Advancing.

In the space in front of Barronia's royal castle remained nothing but rubble and debris. Atlas strolled along the massive crater after sheathing his sword into the cane, eventually sliding within and towering over the King's bloody build.

"You did well, nephew. I didn't think you still had any love for that woman left, but my brother's lineage is always full of surprises, so I can't stay I'm entirely shocked." The progenitor kneeled beside his head, resting his arms over his leg.

"Wishing to ally with Talen and his comrades again isn't the wisest choice. But you can't take back the past, right? So I'll punish you. You could've agreed to my terms and taken Monstrum's arm for yourself, but because you decided to deviate, I'll be feeding it to Anthony myself and bring back their heads on a stick to you. Be grateful. You brought this upon yourself."

Atlas turned away and snapped his fingers, his long trench coat swaying with the winds. Apollo quickly appeared beside his superior, watching the space contort before him and slice open, forming a portal between space.

The Displacement hastily walked inside while the mastermind stood idle, turning back one last time with his hand on the cane. In the space of one second, he withdrew his sword and finished cutting, ridding Uriel of both hands in a flawless single cleave.

But the King hadn't the strength to even register his wound—he'd already faded into the slumber of unconsciousness Aella witnessed upon reappearing beside him.

She knelt and slid his arm into her lap, sliding her fingers along his shoulder before eventually reaching the end of his arm. Despite her attempt to heal using Fate-restoration, his hand wouldn't regenerate. Raven's eyebrow perked up. Around the stump at the end of his arm crackled black lightning, holding Atlas's signature.

'That man's aura has infected this wound. I'm positive that touching it would infect me too, meaning it's impossible to heal him using Fate-restoration.' She stood up and threw his arm over her neck, turning around to begin limping back toward the palace. "I'll help you, sir. I always will. So don't die, my King. Not until… Fate is done with you."

But there was only one thought in Uriel's mind. And that was—

Talen jumped away from his father's fist. Both hands raised, he steadily advanced again, watching Eros remain idle.

"You're getting faster," said the old man.

His son was quiet. The Unconquerable closed the distance instantly, uppercutting at Eros's chin, leaving him to just barely dodge back and step away as Talen continued attacking. Though his hands consistently deflected Talen's blows, there was something about them that was different from before—the flow of his aura. Eros smiled.

'It's working—Talen's adapting. I never got to become the strongest, but because of the augmentations in your aura and your unrivaled potential as one of the Amits, you could. My son, you could become… the pinnacle of Fate.'

The Unconquerable vanished from his

father's perspective, effectively widening his bright violet eyes. Talen appeared behind Eros with his hand raised, sinking it into the old man's shoulder and paralyzing his right arm.

Eros stepped back, glancing at his limb and then looking back at his son, spotting an imminent punch dive through space before inevitably crashing into the elder's face.

Talen's aura quickly faded, shaking his hand as his knuckles emanated steam. "That was good, right? I decided to try something new with my punches. As soon as my fist touches the opponent's face, my aura will reflexively flow into my knuckles and slam into their face. Hurts pretty bad, huh?" He stood over his father with a grin.

Eros chuckled. "It's amazing." He sat up, easily healing his face with an automatic Restoration technique. "Your potential even after you've become an adult is still boundless. I can't help but feel proud. At the rate you're learning at, son, we finish Lesson Four and start Lesson Five today."

The lawyer nodded. "As I said, I can handle anything you throw at me. Nothing compares to Monstrum and Atlas. Honestly, I can't help but not understand. Well, not the bit about the Disastrous, but grandfather… how is he still alive? And, uh—"

He scratched the back of his neck. "—the more I think about it, the timeline kinda doesn't add up. From what I remember, Atlas is one of Kismet's founding fathers. But that was over 1,000 years ago. Meaning he has the whole 900-year time span to do whatever he. And among whatever he did across that millennium included having you."

"He's been planning for this a while." Eros scratched his cheek. "Then again, we don't have any idea of what he's planning in the first place, do we?"

Talen shook his head. "No, we don't. He's the one who resurrected both me and Uriel at pivotal moments. But why? For the sake of what?" He sighed. "It's all so intricate it makes my head hurt. Plus that and having to worry 'bout Lora being kidnapped… we have a lot to worry about."

Eros stood up, wiping the dust off his pants. "You're right, we do. But it's not all on your shoulders. We came with you for a reason. So we'll help you."

"Yeah, you came for a reason without me asking. What if I came with just Tony and Alora originally? Having my whole family around is going to get irritating after a while," he said.

"Shut up." Eros slapped his son upside the head. "You should be grateful to have a family. People that care about you. That's all anyone ever needs in this world anyway."

