Neo's POV

Neo woke up in the morning with a groan.

Every muscle in his body protested as he moved, and a dull soreness lingered everywhere. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, letting the fog clear from his head.

Then he looked down at himself.

Scratches covered his skin. Love bites marked his neck and shoulders. Kiss marks were scattered everywhere, leaving very little unclaimed space.

He let out a long sigh.

"At least I'm alive," he said with a wry smile.

That alone felt like an achievement.

He carefully got out of bed and stretched, feeling the tension ease just a little. Before he could move further, Elizabeth's voice came from outside the room.

"Neo, take a bath. Breakfast will be ready by the time you're done."

"Okay," he replied without much thought.

He headed into the bathroom, washed up, and tried not to think too hard about the previous night.

After freshening up, he left the room and walked toward the dining area next to the open kitchen.

Elizabeth was already there.

She stood by the stove, focused on cooking. She was wearing a pink sweater with a white apron tied around her waist. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, swaying slightly as she moved.

The clothes weren't what people usually wore in the True Blessed Land. They were closer to something you'd see back on Earth.

Seeing her like that, Neo felt his lips curve upward without realizing it.

He sat down at the table, resting his chin on his hand, and simply watched her for a moment.

Soon, she brought his breakfast over and placed it in front of him. Instead of sitting down, she stepped behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Neo asked.

"I'm giving you a massage. Sorry about last night. I… just missed you so much that I lost control," she said softly.

Neo blinked.

He hadn't expected that.

He turned his head slightly to look at her and saw her smiling down at him. It wasn't her usual teasing or confident smile. This one looked calmer, more mature.

Still, the tips of her ears were red.

She was embarrassed.

'I guess she really did everything while drunk,' Neo thought.

As he turned back to face the table, Elizabeth's ears slowly returned to their normal color. He didn't notice the change.

"You don't need to give me a massage. Just come sit and eat with me."

"I'm not hungry. My body doesn't need much food since I'm a Third Realm Martial Artist—"

Her words were cut short.

Neo reached back, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her forward.

Elizabeth let out a small sound of surprise as she landed on his lap.

This time, she was genuinely caught off guard.

Neo wrapped one arm around her waist to keep her steady. With his other hand, he picked up his spoon.

He scooped up some food and brought it to her lips.

"Eat," he said casually. "This is pretty good. When did you learn to cook?"

Elizabeth hesitated for a second before opening her mouth.

"I practiced," she said after swallowing. "I wanted to make good food for you for when we would meet again."

Neo felt something warm settle in his chest.

He didn't reply right away. Instead, he fed her another bite while she fed him in return.

The rest of breakfast passed in that strange, gentle rhythm.

It was quiet, and comfortable.

Uncharacteristically so.

After they were done, Neo stood up and stretched.

"I want to go outside, and visit some nearby cities. I've been cooped up for too long. I've never really traveled outside my village."

"You can go wherever you want. But take Vivi with you. You need a guard."

She paused, then added, "Also, take this."

She flicked her finger.

The space beside her cracked open like fragile glass.

Neo froze.

Elizabeth reached into the crack in the space and pulled out a wooden token.

'A subspace?' Neo thought, stunned. 'That's the fourth Technique Spirit.'

Elizabeth smiled when she saw his reaction and placed the token in his hand.

"Although Apollyon can't manipulate Fate much in True Blessed Lands, there's still a chance he might find you if he reads the Fate of someone you've met. Carry this token with you at all times. It will hide you."

"Alright," Neo said slowly, turning the token over in his hand. "But what is this, exactly?"

"I don't know," Elizabeth admitted. "But it belonged to Ultris. He used it to hide from Apollyon when he was weak. Paul gave it to me and told me to pass it to you. It was sent by Ultris."

Neo's expression stiffened.

"But… Ultris is—"

"Dead. Yes. But he prepared for the possibility of his death. That's why he gave the token to Paul in advance."

Neo clenched his fingers around the wooden token.

"I… see," he said.

Even now, he couldn't fully accept that Ultris was dead.

Since the beginning, Neo had been hearing stories about him.

Stories of impossible feats and overwhelming power.

People spoke of Ultris as if he were a natural disaster given human form, something that couldn't truly be opposed.

Neo himself had seen it.

He had witnessed Ultris looping the entire Cosmos through time, resetting events on a scale that made even Conquerors feel insignificant.

He had seen Ultris move an entire Universe with flick of hand.

To think that someone like that could die so suddenly, so quietly, left a strange hollow feeling in his chest.

It didn't feel real.

His emotions were tangled in a way he didn't like.

He couldn't tell whether he was supposed to hate Ultris for everything that had happened, or mourn him as someone who had shouldered an unbearable burden alone.

"Elizabeth," Neo said after a while, breaking the silence. "Do you know anything about Ultris' Time Loops? Isn't there a chance he could loop the Cosmos again and… come back?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.