"KIHO, I believe the Moon God needs your blood and flesh to revive his own body."

To say that Kiho was shocked to hear that would be an understatement. "He doesn't only want to take over me?" he asked, his heart beating loud and hard against his chest. "But he actually wants to use my blood and flesh to revive his own body?"

He was distracted when he felt Tilly's bloodlust ooze.

Thankfully, Winter and Julian both hugged their mother. His wife instantly calmed down as she ruffled their sons' hair.

"I found an old coffin made of ice when I got lost in the Frozen Woods five years ago," Lord Prescott said. "When I opened it, I found bones that seem to belong to a human. I found an old piece of paper inside and when I touched it, I saw some images that made me realize who owns the bones. It was the Moon God." He paused for a while before he continued. "The other memories that I saw were too hard to understand. The only thing I remember is that the Moon God needs your flesh and blood for him to gain a human body, Kiho. In the past, he took over your body after Soleil Rosenberg died. But he failed to do so because of the Red Phoenix."

"My brother?" Tilly asked in surprise. "What did my brother do?"

"I'm sorry but I don't know the exact details, daughter," Lord Prescott said. "That's all I remember. Before I could dive further in his memories, I was stabbed from behind."

He felt his wife flinch.

Lord Prescott smiled apologetically at his daughter. "That's the reason why I told you to trust Kiho whatever happens, Tilly. Thanks to the Moon God's memories, I realized that your husband is the reincarnation of the Black Serpent. I heard from the Denvers before that they hate the Black Serpent, and that he doesn't deserve the Supreme. But my instinct told me that there's a deeper story between the Fire Mages clan and the Black Serpent." He looked at him and Tilly back and forth. "Whatever it is, I'm glad that the two of you decided to follow your heart."

Tilly nodded. "Of course, Father. We want to have a happy married life like what you and Mother had."

"Father, I'm sorry," Kiho said in a sad voice, making Tilly turned to him with a worried look on her face. "You died because of me. I was also the reason why you had to go to the North, Father."

"That's not true, Kiho," Lord Prescott said while shaking his head. "Don't blame yourself for that."

"Father…"

"If you want to make it up to me, then promise me that you won't let your father succeed," his father-in-law said. "Promise me that you will protect your family."

Kiho nodded eagerly. "I promise, Father," he said with determination. "I promise that we will end this war and live happily in the end."

"That's all I want to hear," Lord Prescott said, then he turned to his daughter. "Tilly, my precious daughter, father is sleepy."

***

TILLY almost cried when she heard her father say that he was already sleepy.

She knew it meant that he was ready to go now. Her father was able to meet her children, tell them about what he discovered in the North, and say goodbye to them. She knew that it was time for her father to finally rest in peace.

And yet, it still hurt to let him go.

"Father, have a safe trip," Tilly said, then she smiled at her father. Even though her heart was breaking, she didn't want to send her father off with tears. "Please hug Mother for me."

"Of course," her father said. "Thank you for finding me, my precious daughter.

She swallowed the lump in her throat to stop herself from apologizing. After all, she knew that it wasn't the words that her father wanted to hear from her. "Thank you for waiting for us, Father," she said. "We will live happily so please don't worry about us. Just make it up to Mother in the heaven, okay?"

Her father laughed softly. "See you later, my precious Tilly."

Tilly nodded, then she did the thing that would show everyone how much she respected her father– she knelt before Lord Prescott and bowed until her forehead hit the ground.

Even without looking around, she knew that all the people who served and followed her also knelt and bowed to her father. In the past, whenever she would kneel, her people would follow suit since they wouldn't allow their master to do that alone.

Of course, Kiho, Winter, and Julian also did the same.

"Live long, my precious children and grandsons," Lord Prescott said before the flame that burned his physical body disappeared. But instead of turning into ashes, a red stone was left on the ground. It was her father's Mana. "I will pray for your success."

***

"DID THE North King's plan fail?"

Aku rolled his eyes at Kyro's question. He was drinking alone in his room after a long day of work when the Moon God joined him despite being uninvited.

Ah, gods could really be rude, too.

