Dyon startled awake. His mind spun as he quickly pushed himself up, but he had completely forgotten that he was missing half of his right arm and ended up awkwardly spinning off to the side of his soft bed and crashing to the floor. It was safe to say that he had never done something so clumsy even when he was still a mortal.
Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to play it off as Ri's soft snickers and giggles almost made him blush with shame. Luckily though, he had grown a thick layer of skin long ago.
After a light cough, he stood and blinked. A splitting headache threatened to slice his skull in half, but he still managed to realize that he was in the royal bedroom. It was a place he shared a bed with his wives, though they rarely used it considering they had cultivated to the point where sleep was more of a passing pleasure than a necessity.
In truth, the reason Dyon got over his initial embarrassment so easily was because that feeling was overwhelmed by shame.
He had been so overwhelmed by a feeling of relief when he saw Clara that he blacked out. But the reality of the matter was that he was really worried about Madeleine as well. He believed that comparatively speaking, Madeleine should be in the better situation, but it was impossible for him to know that. Unfortunately, he passed out before he wanted to.
Dyon was well aware of the rules of the tower. If Madeleine was being harassed by the Sapientia like he believed, he already knew it was possible that the Sapientia had dao experts on standby. Not just her, but the Demon Generals would be in danger as well.
However, just when Dyon turned to Ri to ask, she pointed toward the bed.
The second wave of relief was so fierce that Dyon passed out again. For the second time in just as many days, Ri had to catch her foolish husband from falling to the ground.
**
The next time Dyon awoke, almost half a month had passed. This time, he didn't make the same mistake and woke up slowly, smiling when he saw Madeleine and Clara sleeping soundly next to him. But in the next moment, his smile faded, only to be replaced cold, expressionless face.
Dyon stood, making sure to tuck his wives back in before quietly leaving the room.
Before heading out, Dyon made sure to form himself a fake arm. He was no longer allowed to show weakness.
But, even he didn't realize how quickly his cold exterior would be shattered.
"Big brother!"
Dyon watched as a rush of pink diamond flew into his arms. He had only just entered the throne room to find a small meeting taking place, but he hadn't expected to see his little sister for the first time in decades here. All of his thoughts of rage and anger dissipated as Little Lyla's lithe figure crashed into him.
Dyon chuckled. He had a feeling Lyla did this on purpose. Even if she couldn't read his mind due to The Seal, she was too good at reading the emotions of people now. She saw right through him.
He held her tightly, his worries washing away with her delicate fragrance.
The guilt he felt in leaving a little girl in an environment she knew nothing about all alone had always been there, but it hit doubly now that Lyla was actually here.
"You aren't going to forget about me, are you?" Zaire's boisterous, almost overly loud voice filled Dyon's ears. Dyon almost couldn't believe that the little boy who used to cling to him had a deeper and far manlier voice than his own now.
Dyon grinned, rubbing his little sister's head as she sobbed lightly and ignoring Zaire.
"You're a man now, you don't need me anymore."
Zaire harrumphed, turning around as though to throw a tantrum.
'Plus, won't I be too embarrassed to hug you now? Who asked you to be more than a foot taller than me?'
Lyla giggled in Dyon's chest, as though seeing through his thoughts.
Dyon looked around. It seemed this was a gathering being headed by Amphorae and Ri. They had every right to do so as Sacharro women, so there was nothing wrong with this. However, what worried Dyon more was the fact it had to be held at all. What happened?
Lyla wiped her tears and grasped Dyon's arm like a spoiled little girl. Dyon smiled and let her do as she pleased. He hadn't given her any brotherly love for over 20 years now, she definitely deserved some attention after so long.
"Sorry for interrupting." Dyon said lightly. "Did something happen?"
The happy atmosphere turned serious. Amphorae took the lead in explaining.
"There are a few issues, Lord Husband. Firstly, we need to figure out how to move forward with the Open Phase. Sister Clara had her hand forced so our plans were pushed up further than we'd like them to be. Secondly, there's still the celestial floors situation. The Demon Generals are still fine since they're under the protection of Low Gold City, but Little Lyla has reason to believe that Middle Sapientia and Middle Lily City are being heavily monitored right now.
"We decided to move Sister Madeleine away against her wishes, but the Flaming Lily Sect disciples are still in danger, not to mention the fact that the thousands of eye witnesses to what took place in Middle Sapientia City are also unable to move freely.
"Lastly… There have been reports of a few oddities on this planet. The Life Stone, or rather its usual abilities, seem to have deteriorated for reasons unknown."
Dyon frowned, taking a seat with Lyla by his side. "Can you fill me in on what happened in Middle Sapientia City?"
After listening to the story, Dyon turned a reproachful gaze toward Damaris. The poor girl didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
'Why are you only blaming me? Lyla and Zaire went too… This bias is too blatant.'
