"YOU'RE STILL calling me 'grandson,'" Winter complained at the golden ball of fire. "You told me before that you were a god. But you didn't properly introduce yourself to me."

"We didn't have enough time in the past," the golden ball of fire said. "Come to think of it, I wasn't able to give you my name back then."

"Oh, that's right.

"My name is Sulien and I am the Sun God," he said. "But you can just call me 'Grandpa,' Winter."

"Are you telling me to call you 'Grandpa' as a respectful way to call you or are you really my grandfather?"

That was his concern because the fact that Sulien was the Sun God didn't surprise him anymore. He always had the hunch about his identity. It wasn't that hard to figure it out because of his grandfather's pure Mana.

"What do you think, Winter?"

"Your flame feels as warm as my mommy's flame," he said hesitantly. "I think you are the father of Soleil Rosenberg."

"You talk as if Soleil is a different person from your mother."

"It's my parents' decisions to separate themselves from their past selves and to live in the present," he explained. "Most of all, I think for my Mommy, Lord Prescott will be the only father in her heart. I'm sorry if I offended you, Grandpa Sulien."

He decided to still call the Sun God 'grandpa' because he wanted to be respectful to him. After all, he was the one who gave him another chance to correct the mistakes of his past life in this lifetime.

"I'm not offended. I completely understand, Winter," his grandfather said, then he changed the topic. "Do you remember when I told you to not tell anyone about your past life?"

He nodded. "I kept my promise, Grandpa."

"I know, grandson," he said. "I told you to keep it a secret because I didn't want the enemies who haven't retrieved their memories yet to take advantage of what you know. But now that everyone who is involved in the past war have retrieved their memories, I'm giving you the right to tell your parents what happened back then."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I can do that now?"

"You discovered something in the past that your mother didn't," his grandpa said seriously. "Winter, you have an older brother in this lifetime, don't you?"

"Yes," he said with a proud smile. "He's called 'Julian,' Grandpa."

"What if I tell you that he has the ability to kill you?" Grandpa Sulien asked. "Would you still consider him as a brother instead of an enemy?"

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Brother Julian can kill me?"

"The Holy Scepter has merged with that boy," he explained. "And the Holy Scepter is the only weapon in this world that could kill you, Winter. If the enemies hear about this, I'm certain that they will do everything to have your brother and use him to kill you. That's why the most logical thing to do now is to kill him before he turns into an enemy."

"Grandpa," he said in a warning tone, his fists clenched tight. Ah, now he understood why his father and uncle fought a while ago. This must be the reason. "I respect you and I owe you one for bringing me back to my family. But if you talk about killing my brother again, then I'll never forgive you."

"Didn't you hear me, grandson?" he asked strictly. "That brother of yours is a dangerous weapon."

"He's not a weapon," he snarled angrily. "I don't care if Brother Julian is the Holy Scepter or what. I know that he will never kill me. We will protect him and we won't let the enemies lay a hand on him."

"Are you confident that you can do that?"

"Of course," he said smugly. "We are the sons of the Black Serpent and the Supreme Fire Mage. We can figure it out together."

"Then, is that your final decision?" Grandpa Sulien asked. "Do you still intend to welcome the Holy Scepter as a part of your family?"

"Brother Julian isn't the Holy Scepter," he said firmly. "He is my brother, and he is the oldest son of House Nystrom."

"Very well," the Sun God said in a satisfied voice. "Now, I'll share your previous memories with your family so that you could figure out how to save Julian."

His ears perked up at that. "Really, Grandpa? Were you just testing me and my feelings for my family?"

"You can say that," he admitted. "That boy Julian's existence is very dangerous. But because you insisted that he's a part of your family despite the danger that he pose, then I shall accept him as my oldest grandson too."

"Can we really save him, Grandpa?"

"I can only give you a hint through the important memories of your past life," he said. "It's up to you if you can make it work."

He nodded firmly. "We will make it work," he promised, then his brows furrowed in confusion. "But Grandpa, where were you all this time?���

"The Sky God and I are in a place that nobody could reach," the Sun God said in a somewhat lonely voice. "But don't worry, grandson. Soon, we will make our move to assist you. For now, you need to go back to your family and tell them my message."

"Sure, Grandpa," Winter said while nodding his head. "We'll see each other again, won't we?"

"That is up to you, my precious grandson," Grandpa Sulien said. "I will pray for your success for the chance of us to meet properly next time."

And just like that, the whole room was suddenly engulfed in a blinding bright light.

Oh, he's really the Sun God, huh?

***

KIHO WAS surprised when all of a sudden, the ice coffin that he enclosed Winter with started to melt fast.

He was startled because the Mana that he felt didn't feel like it came from Winter. After all, his youngest son's fire Mana was weak unlike his ice Mana. But this time, he felt an enormous amount of flame inside his son.

It almost feels like Tilly's Black Flame…

His thoughts were cut-off when Winter woke up and stood in front of him while rubbing his eyes with his hand.

When he saw his son's appearance, he was shocked.

"Good morning, Dad," Winter greeted him in a lazy voice. When he couldn't come up with a reply, he opened both of his eyes and looked at him with a worried look on his face. "What's wrong, Dad? Is there something on my face?"

"Yes," Kiho said when he found his voice again. "Winter, your hair and eye color have changed."

