With the defeat of Jagav, the mission the group of people had come ended in a complete failure. They were slowly rising and looking towards the crater at which their leader had crashed at, knocked out cold by the Dragon Titan. Lagron stood near the crater and looked down with a smug satisfaction on his face, happy at what had become of his enemy. At the same time, Dominic and Amaranda were flying towards them with disgruntled expressions on their faces.

“Sorry we’re late,” apologised Dominic immediately the moment he landed next to Tetra and their group.

“It’s okay, but what took you so long? Lagron got here quicker,” asked Sonia with a look of confusion on her face.

It was Amaranda who spoke with the same disgruntled expression on her face as before.

“He bound us with a movement freezing spell and said something about repaying debt before flying off to get here,” she explained telepathically in a dull voice. “I guess he owes you something and wanted to do it all alone.”

“Oh,” said Sonia, looking around at her sisters, who all showed the same surprised expression as her.

“I guess he kind of does owe us a bit,” admitted Tetra with a small smile, remembering the many times their husband, Asura, had saved Lagron’s life multiple times in the ancient times.

Silvera shook her head in amazement and looked towards Lagron while muttering, “That guy… he’s… something else.”

Lakshman, who was beside them and was also looking towards Lagron with a knowing expression on his face. He realised sooner than the rest that the Dragon Titan coming there alone must be his way of repaying the debt he owes to Lakshman and his wives for protecting him, his family, and his clan in the past. It was just that Lagron’s enormous amount of arrogant pride and ego did not allow him to accept help from anyone, not even the women he fell in love with.

Dominic was surprised by the sight of the Spirit Dragon and the Eternal Phoenix being there, and so he turned to the women and asked, “How did you manage to summon them?”

“We didn’t summon them,” replied Tetra in a quiet voice. “They materialised out of nowhere on their own.”

“That’s impossible,” said Amaranda telepathically in a firm voice. “Familiars cannot appear in this world on their own unless their master summoned them. It’s one of the laws that governs how familiars are used by their masters so that they are not misused or controlled by an unknown entity.”

As they fell silent, Dominic looked towards the group of men and said, “I’ll go secure those people up with Lagron.” He looked down at the unconscious forms of Emilia, Ondine, Sumara, and Venezuela as they lay on each of their laps. “Um… What happened to them?”

The girls explained about the injury they sustained and their surprise at seeing those injuries begin to heal themselves until they were back to normal. They became worried when the four women remained in their sleeping state while showing no sign of waking up.

“It must’ve been the fatigue of losing a lot of blood,” said Dominic, trying to act cool despite the worry he felt inside. “They’ll wake up soon, I think.”

Amaranda stepped forward and said telepathically, “I’ll look after them. You, please head over to Lagron and imprison those men.”

“On it,” replied Dominic, and he kicked off the ground and flew off towards Lagron.

Once he was gone, Amaranda kneeled down and placed her hand over the four of them before activating a spell without saying anything. In an instant, the four girls were surrounded by a pink light and then a green light and the cycle continued. This chain of coloured transitions occurred for several seconds before the lights died down but there still no sign of them waking up.

Lakshman, who was looking very anxious, asked Amaranda, forgetting that she cannot hear him, “What’s wrong, Amaranda? Why aren’t they waking up?”

She did not respond to him as she did not hear him, but when Tetra asked the same question, she replied telepathically, “I don’t know. The four of them appear to be drifting between life and death, and I don’t know how to pull them back. I mean, the seriousness of the injury had caused this side effect that’s making it difficult for them to get back, almost like a coma.”

Her words shocked everyone, and Lakshman rose into the air while shouting, “Noooo!!!” He glared up at the sky while shouting, “Dammit! Why?! Why?! Why the hell is this happening to me?! What have I done wrong to deserve this?! What wrong did they do to deserve this?! Why?!”

At that moment, a dark light flew over to them from the horizon at super speed before it came to a standstill near them. They turned and were surprised by its sight, becoming even more amazed when the dark light transformed to take the form of Sevedant, the Death Titan.

“Sevedant!” Tetra, Sonia, Erza, and Silvera all exclaimed at once.

