Title: Future Possibility 8 — Meeting
Warning: Do not read this if you do not want spoilers!
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"So, how are you here, exactly?" Huo Yuhao asked Snow Empress after she melted down most of her ice covering the arena and the people that wasn't part of Tang Sect, Shrek Academy, and his future possible kids from alternate timeline.
Speaking of the people that got frozen....he glanced towards a certain trio—who had their heads left unfrozen.
"H-Hey...! R-Release us already!" Du Busi yelled, shivering.
"S-So cold...." Long Xiaoyao muttered, teeth chattering. But he remained composed, this wasn't the first time he'd been frozen, although, it had been many years since he was forced into this position.
"...." The mysterious lady wearing a black hood didn't say a word and just remained silent, her eyes narrowing as she observed the situation with cold calculation. It was clear she wasn't accustomed to such humiliating treatment, but her composure remained intact.
Du Busi, on the other hand, looked more desperate, shivering violently—because somehow it felt as though thousands of needles were being pricked into every single corner of his body!
'Why?!'
Snow Empress turned to Huo Yuhao with a gentle smile, ignoring the frozen trio for the moment. "How am I here?" She softly said, tapping her lips. "Well, for the protection of our kids, us mothers would input a slice of our divine consciousness into them until they grow old and are strong enough to handle some of the threats they face in their lives."
She then ruffled Huo Ying's beautiful hair. "So whenever they're in danger, a clone of one us would appear and save them. And considering that a clone has the power equivalent to a Quasi-God," she glanced at the trio, who are at the peak of mortal cultivation, and coldly glared at them.
They're Limit Douluos(and one Transcendent Douluo) who had reached the current peak of power in the mortal realm and they....trembled upon seeing the look of the Snow Empress.
After many years since they became peak powerhouses, they had once more felt fear—the kind that shook them to their core. Snow Empress, a being that seemed almost otherworldly, exuded a presence far beyond what they could hope to comprehend, let alone resist.
"...No mortal being stands any hope to even touch a single hair on one of my kids."
"Y-You're... a monster," Du Busi stammered, unable to hide his terror.
Snow Empress chuckled, her laughter cold and serene, like the crackling of ice on a still winter night. "Well, I find that as a compliment. Since I'm not fully human, even before my ascension."
She then turned back towards Huo Yuhao and his group. "So, before my hubby comes here and take back these mischievous munchkins back....does anyone have any questions about our world? How our lives differ from yours?"
Huo Yuhao and the others exchanged a look.
Unexpectedly, Wang Dong'er stepped forward and asked. "You said "our" kids....you and the others, my alternate self, you're all close?"
Snow Empress blinked and chuckled. "Why yes, of course we're very close. We are married to the same guy after all."
"So it is true," Wang Dong'er muttered. She had expected it, but hearing the clear admittance of it was still shocking. "And you're all...okay with it? Heck, my alternate self accepted Yuhao having another lover besides Qui'er?"
"Wait, what?" Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu'er exclaimed.
She rolled her eyes at them, "We'll talk about it later." she then turned back towards Snow Empress. "So, can you please explain to me how I am okay about sharing Yuhao with other women, excluding Qui'er?" she paused for a moment. "....As well as Xiao Xiao. If she didn't like brother Caitou in your timeline, then I can clearly understand."
"Dong'er!?"
"As if you haven't thought the same as well, bestie."
Xiao Xiao blew her a raspberry.
Snow Empress giggled. "Well, let me tell you Dong'er, having Yuhao date many women was....all your idea."
Now that, that revelation shocked everyone—including the children!
"What?! Mom, my mother, who's always jealous and pouty when my other aunties spend time with daddy—was the one who suggested it?" Huo Ying exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Snow Empress nodded with a soft smile, finding the reactions amusing. "Indeed. In our timeline, Dong'er was the one who brought up the idea."
"See, from I gathered from my self's memories of this Yuhao, he became attracted to...the beautiful visage of the Martial Soul Fusion Technique between him and Dong'er, which looked like a mature version of the later, making him reject other women until Dong'er revealed to him her true identity."
She rested her chin on her palm, looking totally amused. "And you guys have been dating ever since, correct?"
"Uh, yes. But what's your point?" Huo Yuhao said.
Snow Empress smiled. "In our timeline, Dong'er revealed her true identity early on but Yuhao didn't become madly in love with her. Truthfully, he didn't date any of us until after....a couple years from now? Yeah, sounds about right."
