The God of Death, Nestor, didn't continue the conversation with Han Shuo and instead disappeared, leaving Han Shuo feeling rather strange about the situation. Back then, after he had saved his family and escaped from the Dominion of Death, he was still a little worried whether Nestor would still seek him out in the outskirts of the city to deal with him because of Hill and Sha-t'o. Although he had a few suspicions, he couldn't be sure.
Nevertheless, decades later he did return to the Dominion at Nestor's invitation. Not only was he not worried about Nestor digging up old grudges, he could even talk to him normally. That would have been unimaginable to him back then.
When he thought about it, the only reason he could talk to Nestor as an equal was the fact that he was now on a completely different level and had earned Nestor's recognition. The reason Nestor had left him alone all this time was because he felt he still had some value, even if he didn't take him that seriously, which was why he hadn't appeared before him at that time. It seemed that only by gaining power could one change one's status and destiny, and have true peace of mind.
Han Shuo smiled and shook his head, abandoning this train of thought as he made his way to the Dominion of Darkness at a leisurely pace. He had many acquaintances there, such as the citizens of the City of Shadows, namely Erebus, Andre, Aobashi, Carmelita and so on. There was also Donna from Hushveil City. The thought of Donna always made him feel guilty.
The meeting with the Gods of Destruction, Darkness and Death would take place in the Dominion of Darkness, so Han Shuo wanted to visit his acquaintances in the meantime before heading to Hushveil City to have a good talk with Donna. Having made up his mind, he flew a little faster, all the while working on merging the energies of his two avatars.
...
Meanwhile, at the Sainte household in the City of Shadows, Erebus, Andre, Carmelita and Aobashi were discussing the Battle of the Gods in hushed tones. Since Wallace had been killed in the City of Gorging Clouds, Andre had assumed the position of City Lord of the City of Shadows. He wasn't as powerful as Wallace, but he was very good at managing the city's affairs. Over the past few years, the city had grown considerably under his watch. Andre's charisma and kindness allowed him to deepen his relationships with the other great Houses, and unlike Wallace, he didn't push the other Houses away just because they were powerful and could be a threat to his rule.
It was because of Andre's qualities that the city continued to develop. Unlike Wallace, the city didn't often erupt into violent conflict. However, his relative weakness had somewhat limited his authority. The patriarchs of the great houses in the city were not too respectful of him, as he could not dominate them by brute force. Had it not been for the fact that Andre had been personally appointed Lord of the City by the God of Darkness, they might well have tried to work together to depose him.
"Yarus had sent word for us to gather all the Guardians in preparation for a joint attack by the Dominions of Light, Life and Water. Sounds like they are planning something big rather than a simple sneak attack." Andre seemed rather concerned. After some hesitation he said, "However, the Kinson, Kisa and Buller families all have their own plans and don't intend to use the forces of their Houses so soon. They are hoping that someone else will take the brunt of the attack and are going against my orders. Things are really tough.
Carmelita huffed her displeasure. "These guys are getting out of hand. I think we should make it clear where the authority lies and even use force if we have to."
Andre began and hesitated. After a pause he sighed. "Carmelita, I know what you mean, but the three families are quite powerful. It's not the right time to take action against them when we're in such a critical situation. Do you think we're powerful enough to bring them to heel?"
Carmelita shut up when she heard that, although she looked rather grim. No matter how reckless she was, she knew that the Sainte family could no longer overpower the other three families. Not to mention that this was the time when they needed to unite the most. If the Sainte family really did something like that, they might end up angering the Overgod of Darkness and lose his favour completely.
The chiefs of the other three families were not exactly obedient to Andre, but they at least had to maintain a semblance of respect for him and didn't dare to act against the Sainte family, all thanks to the message from the Overgod of Darkness that Yarus had delivered. They feared the Overgod more than the Sainte family themselves.
"Oh well, we can only bear this. As soon as this is over, I will go into seclusion to cultivate. As long as I reach the late stage, the three of them will settle down," Andre said, "We have to make sure that we stay united at all costs. We can't afford anything else.
"But unity won't last! If they don't obey your orders, we won't be able to consolidate the city's strength. When Yarus comes to ask later, we will be the ones to take the blame. The God of Darkness might even blame us for it," Erebus said.
"What can we do then?" Andre said with a touch of desperation.
"I hear that Bryan is doing quite well for himself in the Fringe, even managing to get rid of someone as powerful as Gyál. If he comes to the City of Shadows, those people won't even dare to fart," Aobashi whispered after some hesitation and cautious glances.
The moment she said this, Carmelita and Andre's expressions changed. Carmelita shouted, "Why did you mention him? Didn't we say we'd never mention that name again?"
"Sigh, we can't blame Bryan for that..." Erebus muttered, as he had always been quite close to Aobashi.
"No matter what, it doesn't change the fact that the Sainte family, especially my father, treated him very well. But he didn't even spare my father! I don't want to hear the name of someone so sinister ever again!" she snapped.
"That's right. No matter what, Big Brother was killed by him. Even if we used to have a good relationship, we can never get along again," Andre growled uncharacteristically.
"Then why did the City of Shadows not participate in Yarus' plan to kill Bryan in the Fringe?" Aobashi asked.
Andre and Carmelita didn't say a word, but their expressions were terrifying. Sighing inwardly, Aobashi said nothing further. She knew better than anyone else that the grudge between them and Han Shuo wasn't something that could be solved with just words.
Before Han Shuo killed Wallace, he had been best friends with Andre and Carmelita. However, when Wallace tried to deal with him, these two crossed family boundaries to defend him from Wallace and even helped the Han family on various other occasions. However, Wallace had undeniably died at Han Shuo's hands.
It was a conflict so complex that even Aobashi had no solution. Not that she and Erebus hadn't tried to talk the other two out of it, but they had decided that Han Shuo should never have killed Wallace and had never forgiven him for it.
Just then, a long sigh could be heard from outside. It sounded very sentimental, but seemed to slowly fade into the distance.
"Who's there?" the guards of the Sainte family shouted. They were in a secret meeting room that no one was allowed to enter. So the harmless sigh provoked the strongest of reactions from the guards as they armed themselves to track the person down.
Andre, Carmelita, Erebus and Aobashi were all stunned when they heard the familiar voice. After a long moment, Erebus suddenly stood up and said, "Was I hallucinating? I think I heard Bryan's voice."
"That can't be. He should be in the Fringe by now. He wouldn't show up here. Erebus, you're too tense these days," Aobashi said, before she too became alert. "Wait, I heard it too, so it can't have been a hallucination. But there's no way Bryan can be here now... It must be just someone who sounds similar. Let me go outside and have a look."
Just as she was about to get up and go outside, Carmelita snapped, "It's him! It's definitely him!" She bit her lip so hard it almost bled.
Andre also stood up suddenly, as if something had occurred to him. He turned to look at Carmelita before slowly sitting down again. "Let's leave him alone. Let him go."
""How could we?" Aobashi said, "That person probably heard what we said! If it's not Bryan, then we must find out who it is! If he is Bryan, even if you don't want to meet him, Erebus and I do! We're still his friends! If he's in town, we'll meet him no matter what!"
Aobashi turned to Erebus, who quickly nodded in agreement. They didn't leave right away, though, waiting to see how Andre and Carmelita would react.