Inside the king's office room was a large bench that had four people sitting there; two seated on either side. They were Venezuela, Erza, Zen Phylon, and Wolfenstine. It was evening and the Phoenix Sages had left for the day, leaving only the four of them there.

“I can't accept this deal with the Mardana Kingdom. No, not just with them, but anyone else!” Zen said to Venezuela, sitting opposite her. “These are too one sided!”

“Yes. I have to admit I don't like it either,” stated Venezuela with a frown on her face, “but the Mardana King is being quite stubborn about it.”

“Sacrificing our freedom for this? We'd rather leave this continent entirely than bow our heads to those people,” replied Zen with a shake of the head. “Forget him, what I'd expect is something more logical, not this stupidity.”

Erza chipped in for Venezuela’s support by saying, “We understand your concern, Zen, and that's why we're proposing sharing some of our inventions with them as compensation,” said Erza from the side, indicating towards Wolfenstine.

The white-haired hybrid shrugged his shoulders and said, “I'm fine with that. They were eventually meant for global distribution after all.”

He laid out a paper down on the table with several sketches that had drawings of objects and names written below them. One by one, he went through them and briefly explained their use.

“This one's the Teleporter Ring that sends you anywhere around the continent so long as you know the location. Then this is the Comcast, which is basically used to contact one another so long as you know who to call. Then there's the Force Ring that casts a shield around you in emergencies.”

“Okay. Okay. You don't have to explain them all,” said Zen, letting out a sigh. He cast his eyes across the sheet of paper and said, “I can tell with one glance at this that it's filled with really cool and interesting inventions.” He looked up at the hybrid and said with a smile, “You've been overworking yourself.”

Wolfenstine shrugged his shoulders again and replied, “Not really. I wish I had been able to invent these a lot sooner and do more before the Phoenix Calamity War got started. It could've saved many precious… lives.”

He made a mourning face at remembering the loss of the Sword King, Darian Ronald. Everyone in the room also looked sad as they also remembered the man of wisdom that had given them encouragement and support in more ways than one.

It was Wolfenstine who broke the silence by smiling again and saying cheerfully, “Well, he always said if he were going to die, he’d rather die in battle than die of old age. I guess he achieved his dream and must be in peace right now.”

Erza nodded in agreement to his words and said, “Yes. I agree and that's why we must continue to push forward our own principles and not budge because then the sacrifices made would have been for naught. I don't like it, and so I refuse to accept this kind of bullying.”

“I agree with you as well, Erza. I'm going to have to give him a piece of my mind,” said Venezuela with a determined look on her face. She turned to Zen and said, “Zen, I request you be there this time.”

“Sure!” Replied Zen with a confident smile on his face.

“Should I come along as well?” Wolfenstine suggested hopefully.

Venezuela looked at Erza uncertainly, to which the princess from another world smiled and said, “Sure! I'm sure we'll need technical expertise such as yours when tackling this challenge.”

“Thank you! I really appreciate this chance you're giving me,” he replied happily.

They continued to smile at each other before Zen took at the clock that Wolfenstine was responsible for making, which was hanging just above where Venezuela sat. Instantly, he became surprised by the time it showed on its dial.

“Wow! It's already six in the evening?!” He exclaimed sharply. “This really got late.”

“Yeah. It sure has,” commented Venezuela, who also looked up at the clock and became equally surprised. She turned back to them and said, “We'll continue this discussion tomorrow. Zen, make sure to send out the escort like we discussed earlier.”

“Of course, my lady!” He replied with a smile.

And so, they rose to their feet and walked out of the castle before going their separate ways. Venezuela and Erza opened up a Phoenix Portal and left for their home on the outskirts of the kingdom, Zen headed off to his quarters in the castle, and Wolfenstine headed off in the direction of his labs.

***

“We're back!” Erza announced the moment they stepped into the considerable environment they has come to associate as home.

“Welcome back!” Priya and Indira greeted them together, who were sitting in the hall as if expecting them to arrive there.

“Oh wow. I wasn't expecting such a welcome!” Venezuela commented in surprise.

“Yes! I had thought you'd be in your rooms studying for the midterm exams!” Erza said, equally as surprised as Venezuela.

Indira and Priya both laughter at the same time, and Priya said, “We were about to but then we thought we can do it later since it was about the time you'd be coming home.”

“We wanted to surprise you since we're usually in our rooms when you both come home,” said Indira with a grin on her face. “Were you surprised?”

