The Draven Clan's main dining hall was vast.
A single obsidian table stretched across the chamber, carved from a meteor stone that absorbed spiritual pressure instead of reflecting it. Ancient dragon runes lined the walls, watching silently—judging.
Kai stepped inside.
This was not the elders' council hall.
This was family.
And that made it far more dangerous.
Seated along both sides of the table were the pillars of the Draven Clan—high elders, branch leaders, war veterans whose names alone could shake kingdoms. Their conversation faded the moment Kai entered.
But Kai saw none of them first.
He saw the head of the table.
His father.
Lucien Draven.
The man sat upright, spine straight as a blade. His black hair was streaked with silver far beyond what his age justified. His face was cold, sharp, carved by years of disappointment and silent rage.
And to Lucien's right—
Kai's breath hitched.
His mother.
Lilith Von Tal.
Alive.
Whole.
Her crimson eyes softened the moment she saw him. She wore a simple black-and-silver robe, her presence gentle yet impossible to ignore. One hand rested calmly on the table, fingers adorned with the Draven Clan ring she should have lost five years later.
For a fraction of a second, Kai forgot to breathe.
She was supposed to be dead.
Supposed to have sacrificed her soul to save him from an assassination that—according to the original timeline—had not yet happened.
Before emotion could overwhelm him—
Reality shattered.
***
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
A blinding blue panel exploded into his vision.
[CONGRATULATIONS, HOST]
[TASK COMPLETED: RESURRECT YOUR MOTHER][STATUS CONFIRMED: TARGET ALIVE AND STABLE]
Kai's pupils shrank.
"What?"
[MISSION TIMELINE VERIFIED: YEAR 2080][RESURRECTION SUCCESSFUL]
His mind reeled.
No ritual.No pill.No Level 40.
The system wasn't reacting to now.
It was reacting to then.
The Whitewash System—awakened fifty years early—was operating on the assumption that history had already occurred.
A glitch.
A dangerous one.
[REWARD GRANTED][+10,000 EXP][+Unique Affinity Unlocked: Void Dragon Bloodline (Dormant)][+Draven Clan Absolute Loyalty (Passive)]
Kai felt it instantly.
A surge of power flooded his cultivation core, vast and heavy like an ancient beast stirring in deep darkness. His level skyrocketed, his foundation reforged in silence.
He lowered his gaze, hiding the tremor in his fingers.
So this is how you work…
Not truth.
Timeline.
***
"Kai."
His father's voice cut through the system haze like a sword.
Lucien Draven was staring at him.
Not with anger.
Not with warmth.
But with exhaustion.
"Sit."
Kai moved to his seat—directly opposite his father, diagonally across from his mother. Lilith smiled softly at him, relief flickering in her eyes.
That smile stabbed deeper than any blade.
Lucien spoke again.
"You leave for Heavenly Sword Academy," he said flatly, "tomorrow morning."
The table stirred.
Tomorrow.
Kai nodded. "I understand."
Lucien's jaw tightened.
"You always say that," his father said. "And yet… you understood nothing."
The words were quiet.
They hurt far more than shouting.
"You abandoned your cultivation.""You humiliated this clan.""You chased after a woman who never once looked back."
Lucien's hands clenched.
"And your mother paid the price for it."
Lilith's fingers trembled slightly—but she said nothing.
The hall was silent.
Kai stood.
Every elder stiffened.
Lucien's eyes sharpened. "Sit down."
"No," Kai said calmly.
He bowed.
Deeply.
"To you, Father."
Then he turned—to his mother.
"And to you, Mother."
Lilith gasped softly.
Kai straightened, golden eyes steady.
"I won't ask for forgiveness," he said."I won't ask you to trust me."
Lucien's expression hardened.
"But tomorrow," Kai continued,"I will walk into Heavenly Sword Academy not as a fool chasing affection—"
His gaze sharpened.
"—but as a Draven."
Something cracked.
Just slightly.
Lucien looked away.
***
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
[NEW TASK GENERATED]
[TASK 2: MAKE YOUR FATHER SMILE][DETAILS: TARGET HAS NOT SMILED SINCE HOST ENTERED "INFATUATION PHASE"][TIME LIMIT: BEFORE ACADEMY DEPARTURE]
Kai almost laughed.
So this is how you judge redemption.
[REWARD UPON COMPLETION][+5,000 EXP][+Passive Skill: Patriarch's Recognition][+Hidden Bonus (Emotion-Based)]
Kai looked at his father's rigid back.
At the man who had lost his son long before he ever lost his wife.
He clenched his fist.
"I'll do it," he thought.
"Even if it takes breaking fate again."
Lucien Draven did not smile.
Not yet.
But for the first time in years—
He listened.