Feeling the warmth of her son, Anna slowly pulled back from his embrace. She smiled faintly, her fingers gently ruffling his soft silver hair.

“My boy,” she said, her eyes glistening with emotion as she gazed at Kranos. “How have you been all this while?”

A dry cough interrupted the moment. “Cough… cough.” Raphael cleared his throat and patted Kranos on the head. “Anna, we are in the middle of a meeting.”

Startled by his reminder, Anna blinked in surprise before regaining her composure. She turned toward the elders, the princes, and the king, offering a slightly apologetic smile.

“Welcome, grandson,” the king said warmly. He didn’t mind the interruption and waved for Kranos to come closer.

Kranos stepped forward, and the king pulled him into a light embrace. Afterward, the other royal members took their turns greeting him.

The second prince, Eric, stared at Kranos in disbelief. His shock had yet to fade. For six years, there had been no news of Kranos. He had assumed the boy had been killed by the Scarlet Moon Organization. After all, Eric himself had submitted the kill order.

How was he still alive?

‘How is he not dead?’ Eric’s heart twisted in turmoil. He realized now how greatly he had underestimated Kranos. Nothing about this situation made sense. How had Kranos survived everything?

“Second Uncle,” Kranos said calmly as he approached.

Eric forced a smile and gave a stiff nod. Kranos then moved on toward the third prince, leaving Eric to stare at his back in silence.

At the same time, many eyes shifted to the strange creature resting on Kranos’s hand.

What kind of cat was that?

From a glance, it was clearly not an ordinary feline. If it had been, it would have trembled in the presence of so many powerful cultivators. Yet the creature remained perfectly calm, even glancing around with what appeared to be curiosity.

They didn’t pry further. It wasn’t their place to ask, and none of them dared to overstep.

Once Kranos had greeted everyone, he stood quietly beside his parents, listening attentively as the meeting continued.

“Now that this is out of the way, we can proceed,” the king said, his tone becoming more serious.

“As you all know, the demon beasts aim to seize control of the northern region of the royal capital. If they succeed, they will sever one of our most vital supply lines. That region is where we obtain the majority of our mana stones.”

“If that area is taken, raising new cultivators will become significantly more difficult. Not only that, the recovery rate of injured soldiers during battle will plummet. In short, we cannot allow this to happen,” the king declared, his gaze turning cold and sharp.

“Your Majesty, why don’t we attempt an agreement with the creature? Perhaps a negotiation?” Eric suggested cautiously.

The king narrowed his eyes.

“Negotiation?” he scoffed. “That creature desires the destruction of the Immortal World. What kind of agreement could we possibly make with it?”

Raphael rested his chin on his knuckles, thinking for a moment before speaking. “What if we divide our forces? We can station a portion of our army at the front lines while sending an elite unit to circle around and launch a surprise attack from the rear. Since the demon beasts are advancing toward the northern capital, they will expect a direct confrontation and likely not anticipate an assault from behind.”

The suggestion drew murmurs of approval. The king and the princes nodded slowly, lost in contemplation.

However, Eric once again interrupted the silence.

“That is a solid strategy, but what if they anticipate it? If they predict our ambush and launch a counterattack, we could suffer even greater losses.”

A wave of unease passed through the room. The elders and princes exchanged glances, each weighing the truth of his words.

Eric had raised a critical point that no one had considered yet.

“What if one of us made a direct move and eliminated the creature?” the first prince proposed. “It wouldn’t expect that.”

Raphael shook his head in disagreement. “That creature can sense our energy. If it detects anything above the God King realm approaching, it will retaliate. And if we suddenly wipe out a large number of demons, it will grow suspicious and retaliate by wiping out several human strongholds in return.”

The king let out a weary sigh. “It seems we cannot reach a conclusion, at least not today. We need to give this more thought. The meeting is dismissed for now. We shall reconvene tomorrow.”

With those words, the king vanished from the chamber.

The remaining elders fell into deep thought, and the princes gradually exited the room.

