XLIV

"What's going on here?" Rokas questioned, watching the Heavenly Saber floating around while Hong'er chased it.

"Big brother, this delicious food keeps running away!" Hong'er paused, pouting slightly as she looked at Rokas.

"I, the greatest sword in all existence, refuse to be eaten!" It countered, flying behind Rokas. "My liege, do enlighten this foolish child of the fact that I am your only sword."

"You're my sword now?" Rokas raised an eyebrow, turning to face it. His eyes widened slightly as he acknowledged that the blade had been completely restored…

'Seems like the System was right.'

"Well, we did not come onto a formal agreement… but I, the greatest sword in all of existence, have acknowledged you as my master ever since you shattered my blade!" The Heavenly Demon Saber announced in a grandiose manner.

'It sure is still full of itself…'

"Did I accept you as my sword?" Rokas questioned.

"You forged me for that purpose."

"I'm tempted…" Rokas sealed up the Heavenly Demon Saber, smirking a little.

"No… no… don't do this. What more do you want than my undying loyalty?"

"... Nothing." Rokas unsealed it. "I simply want you to know who runs this show and what could happen if you ever started acting up."

"Big brother, does that mean I can't eat it?" Hong'er looked terribly sad.

"No, not now." Rokas shook his head, patting hers. "Buut… I can make some more food for you, okay?"

"Mhm… but I want it to be delicious!"

"I promise it will be."

"Scary girl…" The Heavenly Demon Saber let out a sigh of relief. "Speaking of which, my liege. I, too, require sustenance!"

"... You can wait."

"Just because she's a cute girl…" The Heavenly Demon Saber muttered in a disapproving manner. "Favouritism at its finest."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, my liege!"

Rokas spent some time creating weapons for the two to munch on… from the outside looking in, it seemed like the Heavenly Demon Saber had inherited his Consume ability and was similar to Hong'er in the sense that he could eat swords and grow stronger. However, unlike Hong'er, he didn't just eat swords. The Heavenly Demon Saber settled for anything… so long as it was a 'worthy' weapon!

"So, can you shapeshift as well?" Rokas wondered, stroking his chin. "You have my blood, after all."

"Shapeshift into what?" The Heavenly Demon Saber scoffed. "This is my truest form… why would I pretend to be anything else? Have you ever pretended to be a sword?"

"True, I haven't. Just intrigued."

"Yes, I am capable of changing my form." The Heavenly Demon Saber admitted. "As the most formidable blade that has ever existed, however, it would simply be degrading to do so."

"I see."

~

Rokas avoided any trouble along his way back to Blue Pole Star, descending straight to the Blue Wind Imperial Palace. Cang Yue also left his Inner World for the first time in a long time… as they both went to reunite with their daughter. Her profound energy was easy to discern from the rest, leading them to a training hall.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

BANG!

Long Yinping, wielding a mace similar to Barbatos' weapon, smashed straight into a much older boy's stomach… sending him flying. Cang Yue raised an eyebrow, glancing at Rokas who shrugged.

"Excellently done." Xuanyuan Wentian remarked, turning as he sensed a familiar presence. "Lord-"

"Daddy…!" Long Yinping dropped her weapon, dashing straight towards him.

"Ah… there's my princess!"

Rokas embraced her warmly, unable to hide his smile. Seeing his daughter again brought such indescribable joy… he didn't want to let go.

"I miss you so much."

"I miss you more." Rokas let go, patting her head. She had grown much taller in less than a year, now standing at half Rokas' height. "You're so tall now, dear… are you sure you're not going to outgrow me?"

"Come give mother a hug."

"Mnn…!"

Rokas stepped away as he let them have a moment together, turning to Xuanyuan Wentian.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned.