"Huh?"

"It's black on the top and silverish on the bottom now," he explained to his son. "Your eyes were a deep shade of purple when you woke up but now, they have returned to being gold."

But the most prominent change in his son was his Mana…

… ah, it would be more appropriate to say that his aura was now something akin to the pure energy that gods emit.

It's like Winter's power as the Moon Serpent has been half-awakened.

"Winter, do you feel alright?" Kiho asked his son who was trying to look at his appearance in the window. When Winter turned to him, he got down on one knee and put his hands on his shoulders. His youngest son's body still felt as cold as usual. Yet, he knew that something inside him had been literally ignited. "Your scales are gone. Are you not in pain anymore?"

"I feel alright now, Dad," Winter said, then he wrapped his tiny arms around his neck. "But I feel sleepy…"

***

TILLY was relieved when Winter finally opened his eyes.

A while ago, they all felt a strange presence in the house. When she ran to the room where she left Kiho and Winter, she was so surprised to see the huge change in her son. Her husband said it happened after their youngest awakened.

It's not only his appearance– his Mana now feels very different.

"Mommy…" Winter said, then he smiled at her before he turned to his father and brother. "Dad, Brother Julian…"

Right now, she was sitting on the edge of the bed beside Winter.

Kiho and Julian were standing behind her. Since she didn't want their youngest to be overwhelmed once he woke up, she asked their friends and allies to give their family privacy.

She offered Wixx to stay with them. But her brother said that he felt a hostile energy not far from their location. So the Red Phoenix went outside to patrol. Ainsworth insisted to come so the Golden Tiger followed her brother.

"Mommy, I met Grandpa Sulien," Winter said when he got up with the help of Kiho. "He said he's the Sun God."

She almost choked on her saliva because of what she heard. "The Sun God…"

"The Sun God is your father, honey?" Kiho asked him in a confused tone. "But as far as I remember, you and Winchell are the children of House Rosenberg."

She nodded in agreement. "That's what I know too, hon."

"But Mother, don't other people call you 'Daughter of the Sun?'" Julian asked politely. "Do you think that it means you're the daughter of the Sun God?"

She didn't want to admit this but Julian was right.

But it wasn't like it was the first time that she thought of that. For some reason, her mind kept denying it.

Plus, Kyro said that I "swallowed" the sun.

But then again, she shouldn't trust an enemy's words so easily.

"Mommy, Daddy. Brother, I have something more important to tell you," Winter said. Then, much to their shock, his usually golden eyes had turned into a deep shade of purple. It was almost black, but it was glowing with a gold-ish light that reminded her of the "pixie dust" that she had seen in a movie in her second life. "Grandpa Sulien said that you're allowed to see the memories of my previous life now."

Tilly was just about to ask how but all of a sudden, the room that they were in was engulfed in a blinding light.

Okay, what now?

***

WIXX, who was flying up in the sky with his flaming red wings open wide, could see from afar the army of "ice puppets."

From his estimations, he could tell that there were a thousand of undead soldiers marching towards them. It wasn't a lot compared to the enemies that he had to fight in the past. But it wasn't going to be an easy battle because not everyone's strength was up to his standards.

Judging by their normal speed, they would reach their location in a few hours. Yes, they were still that far. But he was using his heightened senses at the moment.

"Little tiger," Wixx said, then he looked down at Ainsworth who was running on the ground below him. "Go back and tell everyone to prepare for battle."

***

"WINTER."

Winter rolled his eyes before he turned around to face his father. He was in the middle of wiping off the blood in his dagger's blade when his father entered his room. So he had no choice but to put his hands behind his back to hide the bloody weapon. "Welcome back, Father."

Duke Kiho Prescott, his father, was the infamous captain of the Black Serpent Knights. He was also dubbed as the emperor's "shadow beast." People were really scared of his father, and he understood why.

Father always has a cold look on his face.

"Have you met visited your mother recently?" his father asked. "It has been a while since you spent time with her."

His crazy mother had left the mansion a few weeks ago after a big fight with his father.

But of course, his father who was already tired of his mother's tantrums didn't bother to ask her to return. Ever since then, his mother would just call for him and he would be forced to visit her in the Prescott's mansion where she currently resided.

"I was with Mother the other day, Father," he answered formally. "We went shopping."

'Shopping' would be an understatement.

After all, his mother was known in the whole empire as a big spender. But nobody would dare to call her out, not even his father. It wasn't like she was only spending his father's money. Everyone knew that his mother received a huge amount of inheritance from his late grandfather.

"Winter."

"Yes, Father?"

"If your mother and I divorced, would you choose to come with your mother or stay with me in this mansion?"

His eyes widened in shock. Well, he knew that his parents had a hellish marriage. But he didn't expect his father to be the kind of man who would break his promise. After all, before his grandfather died, he swore that he would protect his mother. "Father, are you going to divorce Mother?"

His father just gave him a firm nod as a response.

Now, that was surprising.

Despite his father's stoic personality, he knew that he genuinely cared for his mother. He didn't get tired of her and her awful behavior for the past years. What could have changed his father's mind?

Could it be…

Winter grasped the hilt of the dagger in his hands tight. "Father, why did you suddenly decide to divorce Mother?"

"I met a woman called Lucina Morganna," his father said coldly. "I'm going to marry her."

***

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