The Unconquerable slapped away his father's hand and relinquished a sigh. "Yeah. Guess you're right or whatever." He turned to his father. "Hey, you said something about Lesson Five. What's that?"

"The final piece of the Unconquerable puzzle. Lesson Five: Harmony."

But while the Unconquerable father and son were sparring behind the apartment building they lodged up in, Anthony was following Valentina down an aisle in the supermarket.

"You know, miss, I don't understand. Why did you want me to come too? I could've trained with Talen and Eros," he said.

Val grinned. "That's kinda the main reason I brought you."

Just as she said that Ava zoomed past, her little brother in the middle of the cart she was pushing through the store. The siblings yelled as loud as they could while enjoying their little joy ride.

Tony's eye scanned their surroundings. Though the kingdom's exterior was bustling with structures that scraped the skies, their inhabitants were nowhere to be found.

"What's up with this deserted place anyway? The apartment, streets, even this place that's supposed to be crowded. Where the hell is everyone?"

Val stopped in her tracks and lowered her head, unintentionally throwing her hair over her eyes to cover their purple vibrancy.

"There's a part of the story my husband told that he purposefully omitted," she said.

The vessel's eyebrow quirked. "What's so bad he decided to remove it from the story completely?"

"The complete decimation of Helenheim's kingdom and the extinction of all its residents."

Anthony's head tilted. "Huh?" he asked.

Valentina facepalmed. She turned around, beckoning the man to follow with the wave of her hand. He obeyed.

"My husband said that after the old King opened that slice in the dimensional barrier, the Displacements were released from their imprisonment and free to explore the Empire. But he was lying. The Displacements sunk into the Capital and began feasting while Monstrum's arms sought proper vessels. It was full-blown chaos. Eros and Barron were desperate. My husband told me he was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the people and attempt to annihilate those monsters. But the King stopped him. Said there was another option. One where neither of them had to die."

Tony snickered. "That's ironic," he said.

"I agree."

She exited the supermarket from the back door. The lot they entered was vacant and grey, devoid of nothing but cars and flat space for miles on end. Anthony gawked at the sky with a hand over his eyes, whistling at the horizon. He turned back to Valentina.

"Pretty nice view, huh?"

Val nodded. She slid the bag off her shoulder, her arms out the coat sleeves, and her feet into military boots. Tony looked at her with doe eyes.

"What're you doin'?"

"Preparing," she said, wrapping the bandages over her fists.

"For…?"

She giggled. "Ah, man. You're clueless, aren't you?" The woman's purple aura emerged from her bust and infested the rest of her build—heightening specifically around her bully legs to crack the ground directly below her. "It's kinda cute."

Tony flinched back. He pointed at her, shivering violently. "Y-y-you… you're not gonna kill me, are you?"

"Huh?" She waved away that question with a grin. "Of course not!" Val's eyes opened. "I'm here to train you. Ava's capable enough on her own and Archer can't be trained until Alora returns. Til then, for the past three weeks, you'll be fighting me without any breaks."

"Fighting you?" He crossed his arms and inhaled sharply. "Are you sure I can handle something like that?"

She guffawed. "Definitely! After all…" she crouched, holding her fist close to her chest. "You're my pupil. Make me proud, Anthony."

With encouraging words like those mixed into that elder feminine voice, he had no other choice. He willingly removed his eyepatch and grinned, raising one arm as if he were falling—scarlet-Fate irradiating his pale figure.

And so, the advancement begins.

Two weeks into their training regiment, Talen and Anthony took Sunday off, remaining inside the apartment gathered around the coffee table centered in the living room.

Removing the joint from his lips, the former lawyer hissed smoke out his mouth and watched it mix into the air. "Shouldn't the food be here by now?"

Tony shrugged, seated across from his friend. "You're the one who ordered from Jotan," he said.

"Well, it's not like there are any places open around here to eat anyway! S'not my fault this whole place is deserted."

Tal put the spliff back into his mouth and started inhaling, gradually burning the end of the stick. He sighed shortly after, spewing smoke out once more.

"I guess. Oh, did you hear? When I started training a few weeks ago, your mom told me a secret. That the story—"

A familiar presence entered the fray—one that entangled the entire building by simply standing outside. Despite the pressure it initially released, Talen wasn't worried, he just carelessly continued smoking. Tony glanced at the door and then back at his friend.

"W-wha… what the hell was that?"

Amit sighed. "A nuisance."

The apartment door entrance barged open, revealing a tall dark-skinned lady with white hair in a braided bun and bright blue eyes. An utter beauty. She beamed at Talen. He tiredly stared at her.

"I'm backkkkkk!"

"Good to see you again… Lily."

To Be Cont.