"What your mother said is correct. You really are a hero." Another voice came from behind Lillia and the others. Lillia quickly went on guard and pulled Destiny into her arms. Clance did the same to Joy.
An old man with a long beard stood there looking at the cautious behavior and could only sigh. Mortals were much different. They protected their own, unlike gods who, at some point, only thought about themselves.
"Lillia…." Blake's voice broke the awkward silence. "Leave me to talk with this man."
"Blake!" Lillia turned to see Blake slowly sitting up. He should not be awake, and his body was very weak, but he felt a strong power near him, so he forced himself to wake up.
"Just do as I say," Blake said firmly. Lillia looked at him and wanted to shake his head no, but when she met His firm gaze she could only grab hold of everyone and disappear.
Seeing that his wives and daughters were gone, Blake looked at the old man, trying his best not to fall back asleep. "You must be Anu."
"That I am." Anu nodded before taking a seat in the middle of the air. "Worry not; I will not attack you or your people. In fact, I allowed you to run rampant to see your character. And well, I have decided that all the gods of the Astral Domain will no longer put up a fight. But I do have to ask you a few questions."
"Oh?" Blake relaxed a little. "What kind of questions can the king of gods ask me?"
"I want to know your final plan. What do you plan to do once you achieve your goals?" Anu asked. He could only make assumptions, but he could not know for sure unless he asked.
"Heh…. I only wanted to force you all to uphold the pact. Protect the mortal world when unforeseen forces that do not belong there try to take over. I want to push the devils back through their gate and seal it back up. I could care less about anything else. I mean, I just want to live a peaceful life with my family. Live a long life. Hopefully eventually have a few grandkids. You must already know, but I had once died before. Somehow, I went back in time. I returned to the place I am now and have been trying to build a life where I do not need to worry about starving or dying. I was just about there when the devils showed up and ruined it all…." Blake did not want war. He wanted his people to live their lives. He wanted to watch as his city became a place for all races. He was so close. Very close. But now he was forced to go into hiding.
"Yes…. I do not know why, but a temporal fluctuation occurred at the moment of your return. I have long taken notice of you. Since then, I started watching as you did things. At first, I thought you would give up on everyone, but after the dragonic reappeared in the world, you did much more than I ever thought you would. Mortals truly amaze me. I do not think any of this would have happened if you had not made the choices you made. Humans would have long been enslaved or wiped out completely. Your every choice changed the future. But I think you did the right thing because you were able to bring the gods back. The gods who long abandon your world." Anu let out a long sigh.
"I came here today to tell you that the war can end. You have won. The gods of the Astral Domain will follow your orders. They will all submit to you. This includes myself. I will help you reclaim what you have lost and help you seal the gate of the underworld." Anu explained.
"If that is the case, then I thank you. Now, if you do not mind, my ability to keep staying awake is about to collapse. Stopping time is not easy…." Blake's voice faded off.
Anu, who saw that Blake was sleeping again, did not leave but instead kept guard. Anu felt Blake was the type of man who would do anything for his people as long as it meant they could live happy and safe lives. Anu can tell that just with how much his people are willing to lay down their lives for him without a care, that Blake was a good leader.
"Lord Anu…." Ishtar suddenly appeared in the room. As soon as she felt Anu's presence, she wanted to go and see him to protect Blake, but she could not teleport there since Anu had put up a barrier.
"Ishtar, you have picked a good husband. Do not worry; I do not plan to do anything to him. In fact, when he wakes, I will be submitting to him." Anu explained lightly. "You should go and gather your troops. The war is over. You won."
Ishtar mind was basically blown. The old man who never did anything that would harm the Astral Domain was actually submitting to her husband!? Ishtar suddenly thought of something and blurted out: "Lord Anu, are you really a girl?"
"You!" Anu wanted to smack this damn girl. "Go do as I told you!"
"Right!" Ishtar could see she was very much off with how angry the old man was. But she felt that she had every right to ask this question since what the old man was doing went against everything she knew about him!
Seeing Ishtar running off with her tail between her legs, Anu snorted and let out a sigh. "You can come back in…."
Lillia suddenly appeared with Clance and their daughters. Joy and Destiny both quickly rushed to their father's side while Lillia looked at Anu. "Can you tell me who you are?"
"I am Anu, the ruler of the Astral Domain. But do not worry, I am not here to fight but, in fact, to tend this war. As I told your husband, the gods of this domain will submit to him, including me."
