And so, the celebration began.
Henry: "Once again, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Duke."
Father: "Like I said, stop with the formality and just call me Duke."
Henry: "I can't do that. You're the strongest hero, after all."
Amelia: "Yeah, we can't just call you Duke. We have to respect the strongest."
Father: sighs "Ah, fine, if you insist."
Dakota: "Mother, when is the food going to be ready?"
Mother: "It will be ready soon enough, Dakota. Be patient."
Dakota: "Alright then."
Henry: "Mr. Duke, I have a question for you."
Father: "Oh? A question? Ask away."
Henry: "How is Dakota so strong?"
Father: chuckles "How is he so strong? Well, maybe it's because I've been training him since he was a child."
Henry: "I guess that would make sense, but even with training, he's still far too strong for our age."
Father: "I understand your confusion. Honestly, I wonder about it myself sometimes. Even as his father, I don't fully understand how he's managed to become so powerful."
Henry: "Wait... you don't know? He's your own son."
Father: "Yeah, my son has many secrets, even from me."
Henry: nods thoughtfully "I agree with the secret part..."
Father: "One thing's for sure—my son has incredible potential. If he keeps this up, he'll surpass me in just a few years."
Henry: "What? Really?! He'll surpass you—the strongest hero—in only a few years?"
Father: "If he keeps doing these crazy things, I wouldn't be surprised. He has talent beyond anything I've ever seen. And he's not the only one in the family with potential—his younger sister is quite gifted as well."
Henry: surprised "Wait, Dakota has a younger sister?"
Father: "Yes, he does... hasn't he mentioned her to you?"
Amelia: "No, he hasn't! I'm surprised to hear he has a sister."
Father: "Would you like to meet her?"
Luna: "Wait, can we?"
Father: "Of course. Hey, Emma! Come downstairs! Dakota's friends are here."
A moment later, a small girl with brown hair and bright brown eyes came running down the stairs. She immediately spotted Ava and rushed over to hug her.
Emma: "Ah, there you are, Ava!"
Emma squeezed Ava tightly.
Emma: "I missed you so much! It's so nice to see you again."
Ava: "I missed you too, Emma."
Lucas: "Well, hello there, Emma. It's nice to see you again."
Emma: "Ah, Lucas, you're here too! Oh, and it looks like the whole group is here."
Father: "And not just your usual group. The other group is here too, Emma."
Emma looked around and suddenly froze, her eyes wide.
Emma: "Wait... no way. Is that the famous Henry Banks? And Amelia Ellis?"
Henry: chuckles awkwardly "You know about us?"
Emma: "Of course I do! You two are so famous."
Amelia: smiling "You're really a cute kid, you know."
Emma: frowning "Kid? I'm 13 years old! I'm a teenager, not a kid."
Amelia: "What?! You're only two years younger than me?"
Dakota: "Surprised? She gets mistaken for a child a lot because of her height."
Emma: pouting "Oh, shut up, brother! I'm not that short."
Dakota: grinning "Oh really? Because you look that short."
Emma: "Whatever," she muttered, her cheeks puffed out in frustration.
Mother: "Alright, children, the food is ready!"
Dakota: "Finally! Let's eat, everyone."
The group gathered around the table, digging into the delicious feast that Dakota's mother had prepared.
Ava: "Ah, I really missed this cooking. It's so good."
Mother: beaming "Well, thank you, Ava. If you ever want to learn how to cook like this, you can always come to me for lessons."
Ava: pausing mid-bite "Cooking, huh? I'm not sure..."
Mother: teasingly "Well, if you want to marry my son, you'll have to learn to cook like me."
Dakota, who had been drinking water, did a sudden spit take.
Dakota: "Mother! How many times do I have to tell you to stop saying things like that in front of Ava? You're making her uncomfortable!"
Ava: "It's not really making me uncomfortable..."
Mother: "See? She doesn't mind. In fact, I think she wants to marry you."
Dakota: exasperated "How did you even come to that conclusion?"
The entire group burst into laughter.
Henry: "Dakota and Ava, huh? I think they'd make a great couple."
Amelia: "I agree."
Dakota: smirking "Speaking of couples, I think you two—Henry and Amelia—would make a great pair."
Henry: flustered "Huh?! Wha—what are you saying, Dakota?"
Amelia: blushing "Ye—yeah, what are you even talking about?"
Both of them turned red, and Dakota's smirk grew wider.
Dakota: "Are you sure you don't like each other? I mean, you're both blushing."
Amelia: "Sh-shut up, Dakota."
Dakota: grinning mischievously "Stuttering, huh? That's not helping your case."
Emma: "Wait, if Ava marries my brother, then she'll become my sister. Ava, you have to marry my brother!"
Ava: flustered "Oh, please stop. I can't handle this!"
Her face turned so red it resembled a tomato.
Dakota: "Alright, alright, enough of that. Let's just get back to eating."
Henry: "Agreed."
The group settled down and resumed eating. After hours of eating, chatting, and partying, it was finally time to leave.
Henry: "This was a crazy day, huh? We stopped an invasion and then partied at Dakota's house. What an amazing day."
Dakota: "Yeah, it was crazy. But this is nowhere near the craziest thing we'll experience in our lives."
Henry: grinning "That's true. Things are going to get a lot crazier from here on out."
Dakota: chuckling "I hope you're all ready because the future is going to be absolutely insane."
Henry: "You're talking like you know what's going to happen."
Dakota: "Of course not. It's just a feeling."
That's a lie, Dakota thought to himself. Of course I know the future—I wrote it. But I'm not about to tell them that.
Henry: "Well, it's time to head out. See you on Monday at the academy."
Dakota: "Yeah. See you Monday."
As the others left, Dakota closed the door behind them and let out a deep sigh.
Dakota: "Phew, today was crazy. I don't think I'm ready for what's coming. I need to get much stronger than I am now. In two years, the dungeon will appear—and when it does, the whole world will change."
Dakota's expression hardened as he spoke quietly to himself.
Dakota: "I have to be ready. There's no other choice."