Yukino placed flowers on the many graves of the abandoned Kazoku Village cemetery; Kakunō and Kenkō joined in. Haruto walked to Hokori from behind and looked at the four mausoleums. “Is this why you view this world as black-and-white?” His eyes remained stern.

He sighed and turned around. “No, boy… Death is a natural thing. Parallaxis is black-and-white because it isn’t much different. I had fantastic parents in both worlds. My friends were one of a kind. But even back on Earth, I knew pain like everyone else.

“Living until a hundred makes you witness a lot of nasty shit.” He held his shoulder. “Make no mistake. I never regretted my life, and I ain’t regrettin’ it now.” He lent Haruto a fistbump, who complied. He walked past him. “Still… there’s some unfinished business I gotta do.”

He turned and followed behind. “Wh-What do you mean ‘unfinished’?”

He did not respond and called the others out of the cemetery.

He led them to a harrowing scene. Yukino gasped with her mouth covered. The village had now reached the phase of being wiped off the map by 50%. Alessandro Inc.’s stations sprawled on every block. Bright billboards adorned every ten meters of land.

Novusian mages put every defiant resident to sleep via runes. Not even children got spared. They hid in their homes, fearing that immense pain would occur. Their mothers shielded them in front. The next thing they knew was sweet dreams. The mages rounded them in massive flying trucks leading to Coelestis. Behind them, Hokori cracked his knuckles. His eyes glared.

“Don’t do this. Don’t do this!” Haruto tried pushing him back. “Please, I beg of you. We don’t want you in jail!” He called his family for help. However, they stood in place. His daughter shook her head. Kakunō also glared at the brigade mages; Kenkō did the same and held Yukino close. No matter how he pleaded, none of them moved. Then, he got shoved away.

The mages cast runic arrays and warned Hokori he could be held accountable by the Vulgus Chamber. “I repeat, sir Udemaeno,” one exclaimed. “Drop the potential assault, or we’ll partake in it ourselves!”

Unfortunately, the Peerless Champion prepared a downward uppercut. Knowing his world-shaking feats, they tucked tails and ran. “No!! Don’t do it!” Haruto sprinted. Before he could do anything, he threw a spear hand to the ground.

His forearm embedded itself deep in the earth. He pulled up an entire stretch of land that flipped over the three highways. His family stood in complete shock. It was like a mountain formed before their eyes, and the “ditch” was more like a canyon.

Hokori still did not finish his task. He jumped down the said “ditch” and dug through bedrock like soft sand; an underground reservoir filled it to the brim. Villagers nearby walked to the scene in curiosity. They realized what he had done and cheered loudly. To see the little boy who played in their streets become the pinnacle of power became overwhelming. Everyone of all ages cried tears of joy and cried out his name.

Yukino’s eyes released a waterfall and hugged Kenkō. “It’s amazing, Big Sis… I can feel the warmth of their hearts. Uncle’s a true hero!” She bawled at her.

She rubbed her back. “Of course, Yukichi. He may disagree. But I knew him the most.” She smiled with tears. Even Haruto and Kakunō could not help but shed some joy.

Hokori walked past them. “Aight, I set their plans back for twenty years. It’s the least I can do.”

Haruto walked from behind. “B-But, Hokori…! Those mages. You just—”

“None of ‘em ain’t dead, boy. They used portal runes n’ shit. I never wanted them to cross the other side. They have families, y’know?”

After hearing such empathy, Haruto stopped in his tracks as his family moved. He smiled and stood proud of his brother. He turned to the villagers and wished them a happy life—forever till the end. They said the same and waved goodbye.

He kept up with his family and walked beside them. He looked back and was mesmerized by the sunset peeking out of the manmade mountain. He cleared his throat. “So, Hokori. Any idea where my Tokino went? She didn’t stay outside the cemetery.”

Yukino gasped. “By the Gods, you’re right. Is Mama lost? Oh, no….” The more she worried, the more her thoughts turned dark. Her sister calmed her.

