"Hmm... Well, Zen, nice to meet you. I am Bennett Ashford. I am Lizzy's father and your Grandfather."
BOOMMM. Something exploded. It was Zen and Anna's mind. Their minds froze, and they just looked at the old man with wide eyes. Although his face also resembled Elizabeth. But… But, how is it possible that their family of four suddenly became a family of five? And on top of that, the fifth member seemed like a very powerful person.
"You broke them," Elizabeth sighed.
"I understand their feelings. I dropped out of nowhere for them." He then started clapping to take Zen and Anna out of their surprise, "Zen, I am not kidding. You really are my grandson."
Zen raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes, "Sure, you are my grandfather, and I am the heir of the Prominda Galaxy." He sneered.
"How did you know?" The old man named Bennett asked in surprise.
"What?"
"What?"
"No! What the hell are you saying? Old man, are you high?"
'This is going nowhere,' Elizabeth thought.
"Zen, calm down, NOW!" Elizabeth said in a high voice, pulling Zen out of his unrest.
"Zen, Anna, meet Bennett Ashford, my father, your grandfather, and the current emperor of the Prominda Galaxy." She declared nonchalantly.
One minute passed by, but no one spoke.
Another minute. Then another.
"I AM A PRINCESS!" Anna broke the silence after 10 whole minutes.
"No, no, hold the balls here!" This time it was Shreya who shouted. "What do you mean by this? Is this the time in the novel where you will reveal Zen's family's tragic past and why they had to immigrate?"
"...You should stop reading cultivation novels at your age, Ms. Shreya," Elizabeth said, turning Shreya's face as red as a tomato, "Anyways, you are wrong. Zen snap out of it, will you?"
The room was as silent as a library during finals week, except for the echoes of Shreya's gasp reverberating through the stunned atmosphere. Zen, still in disbelief, managed to mutter, "I demand a DNA test."
Bennett smirked, "Ah, the classic denial phase. We're skipping that part, my boy. Just accept the fact."
Zen didn't argue back and closed his eyes. It was too much to digest. Up until now, he believed that he had to work hard to reach a position where he can save his family from anyone. He believed that his life would be watching movies like Rocky to get motivated and fight against all odds and now, this cliched bullshit came out of the hat.
But… So what? This still doesn't change his goals. This just accelerates them. He still needs to become the strongest because depending on others' powers is just the recipe for failure. After thinking this, his mind cleared. He slowly opened his eyes with newfound confidence.
But Shreya and Anna were still not content with this. Anna was simple and accepted the fact but wanted to know the truth, but Shreya, who knew way more about the universe than Zen and Anna, was still stupefied.
FUCK! My disciple has perfect affinity with three elements, and now he is also the heir of the most powerful human civilization. Woohooo, This is a fucking jackpot! I don't know who blessed me, but thank you!!' She was literally trembling with excitement.
Everyone just ignored the little girl called Shreya and focused on the main point.
"Well, this is just great. I went from aspiring superhero to heir of the universe's most advanced human empire faster than pizza delivery on a Saturday night." Zen laughed, "Mom, can you tell me the details? Before that, if our family is so powerful, why do we always live in danger? I don't mind my inconvenience but why was Anna involved?"
Elizabeth's face turned into a sharp smile. "When were you in danger? In school? In the academy? Do you think I will do a sloppy job with my children? Let me make it clear, you were never in danger. Not even once!"
"So I suppose you had always had someone keeping an eye on me and brother?" Anna scowled. She didn't like this fact.
Elizabeth nodded, "Correct. There were 5 guards watching over each of you whenever you went out."
"And they didn't take action, I suppose, because you don't want your children to depend on them and learn." This time Shreya, who was now calm, asked with interest.
"Correct."
"And it was you who made the Clayton family hell, right?" Anna questioned.
"How dare they touch my child. They should be happy that I stopped with only causing their businesses to fail." Her eyes were black with fury. The one thing she would never accept is to put her children in danger. She will not interfere because it is required for Zen and Anna to learn from their own experience. They would make enemies and they would fight them. If there is an enemy who they can't face, then she would make sure that they will regret it even in the depths of hell.
Zen stroked his fist on the chair, "Now I remember. Just before that explosion, the attack didn't hit me directly but rather changed the trajectory a little."
"Exactly!" This time it was Bennett who replied, "Lizzy ordered everyone to not take any action until you are out of every possible option other than death. I admit that even I am not immune to her barbaric means, but she says that she will not have mentally weak kids."
"Hmph! My kids need to face the difficulties themselves. I don't want my children to be a flower vase. They need to appreciate life and the necessity of strength. Although Anna is still not at a place where I want her, I will blame Zen for that. He never let Anna do anything."
"Woman, he is Anna's brother. Of course he will be protective. Not everyone has sadistic tendencies like you." This time finally Mark opened his mouth. He was always against his kids living a hard life. He wished for his kids to live a comfortable life, but alas, his wish to not experience Elizabeth's sadistic side toppled his wish of a comfortable life.
"A-Anyways, so I never put you in any danger." Elizabeth completely avoided the subject.
"Umm" Evelyn interjected, "Aren't we deviating from the main topic?" She tried to bring everyone on the topic. She was dying of the suspense and everyone here was talking about sadistic Elizabeth.
"Yes, mom, dad, please tell us why are we even here? Is there some kind of family problem?"
"NO! If any of my cousins planned to go against me, I would have cut their dicks off. I follow my teaching quite seriously, you know?"
"What teaching?" Shreya shouted. She was the most excited in the room.
"Master, my family has a saying, 'Don't let anyone, be it nobles or gods, take advantage of you. Even if we fall, we always fall on our enemy's corpse.'"
"Holy shit! You guys are hardcore."
"Guys! Please! Back to topic!" It seemed like Evelyn was the referee here.
"Yes! So why are we here mom?"
Elizabeth was quiet, and so was Mark. Seeing their expressions, it was Bennett who decided to open his mouth.
"I don't think you will like the answer, Zen, but they had to immigrate to Earth because of you."
This was the reason why Elizabeth and Mark didn't want to discuss anything. They knew Zen's nature and his values towards family. They always feared that Zen would blame himself.
"What? I didn't even know I was not an Earthling. How am I to blame for coming here?"
He took a long sigh and continued, "For that, you need to know the past of the Prominda Galaxy. In one sentence, everything that happened has to do with the activity that has been going on for the last 80 years. A bloody war!"