"The little lady requested for a more competent instructor… and so, I put myself forward in your name." Xuanyuan Wentian lowered his head. "I thought it would be your wish to see your daughter succeed you. Though, hardly anyone is worthy of such a duty but you… I could only hope to do my best in your service. If you are offended, Lord Phoenix God-"

"Not at all." Rokas replied, smiling. "You are the only one outside of my family who I would entrust such a duty to anyway."

"Thank you for your kind praise, Master."

'His loyalty is unquestionable.' Rokas thought, clenching left fist. 'But teaching her is my duty… if only I… no point in dwelling on the past.'

"Uncle Wentian is very wise." Long Yinping stepped forward with a smile. "With his teaching, I learned to be more disciplined and hardworking. Because of that, I was able to grow stronger quicker."

'Xuanyuan Wentian's greatest trait would be his work ethic…' Rokas thought. 'Uncle, though? Hm.'

"That's good to hear." Rokas nodded, turning to Long Yinping and Cang Yue. "Why don't we take some time to catch up?"

"Oh… I know where we can go!"

~

The Phoenix Clan had grown considerably, changing their village into a whole town verging onto a town. There was a small Black Moon Merchant Guild branch, highlighting the fact that it was becoming a powerhouse of the Blue Wind Empire. At the town's centre stood a towering statue of Long Ke, the Lord Phoenix God who had saved the villagers from their curse and certain death from the rampaging beasts.

After being taken on a tour around and meeting her friends, Rokas sat down for a more meaningful talk on the beach where he had confessed his love… and where Cang Yue had proposed to him. It brought so many embarrassing moments of how he used to stutter talking to girls. Yet… those moments seemed equally sweet. Back then, the only person in his heart was Cang Yue.

At that point… she had fulfilled his life. He was truly happy without any regrets in his heart.

Where have things changed?

'Why do I feel so… detached from her?' Rokas thought, sighing.

"Why does daddy look so sad?" Long Yinping placed her finger on her lip as she questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing," Rokas smiled slightly, shaking his head. "Who's hungry?"

"Me..!" Long Yinping jumped enthusiastically.

"Alrighty, watch me cook something up."

Rokas chuckled, taking out his OG BBQ set up. He even dressed up like a whole chef… wearing the ludicrously large white hat that came with the style. He created some top tier meat and pierced it into skewers piece by piece. Putting some extra spice on it, he started cooking up the meat.

[System: Gordon Ramsay who? King of the Barbeque is here, mr Rocky himself.]

'Damn right, it's like the only thing I know how to do in terms of food.'

[System: For someone who had his mother and father cooking up, you sure are a disappointment.]

'That's why I have you.'

[System: Lazy bumpkin.]

"I want to do it too." Long Yinping pointed, watching Rokas do all the work.

"No one is stopping you." Rokas smiled slightly, stepping back.

"You wait for a bit and then turn them over until it's cooked?"

"That's the gist of it, yeah. Wait and turn at the right time. Sometimes the fire is uneven so you have to keep making adjustments to the placement of the meat so that one side doesn't end up burned."

"Alright, it doesn't look that hard."

"Take care not to get burned and don't look into the fire for too long, it isn't good for your eyes" Cang Yue advised, frowning slightly.

'Well, that's why the metal skewers hang on the edge… it would be pretty difficult to get a burn from that range.' Rokas thought. "She is a dragon, I doubt the same applies to her as it would to most children."

"A dragon…?" Long Yinping muttered.

"I suppose."

…

"How is it?"

"Damn, I'm not even needed anymore." Rokas snagged one lamb square from his skewer. "I couldn't have done it better."

"Mn… this is wonderful. Your father ought to retire." Cang Yue remarked, smiling.

"Retirement is crazy." Rokas chuckled. "I ain't even hit my prime."

The family went on to enjoy their food, with Rokas creating whatever extras they needed. In the end, they ended up snuggled together watching the waves come and go under the moon.

"Daddy… how is your family like? Do you have any sisters or brothers like mommy? I'd like to meet my other grandparents if I could…"

[System: Skull moment… they're either dead or disowned.]