He chuckled over her words. “That’s a load of bull, kiddo. Your mom knows my home like the palm of her hand.” He stretched and yawned. “Still… dunno where she went. Might be taking a long whiz for all we—”

The devil’s tongue spoke that afternoon. The mentioned mother helped tend an elderly woman’s lavender garden. She bowed, “I hope you’re now ten times happier, ma’am,” and walked toward her family. She put a flower on Yukino’s hair, who loved it instantly.

Kenkō loved it too much and hugged her tightly. “Yukichi… Yukichi. Yukichi….” She repeated the nickname seven more times.

Tokino walked toward Haruto next, and his cheeks reddened as their lips touched. She wrapped her arms around him. “I feel like I don’t appreciate you enough, honey. I hope this’ll do for now.” She made the first move again. Her daughter and sister blushed in front.

Next, she hugged Kakunō. “I’m sorry for everything, brother. I’ll never yell at you again.”

He did not expect his cheeks to turn red like the others. Made worse when he saw Tokino’s sincere smile. He scratched the back of his head. “D-Don’t sweat it, ma’am. I’m the one who started it.”

She giggled with closed eyes. “Okay….”

She turned to Hokori. It took only a few steps for a river to flow out; she hugged him the tightest. “Glad to see you again, brother… I accept and love you with all my heart. For years, I forgot who you were—everything about you. From now on, I’ll atone and never ask for forgiveness….”

Hokori’s heart calmed over her declaration. Still, he told her to get off; she apologized. “Take it easy, kid. This world ain’t no K-drama. Let’s go home.”

Unexpectedly, she shook her head. “I mean it with every bit of my soul.” She pulled out a kitchen knife and drew it on her hand. Her daughter winced, and the others stood confused.

“Let’s swear upon it. Like the olden times.” She lent a handshake. “As you told me long ago: let’s all live a damn good life—forever till the end….”

He smiled and agreed. He even went so far as to suggest doing it with both hands. The others never saw such a practice done by non-royalty.

Before stepping aboard their airship, Hokori and his family waved at the residents; the village head cried the most. As their ride flew back to Coelestis, the sunset followed. Outside, Haruto stood near a railing and reminisced his wife’s words. To think he was not the first who Hokori declared to live life in such ways.

He looked over the horizon and clutched his chest. “We’re finally complete… Rubio.”

In the City of Gods, another invasion occurred. Instead of black ink dwellbeasts, it was a swarm of firedrakes. This phenomenon could only happen if a queen perished outside of natural causes. On the city’s eastside, Hokori fully healed thirty; they neared death by an inch. “C’mon, y’all! Show me more!” He cracked his knuckles and neck.

“You know they can’t understand you, right?” said Kakunō with eyes squinted.

Yukino decided to stay home with Kenkō. Her damaged heart needed a lot of healing.

Haruto fought alongside Feuer on the westside. “What are you doing, young lad!?” exclaimed the latter. “You’ve not done even the bare minimum.” He noted his will to fight—or lack thereof. Even with more complaints thrown at him, he rarely swung his swords. His skin got burned by multiple firedrakes.

Having had enough, Feuer flooded entire streets in magma. Not even dragon skin could resist his magic’s intensity. He held his shoulder. “We’ve no time for sorrows, lad. Despair about your wife later.” He sprinted into the distance.

After an hour, the entire horde of twenty thousand got culled.

Back home, melancholy filled the air. Even Hokori’s pet Kelpie spadefish refused to eat its monthly cadaver hand.

Hokori sighed with his eyes closed. “Let’s fight for her. All my lawyers bolted out of the case. At this point, it’s worth a shot.” Surprisingly, they agreed. He expected them to find it impossible—or rethink such a wild idea.

They went by transit. Yukino’s eyes remained stern, nothing shed. Her siblings were proud of her internally. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the Vulgus Chamber: Coelestis’ parliament and supreme court.

Protesters picketed outside the building. They demanded to replace “God Law” with “Human Law.” Numerous had megaphones and chanted loudly.