In the distance, Lagron and Dominic turned and were looking amazed at the sight of their comrade standing there with them. Sevedant remained motionless in his usual manner, but he bent his back and looked down at the unconscious women lying on each of Erza, Priya, Indira, and Cantia’s lap, who had transformed back into her human form and was silently crying to herself.

“I’m glad you’re here, Sevedant! Can you find out what’s happened to them?” Erza asked anxiously.

He did not reply as he continued looking down at them with his red glaring eyes through the mask that hid his face. Then, he straightened up and turned to face, not at them, but towards Lakshman as if he could see him in plain sight. Lakshman was a little taken aback, but he quickly realised a person of Sevedant’s calibre would possibly have the ability to preserve beings of all kind.

“Deep sleep. Drifting. Edge of death,” said Sevedant slowly in his usual broken words. “Requires forceful awakening.”

They girls did not understand to whom he was speaking to and what he was saying, but Lakshman understood. Apparently, the four girls were deep in sleep and at death’s door, requiring something to forcefully make them break out of their sleep. Understanding the situation, Lakshman soared back down and hovered just over his wives before clapping his hands together and saying the magic spell that would enable him to enter their minds.

“Transcendent Talk.”

He felt his mind falling deep into an endless pit, and when he felt himself coming to a stop, he finally opened his eyes. He found himself standing on a bed of sand while the ocean waters slowly came back and forth with its smooth motion. Glancing around, he found that he was at the beach with the time representing night due to the moon hovering above them. He looked up and saw the stars twinkling beautifully as they decorated the sky with their presence.

“Where are they?” He asked himself, looking around and not finding a single soul there.

He began to walk in one direction, listening to the ocean swishing back and forth and appreciating the cool breeze softly touching his face. It was lonely there with no sign of life, but at the same time, he felt a strange sense of comfort in being there. It was almost as if the life he led till then was a sorrowful existence compared to this blissful feeling this place produced.

A few minutes of walking later, he came to a stop and looked towards the four girls standing in front of him. Emilia, Venezuela, Ondine, and Sumara stood there staring into the wide ocean with calm expressions on their faces. Upon sensing his presence, they turned towards him and smiled softly at the realisation of the man they loved was there with them.

“Ah,” they said slowly, smiling serenely at him. “You’re here.”

He nodded at them and said, “We have to go back.”

They nodded at him in understanding, but they still turned to face the ocean with soft smiles on their faces.

“I can hear my mother, Lucky. I can hear her calling out to me,” said Venezuela slowly, tears slowly flowing down her face.

“Yes. Mine as well,” admitted Emilia with a sad smile on her face.

“It’s not just you,” said Sumara, who looked towards Ondine who was also shedding silent tears. “Our lost parents are calling us. They want us to come.”

Lakshman was shocked to hear them because none of what they said made any sense. Emilia’s parents died at a young age and passed on many years ago, Venezuela’s mother died two-years-ago, and he performed the ritual that saw to her safe passage into heaven, Ondine’s had died when she was just a baby and had passed on after knowing that she was in good hands, and Sumara’s parents had also died at a young age and had also passed on after seeing how their daughter was turning out to be a fine magician.

He knew all about this from the memories that the Decisive Player shared with him, where he had seen to the parents passing on without any regrets. So, to listen to his wives saying they can hear their parents calling out to them was very confusing. Also, he knew for a fact that their parents would have wanted them to live as long as they possibly could since they themselves had lost that chance.

Lakshman turned and looked at the ocean, wondering for a moment where they were before remembering Sevedant’s words. That made him realise he was standing at the edge of the illusionary world known as the Ocean of Abyss. It is a gateway that projects itself to those in a very weakened state that were feeling despair from within. It tempts them into walking to this very place and then drowns their soul into its depths, taking them to the abyss where they are lost forever.

He walked over to them and pulled them together with his long arms before warning them, “Those aren’t our parent’s voices! It’s trying to trick us!”

“We know, Lucky,” said Emilia soothingly, placing her head on his chest for comfort.

“We know, but… it’s still sad to think that we can’t meet our parents again,” said Sumara sadly.

