Merin wakes up and stares at the white ceiling.
A week has passed since his return to the origin world.
Two years have passed since he defeated the Cross Lady—or Sinoa, as he later learned from her memories.
That had been his goal from the moment he uncovered her plan.
He wanted her soul.
Because as the companion of the dimension's will, Sinoa understood every rule of the magic dimension.
That was why Merin attacked her the moment she entered Allison's body.
It wasn't purely to protect his daughter—
It was to seize Sinoa's soul before she adjusted to Allison's body.
Under normal conditions, even a hundred Merins wouldn't be a match for her inside the magic dimension.
But when she possessed Allison, her strength dropped.
She wasn't familiar with her new vessel.
That small window was all Merin needed.
His own comprehension of the magic dimension had reached 70%, enough to challenge her weakened self.
And so, he struck.
He defeated her.
Then he took her soul and memories—absorbing everything she knew.
Through those two years, he studied her knowledge, broke down her understanding, and reshaped it as his own.
Eventually, his comprehension of the magic dimension reached 100%.
Then, with Allison and Valerie, he returned.
Valerie still hasn't forgiven him.
To her, he had thrown their daughter into an avoidable storm.
But she followed him anyway.
Because Allison wanted to stay with her father.
And maybe—
Some part of Valerie still loved him.
After returning, Merin spends a week resting.
He has now reached the peak of Rank 10.
And from Sinoa's memory, he knows what must be done to break into Rank 11.
He must deepen his understanding of Karst energy—
Then use it alongside magic energy to derive a new, unique energy of his own.
But before that, he needs to organise his cultivation path.
Right now, he walks both the path of the martial artist and the magician.
He has already connected the two, so there's no conflict within him—
But they must fully merge before the magic energy within him fades.
The origin world has no magic energy.
Still, his understanding tells him—if he can fully fuse the two paths,
He might be able to convert Karst energy into magic energy and back again.
His thoughts halt at the sound of a knock.
"Father."
Merin answers, "Coming," and gets up from the bed.
A few minutes later, while they're having breakfast, the doorbell rings.
Allison leaps up to answer it.
Merin watches Valerie and frowns.
She looks pale.
Magic energy is draining from her body—her cultivation already beginning to regress.
He must quickly develop a combined method.
"Are you okay?"
Valerie replies, "I'll be okay once I absorb some magic energy."
Merin responds, "Don't worry. I'll create a method for you to absorb Karst energy."
Cultivation methods take years to develop—
So he must first create a basic technique, just enough for Valerie to survive.
The cultivation systems of this world reject her completely.
She cannot absorb Karst energy without adaptation.
Allison returns, holding a letter.
"Father, it's an invitation for you to attend a party at the Demon Hunter Headquarters. You can bring a date."
But Merin's mind is already flooded with urgency.
He must build that technique—for Valerie's sake.
"I'm not going," he says.
Allison frowns, "Father, I want to go."
He glances at her.
Valerie adds quietly, "Take her."
Merin exhales.
"Okay. We'll go."
------
Evelyn looks at herself in the mirror and adjusts her dress.
A small voice behind her says, "Mother, you look pretty."
She glances at her daughter sitting on the bed, smiling.
"Thank you, my dear Anna."
Cassie's voice comes from outside the door.
"Evelyn, are you ready? Vance is waiting for you downstairs."
Evelyn gives herself one final check.
"Okay, let's go."
She takes Anna's hand and leaves the room.
As they descend the staircase, they spot Vance and Patrick in their suits, both looking sharp.
Evelyn's mother, Rita, is entertaining them with pleasant conversation.
Cassie leans in and whispers, "Evelyn, you're doing good giving Vance a chance."
Evelyn replies softly, "His effort earned him the chance."
Spotting Vance, Anna breaks free from Evelyn's hand.
"Uncle Vance!"
She runs toward him with excitement.
Vance bends down and catches her with a smile.
"How's my dear Anna? Did she cause trouble for her mother?"
He glances at Evelyn with warmth in his eyes.
Anna beams. "I was good, Uncle Vance!" Then she looks back. "Right, Mother?"
Evelyn pinches her cheek gently.
"My baby was good."
Rita steps forward and lifts Anna from Vance's arms.
"I'll take care of Anna. You all should go, or you'll be late."
Evelyn kisses Anna's cheek.
"Be good and don't trouble your grandmother."
Anna nods seriously and watches them walk away.
Rita looks at her granddaughter and thinks—
No one would guess Anna is only one year and four months old.
Born strong, she began walking at six months and speaking fluently by eight.
Now, Rita understands why even the poorest martial families avoid marrying into wealthy but non-cultivating households.
There's something blood alone passes down.
An hour passes before Evelyn steps into the grand hall, where the Demon Hunter Club's nine-hundred-year founding celebration is already in full swing.