"... My father was a strong man with several flaws but… who is human without them?" Rokas remarked, looking up to the sky. "He always taught me to stand up for myself and to have confidence in everything I did. He taught me to do a lot of things… from building furniture and house cleaning to having a good sense of humour. As for my mother, she was the most caring mother in the world. She had me when she was young… it didn't make it any better that her parents didn't want anything to do with me either. She worked very hard and, in the end, saved up enough for us all to go to a country where we could have a better living. While she did that alongside my father, I lived with my other grandparents."

"In a year, they saved up enough to have me join them. I… became somewhat of a spoiled brat." Rokas chuckled slightly. "There was this one time I cried my eyes out that I couldn't get a PS2."

"What's a PS2?" Long Yinping asked with an intrigued tone.

[System: GOAT Console.]

"One day, I'll show you." Rokas promised, smiling slightly. "Regardless, I didn't know the value of money. My humbling came when my little sister was born and all the attention turned to her. Surprisingly, I wasn't too jealous. She was annoying sometimes… especially since I was in my most troublesome teenager years but I adored her nonetheless. Taking care of her actually prepared me for you… so it wasn't so bad, in the end."

"Where are they now?" Long Yinping asked, her eyes widening slightly.

"In a place far, far, away. Almost unreachable." Rokas replied, keeping his smile as he looked at Long Yinping and Cang Yue. "Although losing them was difficult and something out of my control, it allowed me to mature much faster and start acting my age. Now, I've made my own lovely family and I wouldn't change a thing about what happened."

Rokas embraced Long Yinping, kissing the side of her face.

"I won't leave you for that long ever again."

"It's okay…" Long Yinping replied with a radiant smile. "I'm sure mommy and daddy were working hard to make things better for me… just like your father and mother."

"You're not all that wrong, you know." Rokas nodded.

"Mhm." Cang Yue nodded as well.

"Uhm… I had this accident earlier and it scared me a lot." Long Yinping admitted after a while, her expression turning sad. "When I was fighting one of the girls, I grew a scaly hand to block her attack. They started… calling me a freak and a monster. Then it disappeared…"

'Who's saying that? I'll fold them right now.'

[System: Man about to beat up all the kids Anakin Skywalker style.]

"You're not a monster or a freak." Cang Yue reassured her daughter, patting her head. "You're just different from everyone else, like your father."

"Sweetheart, it's not a curse." Rokas reassured her, ascending into the skies. "Watch this."

He transformed into his true form, high in the skies. The entire moon was suddenly covered by a dark shadow until the colossal dragon's scales began to illuminate a brilliant crimson glow. White lightning cracked around it, revealing its crimson feathers. Nine massive wings spread from its back, causing entire tsunami's from a simple flap. Then, heads began to sprout out from its neck, one by one… each unique in their own right. It stopped at nine towering heads.

Simply by existing, the whole beach was under pressure from the terrifying Nine-Headed True Dragon in the skies. The middle-most head, which was crimson with shining golden eyes, looked at its family.

"This is my true form." Rokas announced, floating in the sky. "Our bloodline originated from the Jiufang Family who were demons capable of taking the appearance of a nine-headed flood dragon. Over time, my bloodline strengthened until I became a true dragon. And that's… when we had you, Yinping."

"So… I'm really a dragon?" Long Yinping's eyes widened.

"Of course." All nine heads agreed. "You were born into the mightiest race in the universe! Whoever calls you a freak or a monster… they're just humans who don't know any better or they simply envy your strength. There's nothing more to it."

Rokas returned to his human form, changing into some Phoenix drip before descending back down.

"Embrace the truth and be proud of who you are. That way… no one can hurt you with those insults again."

He pat her on the head, smiling. "Alright?"

"Well… yeah." Long Yinping nodded, raising an eyebrow. "But… no one knew daddy was a dragon, either. Were you hiding it all along?"

