Silence suffocated the area, bearing down on those present like a mountain. The scent of oblivion lingered in the air, the cold touch of the Void still brushing against the throat of all who had the misfortune of bearing witness to Liang Chen's attack. Ren Xiao Ping was the one who bore the worst of it, having gazed directly into the nothingness as the gate manifested on top of her body. All it would have taken to erase her would have been a quiet thought from Liang Chen. A silent and unceremonious end without the slightest bit of fanfare, with nothing left of her to be buried. But he had held it back. He had shown mercy.
"…It's my defeat. I surrender my will to Rahu's Judgment."
She didn't need to say it, not even a fool could look at the current situation and think that this duel was anything but over already. Liang Chen was even already looking at Ren Yazhu and Ren Shuren, as if the mere idea that she might launch the fifth and final attack was ludicrous. But she needed to say it. Not for the sake of the duel, not for the sake of Liang Chen, but for herself. To admit it, to accept it. The effort she had put in wasn't enough. The immense strain and work she had endured to reach her current stage, the work that had reached a level she considered inhumane, wasn't enough. He had crushed it.
"Th… Then with this, I declare this bout of Rahu's Judgment over in favor of Crown Prince Liang Chen!"
One of the elders at the side of the arena swallowed a mouthful of saliva, stumbling over her words for a brief moment before she managed to declare the end of the duel. Truly, a gesture as pointless as Xiao Ping's declaration of defeat. But such were their traditions, and thus so was their duty.
"Temporarily occupied with important tasks?"
Liang Chen quite naturally ignored the elder, an eyebrow rising as he somewhat sarcastically posed the question to the couple in front of him. This would be the seco… No, would it be the third time if he considered their first coincidental meeting? Whatever number meeting this was, his heart was calm. A steady beat, only slightly disordered thanks to the previous attack. No fluctuations, no sporadic jumps, no acceleration.
Ah, he truly felt next to nothing right now.
'
Ren Yazhu. Ren Shuren. His biological parents, the people who had birthed him in the distant past and then shunted him through space because they feared that he would die if he stayed with them. He was… Thankful to them. He lived because of them, he got to meet the people he loved because of them. He got to meet his family because of them.
But… That was it. There was nothing beyond that gratitude. There was nothing deeper, there was nothing warmer.
The love of a son, nonexistent. The warmth of family, nonexistent. The desire to be with them, nonexistent. The desire to get closer to them, nonexistent. There was nothing in him that wanted to take their relationship further than this. The line had been drawn in the sand by the two who once loved him, the two who gave him his name. The two who died so that he may live.
Those deaths… May very well have been the first curse to be cast on him.
"Let us start off by saying that it was not our idea. The elders wished to at least be given a chance to convince you, even after we told them that we neither wished for it nor thought it to be possible. But whatever the case may be, it is undeniable that it has caused you discomfort, so I hope you'll be able to forgive us."
Ren Shuren was the one who responded to Liang Chen's question, meeting his sarcasm with sincerity. He bowed quite deeply for a few brief moments, his short brown hair rustling slightly as he straightened his back again. Ren Yazhu fluidly followed his actions, her long silver hair neatly tied up into a bun so that it wouldn't fly about. They were looking at him, just as he was looking at them.
He hadn't been able to see anything when they first met, the only thing he could sense from them back then was a slight resonance from his bloodline. But time had passed since then, life had gone on. Now, now he could see them, sense them. The middle-stage of the Sovereign God realm, both of them. Twice they had sent people through time, the first was him and the second was Xiao Ping. Both times had supposedly placed an immense strain on them, enough to theoretically kill them if it hadn't been for the Nine Star Demon God saving them. But even so, they were still this strong. They were probably the geniuses of the Sebettu race once upon a time.
"Good day to you, Sir Ren Shuren and Madam Ren Yazhu. I am Yan Ling, it is a pleasure to meet you."
A voice cut through the air as Liang Chen and the couple looked at each other in-between sentences, Yan Ling piping up with her bright tone. As one would expect, the couples' eyes were drawn to the young woman, who they naturally had heard quite a bit about from Ren Shuya.
She flashed the couple a smile, holding the hand of the little Lan Yun. Yumao was still curled up on top of Lan Yun's head, his black scales and feathers standing out rather distinctly as he was nestled in her white hair. Standing next to them was the girl, Liang Sheng Lian, who looked like she was in her late teens, having short black hair that barely reached her ears, and striking violet pupils. And finally nestled securely in her arms was the infant Ao Fentian, who was just curiously looking at his surroundings.
The corners of Ren Yazhu and Ren Shuren's lips couldn't help but turn up as they looked at the scene.
Liang Chen, their first child, which they had been forced to send away so long ago. They couldn't control where or when they sent him due to the circumstances at the time, he could have ended up in the middle of an ocean and drowned just like that for all they knew. When they first realized that he was still alive, and that they got to meet him, they cried. Years of worry and guilt got to burst out as they cried for their oldest child.
But that son of theirs had grown up. He had been picked up by good people, he had been loved, and he had been hurt. The world had already shaped him by the time they met him. And as a result, the love they felt for him was not returned. But… That was fine. Their son had grown up healthily, he had grown up loved. If he decided that he did not need them as part of his family, then they would respect his choice, they loved him enough to put aside their own desires.