Kranos observed the concern etched into everyone’s faces. A faint frown formed on his lips. It was clear this threat was far from ordinary.

He turned to his parents. “Mom, Dad, what’s going on?”

Raphael looked at him for a moment, as if unsure of how much to reveal, then exhaled slowly.

Just as he began to speak, Anna smacked him gently on the back of the head.

“Our son just returned from a long journey. I will prepare a feast. Don’t burden him with palace matters. Father and the others will handle it.”

Seeing her expression, Raphael sighed once again and said nothing more.

The cat perched on Kranos’s shoulder tilted its head, observing them with interest.

“Your parents are truly fascinating,” it said, its voice filled with amusement.

Kranos laughed inwardly. “I know. That’s how they usually are.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. But never mind. Maybe they decided not to tell you for your own sake. You will find out in time.”

Kranos was stunned. He understood this mysterious creature wasn’t one to speak carelessly. Were his parents hiding something?

He gently rubbed the cat’s head. “Come on. Just tell me. If you do, I’ll give you a name.”

A strange, soothing warmth spread through the cat at Kranos’s touch. “Not interested. I’m not telling.”

“Don’t you want a name?” Kranos asked, walking alongside his parents.

“I already have one,” the cat replied with a roll of its eyes.

“Oh? What is it?” Kranos asked.

The cat remained silent.

Kranos chuckled. He had figured it out. The creature had no name and was simply pretending.

“Fine. If you won’t tell me, it’s alright. I’ll think of a name for you eventually,” he said softly. He didn’t understand why, but ever since they met, he had instinctively trusted the cat.

Was it some kind of spell? Or was something deeper at work?

The cat turned to look at him and muttered internally, “A name, huh?”

A shadow of loneliness flickered in its gaze.

The emotion swelling inside the little creature could no longer be contained.

“So I finally get a name after countless cycles of chaos…”

…

Seated once more in his familiar room, Kranos allowed memories to wash over him. On the way here, he had already asked his parents and learned that his eighteenth birthday had long passed.

Melancholy settled in his chest. In the blink of an eye, he had lived eighteen years in this world.

During that time, he had died three times and returned each time, narrowly escaping death.

In just three short years, he had been betrayed and manipulated by various people, including Kathryn, Aurora, and most notably, the mysterious expert during the Trial of the Heart.

Kranos let out a deep sigh.

The Immortal World was, as he had suspected, treacherous. But even so, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Despite everything, he found it all deeply fascinating.

He glanced around the room with quiet appreciation. At the cat curled in the corner of his bed. At the small collection of items his parents had gifted him over the years. At everything.

“I don’t regret any of the decisions I’ve made,” he whispered.

Just then, his mother’s voice drifted through the doorway.

“Kranos, it’s time for dinner.”

He snapped his gaze toward the door.

Walking over to the bed, he gently patted the cat.

“Hey, old man,” he said with a smirk, calling it by the name the creature had once used for him.

The cat stirred and stretched slowly, then paused.

“Who are you calling old man? You’re the old one! Your parents are old! Don’t ever call me that!” it yelled, baring its fangs.

“Yeah, whatever, old man,” Kranos said mentally.

The cat froze, its eyes widening in disbelief.

Kranos ignored the reaction, scooped it up gently, and walked out of the room with a light smile, rubbing its head affectionately.

When they reached the dining hall, Kranos noticed his parents already seated.

Warmth surged in his chest. This kind of peace was what he cherished most.

He sat down quietly, savoring the moment.

“Mother, about the cat,” he said, picking up his chopsticks. The thought struck him suddenly. Since the creature seemed mortal, did it need to eat?

Anna looked surprised. She had completely forgotten about her son’s unusual companion.

The cat rolled its eyes. “Do you think I’m like those ordinary pets? I have no problem eating human food,” it said, then leapt onto Kranos’s dish before he could react.

Kranos watched in amusement. Anna giggled, unable to suppress her laughter at the sight.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep