Chapter 90 – "The Meeting, the Name… and the Problems"
After a war-worthy bath — where Valen lost his soap three times, Nova tried to strangle a towel, and Zarion declared the water was "too peaceful for him" — everyone gathered in the HQ's grand meeting hall.
Commander Liora took her seat, imposing and cold, though her eyes were softer than before.
In front of her, lined up, stood:
Valen, Zarion, Naël, Arthur, Béatrice, Lya, Nova, Valor, Drake, Ethan, and Marie.
Elyon remained standing, arms crossed, leaning against the wall like a fallen prince or a secret boss.
---
Chaos Unleashed
Ethan spoke up without waiting for permission:
— So… you said this guy is your son?
Liora:
— Exactly.
Marie crossed her arms:
— How come he vanished all this time? You could've asked for help, you know. We would've supported you.
Liora raised a firm hand:
— This matter… concerns only me. I'm free to keep it private. I hope that's understood.
Valen raised an eyebrow:
— Can you stop abusing your commander privileges already?
Liora shot him a deadly glare.
Valen sighed:
— Okay, I said nothing…
---
**The Forbidden Name**
Drake looked at Elyon:
— And… what's his name?
Elyon slowly approached him — really slowly, like a final boss walking as if he controlled gravity.
He placed a hand on Drake's shoulder:
— You want to know my name…? Are you sure?
BOOM.
A titanic aura burst forth, crushing the room.
Drake's hair lifted as if caught in a divine wind, cold sweat trickling down his neck.
Naël choked:
— Bro… is he interrogating him or performing an exorcism?
Liora slammed the table:
— ELYON! STOP.
He just wanted your name! Drake's a sweetheart, you know!
Elyon, calmed, stepped back:
— Alright, Mother.
Zarion muttered, scratching his horn:
— He's changed… but still has his petty habits.
---
Liora's Oversized Ego
Liora took on a proud — too proud — expression:
— His name is Elyon. He's my son. Handsome, isn't he, Béatrice?
Arthur exploded:
— Wait, what?! You only ask Béatrice?! There are plenty of women here and you pick her?
Liora smirked:
— Why? Are you in love with her?
Arthur turned red as a volcano.
He sat down and placed a hand on his heart:
— Béatrice… that kind lady… is my ray of sunshine…
Béatrice stood up suddenly, moved:
— My sweet Arthur… I want to hold you in my arms! Come here!
Valen turned to miniature Elyonna on his shoulder:
— Look at that show-off… always flirting with the ladies.
Elyonna sighed:
— And you… always jealous because no one wants you.
Valen:
— That's false and slanderous!
Liora snapped her fingers:
— That's an order. I do NOT want your nonsense in this meeting!
Naël grumbled:
— Always with the power trips…
---
**The Real Question**
Liora took a deep breath and turned to her son.
— Today, a grand banquet will be held to celebrate our reunion.
But I'd like to ask you something, Elyon…
She paused.
The entire room fell silent. Even Valor stopped chewing his invisible gum.
— Would you… like to join us?
A sacred silence fell.
Elyon looked up at her.
His aura, for a moment, completely stilled.
— Yes, Mother.
I'll join you.
And… I have a lot to make up for.
Liora smiled.
A real smile this time.
The kind that only appears once a century.
Valen whispered:
— Well… things are gonna get wild with a mini-Liora on the team.
Nova replied:
— Mini? Him? He's a nuclear bomb.
The meeting continued… and so did the chaos.
Chapter 91 – "The Banquet of Return"
The sun was setting over HQ, tinting the windows with a red glow that screamed "Welcome to the madhouse."
In the grand hall, preparations for the banquet were in full swing. Hunters ran everywhere, cooks shouted, and Valen was already sampling dishes like he was head of quality control.
Zarion slapped his hand away.
— Stop picking at the food! The banquet hasn't even started!
— I'm inspecting! You never know if it's poisoned!
— Valen… we cooked it ourselves.
— Exactly. Even more dangerous.
---
The Group Arrives
The doors opened and Commander Liora entered, followed by Elyon, now dressed in a sleek black and silver uniform.
Silent, but not threatening.
Calm.
Determined.
So different that even Lya felt compelled to comment:
— Yo… who's this magazine model?