She continued, "To him, he was more obsessed towards his goal to becoming the strongest person that there is in the world; all so he could ensure that all his loved ones would be safe and that and that no harm would ever come to them," Snow Empress finished, her eyes softening as she looked at Huo Yuhao.
"He was so focused on becoming stronger, protecting everyone he cared about, that love and relationships took a backseat for a while. Dong'er saw that. She was patient, understanding, and eventually, she realized that Yuhao's, our hubby, had..."
She paused for a moment and waved her hands, causing the children around her unable to hear her.
"Eh! What gives!? It was getting to good part!"
"Auntie Snow!!"
Snow Empress smiled softly, giving the children a gentle, knowing look as she spoke in their minds. "There are some things you'll understand when you're older, little ones."
The children groaned, clearly disappointed, but Snow Empress chuckled as she turned back to the others.
Her expression darkened slightly, her once playful demeanor shifting to something far more somber. "Our hubby, Yuhao....he was broken. Mentally, emotionally. The things he endured, the decisions he had to make— they changed him. The acts he committed in the name of protecting those he loved... they left scars on his soul, scars that never fully healed."
Huo Yuhao felt a lump form in his throat, unsure how to respond. The weight of her words hung heavy in the air, and the others, including Wang Dong'er and Wang Qiu'er, looked at Snow Empress with wide eyes, unable to fully grasp the gravity of what she was saying.
"But," Snow Empress continued, her voice gentle yet firm, "Dong'er, Qiu'er, Xiao Xiao , Feng, Tian, and the others— they were his anchor. We were the ones who helped him piece himself back together, bit by bit. Without that support, he might have been lost forever."
Wang Dong'er looked down, her face pale with realization. "I... I never knew."
"Of course you didn't," Snow Empress replied softly. "Because this is my Yuhao I'm talking about. His life and yours are different, they walk in different paths. However, that doesn't not mean they don't have something in common....that's what you're realizing, aren't you?"
"I..." Wang Dong'er looked down in contemplation.
Huo Yuhao stepped forward and said, "Snow Empress, please stop putting strange ideas into Dong'er's head. Unlike your Huo Yuhao, I am perfectly fine and loyal towards only one woman—Wang Dong'er, the girl standing beside me."
"Yuhao..." Wang Dong'er looked up at him her eyes shimmering with emotion. His words had caught her off guard, but the warmth behind them filled her with a deep sense of reassurance. She smiled softly, her hand tightening around his arm. "Thank you."
Huo Yuhao gave her a gentle smile in return, his gaze filled with affection. "There's no need to thank me, Dong'er. You've always been the one for me, and nothing will change that."
Standing behind them, Wang Qiu'er looked at them with complicated look in her eyes before she turned away.
Snow Empress chuckled lightly, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Well, I should've expected that. But take my words to heart, after all, the future is uncertain~"
Xu Sanshi raised his hand. "Excuse me! I have an important question!"
With a straight face, as Snow Empress lifted the silence spell over the kids, she replied without looking at him. "You have five kids, 13 grandchildren, and numerous descendants that are still present ten thousand years later."
"Seriously?! Hell yeah! My genes and Nannan's are strong!"
"S-Shut up!"
"Gah! Nannan!?"
Ning Tian stepped forward and asked, "My clan? What happened to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan?"
Snow Empress sadly smiled and said, "It flourished for a couple thousands of years, but inevitably, it fell in the passing of time and the descendants from your relatives are spread out."
"I see..."
Elder Xuan looked up at Snow Empress and asked, "You said ten thousand years that Xu Sanshi's descendants would still be around? Considering the ages of the children...how does that make any sense?" the others shared a look of confusion and agreement.
Snow Empress smirked. "Simple. We're Gods. In our timeline, Yuhao ascended to Godhood, and many of us followed soon after. Time works differently in the divine realm. Ten thousand years could pass in the mortal world, but for us, it's merely a blink of an eye."
Everyone stared at her in a mix of shock and awe. Gods? The notion of ascension to a level beyond mortal comprehension was already daunting, but hearing it confirmed so casually left them speechless.
Xu Sanshi blinked, his earlier excitement still present but slightly tempered by the weight of the revelation. "Wait, so...what about our kids? Did we just leave them be in the Douluo Continent? After all, how could we have descendants?"
Snow Empress continued with a soft, knowing smile. "In the Divine Realm, any child born of gods would be sent to the mortal realm as part of their rite of passage. It allows them to grow, to experience life as mortals, to struggle, and to truly understand themselves in the vast universe."