And because of that love, they could not help but smile as they looked at him. A splendid fiancee and four adopted children, a strong mind and unbreakable determination. He had grown up so splendidly and formed his own family, stretching out his hand to others time and time again no matter how weary he was or how hurt he got. Even if he did not wish to join their family, how could they not be proud of a son like that?
"No no, Miss Yan Ling, the pleasure is all ours. We've heard so much about you from Jun and have been eagerly awaiting the day we finally get to meet you."
Ren Yazhu's voice was bright, her black eyes brimming with the same joy as her upturned lips. Her steps as she strode forward were so sprightly that she was practically skipping, clutching Yan Ling's one free hand in her own.
"Thank you. More than you could possibly believe, thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, Thank you."
Yan Ling's hand was raised and Ren Yazhu's head was lowered so that she could rest the clutched hand on her forehead. Ren Yazhu spoke lightly, as if a massive weight had left her shoulders. In this world, when it came to their oldest child, there were three people that the Ren couple were beyond grateful for. The first two were naturally the people who had picked up Liang Chen as a child and raised him as their own. And the third was Yan Ling.
Yao Jun had told them a fair bit about Liang Chen's life, the ups and downs he had experienced, his joys and his suffering. Thus they knew that Yan Ling had been at his side for most of them, joining him wherever she could. Had it not been for her love and care… They did not want to think about how Liang Chen may have ended up without it. It was easy to fall, far easier than it was to keep rising. And because they knew that, Ren Shuren also took the chance to offer Yan Ling a deep bow.
"Please, allow me to offer my deepest gratitude as well. I do not believe that Liang Chen could have found himself a better wife to build his family with, please continue sticking to him as you have."
Neither Ren Yazhu nor Ren Shuren mentioned the duel that had just taken place, probably a subtle attempt to gloss over it. They were also showing adequate respect by not referring to Liang Chen with the name they had given him before they sent him forward in time, quietly affirming that they would respect his choice.
Yan Ling was naturally anything but shy about accepting their gratitude, flashing her teeth with a wide grin as she vigorously shook Ren Yazhu's hand.
"You don't need to ask me something like that, he and I are going to be stuck together for quite some time. How long were we going to be stuck together again, Little Freak? I seem to recall you mentioning something about exactly that quite a while ago."
As she neared the end of her sentence, she cocked her head slightly and turned her gaze onto Liang Chen, a slightly mischievous glint flickering in her sapphire eyes. Faced with her gaze, Liang Chen only barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes, the air around him markedly different from how it was during the battle. The eerie calm and quiet, the heavy weariness that seemed to bog him down, it was replaced by a comfortable relaxation, an unmistakable warmth.
"I am your Little Freak, and I am stuck with you until the end of time. And you are my mischievous fox, so you are stuck with me until the end of time."
Liang Chen remembered the words well. He'd last spoken them many years ago, back on Tripartite Planet, after he first got into contact with the Sebettu for the first time. It was a rather small thing, just another minute of banter in the sea of time he had spent with Yan Ling. But it was engraved in his mind, a memory that refused to leave him. And it clearly wasn't just he who remembered their little moments.
"That's what it was, until the end of time. But still, it sounds just as terrible as it did back then, you're a terrible romantic."
Yan Ling snickered, her gaze momentarily drifting as she thought back to those days where they were trying to make their way up the ranks in the arena on Tripartite God. It was a difficult time, an extremely dangerous time filled with battles and pain. But… She looked back on them fondly.
"Still managed to bag you, didn't I?"
This time it was Liang Chen's turn to snicker somewhat, stepping down from the arena so that he could get closer to Yan Ling, a finger flicking her forehead. She didn't dodge his finger, simply sticking out her tongue in response.
"That just says more about my tastes than it does your skills in romance."
Liang Chen could only snort in response, holding his head high without shame as he gave his own response.
"Yes, impeccable taste, I agree."
It was a short moment, a brief instant where they could both look back on the past they shared, back where it all began, before the world started to twist and turn, before the weight of life started to bear down on them. And at the same time, it was an affirmation for both of them. Thusly we had begun, thusly we shall end. Together, until the end of time.
"Alright. This hardly seems like a proper place to talk. Shall we relocate?"
Liang Chen could only hold back a sigh as he spoke. The lack of emotions he had contemplated earlier, the nothingness he felt as he looked at his biological parents, the weariness he felt as he fought Xiao Ping. Yan Ling had evaporated all of it just like that. And as if her words weren't enough, she flashed him a smile and let go of Ren Yazhu's hand, interlocking her fingers with his as she tightly grasped his hand.
"I for one think that sounds like a good idea. I also seem to recall Shuya talking quite highly about a possible wedding gift, you simply have to sate my curiosity regarding that."
Yan Ling smoothly moved the topic onward, giving the Ren couple an excuse to talk about something that was unrelated to the Sebettu's attempts to keep them here. Naturally, the couple were not ones to let a chance like this slip, smiling as they let out a breath.
"Well if Shuya has spoken it up that much then we really can't disappoint, now can we? Please, follow us to someplace more comfortable."
The Ren couple took the lead, checking up on Xiao Ping the moment she got closer. Once they saw that she didn't have any wounds or the like, they heaved another deep sigh of relief. As she had lost the duel, Xiao Ping naturally had no room to protest here so she followed her parents and the elders as they guided Liang Chen and his family away from the arena.
As the group were heading away, space a bit aways from the planet was twisting and warping quietly. It was happening just barely outside of the range of their senses so they were unable to detect it as thin cracks started to spread out across the darkness.