There was a question. What was it again?
Ah yes. What does the strongest do when the fighting stops, when there's no reason to be this Divine persona everyone expects from you?
As the strongest Riven's day begins a bit differently than what he was used to, no longer sleeping for eons or living by every whim, it now starts with the ghastly sound of—
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The shrill alarm pierced through the silence like a bolt of lightning in the night.
Riven groaned, rolling over and slapping the clock with enough force to destroy it. It survived—due to being forged with origin stone. He sat up slowly, a slow yawn leaving his lips.
He didn't say a word. He never did. The quiet morning did it for him.
This was how his day began now, with a brisk shower following–despite not needing it as he had a divine body. But it was nice for a change.
No prophecy, no screamin' skies or other divine bullshit, even when he returned to earth before he rarely got a moment just to live like he once did as a human.
Next came an early morning workout with Aria and Lazaria, though it mostly consisted of teaching Aria exercises and how to properly utilize her strength.
"Point one hundred fifteen percent," Riven whispered under his breath, a single hand over his chest. Then, in a burst of speed, he dashed forward toward the rock wall.
Dropping low, he channeled strength into his leg. Shooting halfway up the wall, grabbing the nearest rock.
Turning to look down at Aria, he spoke. "After learning the fifth exercise and using it for a month, this is something you'll be able to do easily. The current you, with proper utilization of your strength, should be able to do this to a lesser extent."
Aria clenched her fist as she looked up at him. This is what she wanted: the strength to achieve her goals. Turning to Lazaria, she asked, "Can you do the same?"
Lazaria nodded before adding. "All Horsemen learned these ten exercises."
Aria's mouth opened in shock. "All ten," she mumbled.
To put into perspective, she had learned the first two exercises, which both contained eight stances, to complete them. And from what she saw in the booklet, each exercise beyond these two contained more than ten stances.
Even if she gave it her all, she believed that four at most was the limit to what she could learn. But to learn all ten at the age of twenty-five, what kind of training had she endured?
Her respect for Lazaria had risen even further, having learned this.
"Don't worry," Riven said, dropping off the rock wall. "You're a lot more talented than Lazaria is and should have no problem learning all ten exercises with a bit of guidance."
"He's right, I started learning the technique when I was nine, it took me a year to learn the first two, and even longer for the rest. My understanding of the tenth is shallow at best."
"I estimate it should take you at least three years to learn up to the eighth."
"Alright, let's get back to it."
After the long, intensive workout session and freshening up, the next part of his morning was cooking breakfast with Sera and Sylvia.
"Here, Sylvia, try this," Sera said, passing her a spoonful of miso soup.
Drinking the soup, she closed her eyes, savoring the taste. "Just a dash of salt and it'll be perfect."
Grabbing a small pinch of salt, Sera delicately sprinkled it into the soup, stirring gently after, before tasting it. Her eyes lit up in delight, "You were right, the extra salt added just enough without being too overpowering when compared to the other dishes."
"She's called famine for a reason. No one understands their sense of taste better than her." Riven said, walking by with a tray of food.
There was a fair reason for this, too. Sylvia was born to the Elven royal family–on some planet—where she was sold off as a slave and was starved and mistreated.
Luckily, when she was twelve, a slave rebellion allowed her to escape. In an act of vengeance against those who enslaved her, she began destroying farms and any place responsible for food distribution in several kingdoms.
Additionally, during her travels, she sampled a wide variety of food. She only stopped once she met Riven at forty. It was then, under his wing, that she became famine.
Her ability to bring about famine strengthened her sense of taste.
"It is true. I'm the one in charge of the food industry in my lord's business." Sylvia responded, placing a small bit of parsley on the dish she was working on.
"Really, can you teach me a bit? I really want to improve my cooking skills. After cooking for Aria and Nyra for so long, I can't just step aside and let Riven handle it all."
"If you want to take over, I don't mind, I enjoy your cooking as much as my own," Riven interjected, setting a plate down on the counter.
"No, I want to prove my skills first."
"Alright, suit yourself, but let's finish up. The girls are waiting." He added, grabbing hold of two trays to carry them out.
After eating breakfast with everyone present, it was at this point that Riven's schedule would vary, with today being a trip to Herta's lab to answer her question.
Driving up to the gate entrance of the lab, Riven stopped in front of the guard post.
"Mr. Damocles, we've been expecting you," the guard said, looking out the window.
"So would my sister tell this time, Mina?" Riven asked with a small chuckle, passing her his ID card.
Taking it, she began inputting his information into the system. "Oh, you know, the usual. My brother's a bachelor and would be a better choice."
"Ha ha ha, I mean I am the better choice, no offense to Jeffery, but that's for just about anyone."
"Ha ha, yeah, well, there's not a lot of men on the planet that can compare to a Damocles." Mina retorted with a roll of her eyes.
"Fair enough."
Inputting a few more things, she passed his ID back. "Alright, everything seems to be in order, you can head on in." The gates in front of his car creaked open, revealing a world that seemed to beckon him forward.
"Thanks, Mina, I'll be sure to tell my sister to leave Jeffery alone. Just make sure he and I can get a beer sometime." He replied, driving forward.
"No problem, just make sure he doesn't drink too much." She yelled out to him.
"No promises," he yelled back, waving, causing her to sigh.
'What is she thinking, playing matchmaker? ' Riven felt a bit weird about it, yes, he's trying to live normally, but just because his powers are sealed doesn't mean the benefits and curse just disappear.