Right now, Kyro was using Elis Ripperton's body. After all, he couldn't stay as a spirit for a long time or else, the Sky God would get a chance to forcefully bring him back to the heavens. But since Kyro's spirit was strong, he also needed a strong body as a host.

Although the Blue Dragon's physical form wasn't a real human body, it was still better than having none.

"Garnet tried to make a deal with Lady Nystrom," Aku said while pouring whisky in Kyro's glass. "In exchange of the Red Phoenix, he offered her Lord Prescott's frozen corpse."

Kyro laughed softly while shaking his head. "It's quite dumb."

"Well, Garnet's actual plan is to guilt trip the Supreme," he said, then he took a sip of his drink before he continued. "He wanted her to hate the Red Phoenix for the downfall of the Nystroms. He thought Lady Nystrom would forgive him for the death of Lord Prescott easily."

"If the Supreme is still the same Soleil Rosenberg that we know, his plan may have worked," the Moon God said. "But unfortunately, my precious daughter-in-law has lost her moral compass in this lifetime."

"The Black Flame of Soleil Rosenberg and the cruelty of Lady Nystrom are a bad combination," he said while shaking his head. "In the past, we were able to use the Supreme's kindness against her. But this time, it seems like she doesn't have a weakness."

"That can't be true," Kyro said. "My daughter-in-law is still in love with my son, isn't she? She'll do anything and everything for him, just like how Soleil Rosenberg lost her everything for our little Nystrom."

"I'm not too sure about that, Lord Kyro," he said with a deep sigh. "The Supreme right now seems like she would abandon Kiho if she needs to."

The Moon God fell silent for a while before he spoke again. "Then, let's use our last ace."

He straightened up in his seat. "This early?"

"My dear daughter-in-law is scaring me," he said with a soft laugh. But then, he instantly turned serious. "And don't forget about the Moon Serpent, Aku Moonchester. My grandson is prophecied to kill you. But you're not the only whom he can kill. The Moon Serpent isn't called the 'God Slayer' for nothing. Once my grandson's real power awakens, he'll be able to finish the job that he failed to do in the past." He smirked and took a sip before he pointed a finger at him. "The Moon Serpent might swallow the last moon this time, Aku Moonchester."

"No," he snarled lowly. "I was able to kill him the last time we met. I can do it again."

"You had the Holy Scepter back then, Aku Moonchester," Kyro reminded him. "The Sky God allowed you to borrow the Holy Scepter back then because you were able to trick him. But unfortunately, we don't even know where the Holy Scepter is hidden. The Sky God has managed to keep it from us this long. A sweet revenge, if I may say."

He let out a deep sigh. "Then, I guess we really have no choice but to use our trump card," he said while shaking his head. "Do you think Yumi's poison will still work on the second child even though she put it in his body back in his first life?"

"Of course," the Moon God said confidently. "My wife's poison doesn't only work on a person's physical body. The thing that she actually poisons is the soul."

"Ah, I feel bad," Aku said, then he sipped his whisky. "I'm actually quite fond of Julian."

"He was only born to serve as the Supreme's heart vessel," Kyro said casually. "And we only let him live because we can use him against the Moon Serpent."

***

TILLY picked up the red stone that served as her father's remains. Then, she stood up and put the stone close to her heart before she closed her eyes. "Kiho," she said, then she opened her eyes before she turned to her husband. "Please protect the children with your ice."

The adults around them could protect themselves.

She was worried about Winter and Julian because despite their strong powers, they still couldn't use them properly.

"I will," Kiho promised her. "But don't push yourself too much, honey."

She just smiled and nodded. "Thank you, hon."

"Be careful, Mommy," Winter said. "We're here if you need us."

Julian nodded in agreement. "Good luck, Mother."

"Thank you, boys," Tilly said to her sons. Then, she faced forward and closed her eyes while summoning her Black Flame. She knew that the Black Flame inside her was only big enough to fuel her Mana to keep her alive. But she was willing to risk it all for that "war" to end as soon as possible. "It's time for the long winter in North to finally end."

***

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