Xie Qing listened intently to Melissa's story without even blinking. Everything, up to the death of the "former Xie Qing," was true.
According to her, Melissa's soul went to a space where everything was created, destroyed, died, and was born.
Eventually, her soul was swallowed by a black sphere. But after a thousand years, she suddenly woke up and received a message.
[Destroy the Gods and their allies. Show the power of the Abyss.]
"Then I really rejoiced, for I was overwhelmed with hatred even after a thousand years." Melissa lifted her obsidian eyes and looked at him with a gentle expression.
"And when I met you little one in the Mortal World, I was so glad."
Afterward, Melissa narrated that she had done her best to be there for Xie Qing and protect him.
Xie Qing also slowly began to recall some of his memories. This was especially true of the power he had used.
As bitter as it was for him to admit it, the former Xie Qing was much more talented than his current one.
He had the ability to transfer his life energy to others, and that was important.
Normally life energy is distributed throughout the body, but it is only 5% of all life energy.
Most of the energy is in the soul and it is impossible for a normal person to interact with it.
But the first Xie Qing could. And not only that!
He had two other abilities that the former Xie Qing didn't know about. And they put his current one to shame.
They were called "Sacrifice" and "Harvest.
With "Harvest" you can absorb the life energy of other beings and it is somewhat similar to Eating. However, you can only absorb life force.
But with "Sacrifice" you can burn the life force and turn it into power. Here's an example.
An ordinary mortal uses 60 years of his life for power. He breaks through the shackles of mortality and becomes a practitioner.
True, he is only an F-level practitioner. However, there is a catch here.
After a breakthrough without having a source of life energy, it is possible to die because the user's own life energy has been absorbed.
But if this ability is used by a supernatural being...
"I can easily break through to Level S after spending five million years of my life... I wish I had inherited this ability..." Xie Qing shook his head sadly and shifted his gaze to Melissa.
She sat quietly and looked like an obedient wife waiting for her husband to finish his business.
Xie Qing shifted his gaze to Aria, who snuggled up to his arm with a tender look.
"Is something wrong?" Xie Qing asked her, as she didn't usually show such intimacy with strangers.
"Can't a WIFE hug her HUSBAND?" Aria looked at him with a smile.
Melissa's face twitched, and Xie Qing tried not to laugh. He was very amused by Aria's jealous behavior.
In such a tense atmosphere, Xie Qing felt calmer. His worries about the new memories and information had clearly diminished.
However, there were things that needed to be completed. Namely...
"Melissa." Xie Qing looked at the black-haired beauty and sighed.
"Although I did promise you a lot in my past life, and we did meet for a while before I switched races... I think it would be better if we went our separate ways."
Melissa's face went instantly pale and her lips quivered in disbelief. A thousand emotions visited her head, and her heart felt like it was being pinched with pliers.
Still, the girl managed to utter a few words: "Why...?"
She looked like an abandoned kitten, which made Xie Qing feel strange, but he answered anyway.
"You probably already know this, but I have a wife. And I want to be with her until the end." Xie Qing squeezed Aria's hand and looked into Melissa's eyes. "That's why I can't accept another woman and betray her feelings."
Despite his transformation, Xie Qing still had his own mother's teachings fixed in his mind.
His father cheated on her and left the family and died a year later. Because of this, Xie Qing and his mother had a hard time living.
In the end, his mother went to three jobs and tried to support her own son. But she died of overwork when Xie Qing was 16 years old.
Since then, Xie Qing's hatred for his father has been firmly established in him and he did not want to be like him--true to the feelings of the woman he took as his wife.
Although many creatures had harems, not all of them could make their women happy.
The atmosphere in the room grew cold and Melissa lowered her head, making it impossible to see the expression on her face.
"Husband."
However, this atmosphere was broken by Aria, who looked determinedly at Xie Qing.
"To be honest, I was very jealous when I heard about Melissa dating you."
She had a complicated look on her face as she looked at Melissa. By then the black-haired girl had looked up.
Her obsidian eyes glistened over tears and she looked so helpless that any man would not have stayed away.
Aria continued: "At first I was angry that my fate had been decided for me. At the time, I believed in innocent love and I wanted it too."