The lights gleam off polished marble, and the hall buzzes with laughter, chatter, and the clink of glasses.
She feels a tap on her arm and turns to see Rose from the Carlise family—another seal family like hers.
Rose was also kidnapped once, like her, and rescued by—
Evelyn's breath catches just thinking about him.
"Hi," Rose says with a soft smile. "I saw you didn't come with Adam."
Evelyn steadies her voice. "Adam broke up with me."
Rose's smile falters, then stiffens. "I thought… after how he risked his life to rescue you… that you two would last forever."
Evelyn offers a silent smile, saying nothing.
But in her mind, the words ache—
I also thought we would go on forever.
They both glance to the side as Vance approaches, holding two glasses of wine.
Rose smiles politely. "Enjoy the party." She walks away.
Vance hands one glass to Evelyn. "Was she an old friend?"
Evelyn answers, "A friend."
They sip their wine in silence, letting the party's soft music and murmured voices fill the air.
Minutes later, Vance extends his hand with a gentle smile. "May I have this dance?"
Evelyn places her palm in his, and he leads her to the dance floor.
The music wraps around them, and their steps fall into rhythm—close but not too close, graceful and measured.
After the dance, she returns to sit with Cassie and Patrick, calming her breath.
Suddenly, a stir ripples across the hall.
Patrick glances toward the entrance. "Looks like someone important just arrived."
All twelve council heads move together to greet the new guest.
Evelyn's heart pounds—and then stops.
Her eyes freeze.
Adam enters the hall, calm and proud, with a young woman on his arm.
Two years of silence. Not a word.
And now he walks into the celebration with another woman.
Cassie's voice floats in—"Evelyn, are you okay?"
Evelyn can't speak.
Her voice barely comes out. "I need to go to the washroom."
She turns and walks away without waiting.
Cassie exchanges a look with Vance, then says, "I'll follow her."
Merin, even before stepping into the party, had already sensed Evelyn.
Her presence stood out clearly—like a flame he once tended.
When he finally entered and saw her reaction, he understood at once—she wasn't over him.
It was understandable.
He had been her first love, and had his full memories not awakened back then, he might've proposed.
But for her, only two years had passed.
For him… it had been forty.
The emotions he once carried had long since faded, dulled by time, experience, and transformation.
He looked at her now as one might at a closed chapter, familiar but distant.
So when his eyes fell on her standing beside Vance, when he saw how the man looked at her, he didn't feel jealous.
Just… calm.
Evelyn steps out of the washroom, her expression calm again, though a little too controlled.
Cassie follows behind her, quiet, observant.
They return to Vance and Pattrick, who both turn toward Evelyn.
Pattrick asks, "Are you okay?"
Evelyn exhales slowly. "As well as I can be."
She doesn't want to look at Adam. Or the woman beside him.
But her eyes betray her.
She watches the woman, wondering—Is she the reason Adam left me?
The thought churns her gut, but then something about the woman catches her attention.
Her eyes.
There's a glint of familiarity in them—like Adam's… like Anna's.
A sister?
No. Too young.
A cousin, maybe?
Still uneasy, Evelyn moves to the bar, needing a drink.
She barely lifts her glass before she notices the woman from earlier standing beside her, watching her with quiet interest.
The woman speaks first. "Hi. I'm Allison Taylor."
Evelyn straightens. "I'm Evelyn Manford."
Allison's eyes glint with a spark. "I think you know my father."
Evelyn narrows her eyes. "Who's your father?"
Allison casually signals toward Adam. "Adam."
The words hit Evelyn like cold wind. "How can he be?"
Then memory returns—Pattrick mentioning Adam was trapped in another world.
She now feels it too—an otherworldly air around the girl.
They talk.
As the minutes pass, Evelyn listens, piece by piece, to the time Adam spent in that world—forty years of life while only two passed here.
She returns to her room in silence.
Cassie waits there and immediately asks, "What did you and that woman Adam brought talk about?"
Evelyn sits, voice quiet. "That girl… is Anna's sister."
Cassie gasps. "What?"
"She's Adam's daughter," Evelyn says, then slowly explains everything.
Cassie stares at her, stunned. "When are you going to tell him about Anna?"
Evelyn takes a breath, steady and certain. "Tomorrow."
—
The next day, Merin sits cross-legged in his study, threads of energy weaving between his fingers as he refines the technique for Valerie.
A ping.
A message from Evelyn.
She wants to meet.
He hesitates.
Then replies: Okay.
A few minutes later, she sends the time and location.
Merin arrives at the small café just as the clock hits the hour.
His eyes sweep the room—and stop.
Evelyn sits at a table.
But the little girl beside her makes him pause.
He knows her.
Even before she speaks, he knows who she is to him.
He walks over, pulls the chair, and sits down.
He leans slightly forward, offering a gentle smile. "And what's the name of the beautiful girl?"
The girl beams. "I am Anna Manford."