She then softly rubbed the heads of Huo Shui'er and Huo Yin, and said, "Being a God is both a blessing and a curse. We have the power to destroy worlds, snuff out stars, and shape reality itself. But with that power comes a heavy burden. Being a God means you must understand the fragility of life, the weight of every decision, and the ripple effects it has on countless lives throughout the universe."
She looked at the children with a mix of pride and sorrow in her eyes. "That's why we send our children to the mortal realm—to understand the value of life, to experience loss, love, and hardship. Only by enduring these trials can they become the gods they are meant to be. Otherwise, they would be too detached from the world they are meant to protect."
'And so they wouldn't fall like the old Gods did.' She inwardly thought and didn't divulged it. She sighed and said, "The little ones here were supposed to be sent in the mortal world in a couple of months...but then they went and travelled to another timeline. Their mothers and I are going to be talking about what kind of punishment they're going to get when they get home."
Huo Zhanji, Huo Ying and others gulped, and sheepishly rubbed their heads.
"Sorry..."
"Just like your father..." Snow Empress resignedly shook her head.
Huo Yin glanced up at her and hesitantly asked, "So...going the mortal realm? Is it going to be like training?"
Snow Empress smiled softly. "In a way, yes. It's the most important training you'll ever undergo. You learn humility, compassion, and restraint. As gods, we hold so much power... but without understanding when not to use it, we become tyrants."
'...Is this seriously the same Snow Empress that we know?' Skydream asked within Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, looking dumbfounded by what he was looking. Ice Empress also shared the same sentiment. 'Is this what motherhood did to her? Holy Ice God....Ice Empress....?'
'Shut up, you pervy worm!'
'Gaaaaah! W-Worth it....'
Huo Yuhao sweatdropped.
At that moment, Snow Empress went still. She blinked and looked up to the sky, a gentle smile grace her lips.
"Ah, it seems like it's time to go."
Huo Shui'er did the same, revealing her purple eyes with black rings. She giddily raised her arms and said, "Daddy!"
To the shock of Huo Yuhao and his group, a man emerged from the sky; the clouds split and the sun shone upon him like a God, descending gracefully toward them.
Actually, was it just them, or were there actual angels singing as he descended upon them?
His aura was intense yet calming, like a force of nature. His black kimono billowed slightly in the wind, and his long, jet-black hair flowed behind him. A pair of sharp, yet kind blue eyes scanned the area before they focused on the children, and a warm smile spread across his face.
"Daddy!" Huo Shui'er repeated excitedly, running toward him with her arms open wide. The man landed softly, kneeling down to catch her in a warm embrace.
"Ah, my little princess," he said, his voice deep but gentle. "Were you causing trouble again?" he then tilted his head towards his other kids, running towards him excitedly. "All of you?
Huo Shui'er giggled. "Only a little! But Auntie Snow helped."
"Daddy!" The rest of the kids ran up to him, their faces filled with excitement. Huo Zhanji, Huo Ying, Huo Chen, and Huo Yin all eagerly gathered around their father, who welcomed them with open arms, kneeling down to embrace them all at once.
Snow Empress chuckled and stepped forward, her demeanor soft and affectionate as she approached her husband. "You're late, Yuhao," she teased lightly. "The kids were about to cause even more chaos."
Huo Yuhao snorted and effortlessly carried all five of his children in his arms. "And tearing through numerous layers of space-time isn't chaotic enough?"
"You do it almost everyday, is it really going to be a problem?"
"...Point."
Huo Yuhao, standing in the distance, was completely dumbfounded. That was him? His alternate future self? He felt a strange disconnect as he stared at the man who seemed so familiar yet so...distant. This version of him exuded an aura of power beyond anything he could comprehend, even with his current strength.
'Well, he is a God.' he thought, feeling dumb for trying to scan his other self.
Wang Dong'er, too, stared in awe, her grip tightening slightly on Huo Yuhao's arm. "Is that....really you in the future?" she whispered.
"Seems like it," Huo Yuhao muttered, still trying to process the situation. "But a possible future, remember?"
Adult Huo Yuhao hummed as he turned towards this world's version of himself.
'How pitiful....So much potential, yet, he's unknowingly becoming a slave to destiny orchestrated by Tang San....You know what? I'm gonna help him out. So long as it messes with my father-in-law, helping out a version of myself is going to be worth it.'
Plus, he did keep the kids occupied for a while...hm. What should he do to help his younger self out?
...
AN: The next special chapter is going to be the last, and we're going to start the next special storyline!
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