“I just wish I could meet them just once and express gratitude for… giving me this wonderful life,” said Venezuela sadly.

“I also want to meet my parents just once because… I never got to see them before,” admitted Ondine, sounding very sad.

He also looked sad at their words, but he steeled his heart and said, “I know you feel sad about losing your parents. I do, too, even though I don’t show it because a man of the family cannot show weakness because it’ll affect the entire family. Also, if there is one thing we should know about your parents is that they died protecting you, which means they want you to live. After all, the rising sun is much more beautiful than a setting sun.”

They turned to face him at his words in surprise, and Venezuela asked, “B-But… what about you, Lucky?”

“The fact that you’re also here means that you’re in a similar state like us, right?” Ondine asked in a worried voice.

Their words made him chuckle and smile before tapping each of them softly on the nose in a cute way.

“I’m your husband. I will rip through time and space if I have to reach out to you,” he said with a smile. “Now, come on. We better go before you worry your sisters any longer.”

They looked apprehensive, looking back at the ocean that was still calling out to them, before turning back to nod at their husband. With a smile on his face, he grabbed them all around the waist and slowly rose into the air. As he did, the world started to fade into white and everything disappeared. A moment later, Lakshman found himself floating in mid-air above his wives while breathing heavily due to the extensive amount of energy he had to use up. Still, he looked over everyone to see Emilia, Venezuela, Sumara, and Ondine slowly open their eyes.

Everyone instantly became cheerful and celebrated by clapping one another with their hands. Priya and Indira literally fell on the four women, hugging them each while crying their heart out. All the stress they felt was finally released, but no one said anything as they understood the pain it must have been to watch helplessly as they were at death’s door.

Amaranda stood up and smiled in happiness at Sevedant stood by in silence, but an air of satisfaction emanated from him at seeing his friend’s family reunited again. In the distance, Dominic was pleased to see them all looking happy while Lagron acted as if he did not care even though he did feel a tiny bit of relief.

Lakshman smiled happily at them before looking up at his familiars and saying, “Thank you two. I really appreciate the help you provided.”

“We didn’t do much, master,” replied Phylex telepathically, pleased to see the family reunited again.

Draga snorted and said telepathically, “I wish I could’ve done more, like trash that Dragon Titan!”

“That’s putting yourself on the wrong end of the stick,” replied Phylex telepathically in a curt voice, causing Draga to glare angrily at him. He ignored the dragon and turned to speak telepathically to his master, saying softly, “Anyway, good luck with your endeavours from here, master and always remember to call us if you ever need help. We’ll come.”

“I’ll only come if there’s a lot more bashing to do, with me doing the basing!” Draga added hopefully.

As the two familiars began to disappear, everyone looked up at them and said, “Thank you!”

Both Phylex and Draga bowed before vanishing from sight in shimmering lights. As they disappeared, Lakshman began to feel his Astral Form phasing out of existence and knew he had reached his limit and must return back to his body back in the Alzard World. He knew this, but it stung him in his heart to think of separating from his family so quickly after meeting them even though they did not know he was there.

“Lucky?” Emilia asked suddenly, startling everyone and surprising Lakshman in the process. She glanced all around her, trying to find her husband while calling again, “Lucky? Are you there?”

“Yeah! Where is he?” Venezuela asked in a puzzled voice, also glancing around.

“Um… Vodinalu?” Priya asked tentatively, looking worried for their sanity. “Are you… alright?”

“Yeah! Why’re you suddenly calling Lucky’s name when you know he’s not here?” Silvera asked, looking worried.

“We know he is here!” Sumara said firmly, and as they all looked confused, she turned to Erza and asked, “Erza, before I lost consciousness, I could’ve sworn I heard you say something. Outer Spirit was it?” When Erza nodded, Sumara looked around at them and said, “Lucky is here, in spirit! Possibly his Astral Form no doubt!”

“What?!” Silvera exclaimed sharply.

“Seriously?” Tetra asked in surprise.

“Are you sure?” Erza asked uncertainly. “I mean, he has to come all the way from… wherever he is. Isn’t it… dangerous?”

