"I DON'T really remember the place where I was while waiting for me to be born in this world," Winter said, then he sipped his hot chocolate before he continued speaking. "But all I remember is it felt like I was in the womb. And a mother figure took care of me back then."

Julian nodded carefully after hearing Winter's story. He didn't doubt his brother because he had no reason to lie. Most of all, he would always believe Winter. He already learned from his mistake when he didn't believe that his Mother was really his mother. Since then, he promised himself that he wouldn't make the same mistake again. "There are only a few goddesses in the heaven. We can narrow our list down now thanks to you, Winter."

His younger brother smiled proudly.

He also couldn't help but smile and gently pat Winter's head. "Thank you."

"Are you going to bring me with you now, Brother?"

"No."

Winter scowled. Well, to be honest, he looked like he was throwing tantrums. Despite having an older soul, he was still immature. It was probably because he had a strict childhood in the past. So now that he was born into a loving family, he had the freedom and the privilege to be a spoiled child. "Why not? I already proved that I'm useful."

"It's because I love you, Winter."

His younger brother, who was obviously not used to him being vocal about his feelings, suddenly turned red as if he was shy. "Why are you suddenly saying that, Brother? It's cringey."

He laughed. Winter spent a long time with their mother that he had already started using unfamiliar words casually. He wasn't jealous because he knew that the more time he spent with his family, the more he would adapt the way Winter did. Those were things that he didn't want to rush. "I'm just saying it in case I lose the chance to say it in the future."

Ah, I shouldn't have said that.

Winter scowled, obviously upset by the implication of his words.

Julian already promised to change. But he had lived as a pessimist for a long time. Sometimes, he said negative things without actually meaning it.

"Hey, don't talk like that," Lady Solenn scolded him, then she lightly flickered his forehead with her fingers. "You're going to make Winter cry."

He just smiled apologetically at the young princess.

"I'm not crying," Winter insisted while glaring at Solenn. "And I won't."

"Please don't fight," he told Winter and Solenn, then he faced his brother again and gently patted his head. "I apologize for the careless words I used, Winter."

His younger brother was about to say something when they heard a knock on the door.

Then, when the door opened, the three of them stood up and greeted his Mother and Lord Forrester. They only sat back on the sofa when his mother and the former saint sat on the sofa from across them.

"Julian, I already made a decision," his mother said seriously. "I'm going to let you and Solenn go to the Plane."

Julian's eyes widened in delight. "Really, Mother?"

"Yes, but I have a condition," his mother said, then she politely gestured to the former saint with a han. "I want you to bring Lord Forrester with you."

"I'm kind of familiar with the Plane since I've been there in the past," Lord Forrester said. "I want to go there as well because I believe that I can find my father in the Plane. May I join you in your journey, Lord Julian and Lady Solenn?"

"I don't mind if you join us, Lord Forrester. Having you join us will put me more at ease," Lady Solenn said, then she turned to him. "But the final decision is on you, Julian."

He was adamant about letting Winter join them because he didn't want to put his brother's life in danger.

But if Lord Forrester joined him and Lady Solenn to their journey to the Plane, their success rate would increase. He wasn't saying that Winter wouldn't do the same if he joined them. It was just that bringing someone who knew the Plane's blueprint would be more logical.

"It's an honor to have you join us, Lord Forrester," Julian said with a smile. "Please allow us to share with you the things that Winter told us a while ago."

***

AFTER TILLY listened to Julian and Winter, she felt relieved to know that the children wouldn't blindly roam in the Plane. "You have a lead and that's a good start," she said while nodding her head. "Like what you said, Julian, there's only a few goddesses in the heaven. It's dominated by gods after all."

"That's right," Lord Forrester agreed with her. "And there's a fewer goddesses stationed in the Plane. We can begin by making a list of the goddesses in the Plane that I'm familiar with." He turned to Winter. "Lord Winter, can you tell me the things that you remember about the "mother figure" that you met in the Plane?"

"I can try," Winter said. "But my memory of that moment is hazy. I'm not sure if I can give useful clues in identifying that goddess."

"It's okay, Winter," Julian told his brother encouragingly. "Anything is fine."

Tilly smiled at how her little boys supported each other.

Seeing her sons' strong bond reminded her of her own brother. She also remembered that Wixx requested an audience from her. It seemed like the Red Phoenix had come up with a plan to counter Aku Moonchester's plan to attack Solarium.