Both older women laughed and simultaneously replied with a simply, “Yes!”

“Yay~!” Indira smiled happily and clapped her hands together with great joy. “We succeeded, Priya!”

“Yes we did!” Priya replied, and the two gave each other a high five with their hands.

Feeling satisfied, the two turned around and hurried upstairs before entering their room. Venezuela and Erza smiled as Ondine and Sumara came out of the kitchen at that time.

“How was work?” Ondine asked curiously.

“Have you been able to come to a resolution?” Sumara asked with a half-smile on her face.

Both of the newly arrived people understood without asking anything by what they meant. It was easy for them to guess that they knew about the details about the ongoing deal between the Floria Kingdom and the Mardana Kingdom.

“We're holding our ground, but the real resolution will be given tomorrow,” replied Venezuela with a sigh as she sat down in a chair.

“If worse comes to worst, Zen said he'd relinquish all hold over the Flora Kingdom and move somewhere the Phoenix Clan can live without being disturbed,” said Erza, taking the seat that was beside Venezuela.

“Separate… from the kingdom?” Sumara asked, looking surprised. “Isn't that basically meaning they're going to cut all ties with the humans and live just like the Dragon Clan.”

“Hold up. Isn't that what the Mardana Kingdom is hoping for?” Ondine asked anxiously.

Erza nodded and replied, “Yes. That's exactly what those people are indirectly doing; by putting pressure on our kingdom in a no-win situation, they'd be able to get the Phoenix Clan to leave. If not, they'd have a portion of the Phoenix Clan's power on their end, which they could easily use to oppose us in the future or even start an all-out war against us!”

“That sounds… terrible!” Sumara said, looking anxiously at them.

Ondine looked sad when she said, “All those lives lost, all the sacrifice made, and nothing changed at all. Selfishness is still at the top of the world. Things never change.”

Venezuela shrugged her shoulders and said, “Whatever happens, let's take it with stride and move forward because moping over things won't get anything done.”

“Agreed,” said Ondine in agreement. “Anyway, you two better take your baths. Dinner will be ready soon.”

With smiles on their faces, Venezuela and Erza headed upstairs to get their clothes. On their way, they made a stop in Silvera’s and Terra’s shared room where all of their children were in, playing happily.

“Did you miss your mommy?” Erza asked, lifting up her baby daughter to her face level and peering at her.

Her daughter smiled and laughed while squeezing the toy in her small hand. Venezuela had a similar reaction with her daughter causing her to smile in happiness.

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“I keep forgetting to ask but are the kids difficult to handle?” Venezuela asked out of curiosity while gently patting her child on the back.

“Oh no! Not at all! In fact, the kids are so energetic that I hardly feel bored!” Silvera replied happily.

“And we get a decent enough sleep after finally putting them to sleep,” added Tetra with a chuckle, causing Silvera to laugh.

“Well, let us know if they become difficult to handle so that we get Mariana to come back here,” said Venezuela with a nod of her head.

“She did say she's willing to return to look after the kids since Marilia is currently taking care of Sasha.”

“Oh!” The two women, Tetra and Silvera, said in surprise. “How is she?”

“She's doing fine apparently, far better than how we were during our pregnancy apparently,” commented Venezuela with a chuckle.

“Apparently, she keeps doing some household chores like cleaning the floors and trying to hang her clothes,” explained Erza wit a half smile on her face.

This made both Tetra and Sumara to widen their eyes in surprise before cracking smiles on their own. Sasha Phylon is Zen’s wife and was currently six months pregnant, so being able to perform exercises like that were unbelievable.

“Far better than the complete bed rest we had,” commented Silvera, remembering the boring days they spent completely stuck on a bed other than to use the bathroom.

As Venezuela shrugged her shoulders, they heard Emilia's voice say, “Alrighty everyone! Dinner’s ready!”

“Oh!” They said together in surprise. “That was quick.”

“We'll join you once we had our bath,” said Erza with a smile.

Together with Venezuela, they let their children down and headed to their shared bedroom. They took turns to have their bath, and were feeling fresh in an hour, after which they finally descended to the dining room where everyone was waiting for them.

As they sat down, they noticed that two people were missing from their midst. Emilia noticed their looks and smiled before telling them where the Magic Titan and the Dragon Titan were at.

“Huh? They're out shopping?” They asked together, looking surprised. “When did he get such a soft heart to take his lover out for an evening shopping?”

