The next day, Lara stirred in slow gasps, her eyelids twitching as fragmented memories clawed their way into consciousness. The ceiling above was unfamiliar—formed of jagged stone, lit faintly by soft pulses of spirit qi that threaded along the cracks like veins. The air carried the scent of moss and distant lightning.
She jolted upright, breath ragged.
Jaquan was instantly at her side, reaching out with steady hands that spoke of reassurance.
"It's alright," he said gently, catching her wrist. "You're safe now."
Her gaze trembled. "I… the palace… my father…"
"It's over," Jaquan said. "He didn't win."
Lara's hand shifted instinctively to her belly. She closed her eyes and extended a sliver of spirit sense into her womb, searching, trembling—until she felt it.
A spark.
A kick.
Thunder pulsed inside her, faint but unwavering.
She exhaled, releasing a tight sob as tears streamed down her cheeks. "He's okay."
Jaquan nodded, his voice soft with reverence. "Our son's tougher than most grown cultivators."
Lara leaned into him, her cheek resting against his shoulder. Then, slowly, her gaze drifted past him, settling on the figure standing quietly just outside the cave entrance. The shadows curled around him like they knew him, like they listened to his silence.
And yet… there was something familiar in his posture, in the way the forest bent gently around his presence.
"You must be Jalen," she whispered.
Jaquan turned and nodded toward the boy. "He's the one who saved us. From the palace. From your father."
Lara stared.
This young man had bypassed her father, a Spirit Fusion Realm cultivator, and carried them to safety through the cold void of death's doorstep—and did it without unleashing catastrophe.
Jaquan was right.
His son is a monster.
And yet, Jalen stood with quiet composure, hands folded, head lowered, and aura tightly sheathed.
"Come," Jaquan said. "Introduce yourself to your new mother."
Jalen stepped forward and bowed. "It's an honor to finally meet you, Mother."
Lara smiled, wearied but full of warmth. "You're even more handsome than I imagined."
Jalen straightened, his eyes clear. "Please take care of my father for me."
"I will," she promised.
The days inside the cave passed swiftly.
Lara's body transitioned from exhaustion to recovery, then slowly to quiet cultivation. Spirit moss insulated the cavern floor, while a dense web of elemental ores hummed low beneath the surface. Jalen reinforced the cave with interlaced spatial alerts, recoil glyphs, and layered qi cloaks. They lived tucked between silence and vigilance.
While guiding Lara's breakthrough, Jalen took quiet responsibility for the unborn child. Each day, he slipped into the deepest wilds of Rage Forest, returning with beast crystals carved from thunder jaguars, frostbound raptors, and glacier-blooded serpents. Crystals pulsed wild and raw—until Jalen refined them into whispering threads of elemental stability.
He didn't flood the womb with qi.
He nourished it.
Thunder first—spontaneous and loud, flaring each time Lara meditated. Then ice—quiet, temperate, blooming inside her slumber. Jalen shaped the resonance by listening. Every night, he knelt near her belly, touching the qi threads forming there, and spoke with calm intent.
"Rest. Grow. Don't rush."
The seeds responded in pulses: one electrifying, one cold. Both coordinated. And by the time Lara approached her threshold, the baby's physique had already begun awakening.
Then the breakthrough began.
Jalen led her through techniques that no scroll recorded—resonance syncing, breath-field weaving, emotional layering, and domain stitching. They practiced not with force, but with rhythm. And beneath each motion was the echo of an ancestral imprint. The shadow realm hadn't just taught him power. It taught him balance.
Sixty-three days passed.
Lightning storms crept around the outer cliffs. Cold mist threaded the ridges like ghost vapor. Inside the cave, Lara's core smoldered and shifted. Then—without warning—her spirit flared.
Blue-white.
Silent and blistering.
Cracks spread beneath her bed. Spirit pressure surged upward like a cry held back for years. The forest bent. The cave breathed.
Diamond Realm.
She collapsed into Jaquan's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I've been stuck at Peak Gold for over five years," she addressed Jalen. "And you… pulled me through in two months."
Jaquan kissed her hand gently. "He's a genius, that one."
Jalen smiled faintly. "Just well practiced."
___
Later, beneath a tree, the three of them sat together. Lara leaned into Jaquan's shoulder while her hand glowed faintly—proof that the baby's dual spirit seeds had fully awakened. Lightning shimmered beneath her skin. Cold qi rested in her pulse.
A thunder and ice cultivator.
Dual physiques and cores.
Before birth.
"So," Jalen said quietly. "What will you two do going forward? Where do you plan on going?"
Jaquan turned. "I was planning to take her home. Marry her properly. Start this life the right way."
"Good," Jalen said, "but you'll need to wait a little longer."
Jaquan's brow furrowed. "Why?"
"There are eyes watching," Jalen replied. "Mother. Father. While I was out earlier, I traced residual qi trails—at least three Imperial Realm cultivators. They haven't made a move, but I suspect they're waiting for us to separate so they can go after you two."
Jaquan's expression darkened. "Then where should we go?"
"Ruona Continent," Jalen said. "Find the Flare Family. Tell Patriarch Simon I sent you."
He paused, calculating. Simon is sharp and strong and has subjugated many strong factions. Even if he hasn't stepped into Spirit Fusion yet, his technique arsenal is enough to stall an Imperial cultivator long enough to protect his parents. And if Lara's father decides to come himself… that's another story.
But he doubts it. If Raiden intended to retrieve you himself, he would've come for you already. Still, he won't take any chances. He'll make sure no one sees which route they take when they leave.
Jaquan stared at his son for a long moment, a subtle weight passing between them—gratitude, pride, and trust.
Then he nodded.
Jalen turned his gaze toward the horizon, listening to distant trees sway beneath the invisible pulse of qi. The forest hummed.