"But not only did you not force me." Aria turned to Xie Qing and smiled.
"You supported me and made me fall in love with you more and more."
"Aria..." Xie Qing was stunned and felt happy, but he didn't interrupt her.
"However, Melissa has waited over a billion years for you, keeping her love." Aria smiled.
"And I want you to give her a chance."
Instantly, everyone was silent. Xie Qing looked at Aria with a warm gaze and once again confirmed her identity as an angel.
Naive, sometimes perky, but gentle and caring. And, most importantly, kind.
At first, Xie Qing was not particularly happy that he got a girl who at the first meeting began to torture him (to tickle him with particles of light).
But over time he discovered more and more sides of the angel girl. That's when he vowed to take care of her for the rest of his life.
But now she was asking him to accept another woman, even though Xie Qing was doing everything he could to prevent this from happening.
Therefore, Xie Qing was confused. His gaze slid over Melissa's face, in whose eyes there was hope. He sighed.
"Aria, you're asking me to change my principles." He looked at her sadly.
"When we entered into the bond of marriage, I was already ready to erase all other women from my eyes. But now you're just throwing my efforts into the water..."
To be honest, he once had the thought of a harem. But that was in his younger years, when he was thinking in the wrong place because of his age.
In fact, as he read various novels with the harem tag, he became convinced that it was a bad idea.
Aria looked at him with gentle eyes and slowly brought her lips close to Xie Qing's lips, closing them in a kiss.
Xie Qing was surprised, but did not resist. He accepted her kiss, but they did not go deep, which was natural.
Melissa watched this with great excitement. She was jealous and envious, but she was also surprised by Aria's kindness.
"Husband, your pedigree is incredible. Our children will have great potential." Aria blushed slightly when talking about children, but soon continued. "But I'm not good enough, and on your ascension path I might die of old age..."
Aria looked Xie Qing in the eye and said firmly: "But as long as we are together, I won't regret anything. So please give Melissa a chance."
Xie Qing looked at her with a complicated look. To be honest, he was surprised by her actions and words.
However, there is one thing he could not accept.
"You will never die, Aria." Xie Qing suddenly put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "As long as you want to be with me, no one can separate us. Even if it's God or the Creator."
His tone was direct and simple, yet there was majesty and firmness in it. Such a tone instantly captured the hearts of the two girls, making their hearts beat faster.
"As for giving she a chance... it is not difficult, if you wish it." Xie Qing lifted Aria's face and looked into her blue eyes. "However, there is one condition that I will never concede."
He turned to Melissa, who was listening to him with a serious face. Xie Qing looked into her eyes and opened his mouth.
"Aria will be the chief wife and her authority is equal to mine."
Melissa narrowed her eyes, and Aria was shocked.
In the Supernatural world, the title of Chief Wife was very important in harems, because they could make decisions on behalf of the husband.
Usually the radical patriarchal races never give anyone this title, because then the Head Wife might object to the new woman joining.
However, with other races, such as the angels and elves, this was mandatory. If the Head Wife did not allow it, the woman could not join the harem.
And if a man tried to bring her by force, he could be punished by law.
Xie Qing felt that this title could cause much resentment among the harem, but he was not about to give in.
That was his decision. To accept or not, it was up to Melissa.
And so, Melissa opened her mouth and mouthed: "I accept."
Although such a choice was difficult for her, she wasn't about to lose her chance.
Melissa had waited and searched for Xie Qing for a billion years. Now that he was the Guardian of the Abyss, they had more time to discuss.
Aria happily kissed Xie Qing and began to chat with Melissa. To Xie Qing's surprise, they got along very quickly.
Seeing the two girls chatting merrily, Xie Qing shook his head helplessly. He really should learn to say no.
"Although, who am I lying to... Deep down, I wanted that too, but I didn't want to cheat on Aria..." He smiled bitterly and leaned back on the headboard.
A restless life awaited him.
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A request from the author, dear readers! I need your support now more than ever, because lately my motivation has somehow been waning.
Plus, the contest my book is in is coming to an end. Support me with power stones and reviews.
Alexander.