Sumara smiled while Emilia said, “Knowing our husband, he must’ve sensed us being in danger and came to help us. That’s why those men were attacked by an invisible warrior! It’s also why Draga and Phylex were suddenly summoned!”

Realisation dawned on them as they finally put the pieces together, smiles of happiness forming on their faces. They were very happy to find that their beloved husband had used a technique, despite how dangerous it was to transcend time and space to reach them. However, they wondered why he had not made his presence more obvious like they would expect him to, not knowing the guilty feelings he possessed for leaving them alone all this time and not wishing to present himself to them when they cannot see or hear him.

“I got an idea!” Ondine said, thinking quickly of what to do. “Place our right hand out like this,” and she stretched out her hand in front of her, “then place your hand over the previous hand.”

Following her direction, Tetra, Silvera, Emilia, Erza, Sumara, Venezuela, Cantia, and Sonia placed their hands over Ondine’s hands one by one. Even Indira and Priya joined in as they understood that Ondine was doing something with the way she arranged this.

“Lucky, if you can hear me and see us, please put your hand on this! That’s all I’m asking!” Ondine said loudly in a hopeful voice.

As instructed, Lakshman slowly moved forward and extended his hand out but suddenly stopped, his feelings getting in his way. That was when he heard Sevedant speak to him telepathically as he was the only one there remaining who could see or hear him.

“Why feel guilty? Did you cheat?”

“No, I didn’t, but… just look at me, Sevedant! I’m just a spirit! They can’t see or hear me! How am I supposed to be happy to interact with them like this?” Lakshman asked, sounding very sad as his face fell into disappointment.

That was when Sevedant surprised him by saying telepathically, “Love takes many forms, shapes, and sizes. You are a spirit. They are physical. So, what? It is compatibility. Basically, your love for your family. Your family’s love for you. That’s all.”

Lakshman looked down at himself slowly fading away and looked back at Sevedant before smiling and saying, “Yes, Sev. You’re right. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Go on before you run out of time,” said Sevedant telepathically, noticing Lakshman slowly disappearing.

Lakshman nodded, and he flew over to his family and gently placed his hand down on top of their hands. In an instant, every one of them felt warmth coursing through their bodies upon his touch. His wives knew he was the man of their family, and his sisters felt that he was indeed their brother. Though he was not there in the flesh, they were thrilled to know that he had been with them and doing his best to protect them from harm.

Though he knew they would not hear him, he still decided to say, “I have to go, but I promise I will come back!” He looked towards Sevedant and said, “Please pass on the message.”

The Death Titan nodded in understanding, and Lakshman smiled before taking his hand off their hands and flew into the air. He looked back down at them becoming surprised when his sensation of familiarity left them and smiled before flying towards the portal that brought him into that world. When he returns, he decided, he would take his family out to shopping and spend some time enjoying themselves again after a really long time.

He flew towards the portal as fast as he could, and upon reaching it, he was amazed to find that only a small portion of the portal was still open. Feeling that Asura was straining himself really hard, he flew towards it and instantly became particles of light before going into the portal. On the other end, Asura sat on his bed with his eyes closed while holding both of his hands out towards the small portal. He was gritting his teeth with his muscles being pressured to hold the portal open.

As he felt like he was going to lose a limb, particles of light flew through the portal before they formed into Lakshman. Sensing his presence, Asura groaned and relaxed his hands, allowing the portal to close on itself before he fell back on the bed.

“Ah…! Ow…! Oh…!” Asura groaned, his body aching from all over. “That was… unexpectedly painful to do!”

Lakshman, who was floating around in his Astral Form in the room, chuckled a little and said, “I can imagine. Anyway, relax while I take over.”

“Sure, but I warn you, it’ll hurt like hell,” advised Asura before Lakshman flew into his own body.

As Lakshman took charge of his body, he also began to experience the pain that Asura had been feeling till now. He yelled out at the sudden pain, he felt all over his body and struggled to lie still on the bed. Asura, now safely in the Unconscious World, sighed at seeing his current-self struggling on the bed while moaning in pain.

He merely shrugged his shoulders as he knew he cannot do anything to help him and said wryly, “Well, what goes around, comes around.”