Preparation for a new seclusion

After a long week, which managed to leave even Seth exhausted, it was time for him to focus on increasing his strength again.

With the situation on the continent under Endora’s control, he only had a few more things to settle before entering a new seclusion.

Warping to Hollie’s room, Seth appeared beside her bed and rested his head on her lap.

“Are you going to the springs?” asked Hollie, opening her eyes and moving her fingers through his hair with an affectionate smile.

“Soon, yes, but before that. Do you know what’s going on with Lisa? I expected her or her mother to come to see me by now….”

“I’ve left one of my students to monitor them. Wait a moment,” said Hollie, closing her eyes as air energy left her source and spread throughout the city.

She soon started mouthing something, using air energy to speak to her students before she eventually opened her eyes again. “They seemed to have come to a deal,” said Hollie with an amused expression.

“They? Deal?” asked Seth with a puzzled look.

“After many arguments, Leia convinced Julie to wait for Saif to pass away naturally before doing whatever she wanted. Lisa has lived with them in Oath ever since, most likely to ensure she didn’t renege on their deal.”

“That’s unexpected… and Julie agreed?” asked Seth in surprise.

“She did. My students should have informed me, but to be fair, I only told them to let me know if Lisa or Julie ever did anything suspicious or dangerous. What do you plan to do now?”

Seth pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “Nothing. I hoped things might turn more heated between them, but since they came to an understanding, my hands are tied… For now.”

“You could always kill Saif yourself,” added Hollie.

“Let’s not. That would allow her to form a divinity, but there’s no going back from that one. Well, in that case, Lisa can wait. What about Asteria? How are the students dealing with the lack of past sixth shell knowledge?”

“As you might expect... They are not exactly happy, but since they have yet to reach the sixth shell’s limit and the teachers have not progressed past it either, there are few complaints. The water classes are the ones that might prove difficult since Maya had to show up her progress in public as a show of force.”

“That’s fine. Throw them a bone or two. Distribute the knowledge for the seventh and eighth water shells and announce we’re also working on the other shells. If anything happens, you can also let them have the destruction, light, and earth knowledge. That should buy us a lot of time.”

Hollie looked surprised and asked, “I understand the rest, but destruction?”

“No harm in telling you, I guess,” said Seth with a smile, destruction energy gathering and forming a small bubble around the two. “The greater will is already gone. In the parallel timeline, I used the tower’s power to keep my source stable and replaced the fractured will with my own, gaining complete control over destruction. I can easily create a divinity anytime I want now.”

Hollie was astonished initially, but after remembering the Tower’s capabilities, she understood how it could remove the energy scattering in the absence of a will to govern it. “I never noticed you had recovered your power.”

“The fewer people know, the better. In the process, I also made things worse with the Tower and its guard dog, so one can never be too careful.”

“What about the rest of us? Do we still have to delay our breakthroughs?”

“For now, yes. I don’t want you girls to bear greater wills. The limit of the sixth shell is already bad enough. I’ve worked a plan with Lust to allow you to break through, but I’ll have to reach the seventh shell of my lust and perception sources before that.”

“Alright. As long as you have a plan,” replied Hollie with a sigh, but Seth could see the craving for progress in her eyes.

Sighing as well, Seth rubbed her hand. “Don’t worry; it won’t be long.”

“Do you need me to take care of anything else?” asked Hollie after a nod.

“Just monitor the north and ensure Death does nothing stupid. I doubt it would, but better careful than sorry. The council should easily be able to handle the other horrors, but if anything were to happen, I could always come out and take care of it. Let me know and don’t take care of things on your own.”

“What about Noth?” asked Hollie.

“Noth? He’s useless now,” said Seth with a chuckle, standing up from her lap and bending forward to kiss her lips. “Remember what energy Noth uses, and you’ll understand. Since Lisa’s situation is as it is, I guess I’ll take care of some things and then say goodbye to the others.”

Hollie squeezed Seth’s hand and nodded. “Leave everything to us. We’ll make sure nothing happens before you return.”

After Seth let go of Hollie’s hand, he disappeared from her room, appearing in front of a small house at the city’s edge. Moving closer to the main door, Seth lifted his hand to knock, but he didn’t even get the chance as the door opened by itself.

Walking past the doorframe, Seth followed the small hallway and entered a tiny two-by-two room, where a silver-haired young woman sat behind a desk, an opened book before her.

“I was wondering when you’ll come by,” said Iris, supporting her elbows on the desk and resting her head in her hands. “What can I help you with, Emperor Seth?”

Seth just stared at Iris’s face before sighing and using his creation energy to place a pile of books on the floor right by her desk.

“It seems you’re still angry about everything… I’ll be entering cultivation seclusion and came by and give you these. If you choose to progress, be careful about the air's greater will and ensure no one else gets hold of these books. Take care, Iris.”

Iris turned her head to the pile of books and quickly understood they were all cultivation knowledge.

“Wait,” Iris said, but she was too late; Seth had already teleported away. Waving her hand to pull the top book on her desk, Iris sighed and opened the first page.

Having delivered the knowledge for the seventh,eighth and ninth shell air energy to Iris, Seth teleported to the mansion where his parents used to live, now home to Isabel and Alice after Seth' moved his parents’ bodies to his small village.

He quickly found the two girls in the garden, enjoying what looked like hot, steaming tea. Noticing Seth’s arrival, Alice blushed and sat up from the table. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

“No, don’t, Alice. I also want to speak to you about something,” said Seth, creating a cup of tea as he sat across from the girls.

Alice sat down with a puzzled expression, wondering what Seth wanted from her. On the other hand, Isabel couldn’t help but chuckle and ask, “Did you finally come to claim my daughter?”