He was already dreading the day he had to change his physical form into something older–Unless.
Plus, he still couldn't have kids; there was no way any woman on this planet was lucky enough or could live long enough to defy the odds. It just wasn't probable. He had a higher chance if he asked Lazaria, and her chance was just as bad as his.
But she, at least, was lucky on a cosmic scale, if you could call someone who is close to death lucky. Wait, could death be called lucky? He never really thought about it, but now that he did, was it?
He had to search for the answers later, maybe when he left Earth in some years, but what he needed to do first was navigate his way through this lab.
"My lord, I've come to lead the way," Astella said, jumping in front of Riven.
"That'll make life easier." He snarky replied.
"Of course, my lord, you're so used to just appearing where you want to be. If I didn't come to help, I'm sure you would've gotten lost." She retorted mockingly.
The walk through the lab was anything but quiet as Astella told Riven what she had been up to the last two days since the sealing. Her expression was light, and there was an extra pep in her step.
It was very clear to him that she was enjoying her time, and that was to be expected. She was Conquest, meant to be able to send anyone into a battle of worth for their desires.
As a result, her life was never easy. She possessed a beauty coveted even by the wisest rulers, leading to a constant struggle of being treated like a prize. It was only after meeting him that she was able to use it to her advantage.
But even then, he knew that was the life she never wanted; he never could give her the type of life, beauty was a crime to have if you couldn't protect it.
Though at least now, with her powers sealed, she could live how she wanted.
"Here we are, my lord, let's head on in," Astella said, opening the door for him, beckoning him in.
"Finally, you're here," Herta said, walking over from deeper in the lab where a computer seemed to be running calculations.
"Yep, so tell me, Herta, what was so urgent that you wanted me here directly after breakfast?"
"Time travel"
Riven blinked. "What? You want to know about time travel. Why?"
"Hmm, Curiosity"
"Uh-huh, what do you wanna know?"
"Interference. What happens when someone meddles with the time stream?"
"Explain?"
"Some wannabe scientists coined the idea that timelines can coexist in the same space—intertwined like spaghetti–similar to the multiverse, able to touch and influence each other. But that model collapses under scrutiny. My quantitative studies have proven this to be wrong; no matter how many tests I ran, I've found no such temporal overlap."
She said, walking over to a desk, scattering the stacks of paper as she looked through them. "I don't care how many superheroes ran back in time to save their mom—if timelines overlapped like that, reality would collapse every Tuesday"
Finding the paper she was looking for, she walked back over to Riven, handing it to him.
"Based on statistical evidence from quantum tunneling, which logically serves as the basis for how higher beings might cross dimensional boundaries—as if walking through walls."
"Yes, that would be right, it would be like walking through a wall. But Astella could've answered that."
"She did, and that's not what I'm asking," Herta responded bluntly.
"Okay, um, you got a whiteboard?"
Astella, waiting off to the side, walks away before coming back with a whiteboard.
"Alright, draw a line." He said, gesturing with a hand.
Herta grabs the marker, drawing out the usual diagram used to describe time travel and the like. "I know where this is going, but what I'm questioning is how that interference affects us."
"Oh, it doesn't. When one travels through time, they leave the main timeline and create a small branch affected by their actions. This is the first step to becoming a time paradox; the more you tamper with time, the less it affects you.
Finally, those who leave the main timeline cannot return to it if they mess with anything in the past or bring anything back from the future. Unless a Paragon or Aeon brings them back, but that most likely isn't going to happen."
Herta paused. Her voice dropped a note. "So would you bring me back… If I went to save Father?"
Riven looked at her for a long moment. "Don't, that timeline would be just a waste of time. Rather, we like it or not, his death was essential for us. And to change that would mean to live in a timeline where I don't exist."
"Because of your paracausality?"
"Yes, and No. Sometimes, a certain point is formed in the timeline, a fixed point where if you change one thing, you create a flashpoint. A flashpoint is a timeline that runs perpendicular to the main one and is a dead end."
He crossed his arms. "No Paragon or Aeon would ever touch a flashpoint. Not even for family."
"I... understand." Her expression transformed, slipping back into that familiar calm as if the weight of the conversation had vanished into thin air. "Alright, on to the next topic."
"There's another?" Riven questioned.
"Yep, and you're going to help me."
"Argh, spare me."
"Nope," With a determined flick of her wrist, Herta pressed a button on her bracelet. Instantly, a sleek metal cover whirred to life, sealing off the door with a satisfying thud.
After hours of questioning and helping Herta with her current research on life, Riven was finally set free. And with the sun gazing slipping away, he returned home to prepare dinner.
Dinner was special, it was the time when he got to cook a dish at the request of one of the mansion's inhabitants. Today, Nyra had requested tamagoyaki, but since it was more of a side dish, he decided to cook more Japanese dishes to accompany it.
With Sera and Sylvia helping, it didn't take long for dinner to be finished. Once the exquisite meal was artfully arranged on the table, Aria, Nyra, and Lazaria gracefully made their entrance into the dining room.
After thanking the Earth for the food, everyone dug in.
The room was silent, but an air of anticipation hung thick in the air. Aria and Nyra couldn't wait; tomorrow they would start their first day of high school,
Not just any high school, though.
They wouldn't be attending the one originally chosen for them. Instead, they were headed somewhere far more significant: the school owned by their grandma, Kira. The same school their mother once attended.
The number one school on the eighth continent—Redhaven High.
And they place that held the answers to one question they had never stopped asking:
Who was their father?