240 Cold War 2 (1/2)
The two Keepers had to stay in their estate because they had to be there to connect to the Keepers in the North. That was the only way that they could create a portal that would allow them to travel that fast. Since Flint was injured, they left him in Wong and Kelsi's care.
”Welcome back, Lord Winter and Lord Julian,” Roarke, one of Tilly's Keepers, greeted the children while only giving a curt nod at his direction.
He heard Jameson curse under his breath but he ignored it.
As soon as they arrived there, they already witnessed a heated war. Their allies were fighting off the ice puppet that the ”North King” created.
He saw Blake and the Golden Tiger leading the fight so he wasn't that worried.
First, I need to find Tilly.
He closed his eyes and tried to locate his wife's location. It wasn't easy to do because her Mana closely resembled the Golden Tiger's. But of course, he had been with Tilly for many lifetimes already. He couldn't possibly mistaken her Mana with someone else.
”Roarke, Jameson, where's our mother?” Winter asked worriedly. ”Uncle Wixx's overwhelming Mana is messing with my senses.”
Julian nodded in agreement. ”I also can't sense Mother's Mana because of it.”
”We can't f*cking locate the Supreme too because of Lord Wixx's f*cking Mana,” Jameson said in a frustrated voice. ”We can't f*cking follow her because of our boss–”
”I found Tilly,” Kiho declared, making his sons and the Keepers turn to him with questioning eyes. He shrugged as an initial response. ”What can I do? We're soul mates.”
***
”ARE YOU okay, Luna?”
”Yeah, I'm fine,” Luna answered Wixx's question while sitting on the ground. When the Red Phoenix arrived, the snow in the huge part of the area had melted. Even the trees with ice leaves around them started to melt just because of his Mana. ”I need to rest for a while to gather my energy.” She turned to Thaddeus Nystrom who just stood up while rotating his head left and right. The prince looked pissed, and it was definitely because Wixx kicked him in the face a while ago. ”Lord Wixx, can you deal with that bastard.”
”Oho,” Wixx said in an amused tone. ”You rarely cuss, Luna. You must really be angry…” He trailed-off when he saw her face and realized that the corner of her mouth was bleeding. Yeah, he could be this slow despite his overwhelming divine power. After all, his ”instinct” was only sensitive when it comes to Tilly. ”Did that bastard hit you in the face?”
She just nodded as a response.
The Red Phoenix's deep blue eyes turned into the shade of deep blood. ”Can I kill him?”
”No,” she said. ”He was the one who killed Lord Prescott, Tilly's father in this lifetime.”
This time, the Beast God looked angrier.
Wixx smirked at that. ”I will try.”
***
KIHO was devastated when he found Tilly embracing her father…
… while she was literally burning him alive.
He knew that it was the right to do. Their father had already suffered for too long. But he also knew how his wife must be suffering right now for having to kill her own parent.
Tilly…
She must have been using the coldest and the weakest flame that she could muster because if she used her Black Flame, his father would have already burnt to ashes by now.
To be honest, he thought that burning Father the fastest way would be less cruel. But he realized that it would hurt more even if it would only take a few seconds. And Tilly probably wanted to savor the last moments that she had with her father.
If he was hurt, he was pretty sure that the pain Tilly was feeling at the moment was immeasurable. So even if it pained him to see his wife being stabbed by his father-in-law, he held back. It wasn't his place to ruin that moment between Tilly and Lord Prescott.
”Julian, Winter,” Kiho said to his sons. Winter stood on his right side while Julian stood on the left. ”Let's give our greetings to your grandfather.”
”Yes, Dad.”
”Yes, Father.”
Kiho kneeled and bowed to until his forehead hit the snow-covered ground. His children did the same thing. ”Father, I'm back,” he said in a cracked voice. When he closed his eyes, he wasn't able to stop himself from crying. ”We brought our children with us. I'd like to introduce your grandchildren. You already know our Winter. And now, we also have our oldest. He's called Julian.” He paused for a while to swallow the lump in his throat. ”Children, introduce yourselves to your grandfather.”
”Greetings, Grandpa,” Winter said in a cracked voice. ”I was still a fetus inside Mommy's belly when we ”met” before. I was able to come out of the world safely, Grandpa. Thank you for protecting our family.”
”Greetings, Grandfather,” Julian said politely after Winter stopped talking because of his uncontrollable sobs. Julian sounded calmer than Winter. But nevertheless, his oldest still sounded devastated. ”I'm Julian, the oldest son of Mother and Father. Thank you for being kind and generous to our parents. You've influenced them to become better parents themselves.”
Hearing that from his oldest son was both touching and sad to hear.
It was true that his father-in-law inspired him to be a better father. Lord Prescott's strictness, kindness, and selflessness taught him how to be a proper parent. Of course, he still had a lot to learn before he could be half as good as his father-in-law.
”I'm sorry I'm late, Father,” Kiho said, his voice still cracked from sobbing. ”I'm sorry that you had to suffer for so long because of my incompetence. I'm really sorry for being an inadequate son-in-law…”
He trailed-off when it became hard for him to speak because of his sobs.
By that time, even Winter and Julian were crying. Winter was sobbing hard just like him, while Julian was crying silently like Tilly.
Oh, Tilly…
”How long are you going to apologize to me?”
He was surprised when he heard his father-in-law's voice.
When he raised his head, he was greeted by the soul of Lord Prescott.
The flame that was currently burning his physical body took a form of his spirit. He didn't know why or how it came to life but he was grateful for that miracle.
”Father,” Kiho greeted Lord Prescott, then he stood up. The tears that he was able to suppress a while ago rolled down his cheeks once again. ”Father, we're home.”
Because home was where their family was.
***
”HOW LONG are you going to apologize to me?”
To say that Tilly was surprised when she heard her father's voice would be an understatement. When she stepped away from the burning body of his father, she saw Wixx standing on the top of a tall frozen tree. Based on the blazing red flame in his hand, she could tell that it was his brother who summoned her father's soul and infused it with her flame.
She didn't know how her brother did that, but it was probably because of his power as a god. She wouldn't lie– she was still upset at Wixx. But at that moment, she was grateful to him. But before she could even mouth 'thank you' to her brother, he already disappeared.