After claiming the Chief Sovereign Spark of Wind, Ophelia hurriedly returned to her husband's side. As she did, she warily kept her senses locked on Killian and the other Golden Sun Pirates. As mentioned before, although it was a calculated risk and she felt as though none of them would take offence at her actions, the truth remained that, at the end of the day, she didn't know any of them personally and, by extension, couldn't say for sure that they wouldn't take action when she returned.
Thankfully, she appeared to be right in her initial assessment. As she looked at them, she saw no resentment coming from any of them. In fact, if anything, there appeared to be a hint of appreciation coming from a few of them.
It wasn't just the Golden Sun Pirates; the eyes of everyone present were on Ophelia as she returned, but unlike Killian and his group, their expressions weren't nearly as relaxed. The power Ophelia had revealed had shocked each of them down to their cores. They all knew she was extremely powerful, but the power she displayed put her on a level all by herself. And if that wasn't enough, her husband was about to become a Chief Sovereign as well. As of that moment, another faction couldn't be provoked, no matter what happened.
Still, none of that mattered to Ophelia. At the end of the day, all that really mattered to her was that her husband could finally become a Sovereign and stand by her side.
After confirming that Killian and the others had no intention of intervening, she hurriedly thanked them before enveloping her husband in her Sovereign Power and re-entering the void. She had accomplished everything possible this time. It was now time for her to leave before she truly overstayed her welcome.
Killian saw Ophelia and her husband off with his eyes before turning his attention back to the others. He didn't say a word, but his message was received loud and clear. Without a moment's delay, be it through the void or the teleportation station, all of the others hurriedly took their leave.
After they left, Julius dispelled the [Constellation Battle Formation], allowing each of their auras to return to normal. At which point, Alissa let out a sigh of what almost sounded like disappointment before snorting and calling the now-departed experts a bunch of wimps.
Although the others didn't say anything, it was clear from the expressions on each of their faces that they all felt the same – disappointed! It had to be remembered that over the last few tens of thousands of years, although they had grown incredibly powerful, none of them had been able to really let loose and go all out in a blood-pumping battle. Well, none of them, aside from Ace, anyway.
The worst part was, because of their current level of power, there weren't many who were powerful enough to give them the battle they needed, and of those that were powerful enough, they were either allies and/or friends, or too scared of their group to dare provoke them.
Obviously, they could still enjoy a good, hearty battle against one another or some of the other powerhouses of their faction, but after tens of thousands of years of training together, they had such a deep understanding of one another that it took the excitement and mystery away.
They had already realised that the chances of them having any more life-or-death adventures were slim to none, but the events of today truly cemented that fact.
As they were wallowing in the depressing conclusion that they had just come to, Julius – the only one of them who had no vested interest in fighting – had a realisation separate from the lack of upcoming battles.
Voicing his concerns, he asked whether their actions today would negatively impact the faith going towards Ace.
Hearing that, each of their expressions turned to frowns as they understood Julius' concerns. Although it had been them who had said no to the request of accessing Ace's private dimension, they were under no delusions; Ace was seen as their leader; as such, their decision would be seen as his decision.
It was then that Ace appeared to dispel their concerns. They were shocked to see him out of seclusion, especially as he had so much time to train before his final battle, but he explained that he had reached a bottleneck.
His comprehension of the third and final Rule of Time had reached 99%. Him sitting back and training in seclusion likely wouldn't help him make a breakthrough; as such, he decided to exit seclusion and spend some time with his friends and family to relax his mind and heart. It was also for that reason that, even if his faith really did start to deplete a bit, it wouldn't have much of an effect.
It's been said time and time again, but that final spark of comprehension of any Law, Edict, Concept, Mandate, or Rule was always the hardest as, more often than not, it didn't rely on one's perception as much as it did a random spark of comprehension.
Hearing that, although they all still felt a little guilty, Ace's words did put each of their minds at ease.
At the same time, they couldn't help but feel happy that Ace was out of seclusion. Even if they wouldn't be able to enjoy a good and fulfilling battle in the future, they could at least enjoy the remainder of their time together before the final battle – and that they did.
For the next few thousands of years, Ace, along with all of his closest friends and family, went travelling through the universe.
So as not to draw attention to themselves, they obviously hid their true appearance and disguised themselves as ordinary deities.
When Ace first suggested his desire, they, out of concern for Amira, asked if that would affect the time of conception, but Ace reminded them that although he hadn't become a Paragon of the Rules of Time yet, he was infinitely close – it was all too easy for him to keep the time dilation the same as it was just for one person.
With his answer, all of their concerns were put to rest, and a large group of almost 30 of Ace's closest loved ones departed the Yulan Plane, exploring various locations and experiencing different customs and cultures. And even with the lack of danger, it was the most fun any of them had had in a long time.
And despite the fact that none of them were actively training, several of them made breakthroughs, both big and small. Unfortunately, Ace wasn't included in that list. Even so, it didn't stop him from enjoying his time in peaceful harmony.
Whilst experiencing one of the various mortal realms and witnessing a particularly peaceful and incredibly harmonious tribe, Ace came to a decision.
As Amira's due date grew closer, Ace was able to sense the condition of her and his unborn child with more and more clarity. At this point, the only thing he couldn't tell was the sex of the baby, but he knew that was due to Amira deliberately keeping it from him. He could obviously ignore her efforts and see for himself, but he understood she wanted it to be a surprise for both of them.
Aside from that, though, he could also see that, at this rate, their child would be born a little under seven days from the date of his final battle. Of course, once they returned back to their pocket dimension, he could increase the flow of time a thousandfold, which would give him exactly 18 years.
Ace had been racking his brain, trying to think of the best way to raise their child. With the power of both he and his wife, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to consider their child the unofficial prince or princess of the entire universe. Still, Ace didn't want them to grow complacent or arrogant, but at the same time, he still wanted them to grow up in a loving environment.
In the end, witnessing the lives of the mortal tribe gave him the answer he had been searching for.
He decided that when they returned to his personal dimension, he would suppress the laws of the world so that everyone, himself included, would be mortals for that 18-year period. Of course, once the suppression was lifted, their true power would return, but by that time, Ace believed that they would have more than enough time to instil their child with the values needed for them to be a genuinely good and decent person who wouldn't grow to abuse their power.
When he told his friends and family about his plans, they were all too happy to agree. It was a shame that he couldn't speak to Amira about his plans, but he knew her well enough to know that she would be on board.