“Priya kind of poked him where it hurt,” said Sumara with a laugh.

Priya, who had finished having a bite and was about to eat another looked at them having the urge to speak.

“Well, if he hadn't spoken so rudely about Annayya, I wouldn't have had reacted that way,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Oh, so you're showing your true character now, Priya?” Silvera asked cheekily.

For a moment, Priya looked surprised and caught the eyes of everyone that turned their attention fully on her. Being suddenly focused on, she hesitated for a moment before shrugging and stated what her feelings for her brother were.

“I… never really disliked my brother or come as far as hating him. It's just that… he wasn't around when that attack happened… the attack that killed so many lives… including mom and… dad…!”

She paused, wiping away the tears that formed in her eyes along with Indira, Emilia, Tetra, Cantia, and Ondine as they felt the impact of their loss more than the rest. Sniffing twice, she took a deep breath to steady her heart and continued speaking.

“I kept hearing stories of how strong he was, that he could take on an army all by himself, and that he could not be defeated because of being the strongest warrior ever! That's why, I became angry that he let mom and dad die, and began to ignore reality, even ignored the possibility that he might have died even before mom and dad. I…”

She paused and clenched her fists tightly from the negative feelings that had rushed to her mind. However, as the silence stretched with them watching her in sadness, she continued to speak and slowly started to form a smile on her face.

“The day I finally had to face reality came when he almost destroyed himself when he learnt that our parents are dead. I became scared, scared to lose him, scared to lose the only family left to me other than Indira, scared that… we'd… that we'd… be all alone.”

That was when she looked at the wives of her brother and said with a cheerful smile, “That's when I saw you rush in to save him, risking being hurt by his attack, desperately trying to save him while I stood by and watch like a dummy.”

“It’s not your fault,” said Ondine softly.

“I know but… well…” she said and hesitated momentarily before saying, “I couldn't face my feelings for him, but I also wanted to get close to him like Indira, but I failed. And then he granted us to attend Astral Academy and made sure we get the best education possible, more so than even he ever achieved!”

“Well, he initially worried that sending you there might cause you to face great pressure at being the siblings of the Phoenix Titan,” stated Tetra with a small smile on his face.

“Yes, but we managed to convince him that the pressure will do you good and, guess what? It worked out,” said Emilia cheerfully.

“Yes. Your teachers told us how good your studies are and that you could be possibility one of the best students they ever had,” said Sumara with a smile.

Priya and Indira looked at each other before smiling at them and saying together, “We agreed to do our best and not disappoint you.”

“Aww~!” Silvera said, looking at them as if they were still kids.

“That makes me happy to hear,” said Tetra with a smile.

“Well, at least you're getting better scores than me,” said Cantia with a grin on her face.

“Hey! I never attended this Astral Academy before and that automatically makes you much better than me!” Sonia added with a smile and a wink in their direction.

Priya smiled around at the table full of cheerfulness and said, “Yes, and after today morning's experience I realized there's nothing to hide here because everyone here is family.”

“You got that right!” Cantia said firmly. “No matter how much rivalry we once had between each other in the past, it's blended into mutual understanding for the sake of our beloved husband.”

“It’s all because we didn't want to see him look sad because of our pointless bickering,” stated Silvera with a sweet smile on her face while feeding her baby daughter.

“It's part of being a family,” said Emilia with a gentle smile on her face. “Caring, understanding, affectionate, and most important of all, being able to adjust to each other's company when we are such a large family.”

“You're right, Emilia,” said Tetra with a nod of her head in agreement. “In the past, when I served the previous Phoenix Titans, I watched as large families used to crumble due to trying to destroy each other, trying to gain the upper hand because of greed, jealousy, and misunderstandings. It was sad to see what happens when a family is not bound by strong principles or strong mutual respect and an adjusting attitude.”

“I’m asking casually but…” began Sonia curiously, “suppose you got married in the future, would you adjust like us if they were to fall in love with another women?”

As Priya and Indira looked at each other in amazement, Ondine said, “Sonia! It's too soon for them to contemplate marriage just yet.”

“Yes, but there's nothing wrong with finding out their preferences beforehand,” replied Sonia with a smile and turned to face the twins. “So? What would you do?”

The twins hesitated for a moment before Indira spoke first.