"... I guess you could say that. Back then, it was a dangerous time to be caught being a demon."

"Then… daddy has to embrace the truth and be proud of himself too." Long Yinping pouted. "You can't be a hypocrite and ask me to do something you don't."

'Isn't she a little too clever?' Rokas chuckled. "Alright! I'll walk around with big massive wings for a month. And anyone who calls me or my princess a freak is getting slapped by those wings to a new planet!"

"Okay… then I'll do it too!"

Cang Yue chuckled. "Sounds inconvenient."

Soon, the excitement died down. Eventually, after taking a dive into the waters, Long Yinping got tired and went to sleep. So, Rokas decided to carry her back to the Blue Wind Imperial Palace alongside Cang Yue.

"This place brings back so many memories…" Rokas remarked, ascending into the sky with Yinping in his arms. He was in slight disbelief at how big she had become. "I can't believe how quickly things can change. Yinping is already five years old…"

"You know, sometimes I feel like I'm still not a good role model for her at all. I left her for almost an entire year. When she needed me, I wasn't there."

"It's not your fault." Cang Yue shook her head, touching the side of his face. "You didn't choose to be kidnapped by the Brahma Monarch Goddess and, even when you were, you tried your very best to leave that situation."

"But… I didn't hate all of it." Rokas frowned slightly. "At times, I even liked being there. That's the worst part. Even you know that…. hell, you and Qingyue never failed to point that out."

"No one is perfect… not even you. It would be best to move past it all and learn from previous mistakes. If we keep this sense of guilt and regret around us, it will only make things worse. You're better than that."

"I know… I'll be better." Rokas promised, nodding.

"Besides that, you're a tremendous father. There's a reason why Yinping favours you so much over me. You are her sky, her hero. There isn't anyone she looks up to more than you. This… self doubt is beneath you."

Rokas looked down at Yinping, smiling slightly before kissing her on the forehead.

"No matter what happens, I won't leave her for such a long time again. Not until she is old enough to choose her own path."

"I know you won't." Cang Yue nodded with a smile on her gorgeous face.

"Barbatos… go… boom…" Long Yinping muttered in her sleep.

"I love her." Rokas chuckled.

"Given how you're raising her, I'm in the belief that she'll scare all the boys away." Cang Yue remarked, smiling slightly. "Though, that's not necessarily a bad thing."

"I'm pretty sure she already has." Rokas replied, recalling what happened earlier. "Besides, she will have plenty of time to build such a relationship when she's fully grown up. Now… they should be the least of her problems."

'Ain't nobody moving to my daughter anytime soon.'

"... Right." Cang Yue, seeing his menacing glare, kept her smile. "I'm sure you won't have to worry about them either."

[System: Because they'll be shitting themselves seeing you :skull:]

'If not, they will learn.'

Rokas and Cang Yue returned to the Blue Wind Imperial Palace, putting the little princess in her bed before retiring in their own bedchamber. It had been a while since they slept together there… despite that, the room was squeaky clean. They both undressed and laid down next to each other.

"I miss you…" Rokas wrapped his arm around Cang Yue.

"That wasn't on your mind when you were with Qingyue… was it?"

"Women and your jealousy…" Rokas rolled his eyes. "Besides, no one said you couldn't join in."

"I much prefer having you to myself."

"Well, I'm here… all yours." Rokas chuckled.

"I think you can wait on your urges."

"That's cold." Rokas sighed, placing his head against her shoulder. "You sure?"

"Mhm…"

Cang Yue turned to face him, pushing him down and resting her head on his chest. She took a deep breath, smiling as she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight."

'I think I prefer this…' Rokas thought, kissing her forehead. "Goodnight."

Although sleep wasn't a thing either of them needed at this point in their cultivation journey, it was rather comforting to be in each other's embrace for a whole night again. Before long, Rokas drifted off into his dreams.