Elyon raised an eyebrow.
— Want a demonstration of my true form?
Lya dove straight into the floor.
— No thanks I love your current style stay like that bro.
Valor clapped his hands behind them.
— Ladies and gentlemen, let the BANQUET begin!
Nova:
— But no one said it was time yet…
Valor:
— Doesn't matter, my stomach said yes.
---
The Banquet Begins
The hall lit up.
Tables overflowed with grilled meats, stews, exotic dishes, and glowing desserts…
Even Arthur had dropped his princely composure.
— BÉATRICE! LOOK! Dragon-shaped meringues!
— My sweet Arthur, you're too adorable when you shout.
Marie watched Elyon from a distance.
— Does he even eat?
Ethan:
— With that aura, I thought he fed on stars.
Elyon picked up a plate.
— I eat.
Then looked at Valen.
— Just not with your demonic appetite.
Valen, mouth full:
— Tfa pfa a demo tfoi?
Lya:
— Valen, keep talking like that and I'm filming you.
---
A Strange Calm
Everyone laughed, ate, chatted.
A true moment of peace.
Even Liora seemed… at ease.
She watched her son with a gaze no one had seen before.
Not that of a commander.
Not a war leader.
A mother's gaze.
Zarion nudged her.
— You're smiling.
— So?
— It's scary.
— One more word and I'll cut your vacation days to zero.
Zarion:
— Ah. There's the real Liora.
---
Valen and the Tiny Menace
On Valen's shoulder, miniature Elyonna bit into a dessert.
— Could you stop eating like you've never seen food before?
— I'm recovering from battle, madam!
— You just walked.
— False. I also shouted a lot.
— That's not effort.
— For me it is. I have impressive vocal talent.
Elyon watched the scene, puzzled.
— What… is that?
Valen:
— My sword partner.
Elyon:
— She has a miniature form?
Elyonna:
— You want a problem?
Lya:
— Leave them be. This is gonna turn into a dwarf duel.
---
The Disruptive Event
As the party reached its peak, the lights flickered for a moment.
Just enough for everyone to stop talking.
A deep sound.
Very deep.
Like a heartbeat from far away.
Naël stood up.
— Did you feel that?
Zarion grabbed his weapon.
— Sounds like… something hitting the outer barrier.
Valor:
— Maybe it's an animal?
Liora:
— No. I know that sound.
She clenched her teeth.
Elyon looked up, his gray pupils narrowing slightly.
Another beat.
Stronger.
Closer.
BÉTOOM.
Lya emerged from the ground.
— Okay, that wasn't an animal.
Nova:
— Definitely not friendly.
Arthur:
— EVERYONE TO THE ENTRANCE, NOW!
Valen:
— I haven't finished my plate.
Elyonna:
— VALEN, ARE YOU A HUNTER OR A HEAD CHEF?!
Valen:
— HUNTER BUT I'M HUNGRY!
A third beat shook the walls.
Liora whispered:
— It's starting… much earlier than expected.
Elyon stood calmly.
— I suspected as much.
Someone's coming for me.
Chapter 92 – "Those Who Knock at HQ's Door"
HQ trembled for the fourth time.
This time, glasses rattled, lamps swayed, and Valen's dessert slid across the table on its own.
Valen set down his fork.
— Okay. Now it's personal.
Zarion stood up:
— Everyone! Positions!
Liora strode across the hall, her cape billowing like it had its own built-in fan.
Elyon followed behind her — calm. Too calm.
Nova whispered:
— Why does it feel like he already knows what this is?
Valor:
— Because it's probably a problem coming for him.
Lya:
— Great. The guy just got here and trouble's already knocking.
---
At HQ's Entrance
The reinforced doors were shaking, like someone was pounding on them with meteors.
Arthur placed his hand on the handle:
— I'll open it.
Béatrice tugged his coat:
— Arthur. My ray of sunshine. Are you trying to die today?
— I was just… checking the handle. Nothing dangerous.
Zarion pressed his ear to the door:
— Sounds like… three knocks. Slow. Steady.
Naël:
— Slow? Steady?
Valen:
— So not a monster. Monsters knock like maniacs.
Nova:
— Since when are you an expert in knock analysis?
Valen:
— I have my talents.
