TWO PATHS

Leonel honestly wasn't sure.

He wasn't even close to finishing. He was so far from filling up and building out his army that he could only feel a bit helpless about it.

The Sea Gods were still useless, the Oryx had yet to reach their full potential, the Morales hadn't even all been resurrected yet—though, Anastasia was making that much faster.

He, himself, was still in the Sixth Dimension and an impossibly long way from the Seventh. His master had just disappeared and would be unlikely to be back any time soon. His brothers had only just regressed back to the Third Dimension and were still working their way back up…

His wife would likely be in labor in another year or so!

This was the absolute worst time for him to be given such an ultimatum.

Leonel stood in silence, staring off into the distance. It was like the universe was telling him that now wasn't his time to be a King, and maybe he would never have such a chance again.

After a long while, he took a breath and sighed.

On one path, he would have to break off from his grandfather much earlier than he expected to, and that would cause more strain on his grandmother. They had just barely repaired their relationship somewhat, and she was still in a fragile state.

Although she was certainly more than intelligent enough to know that such a thing was coming in the future, she probably didn't expect that it would happen so soon either.

And on the other, he would be pretty much stifling his own progress.

'Let's take this one step at a time.'

"Anastasia, I trust you. The protocol right now is simple.

"I want the Sea Gods to reach their fullest potential. I want as many Morales to return and be placed under Ramon's command. Help them get used to their new Lineage Factor and Constellation.

"There are many talented humans in here who just have not received any systematic training. They'll be the next priority.

"Right now, I'll be going to the Spirituals and the Dwarven Race and will take them into the fold as well."

"And what about…" Anastasia began.

"My brothers will be directed by me personally. They've already made great progress in the current situation. I will help fast-track them."

"Okay."

His brothers, the likes of Amery, Elorin and Old Hutch, Elthor, Emna and the others…

They would be the core of his power in the future. No matter what path he was forced to take in the future, he wanted to help them progress as quickly as possible.

Leonel's figure flashed and he appeared in his living quarters again. His wife was sitting with a smile on her face, once again concocting pills as she hummed a tune.

Aina wasn't much of a singer, but that wasn't because she couldn't. Her voice, especially when she stopped restraining it.

Aina's voice always had a strong coercive character to it, something that Leonel still didn't quite understand until now. But it was something that Aina likely understood, and that was enough.

However, ever since she awakened it, she had suppressed it… That was because when she used it properly, it was like she was trying to seduce everyone around her.

She didn't like that feeling for one, and it also leaned too much into the vampire/succubus aspects of her being that she tended to want to avoid.

Leonel never really pressed her one way or another, but he had to admit that her real voice was so sultry, so seductive, so…

Leonel shook his head, waking himself. He was on serious business now.

"What's the matter?" Aina asked with a smile, seemingly seeing through Leonel's lewd thoughts with a giggle.

"Your friends, how do you want me to do with them?"

Yuri and Savahn were here, and they had been for a while. But Aina never seemed to want to put much effort into helping them to grow stronger.

Aina fell into silence, her gaze flickering.

"… Not everyone in the world wants to become strong," she suddenly said.

Leonel blinked and then nodded.

Indeed, not everyone had the ambition to grow strong. But it was a shame. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

They didn't want to grow strong, but they also didn't want to have children because they felt the world was in too much chaos.

Not everyone was designed for greatness. The fact his brothers had lagged so far behind him was proof of that. If he didn't make a concerted effort to pull them up with him, they would only fall further behind.

But they were different. They had practically been warriors on a battlefield together since they were young. Following him to war was ingrained into their very bones.

But Yuri and Savahn… they didn't have such ambition and the weight of the events was probably sitting heavily on their hearts.

They had been through a lot and Leonel could understand… that they were just tired.

Now, the chessboard was far too large and they just felt like pawns.

"But what do you think?" Leonel asked.

Aina smiled bitterly. This husband of hers was growing more overbearing every day.

If he thought it would make her happy, he wouldn't give the two of them a choice.

Aina loved battle; it was just that she loved the idea of having children even more. Because of that, she had given up the former for the latter. But her friends didn't want to follow her in either. It would inevitably leave her feeling a bit lonely.

Leonel wanted his wife to experience nothing but happiness. If that meant dragging her friends along, he would do that. He still had a few bones to pick with Yuri anyway.

"It's not what you think. They just don't want to be a burden and it makes them feel extremely uncomfortable when I try to help them too much."

Leonel paused. "I see. Okay, I'll figure something out."

As for what he had figured out, that was obvious enough. Since it couldn't come from him and Aina, it would just have to come from Raj and Joel.

But he wouldn't put too much energy into this. He had things to do.