Kira replied, "Yes I do but that's not the major issue. What I'm saying is, the creature you fought killed you. And with what was stated, you were blown into bits. So I don't know how you came back Xander."
"So you are saying you are not happy to see me then. Right? It's been a while now."
She dropped the bags she held on the floor and held him, "Xander understand me for a moment. You need to get what I'm saying correctly, when a creature with that amount of power hits you hard. Then you are not supposed to come back alive."
She pulled him into the apartment and said, "You are supposed to be gone for good. Except they resurrected you by using a future version of yourself from the farthest of all futures. So what they're saying is that they pulled you short by at least thirty years. So you'll die earlier than you are supposed to. Even with witchcraft we'll need your body to perform what we need to perform."
"So someone wanted me dead before I could ascend? Then someone else wants me alive so I could ascend. Apex wanted me alive, I'm fully aware of that. Who wanted me dead?"
She sat on his chair, the couch. She asked, "Xander who gave the command? Who brought up the idea for you to be wasted?"
"Nebula had a face of shock when I walked out. And no it wasn't because of pride, it was because he didn't expect me to survive."
"There you have it, that's the answer. That's the exact answer. So what do you do now? What's next?"
"Well I already told Apex that I wanted to leave."
She stood, "Xander you've come too far to even give up now. You've trained for this. This would be a complete insult to Apex. He brought you back. He could face a serious penalty but he's lucky there's no executioner on the seat."
"Penalty of what?"
"Penalty of death and extinction. He did something really special for you and you are about to waste it for who?"
His eyes went to hers, "For the witch standing right in front of me. What else?"
She smiled saying, "The witch in front of you wants you to get back on track with what you've got to do. Get back to the league."
He took his bag and said, "Kira, don't miss me too much."
He appeared at the room, Apex felt his presence the moment he entered the building. He said, "Good at least he got his senses back." He dropped his glass of whiskey and ran up to meet Xander.
He opened the door, "Welcome back boy." He walked into the room, he shut the door.
Xander turned to him and smiled, "What do I need to do now?"
"Get back to the floor you walked out on and finally speak to Solstice. He knows you are here and he's waiting on you."
Xander exhaled and walked down to meet Solstice.
"Solstice. I'm back."
"Good, you are the realm executioner after Vexis."
"Is that it? No rituals or even rites to perform. That's it. Just words."
"Xander my words are important just like the oxygen you breathe. It could either make or break you, it could kill you or revive you. I am Solstice. And no one is Solstice, but myself."
Knee. Xander heard the tiny voice again. He knew it wasn't his mother but someone else. Something else as a matter of fact, the lunaract.
He knelt with his right knee and left the left knee to hang up for his support. Solstice admired his humble posture, he said, "Bless me."
Solstice stood on his feet and said, "You are already blessed." He took his hands and placed them on him. He smiled saying, "Get up and back to work. You have a lot to do."
Xander stood with his height hovering over Solstice. He smiled. "Thank you." He kissed the ring on his finger.
He sat still and wondered what made him change.
Xander turned to walk away, his eyes caught someone he saw earlier. It's her, Elara.
She walked in, looking as beautiful as he remembered. "Welcome Xander, I'm Elara. I'm his daughter, it's a pleasure finally meeting you."
"Her voice felt the same, just like before. I met her in my head Solstice." She smiled at him as he spoke, she moved a bit closer to him to get a trace of his essence.
"Xander? You have the essence of a witch on your clothes. How?"
He turned his face to hers, "It's a pleasure meeting you too but how do you know that?"
"I can sense them easily, it would take me too long to find out. Who is she? Or is it a he?"
Solstice asked, "Xander, I hope you are aware that realm lords are supposed to be cautious of external species, especially witches. They could tap into your energy and cause you to release your strongest powers to them. Who is this person? And why do you trust her?"
"It's Kira. Her name is Kira and she's not a threat. She's been good to me. Although I noticed she's kitchen witch, why?"
He replied, "Xander, the least distance and most distance you should have with a witch is at least seven feet apart from you."
"But she's not a threat."
Elara said, "Alexander, the term witchcraft means the witch spirit. The least you could do is to be careful."
"Right, I will." He said.
He heard a crunch sound from behind him, he turned only to see Apex eating an apple. He said, "You've been eating so much these days. Did you get pregnant while I left?"
Apex stopped chewing and gave him a death stare saying, "Shut up. And get out of here."
"Well I can decide to stay if I feel like it. But for now, I'd like to take myself back to Earth X."
As he walked out through the portal, Nebula watched him calmly from above, he despised this new king so much. He could barely hide it.