"Lord Forrester, Winter, Julian, go ahead and continue your meeting," Tilly said, then she turned to Solenn who was just about to sip her hot chocolate. "Solenn, come with me to the conference room."

***

"EVERYONE in this room probably knows that I'm crazy," Wixx asked Tilly, Solenn, Jameson, and Roarke who were in the conference room with him. "Right?"

"We know, Brother," Tilly said. "It's not news to us."

Nobody among Solenn, Jameson, and Roarke voiced out their agreement with Tilly in fear of disrespecting him. Only her little sister had the galls to do that, and he loved that about her.

"I'm glad to know that you're already aware of that. I hope you don't get too surprised by the plan that I came up with," he said, then he paused for a while before he continued speaking in a serious tone. "I want to literally bring Solarium down."

Everyone, including his little sister who grew up with his crazy antics, still looked shocked by his declaration.

"Listen to me before you react," he told them. "I know it won't be easy to bring the floating island back to earth. Even I can't assure that Aku Moonchester and his cronies wouldn't notice us once the island landed on the ground. But I believe that Ainsworth, as an Ancient Beast that controls the earth, can help us with that. And so, I want to push through with this plan."

"Brother, may I know why you suddenly wanted to bring Solarium back to earth?" Tilly asked curiously. "Do you think you can't protect the floating island from Aku Moonchester's attack? Don't we have the advantage in aerial battle because you can fly and he can't? He even borrowed Nia Moonchester's winged-guardian."

"I know that I have the upper hand in an aerial battle," he told his sister seriously. "But Tilly, don't forget that to keep the island afloat, every single one of the Keepers has to use their flame. If a war in Solarium breaks out, how can they protect the people if they are busy keeping the island afloat? Not every Fire Mage in Solarium can fight."

His sister fell silent, and she was probably thinking about his plan carefully.

"May I speak, Lord Wixx?" Solenn, who was often casual to him, spoke formally this time. She was probably acting as Solaris's representative and not as his granddaughter. When he nodded encouragingly at her, she continued talking. "I agree with your decision. If it's only you and Aku Moonchester fighting, I am confident that you'd win. But knowing how sly the emperor is, he'll probably bring his cronies. He won't hesitate to target ordinary civilians even if we're supposed to be in a "divine war.""

He nodded at Solenn's thoughts. "Thank you for sharing your opinion, Solenn. I'm sure that your father will agree with you if he was here."

The young princess smiled proudly.

She looks like Solaris whenever I praised him in the past.

He turned to Jameson and Roarke. "I want to hear your opinion as Keepers, Jameson and Roarke."

"I agree with you, Lord Wixx," Jameson, who seemed to have forgotten how to curse, said with a firm nod. "I want to fight, but I can't go all-out if I need to keep the island afloat with my flame."

"It's not that I'm disagreeing," Roarke began hesitantly. "But Lord Wixx, may I hear how you plan to protect the Fire Mage clan once Solarium landed back on earth?"

"I'm glad that you asked that. As expected of my son," Wixx said, proud that his son wasn't a blind follower. "I'm actually thinking of bringing the island here in the North."

"Here? You're going to bring the Fire Mages in a territory where it's always snowing?" Tilly asked, her eyes widening in shock. "What exactly are you planning, Brother?"

***

"WE WILL open the gates of the Plane for you but you have to hurry. You know that we can't keep it open for a long time, don't you?"

Kelsi smiled when she heard that strange voice talking to Stella, aka Elaine Moonchester. "Did you hear that, Wong?" she asked. Then, she pressed the small stone attached to the button in her hand. That paused the recording that she made Wong listen to. "Elaine Moonchester seems to be involved with the Plane."

Wong, who stopped drinking tea midway, looked at her as if she grew two heads. "I still can't believe that your little trick on spying the Royal Palace worked."

"It would have been better if you attached the voice recording device to Elis Ripperton," she said with a smile. "But it seems like having it attached on Stella instead is also a good thing."

When Wong didn't react, she tilted her head at one side until it hit his shoulder.

"What?" he complained.

"I did a good job," Kelsi said with a pout. "Give me a pet head, Wong."

Wong let out a deep sigh, then he awkwardly patted her head. "Happy now?"

***

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