“If he will love me equally like everyone here, then I'm happy to adjust,” said Indira with a smile. “I want to be like Emilia Vodina in cooking, Ondine Vodina in making sweets, and Sumara Vodina’s stamina to clean the house.”

“What about me? Am I left out?” Silvera asked, making a sad look on her face.

“They do possess the key elements of this family, so that makes sense,” admitted Tetra in an understanding voice.

“You chose the best people from this family to take as examples,” admitted Cantia, causing Indira to look alarmed.

“Ah! No! I didn't mean to separate you from one another, but I felt their characteristics fit well with my own,” said Indira, to which they all nodded silently in agreement with smiles on their faces.

"How about you, Priya?”

Priya hesitated for a moment before replying shyly, “I… I wouldn't mind adjusting but… if possible… I'd like to be the only person in his heart. If he loves me for what I am, and accepts my faults, I would happily accept his faults and do my best to cherish him a lot!”

“Oh wow!”

“I didn't know Priya is such a romantic person.”

“He is careful! She's going to be really overprotective of her husband!”

Priya smiled sheepishly before looking concerned as she asked, “I-Is being overprotective… bad?”

“Well…” began Ondine and hesitated, unsure of how to explain.

“It all depends on your feelings at that time,” said Emilia wisely, “but I think a blend isn't a bad thing. Like, a mix of cherishing them and allowing them to be free because restrictions never result in a good thing.”

“It's as Emilia said, Priya. Understanding and accepting instead of forcing and overruling. Completely different principles,” stated Ondine.

As Priya nodded at the advice she received from them, Sonia said, “Well, you both got plenty of time to think about it so focus on your studies first.”

“Never lose track of your goal,” advised Sumara with a smile, and they nodded at her in understanding.

They completed having their meals within a few minutes after having this discussion. Their discussion moved onto talking about their education, the friendly environment the twins have with the other students and so on.

“It's actually good that they're not as demanding as I believed they might be,” commented Silvera with a light chuckle.

“Sil, we've been through this,” said Ondine exasperatedly.

“I know but it's like Lucky said, it could've been bad like some other people we know,” stated Silvera and looked meaningfully at Sumara.

The Magic King shrugged her shoulders and said, “Oh. Don't compare my circumstances with anyone else's because I'm a demon. My racial status worked against me, and I had a difficult time studying to improve my rank. That's why I moved to continue my studies at Ashtra because Mardana Kingdom was such a bad place to be.”

“This isn't the time to be remembering such unpleasant things,” commented Emilia with an eyebrow raised. “Let's just sit in the hall and talk about something general and then we can head back to our rooms.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” replied Sumara with a smile, looking appreciatively at her and patting Silvera on the back from the sadness she felt upon making Sumara remember the bad experiences.

While chatting happily, they rose to their feet and walked out of the dining room. As they entered the hall, Lakshman’s wives suddenly came to a halt and widened their eyes sharply in shock. They sensed that something was wrong while the twins could not sense it at all, having not learnt how to sense their environment.

“Um… Is it just me or am I sensing trouble?” Silvera asked, looking confused.

“It's not just you,” assured Ondine, a serious expression worn on her face. “We also feel it. This… negative power…!”

“Um…? What's going on, Vondinalu?” Indira asked, hugging her twin sister nervously.

Priya patted her sister gently on the head and looked anxiously at them before asking them, “What's happening, Vondinalu? I don't like this one bit.”

“Neither do we,” agreed Ondine in a serious voice.

Sensing the anxiousness, the babies began to wail loudly in panic. Their mothers were doing their best to quiet them down but the babies were feeling too frightened to calm down. It was then that Sonia who took charge of things as both Ondine and Emilia were seriously analysing the situation outside.

“Okay. Priya, Indira, Erza and I will take the kids and stay upstairs in Tetra’s and Silvera’s room so the kids don't panic.”

“Okay!” Said Emilia in agreement. “In the meantime, the rest of us will go see meet the uninvited guests outside.”

“Let's do this!” Silvera said, smacking her hands together with a great fighting spirit. “I'm going to thoroughly trash the bastards that made our children cry!”

“I'm also feeling the same!” Tetra admitted, her hands formed into fists and clenched tightly.

“Okay! Let's go and see what these… people want,” said Ondine, and she went forward while Indira, Priya, Erza, and Sonia headed upstairs with their children.

“Please be careful!” Erza called to them with an anxious look on her face.

“We will!” Sumara called back with a smile before following Ondine and the rest out of the house.