“Mom!” exclaimed Alice, her cheeks reddening instantly.

Seth shook his head with a smile. “Not really. As you know, I’ll leave for a while and want to give Alice something.” As he spoke, Seth created another pile of books, which he placed on the side of the table. “This knowledge covers destruction energy that would lead you to the ninth shell.”

Alice’s flush faded instantly, and her face paled as she asked, “For me? This is… Why?”

“Let’s just say I owe it to you,” replied Seth while winking toward Isabel, who already knew the relationship between the two in the former timeline.

Alice’s eyes shone as she stared at the books. “This… I don’t even know what to say.”

Knowing she couldn’t wait to read them, Seth chuckled and said, “You don’t have to say anything either. Just be careful when progressing from the sixth to the seventh shell. Fading into non-existence is not a simple thing and might damage your soul if not done properly.”

While Alice nodded like an obedient child, Isabel sipped her tea and said, “Sweetie, let me speak alone with Seth for a while. You can take the books inside.”

Alice, who couldn’t wait to do just that, grabbed the pile of books and rushed straight inside under the gaze of the two.

Once she disappeared inside the house, Isabel asked, “Are you not going to make a move on her? She’s not really interested in relationships, but one might steal her away if you don’t hurry.”

“Are you trying to play matchmaker for your daughter, Isabel?” asked Seth with an amused look.

“Why wouldn’t I? I want what’s best for her after all.”

Seth fiddled around with the tea in his cup as he said, “There’s always a spot for her by my side, Isabel. She just has to ask for it herself.”

“Come on, Seth. The girl is like a shy little mouse. She will never get the courage to ask for you,” said Isabel with a glum look. “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice she already admires you. There’s just a small step between admiration and love.”

“I know she does, Isabel, but let’s just say her will is not completely hers. Don’t worry about it. As I already told you, if she wants to be by my side, there’s a spot for her. Don’t fret too much about it and let thing play out.”

“Sigh… alright, I won’t insist on it.”

The two spent a few more minutes together, enjoying their tea while chatting about the future, before Seth disappeared again. He visited most of his lovers, leaving the knowledge they needed for further progress with them but asking them to delay their breakthroughs.

The only ones Seth told it was safe to continue cultivating were Rebecca, Alexa, and Ava because of their destruction and water energies. Seth then teleported to meet with Elise, who was experimenting with her treasure inside an underground home she had created for herself.

After informing her of his seclusion and chatting with her for a while, Elise suddenly asked, “What do you want to say? You’ve been hesitating about something since you came here.”

Being called out like that, Seth could only nod and say, “I wanted to ask you if you don’t want to give up on this path of yours… Like all the horrors beforehand, it won’t lead you anywhere.”

Seth’s words appeared to have hit Elise harder than he thought, her eyes losing focus momentarily as she lowered her head and looked at the Blood Sun hovering before her.

“But this is who I am, Seth…”

Seth pursed his lips and said, “You must understand Isabel’s words were likely true. The blood race was created as a manifestation of the blood humans spent fighting in the Age of Horrors. It’s a weaker form of energy with no divine throne for you to aim for… your blood also has a core form, so going further onto this path might not lead to anything at all.”

“But what if it does, Seth? I’ve thought about it; of course, I did, but what if there is a path for me as well? Won’t I betray who I am if I give up? I bore no love for my race, but in the end, I am still a blood-born. Becoming a human feels wrong….”

“I won’t push you to give up on your path, Elise, but I don’t want you to reach a dead end after all that effort,” said Seth with a sigh. “Countless others had already paved the ascension path, and you will catch up in no time….”

“What about you?” asked Elise, raising her head from the blood sun. “When an unbreakable wall barred your path, did you give up?”

Seth found himself at a lack of words to reply. He knew Elise had already made a choice and respected it. Smiling lightly, Seth shook his head and said, “I didn’t.”

“Continue on this path if that’s what you want, Elise. I will help you as much as I can since I owe you at least that much, but please keep in the back of your mind the possibility it might lead to nothing. I’ll leave now. Take care.”

Elise nodded and asked, “Is it alright if I enter Death’s lands? I need more sacrifices for my Blood Sun.”

“Death’s lands are too dangerous. Head to Pain. The horror there is weak, and you might even fight it off to a draw. As a plus, ending up as sacrifices for your art might be a blessing for the people living there. The council should have a way to sneak you inside.”

“Alright. I will. Good luck with your cultivation.”

“You too,” replied Seth, teleporting away again, this time to Maya’s office in the Royal Palace.

Finding his empress buried into a stack of papers like always, Seth approached her with an apologetic expression, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to replay you for everything, even with my infinite lifespan.”

Maya lifted her eyes from her papers and said, “We’re all doing what we can. Are you going to enter seclusion?”

“I am. I’ve already delayed for too long. Hell, most of you are already stronger than I am.”

“If you say so,” said Maya with a smile, a water trail leaving her fingers, and she exploded into a mass of water energy, her body reforming before Seth.

Pressing her chest against him, she moved her hands to caress Seth’s face and asked: “Any chance you’ll give your empress a treat before you leave?”

Seth thought about asking if the last week was insufficient, but he already knew the answer. It was never enough for Maya.

A couple of hours later, Maya’s office was a complete mess, and the empress was left sprawled on the floor, the dignity she carried upon Seth’s arrival nowhere to be found anymore. Seth cleaned himself and got dressed before pecking Maya’s lips and teleporting away.

Appearing deep underneath the capital, Seth allowed his body to sink into the energy spring water, knowing the next time he came out, the world above would have changed once more.