Inside, Yukino gasped upon seeing the gold statues hanging above the lobby. It was the entire pantheon of Parallaxis. Even Mikadzukihantō’s deities had a place in it, albeit smaller.

In the courtroom, however, she huddled behind her big sister. It was massive, many meters wide. Yet, she felt immense claustrophobia everywhere. Every high-ranking official in the city sat for Tokino’s trial. Eyes glared intently, while others showed indifference.

The room looked more like the Fools’ Theater colosseum. The rows of seats encircled a single stand at the center. She could bear to see her mother that way. It was like a wolf pack eyeing a helpless rabbit. Unlike her viewpoint, however, the “rabbit” never showed weakness. She stood tall.

Minutes later, the court session began. In front of the grand room lay an enormous marble statue; Yukino gasped again as she saw it kneel. It was none other than the king of Gods: Uruvākkam. For a mega annum, many scholars reiterated the tale of his ten-thousand arms. Some even said he created both their universe and the one that housed Earth.

The statue had a gold scale on the left and a sideways thumb on the right. Harrowingly, the scale leaned to the red flame instead of the blue; guilty. The thumb moved nearly down.

Today’s prosecutor (and ever since) was Grausames “The Mallet” Denken. He kept his perfect record for seventy years. He made a name for himself when he sentenced a teenager to the Original Guillotine; he ignored the “controlled state” plea. The boy was a clone of the infamous rogue mage, Ted Manson.

He straightened his tie and slicked back his grey hair before entering. He walked around the room back and forth. “Sorry, folks. We can’t prolong the show any longer than a minute.” He pointed to the statue. “You see that? For any young’uns here, red fire bigger than blue fire means they’re bad. And a thumbs down means the police will take ‘em.

“But hey…” he shrugged and smirked. “Surely, the jury says otherwise. Perhaps anyone here can sympathize with Mrs. Minagawa—singlehandedly ending a long-standing corporation? My heart goes out to her mother’s demise. Those eyes tell me nothing of remorse!”

The court overwhelmingly showed a thumbs down. Only Hokori’s family did the opposite. Yukino began hyperventilating; tears welled up. At that moment, her mother smiled back with closed eyes. Her lips moved, declaring love. With that, she held it no longer.

Grausames chuckled. “Too bad….” He clasped his hands and smiled. “Case dismissed! Due to her mage privileges, she can visit her family one week yearly. And to top it off, she can—” He heard the statue making grinding noises from behind.

Before anyone in court saw him move, Hokori corrected the statue to its original state. The scale’s flames glowed equally, and the thumb went sideways again. “That’s prosperous!” one of the juries yelled. “He completely reset the case!”

“Yeah, you’re right! The last archmage who did that couldn’t even move the scale’s chains!”, “Blasphemy! He bent the Gods’ divine wills for his gain!”, “Execute!”, “Execute!”, “Execute!”, “Execute!”

As the court echoed louder, Grausames grunted with his teeth clenched. He turned to the judge. “Do just stand there, you damn geezer. Throw Tokino to the slammer! Now!!”

He sweated bullets and backed off. “A million apologies, Mr. Denken. I can’t go against their all-seeing presence. Poor great-grandma went forever bald when she—” His clothing got pulled by the enraged prosecutor that flash-stepped before him.

“Listen to yourself, you senile bastard… Earthly fairy tales and our hackneyed sagas aren’t so far apart as you think. Either find her guilty, or you’ll wish I abided from ripping your head off!” His breathing turned worse by the second. He heard chuckling from behind.

“That’s deadass lame, bruh. Why not go full villain mode instead of jerkin’ around the bush?” Hokori went on to mock his receding hairline.

Grausames let go of the judge and turned to him. His eyes narrowed. However, he straightened his tie and chuckled back. Said eyes turned droopy.

“You may have power that can combat the entire pantheon, ‘Peerless Champion.’” He cocked his head and tied his hands behind. “But power is inherently subjective. I crave your loss—you being the world’s worst attorney.”

Yukino sweated and panted throughout the commotion. Not even Kenkō could calm her anxiety.

“Mama… Please come home….”