---
The Silence… Then the Voice
Suddenly, everything stopped.
No more knocking.
No more tremors.
Just a heavy silence.
Then… a voice.
Deep. Distant.
Like muffled through layered dimensions.
> — "Open… Elyon."
The entire team slowly turned toward him.
Elyon sighed.
— Confirmed. It's for me.
Lya:
— BRO WHAT KIND OF LIFE DO YOU HAVE?
Valor:
— Can we go back to the banquet and pretend we didn't hear that?
Mini-Elyonna:
— You just want to eat.
Valen:
— EXACTLY.
Liora stepped in front of the door:
— Elyon. Who is it?
Elyon answered without hesitation:
— Someone… I wish I'd never see again.
---
The First Crack
A sinister fracture appeared at the center of the door.
Zarion:
— Okay, that's not a normal person.
Arthur drew his sword:
— Shall we greet them?
Béatrice:
— With elegance. Or violence. I'm fine with both.
Marie:
— I'd like to go home.
Ethan:
— Don't worry, no one goes home in chapters like this.
Elyon stepped forward:
— Don't get between me and them. They only want me.
Liora placed a hand on his arm:
— Elyon. You're a hunter now. You're not alone anymore.
Elyon lowered his gaze… then smiled faintly:
— Thank you… Mother.
---
BOOOOM
The door exploded into shards of steel and energy.
Everyone shielded themselves.
When the dust settled…
Three figures stood at the entrance.
Three beings cloaked entirely in white, each marked with a black eye at the center of their chest.
Their aura… wasn't magical, divine, or abyssal.
It was the absence of aura.
A void.
A hole in reality.
Naël whispered:
— What are those things…?
One of them pointed a finger at Elyon.
> — "First Prince of the Throne. You abandoned your role.
We've come to take you back."
Elyon froze.
Valen exhaled:
— Oh no… this is worse than I thought…
Lya:
— WHO ARE THEY!?
Elyon:
— …
— The Guardians of the Void.
The jailers of the Throne itself.
Silence.
Zarion:
— I don't like their name.
Valen:
— Me neither.
Nova:
— I like their faces even less.
Mini-Elyonna:
— If one of them touches me, I swear I'll go full-size and scatter two of them across the moon.
The central Guardian stepped forward.
> — "Elyon. You have one last chance.
Return… or we will destroy this world."
Cliffhanger.
Chapter 93 – "Orvyn, the Mom Who Scares Gods"
The silence after the breach was heavy, like the stillness before a storm.
The three Guardians stood motionless, their black eye fixed on Elyon. Their presence drained the color from the air, as if someone had erased the hues.
Elyon stared them down.
— Even if you threaten to destroy the world, I won't go with you.
One of the Guardians tilted its head, its voice scraping like metal on stone.
— If you refuse, we will exterminate your friends. Everyone you tremble for. Everyone you love.
Elyon smirked — arrogant, sly.
— Are you even capable of exterminating them?
A low growl echoed from beneath the cloaks. One stepped forward, threatening.
— We are the Guardians of the Void. We have shattered worlds and kings. Your pride is… quaint.
Valen whispered to Zarion:
— He's changed, but he still drops trash talk like it's currency.
Zarion:
— Same unbearable charm.
Liora stepped forward, fists clenched. Her voice cracked like a blade:
— You dare threaten my son, in front of me?
The Guardian hissed:
— Your son? Stop lying. His father fragmented his fragmented child and took his own life. The final will of the Ancient Human King was clear: Elyon shall rule Creation.
Silence.
You could've heard a dust mote sneeze.
Liora didn't flinch. She raised her hand slowly — not to plead, but to summon.
One of the Guardians was pulled forward like a puppet on an invisible string, levitating before her.
— And who told you his father was dead? she said, in a voice that was no longer just Liora's.
The room tightened. The three Guardians exchanged a nervous laugh, like someone had told a joke too old to be funny. One of them scoffed:
— Humans are deranged… Usurping the name of the Ancient Human King? Ridiculous.
Elyon stepped forward, calm.
— And yet… she's right. She's my mother.
The laughter died. The cloaks shivered.
Liora inhaled. Her silhouette rippled; her cape, her posture, the rhythm of her breath — all shifted like a mask being removed. The room held its breath.
