness of the photograph.
His long black hair, sharp golden eyes, and calm yet unreadable expression were etched into my soul.
Dragneel D. Roro.
My son.
And beside him, her soft features frozen in ti, was Aster.
Noah's mother.
My breath ca out shaky as I stepped closer.
Dragneel…
I reached out, my fingers hovering just above the fra, as if touching it would break the illusion.
Aster's warm smile stared back at , a stark contrast to my son's composed expression.
They had been here.
They had lived here.
And yet—
A loud ding! echoed in my ears.
I flinched.
A system prompt appeared before in glowing letters.
[You have successfully passed the trial!]
Unique Title Acquired: The Goddess's Favourite. Suryi is impressed with your results and grants upon you the following rewards.
New Skill Acquired: Infernal Dominion: Your flas are now absolute. Mortal fire will obey your will.
New Skill Acquired: Sword of Judgent: A blade ford of divine will, manifesting in tis of absolute justice.
When wielded, it weighs the sins of those before it.
Against the wicked, its edge is rciless. Against the innocent, it remains light as a feather.
***
I exhaled, my fingers curling into a tight fist.
The weight of the words settled over , but I couldn't focus on them.
Because as I looked around again, taking in the familiar yet untouched surroundings, a dreadful realization sank in.
This wasn't the Goddess's doing.
This wasn't so lingering illusion.
This was real.
I knew this place.
I had walked these halls before, sat in that chair by the window, scolded my son for staying up too late studying.
This was the very sa apartnt studio Dragneel had insisted on buying. The ho he had built with Aster. The place where they had lived.
The place where they had died.
My throat tightened, my vision blurring.
It looked exactly as it had back then.
The furniture remained untouched. The walls bore the sa soft, warm tones.
The bookshelf still held Dragneel's favorite novels, neatly arranged as if waiting for him to return.
And it hit , deep and sharp—
Venus.
It had to be him.
The reason this place remained unchanged, preserved like a shrine to the past, was because of him.
The man I had left behind.
The man who had sent Noah and away to protect us.
The man who had carried the weight of it all alone.
I pressed a hand to my mouth, swallowing the sob that threatened to escape.
I had always known how much Venus loved . Loved us.
But when the previous patriarch of the Roro house—Noah's father—had died, chaos had erupted.
The clan had wanted power.
And to secure it, they had wanted Noah's head.
Venus had no choice but to exile us, to act as a temporary patriarch while the family searched for a new heir.
He had shouldered everything—betrayal, responsibility, and grief—while ensuring we lived.
And now?
Now that Noah had returned…
Now that I had returned, bearing the mark of a God…
This house would beco a political battlefield once again.
I closed my eyes, inhaling sharply.
No.
Things were different now.
Noah had grown.
And I had grown.
I had not endured the flas of judgnt just to let history repeat itself.
I would not let Venus bear this burden alone.
We had spent too many years apart, too many years surviving instead of living.
Not anymore.
I straightened, steeling my resolve, and wiped the wetness from my eyes.
No more running. No more hesitation.
We were ho.
And this ti, we would stay.
With that thought, I stepped forward, heading toward the sound of voices drifting from outside the room.
As I pushed open the door, the sight before nearly made stop in my tracks.
Venus sat comfortably, his long gray beard twitching as he laughed at sothing.
And across from him, mirroring the sa amused grin, was Noah.
The very sa two n who had been at each other's throats just a while ago—
Were now laughing together.
Like old friends.
Like long-lost brothers.
I stood frozen in the doorway, unable to process what I was seeing.
Noah, the sharp-tongued boy who barely tolerated authority, was leaning back in his chair, smirking at Venus like they had been comrades for years.
Venus, who had once carried the weight of exile and loss, was chuckling with an ease I had not seen in decades.
I expected tension. I expected resentnt.
But instead, I found them enjoying themselves.
I blinked, my mind scrambling to catch up.
"What the actual… fuck?"
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Noah and Venus turned to at the sa ti.
Noah raised an eyebrow, looking entirely too amused. "Grandma, language."
Venus chuckled, stroking his beard. "You always did have a way with words, my love."
I narrowed my eyes, walking towards the sleek, wooden table near the kitchen. "Soone better explain what's going on here."
Noah stretched lazily, his smirk deepening. "Oh, you know. Just so healthy bonding."
Venus nodded. "Indeed. A man-to-man conversation, if you will."
I crossed my arms. "The last ti I saw you two together, you were trying to kill each other."
Noah shrugged. "Well, things change."
Venus grinned. "Quite fast, I might add."
I stared at them, then let out a slow breath.
Perhaps this wasn't a bad thing.
Perhaps, despite everything, we could still be a family.
I ran my fingers through my hair, sighing. "I need a drink."
Noah smirked. "Sa."
Venus laughed. "I'll pour us so tea."
And just like that, the weight in my chest lightened—just a little.
We were ho.
***
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