With Anubis present, no matter how bold Sol was, he could not flirt with Isis as he had done so for the first half of their flight toward the realm portal.
Anubis might be an open-minded father and pretty free-minded in general, but there were still limits one shouldn’t cross when it came to in-laws. After all, one shouldn’t reach out and crave for a mile after being given merely an inch.
With the teasing part of their journey now behind them, the three of them flew faster toward their destination, far faster than they would've were it to be only Sol and Isis present in the journey. The place they were heading to was the very same island where Sol, Isis, Nent, and Sheherazade first landed at.
Reaching the island, Sol couldn’t help but look at the surroundings with a nostalgic bout of emotions brimming inside of him.
It had only been a few months since he entered the dragon territory, but it felt way longer to him, as though an eternity had stretched between that time and their present times… He couldn't believe just how much change had happened in such a small span of time.
Be it in terms of skills, power, mindset, and even knowledge – the difference between the two was so great, so very incomparable that it was laughable, to say the least.
Were all those changes positive? Were all of them good for his future…
Sol could not really give out an answer to this question as he was now. Still, there was one thing he was absolutely sure of…
He was growing and changing with each possible moment and he did not wish to stop this process in the slightest. His mind was thoroughly sculpted by his experiences, the good and also the bad, and he wished to have more such experiences in order to better understand the world he was part of in this life.
“It really takes you back, right?”
Sol wasn’t the only one reminiscing about the past. No matter what, this place also held dear memories for Isis too. That fateful day, she had taken her first step towards her independence and her own changes that helped in her further growth.
While her changes were undoubtedly to a lower degree compared to a monster like Sol, Isis considered the maturity she had obtained throughout this short yet meaningful storm of events as a well-earned bonus for herself…
During this trip, she was able to firmly open her eyes to the world of the living, being able to better understand how the world worked and what part the people living inside it played in it. She was able to shed off the spoiled princess aura that she once wielded that seemed to cling to her no matter what she did to remove it from herself.
More importantly, she had sealed the deal with Sol. Becoming as much a part of him as he had become a part of hers…
Her hand grasped that of Sol's almost unconsciously, as though it belonged there in the first place. Her sudden bold action surprised Sol a great deal, to the point that he almost subconsciously gawked at her, but he did not intend to reject what was given to him so he naturally grasped her hands with his own responding back to her action and cementing the warmth between themselves.
“Indeed. It’s crazy how much and how little things have changed at the same time.”
Anubis, meanwhile, simply observed the flow of time and space around them. He had killed many people in his lifetime using the mastery he held over those two elements and had a clear and concise knowledge about how they worked.
In fact, Anubis was thoroughly sure that the only ones who surpassed him in the domain of wielding those powers were Tiamat and Ambrosia.
After all, he did manage to steal a part of the Afterlife for himself. This was no mean feat no matter how you looked at it. The amount of knowledge necessary for pulling such a stunt was mind-boggling to anyone the least bit knowledgeable about the world.
But thanks to his Library inside his Mind Palace, all that knowledge was at his fingertips to use at any moment he so wished. Then again, he had to kill many people to get that knowledge in the first place.
In no way was his current goal to steal a part of Tiamat’s territory for himself, that was for sure. It would be stupid of him to forsake such a good relationship between them, and hamper more and more relationships along the way, just for a part of her territory and there was also the fact that she would most likely stop him even if he tried to do so. So he would have lost an ally and in turn few other relationships he had along the way for practically nothing.
He just wanted to observe and learn how to open large secret tunnels between two realms.
What if he connected his own world with one or two territories this way? With that in his hands, he would be able to visit home whenever he wanted to without wasting the time of his tired undeads.
“Well guys, it’s starting.”
Anubis wasn't the only one observing the process, Sol was doing the same as him with the same intentions in mind only to a much higher degree.
While Sol's understanding of space was far lower than Anubis, he had the innate advantage of possessing his own dimension which would help him a lot to decipher the laws around this place.
Anubis was like a scientist who observed how birds flew in the sky and came up with the idea to create a plane.
While Sol was the bird itself trying to learn how to more efficiently do what he could naturally do with time.
One needed knowledge and understanding. The other only needed the intuition to kickstart his future powers.
The fabric of space and time on the island began to twist as the connection between two dimensions took place.
A tunnel was formed and a bluish black gate, emanating the aura of void and nothingness, appeared as the connection was soon completed.
'This is…'
Sol felt like sparks were going off in his brain as his understanding of the dimensional arts deepened just by observing the phenomena.
Becoming a Duke had truly changed many things for him and the benefits were merely starting to show. He was sure that he would slowly discover more and more of these benefits with enough time.
Once the portal was completely stabilized, all they could do now was wait for the people they were restlessly waiting to meet…
———
[Phoenix Realm]
“I guess this is it.”
When the portal opened, Gabriel released a sigh of resignation. Why wouldn't she? There was no turning back now that the deed was finally done. She would have to face the consequences and pay for her decision.
Still,
‘How long has it been since I have seen her so happy? I've lost track of the time…’
Gabriel smiled inwardly, she may have to sacrifice her pride, but she was no dragon. It was a cheap price for her to pay in exchange for the happiness of her daughter.
‘Perhaps I should try more in the future?’
This feeling was something she liked. While Gabriel didn’t have to deal with constant rebellion and betrayal of her children like Tiamat, they weren’t exactly close either.
Because of her own shortcomings, she might have lost Nent forever. If not for the existence of Sol, perhaps she would have had to put down her own daughter by her own hands.
It was a future she had never wished to witness much less live through in this timeline…
“Thanks, mother. Really, thank you so much.”
Nephthys teared up slightly and hugged Gabriel tightly. Words couldn't express just how much grateful she felt towards her.
“Oh? Why the sudden display of affection? I hope that this doesn’t mean you are about to get kidnapped again by that bastard.”
“Shut up and hug me back.”
Nephthys laughed, perfectly understanding that Gabriel was just awkward and at loss about what to say and finally simply did as she was told by her reckless daughter.
Standing on the side, Nefertiti only spared a glance at the display of affection before immediately losing interest.
While she was not particularly close to her biological parents, they had an alright relationship with them. Though truthfully speaking, her servants had been more parents to her than those that had given birth to her.
Had it been a few months ago, she might have watched this scene with faint jealousy, but now, she couldn’t care less. All she wanted was to traverse that accursed portal that was separating from her goal.
“Hahaha. Let’s go. From the way that girl is looking at us, I feel like she will snap anytime soon.”
Nefertiti was surprised at those words and immediately bowed, “I am terribly sorry, I did not mean to show disrespect.”
Nefertiti couldn’t help but berate herself. Impatience was the enemy of success. What if she was forbidden from going through the portal?
Thankfully, her fear did not become a reality. As Gabriel knew that Nefertiti was not really in the best state of mind currently, she did not wish to dilly dally any longer.
“Do not worry. All is forgiven.”
Finally, after one last hug and Nefertiti giving a bow of gratitude to Gabriel, the two Phoenixes went through the portal.
Now alone, Gabriel sighed ruefully. It was a weird sensation. Three of her daughters had now left the realm. It felt a little lonely.
“Well, time to make my relationship with the youngest a little better.”
This would help in taking her mind away from the incoming humiliation.
(AN: I am sorry if I am a little slow. Since this will essentially be the last volume about the Astral Realm for a long while, I am trying to develop some relationships here and there and have more exposure. The mixture between developing chara and advancing the plot is really hard to get correct. Or perhaps I just suck at writing fluff?)
I received a another dragon. Thanks to ThirteenFrogs so there will be 2 tomorrow+ Normal chapter