In a single beat, Liora was no longer Liora: she rose, expanded, transformed into something older, vaster. Her features sharpened, her voice deepened with centuries.
Where the commander once stood, now stood Orvyn — sovereign, ancient, parent of another era.
The two Guardians in the back felt something ancestral call to them. They buckled. Without thinking, they dropped to their knees, compelled by a will not their own.
Orvyn — Liora — held the central Guardian aloft, now dangling like a marionette with taut strings.
Her voice rolled through the room, heavy and imperial:
— First, you threaten my son.
— Second, you ruin the banquet I prepared for our reunion.
— Third, you defy my orders — and fourth, you try to force my son to do what he does not wish.
— For all of this… you deserve to be erased.
The floating Guardian stammered, fear suddenly clear in its voice:
— Your Grace… forgive us. We were unaware. We… misread the signs.
Zarion, arms crossed, murmured to Valen:
— Since when do they get polite all of a sudden? It's unsettling.
Valen exhaled:
— She traumatized them in under three seconds. That's all.
Orvyn dropped the Guardian with a flick. The other two remained kneeling, their heads touching the floor with a dull thud, as if reality reminded them they weren't in charge here.
The Guardians whispered in unison, voices cracked:
— Thank you, Lord. For your mercy.
Orvyn frowned, then with a sound that was part restrained fury, part parental sigh:
— Leave. I don't want to see you on my doorstep again.
A wave of void pushed the cloaks back. The three figures retreated, their emptiness folding in on itself like a wiped stain. They vanished in a ripple of dimensions, taking the threat with them… but not the unease.
The great hall took time to recover. Candles flickered; people murmured; hands still trembled. The tension fell like a heavy blanket.
Liora became Liora again, her body returning to familiar form. She placed a hand on her forehead, a small, sheepish smile tugging at her lips.
— Well. Shall we… resume the banquet? she said, a little too cheerfully.
Drake, still slack-jawed, muttered:
— Uh… I think we missed a few chapters.
Ethan, eyes wide:
— A few? We missed an entire volume, bro.
Marie shook her head, torn between awe and anxiety:
— Liora… Orvyn… you're really hiding some stuff from us, huh?
Valen, still hungry and unbothered, raised a hand in peace:
— Okay, okay, drama's over. Who emptied the chicken platter? I need it.
Elyon, both relieved and slightly embarrassed by the cosmic parental reveal, approached Liora. He placed a hand on her shoulder, gaze soft.
— Thank you… for that. For showing up. For not forcing me. For… everything.
Liora looked at him, and the hardness that usually kept her sharp cracked — just a little.
— You're not alone, Elyon. Not today. Not as long as I breathe.
The room slowly returned to life: hushed voices, nervous laughter, chairs being pulled back.
The banquet resumed, wrapped in awe and quiet chatter, like everyone had just lived through a myth and now needed to process it over food.
In a corner, Naël whispered:
— Seriously, I want a comic series about Liora-Orvyn. It'd be a hit.
Lya, back to her dark humor, slid out of the floor and replied:
— Yeah, with a spin-off: 1000 Ways to Break a Guardian.
Mini-Elyonna stood proudly on Valen's shoulder, raising her dessert like a trophy:
— Who said my boss was soft? I give her a 10/10 for intimidation.
Valen chuckled:
— Note to self: boss = terrifying; wife = impossible; roommate = negotiable.
Far off, as the party resumed, a faint breath brushed the threshold of HQ — almost imperceptible, like a warning that the void had retreated, but not vanished.
No one really noticed, too busy eating, drinking, laughing, and reclaiming a night that had nearly tipped into disaster.
But Elyon looked at the door one last time, eyes sharp. He knew this reprieve was precious. He also knew the Throne and its jailers never gave up easily.
His smile, this time, was neither arrogant nor sad. Just… resolute.
— Let's keep the party going, he said. And tomorrow, we start fixing what I broke.
Liora nudged him with a fond elbow:
— And you're doing the dishes. No excuses.
Valen called out:
— Hey, it's all good. As long as there's chicken, I can rule an empire.
Laughter. Music. Dishes clinking.
HQ came back to life — louder, wilder, and a little more united than before.