…

Flying off into the sky, Rokas looked down and saw a crimson dragon. This… was quite familiar to him, an image from his childhood. He willed it down, descending upon a heavily fortified castle and hopping off to face his opposition. The guards charged him but he was far too powerful, cutting them down one by one while the dragon caused utter chaos around them.

He enjoyed it. The thrill of combat.

Slicing them up one by one without thoughts of a single consequence…. they were, in the end, mere NPCs. What did their lives matter other than increasing your kill counter and providing you with a decent challenge?

Then the image burned away, dropping him into Blitz's cockpit as he watched the people of the Southern Sea God Realm suffer Akatsuki's devastation.

"Help… help us… someone!"

"Why are you just standing there? Save us!"

The same boy he failed to save… evaporated before his eyes.

He did not move, frowning as he watched. The Blitz suddenly broke apart… leaving him on the ground where a swarm of blood ran up to him, forming hands which slowly dragged him deeper into the earth.

"Die… die with us, you devil!"

"Why did you let us die… we did nothing wrong!"

"You made these machines of destruction… you destroyed our homes… you killed us!"

The spirits of the dead had begun to take him down with them.

'Shut up…' Rokas thought, frowning as he tried his best to break free. 'There was nothing I could do!'

"Lies… if you didn't only care for yourself we wouldn't be dead!"

"Selfish… fiend!"

"You're no better than the villainous Goddess!"

As they were dragging him down, Rokas admitted it.

"That's right… why should I give a fuck about any of you!?" He unleashed all of his profound energy, turning into his true form as he broke free from his chains. "Compared to my family, what do any of you matter? I'd do it myself if that's what it took!"

"You… demon."

"I wanted to be free…" Rokas looked down, spreading his wings. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't have done it."

Suddenly, the scene changed. He looked around, noticing a rather exquisite hall. Though… his eyes focused on the girl before him.

"You're with her…" Jasmine frowned deeply, slapping his face. "Aren't you?"

"I…" Rokas stepped back. "I'm not. I just… want to protect you."

"Lies… you knew what would happen if you didn't run. You… knew her from the very beginning. You're just a puppet of hers… that's why you defended her back then!"

'The fuck is this…' Rokas thought. 'All my fears in one?'

"Don't ever think of seeing me again… or I'll kill you."

She walked away.

"Why do you need the scarlet brat, dear?" Qianye Ying'er appeared behind him, grabbing hold of his face and turning it to face him. "You have me."

She forced a kiss on his lips, observing his horrified expression as he saw Xia Qingyue, Cang Yue, Jasmine and Long Yinping hanged on the walls with their bodies covered in cuts. She grinned, taking his hand and leading him on.

"You belong with me and no one else… I hope you understand that now."

"No…!"

Rokas shook his head, throwing her aside. His eyes burned with fury but she vanished completely before he could do anything. Afterwards, he fell to his knees.

'So powerless… who am I to speak of protecting others?'

He suddenly woke, breathing heavily.

'I knew it…' He took a massive sigh of relief. 'All a nightmare… nothing more.'

Though, after that, he couldn't will himself back to sleep. Instead, he got up and dressed himself. He kissed Cang Yue on the cheek and went outside, flying into the wilderness. He noticed something strange immediately. The full moon wasn't shining white… no, it was violet purple!

He hadn't seen such a phenomenon before.

'System… what's up? Got any explanations for that?'

He frowned slightly, realising that his System wasn't there anymore.

'What the hell is going on?'

Before his very eyes, the Blue Wind Imperial City vanished and he found himself in a forest reminiscent of the time he had first stepped foot in the Profound Sky Continent. He looked up and saw the moon illuminate over a woman-like shadow. Twelve black tomoes appeared on the moon as the world began to shake. Suddenly, he felt fear wash over him from head to toe as a violent pressure began to suppress him.

"For a man who fears being absolutely powerless, you sure as hell don't give much of a fight."