”Now what do you have to say for yourself,” Stein demanded with a stern expression. A wrong response could still lead to him blowing his top and losing his tenuous grasp over his emotions.
“I admit to my wrongs. I have no excuses and I’ll make this up to her and her family. I promise to fund her three children’s needs either in special food, drugs, tuition, or weapons until they become transcendents. I will even provide an origin weapon for them for that inevitable future. I’ll write a check immediately to that effect.” He brought out a checkbook for moments like this and wrote an astronomical amount on it. Here he was, paying to feed the parasites of other people when he didn’t want one himself. It had become a common occurrence since he had that troublesome child of his so he was used to it.
His actions snuffed out any feelings of resentment Mihila or Stein had towards him.
‘He is such a nice guy, too bad he has a bad seed for a son,’ Stein thought. “You are such a nice guy. Too bad you have such a bad seed for a son.” He said out loud. Mihila couldn’t help but nod her head in agreement about the nice guy part. She would have hoped Stein stopped at that, he didn’t need to add the bad seed for a son part. It was just rude.
Kroft didn’t take any offense at that. It was true anyway.
“Here you go.” He said and approached Mihila to give her the check. “Please don’t take this as me buying my way out of what I did. What I did was unfor…” He froze as his fingers grazed Mihila’s hand. His vision became filled with scenes of different elements colliding in excitement and chaos. He became enlightened.
“Hey, Haden,” Stein shouted when he noticed that Haden wasn’t listening.
“Yes, your majesty?” Haden snapped out of his stupor. He wished he hadn’t but he didn’t have a choice. Elder Stein’s shout had shaken his mind.
“I said you will have to pay for the expenses that the security and discipline department has incurred in resolving this matter.”
“But of course. You can send the bill to me.”
“Good, my work is done here. Listen to me, you cut off that gangrenous thing you have for a son. He is about to die anyway, don’t let him bring you down with him.”
“Yes, Elder Stein. Thank you for your service as always.” For once he was going to listen to Elder Stein.
“I will be on my way. I have hopes that you will become a titan.” Elder Stein’s voice drifted back but he was gone. Only Mihika remained. She was examining him. He was about 2.1 meters tall, the same as her husband, and he had blond fur that reminded her of her eldest son. For some weird reason, she could only see his features that invoked feelings of favorability. Haden spoke before the situation became awkward.
“I am sorry again. Congratulations on taking that step.”
“No problem. I’ll be going now.” She said before she disappeared.
Haden straightened himself, and a broad smile covered his face. He had finally seen a path forward after a long time without progress. His ambition returned with a new vision of the future. He returned to his house.
“Zaruk lock down the house and manage my urgent business. I’ll be away for some time.”
An ethereal being dressed in a butler suit appeared beside Haden.
“Yes, master Haden. What should I tell visitors that come to visit?”
“Tell them that I am in seclusion.”
“Yes, master Haden.”
“Also strip the young master of all his rights and privileges. He can go die off in a ditch for all I care.”
“Yes, master Haden,” Zaruk replied. There was no emotional fluctuation with the order. He was an unfeeling automaton spirit or what is currently referred to as artificial intelligence. It didn’t matter that he had watched the young master grow up, he would follow all instructions and orders given to him by his master.
Haden began to walk towards the underground shelter.
“That useless son as finely paid his dues.” He thought happily. He had been waiting for this moment since the day the boy was born. His ability had informed him on the day of his birth to spoil the boy and he would be able to see the path forward. He wasn’t supposed to spoil the boy with the best healthy meals, the best education, the best training, or the best tutors. He spoiled the boy with the most decadent things. He didn’t know how that would help or how the boy would repay him but it had finally happened.
He could now move forward on his path. The vision he saw when he touched Mihila had shown him the path through the sea of chaos. He wished he could have seen more but elder Stein robbed him of that chance. He couldn’t complain though, it was an acceptable trade for his life. Plus the little he saw was enough. Now he had the confidence to make the leap from a king to a titan. Kings and Titans are the same materials, they are made from the same fuel, but one is burning while the other is constantly exploding. He would be able to join the ranks of the exploding ones.
The feeling of liberation from being responsible for such a useless son was also exhilarating. It was like finally being cured of a disease. His son would no longer be able to use him and his influence to bring in those good-for-nothing friends of his into the city. He wouldn’t need to buy the spark of authority of a lord of law to extend the lifespan of his son. He had been delaying that particular purchase because of his reluctance to extend the parasitic relationship and like always he was right. His son had outlived his usefulness and can now be discarded. Maybe this would push his son to try and take the path of godhood, then he would have to struggle to survive from the endless hunts for his life.
“He does have the selfishness necessary to become a god,” Haden smirked to himself.
The small event ended with Elder Stein returning to make a report and Haden Kroft putting his life on the line in an attempt to break through to the next level. Mihila returned home content and slightly happy. She and Ghoto could be considered rich, it was easy for people of their power level to make them. While they are certainly capable of raising their kids with the best option of the things they needed for growth, it could not be compared with what they could do now with the money she had received. The premium and luxury options had suddenly opened up, and they wouldn’t be closing for a very long.
She made sure to curb every inch of her power before she entered their home. She didn’t want an accidental slip of her emotions to injure her kids.
“So how was your trip.” Ghoto transmitted telepathically with his divine sense.
“Not bad. Not bad at all. I have a present for you.” She replied.
“Really? I have a present for you too.”
“What is it.” She asked in anticipation. Ghoto smiled and presented with two black metallic wristbands. The metallic surface was etched with tiny seemly incoherent texts and runes. Mihila received it with a weird look. The metallic band weighed heavier than it looked.
“Is this for a new role-playing game? Did you miss me that much?”
“I missed you very much, but that will come later. This will weaken you until the point that your power becomes difficult to mobilize at all.”
Mihila inched closer to him and traced her hand over his chest.
“So that’s how you want to do it. You want to throw your weight around and bully me.”
Ghoto almost lost his self-control. He gulped and slapped her hand away.
“Don’t distract me. It is for our kid’s protection. So that you will not injure them. I was sure you would succeed and come back to me. I got it for you so that you won’t lose your control around them. However, the wristbands are fragile and can be broken by you so you have to be careful.”
“That’s exactly what a girl wants to hear. You have been waiting for me? I am here now, and I am not fragile.” Mihila said before licking her lips.
“Mihila, the kids are watching.” His divine sense all but screamed at her.
“What? They can’t hear us.” The kids hadn’t awakened their divine sense yet, even if they had they wouldn’t be able to intrude or eavesdrop on their conversation.
“They have eyes,” Ghoto informed her. The kids might not be able to hear what they were saying but they could see their physical interactions and they were not so naive that they didn’t understand what was going on. Their ancestral memory makes them wise.