An unknown amount of time later, Dyon groggily opened his eyes. He found that the Soul Tome was resting on his chest, but what he lay upon was a far cry from the hard, marbled floors of the third phase castle throne room.
By the time he readjusted to the bright lights, he recognized this room as the one he and Madeleine shared within the Demon Sage Tower.
Dyon sat up, rubbing his head. He felt like his head was being continually hammered from the inside out.
Because of his soul strength, Dyon had never been sick in his life, even when he was a mortal, so this feeling was truly novel for him. Maybe he was a bit too rash splitting his soul like that.
'Oh?' Dyon's eyebrows arched in surprise when he checked on his soul. It seemed to be 95% healed already. Could it be that he was asleep for almost 6 months?
Originally, Dyon had expected his soul to take about that amount of time to heal fully, but he didn't think that he'd sleep through most of that time.
Just as he was thinking this, the door of his room slowly opened. Dyon could hear what sounded like a woman with a sweet voice coaxing a baby. It didn't take him much to recognize that voice as Madeleine's.
"You're awake!" Madeleine sounded pleasantly surprised, but Dyon couldn't answer… Not because he was hurt, but the image of Madeleine holding a small child impacted him more than he expected.
'Did I sleep for more time than I thought?... Could it be that Madeleine was pregnant?'
Dyon panicked. How could he miss something so important? His wife had to go into labor on her own without his support? What kind of husband was he?
Suddenly, Dyon shook his head. 'Wait, that's impossible…'
Dyon knew quite well how effective his contraceptive abilities were. Plus, with his senses, it was impossible for him to not be aware that Madeleine was pregnant. After all, when he was far weaker, he had been able to tell that Ulu was pregnant before anyone else could.
"Wha…" This was all Dyon managed to get out. He really was too confused.
Madeleine giggled. "You were asleep for almost three weeks. You don't recognize this little guy? He's you."
Madeleine glided forward, showing off the happily gurgling baby in her arms.
Dyon blinked, looking at the little boy's small face. He could vaguely remember from picture albums of the past that he really did look like this when he was just a baby. In fact, the twin wristbands he turned into necklaces for Madeleine and Ri still had those picture albums stored within.
Still, while this baby reminded Dyon of himself, there were still some striking differences.
For one, this baby had large grey eyes that were somehow adorable despite the darkness hidden within them. As for Dyon's eyes, they were hazel-green before, now they were golden with flecks of emerald.
Secondly, Dyon had a partially African heritage, so his hair was usually short, fairly sturdy, and had hidden curls within. But, this baby's hair was the same white-grey color Dyon's became when he entered his Reaper state and activated his death will.
Thirdly, this baby was far paler than Dyon was. While Dyon's skin could be described as caramel-esque in color, this baby's complexion was akin to a sheet of pure ice.
The baby blinked toward Dyon with large, curious eyes. They seemed to have a hidden intelligence within them, but Dyon could tell that this was far different from what he expected. He thought that he would have created a second Dyon, a person who had his thoughts, just in a different body. But this supposed clone had next to no difference from a normal baby! Did he create a clone, or a new human being?
Dyon suddenly felt a headache coming on again. Still, he couldn't help but pinch the baby's chubby cheeks, causing the little guy to giggle. Somehow, he had earned not one, but two sons on this trip.
"This wasn't how it was so supposed to be." Dyon said in confusion. He thought that even if he came out without cultivation, that he'd at least have my maturity already. But, he's no different than a real baby.
Madeleine nodded. "I talked to the twins about this. They said that this little guy could be considered the perfect clone, he won't have any flaws. By coming out in such a nascent form, he's already been accepted by the heavens as a lifeform of his own.
"This makes things easier too." Madeleine said with a smile. "We can just say that he's our son."
"You're okay with that?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Madeleine's smile grew brighter. "Am I not already yours?"
Dyon pulled Madeleine into his arms. It really did feel nice having both a wife and child.
"He should realize that you and him are one person once his soul awakens upon entering the celestial realm, with his soul talent being shared with yours, that won't take very long at all. Until then, he'll be just like any normal child."
Like this, Dyon and Madeleine became unwitting parents – again.
Over the next few months, the family journeyed around the mystical world, but Dyon was disappointed to find that the inner spaces of the phase castles collapsed upon Orcus' death. They had spent so much energy making sure that the hidden space within his throne didn't collapse, that they neglected the other ones.
Still, Dyon was satisfied. He collected a total of 17 invisible castles that could be converted into war ships. As for the remaining 5 visible castles, they would be broken down into materials.
Like this, they were finally prepared to leave the mystical world after more than three years.
**
Dyon kicked open the cage of a dungeon, training his eye on a seemingly frail young lady. Even in this sort of situation Yandevere's expression was blank. Dyon couldn't help but shake his head.
