I looked at Stella, who had leaned her head against my shoulder for just a second in the cafe, a small, fleeting gesture of affection before the world snapped back into focus. Space warped around me, the familiar, effortless fold of The Grey, and an instant later, we stood in the quiet, sunlit living room of the penthouse. The transition was seamless, the hustle of the Avalon street vanishing as if it had never been.

"You're embarrassed," I chuckled, releasing her. The warmth of the one-armed hug lingered, a brief moment of normal father-daughter contact. "Because of that Kaelen kid?"

"It's not like that," she sighed, pulling away, her face still a little pink as she walked over to the massive window, her favorite spot. She stared out at the Avalon skyline, a glittering expanse of white towers and blue sky. "He's just... he's Rank 1 of Slatemark Academy's first years. Silver-rank. And everyone else in the group is Yellow. They're all so... driven. I just want to make sure I can keep up, you know?"

My smile stalled, fading instantly. I saw it then, the deep, persistent vulnerability she tried so hard to hide behind her sarcastic wit and her fierce, non-magical genius. She was fifteen, surrounded by the magically gifted elite, constantly reminded of the one thing she lacked, the one path she could not walk. It was an ache I could not heal, a gap I could not close for her, and it twisted my heart.

But I could protect her.

"Erebus," I said, my voice quiet but firm in the sunlit room.

A spatial rift, dark and silent as a slice of the void, tore open beside me. From it stepped my second oldest companion. Erebus, his form now imposing, skeletal plates etched with glowing runes, an aura of profound, cold power thrumming around him, knelt immediately. His presence, equivalent to a low Radiant, caused the very temperature in the room to drop a degree. He bowed his skull, first to me, then to a wide-eyed Stella.

"Dad, I don't want to be strong like this," she protested immediately, her mind leaping to the wrong conclusion, thinking this was some misguided attempt to "fix" her. "This-"

"Shh," I shushed her gently, walking over to where she stood by the window. I placed my hands on her shoulders, turning her to face me. "I know. I'm not stupid. This isn't for you to 'keep up'. This isn't a tool for your studies." I met her confused, defiant gaze. "Erebus is a guardian. Your guardian."

Her protest died, replaced by wide-eyed confusion. "A... guardian? But... don't you need him? For... you know..." She waved a hand vaguely, encompassing the divine-level battles she knew, on some level, I was now fighting.

I glanced at my faithful Lich King, still kneeling, silent and patient. 'Need him?' The word felt heavy, sharp with a new, painful truth. Alyssara had proven that terrible fact in her sanctum. Erebus, who had been my ultimate trump card for a decade, the ace up my sleeve, was now... a liability in the face of true Divine power. His Radiant-rank strength was formidable, capable of shattering armies, but against a being who could rewrite reality with a thought, he would be unmade in an instant. Devoured. If I had summoned him in that final battle, she would have torn him apart, and it would have been my failure, my arrogance, that led to his final death.

My gaze softened as I looked at the intricate bones that formed his hand. I remembered the sheer, desperate, mad gamble it had been. My first year at Mythos Academy, a Silver-rank, ridiculed for daring to delve into such advanced necromancy with my unusual constitution. I remember getting the unique Skull of an Arch Lich he kept locked away in his private collection that began this whole journey to making my own Lich. I remembered the thrill of the hunt, tracking down the Basilisk's Heart in the outskirts of Nimran City using knowledge from the Saga of the Divine Swordsman. I'd spent a fortune, convincing Rose's Vakrt corporation to provide me with the flawless, 8-star skeleton of a Blood Wyvern they had recently acquired.

Everyone thought I was insane. They called me mad, a fool playing with forces that would consume him. Yet I had succeeded. I had combined them, fueled by nothing but a desperate, burning will. I hadn't just created a lich; I'd created him. An Ancient Undead, a being of profound potential, bound inextricably to my soul.

He had grown with me, from a simple, wearable Bone Armour I used to survive sparring matches, to a sentient, powerful ally who could stand with me against Calamities. But now... I was Divine. The gap was too vast. And upgrading him further? To a Lich Emperor? The materials required would be of a divine, near-impossible quality. And even then, as my new understanding of the universal architecture confirmed, the result would only peak at the Calamity-level. Still too weak for the real war to come.

His best, his most vital, his most honorable purpose was no longer on the battlefield at my side. It was here.

"This is merely to protect you, Stella," I said finally, my voice firm, leaving no room for argument. "That's it. I need Erebus to be by your side. Always."

Stella looked at me, then at the kneeling lich, her mind processing this immense, permanent shift in her reality. I turned to Erebus.

"Erebus," I said. "What do you think?"

"Your wish is my command, Master," he responded simply, his voice a low, resonant echo in our minds.

"That did not answer my question," I replied, my voice softening. "Answer me, Erebus. As my partner."

He remained silent for a long moment, the pinpoints of purple light in his dark sockets seeming to flicker, to waver. "...I wish to fight by your side, Master," he admitted finally, his voice heavy with a profound, bony equivalent of sorrow. "But I am not foolish. I felt the echo of your last encounter, even from my domain. I... I apologize for being too weak."

"Erebus," I said, stepping forward, away from Stella, and placing my hand on his cold, bony shoulder. The gesture spanned a decade of shared, impossible battles. He was my first true ally, the first being in this new world who was unequivocally mine. "You have been by my side for over ten years. You were there when I was just a child, a White-rank who created something I couldn't hope to control. You allowed me to use you as simple Bone Armour just to survive my academy classes."

A small, nostalgic smile touched my lips. "You grew with me. You supported me in every fight, against every odd. I am grateful, beyond words, to have you as my companion. I am sorry for not being able to grow you continuously, for reaching a place where the gap between us is so vast. That is not your failure as a summon, Erebus. That is mine as your master."

I met his glowing purple gaze. "I may not need you in the battles to come. But I need you. I need you to be with my daughter. I need you to protect her with all the strength, all the cunning we have honed together. That is the most important mission I will ever, or could ever, give you."

Erebus's gaze shifted from me to Stella, who was watching him now not with fear, but with wide, awestruck eyes. He rose from his kneeling position, not as a servant, but as a guardian, his full, imposing height seeming to fill the room. He turned to Stella and bowed his skull, a gesture of profound, transferred loyalty. "I will protect her with my unlife, Master."

Stella looked between us, her earlier insecurity about "keeping up" with her Slatemark friends completely gone, replaced by the sober, sudden understanding of the true dangers I faced, and the priceless, powerful, and ancient guardian I was entrusting to her. She nodded slowly. "Okay, Dad," she whispered. "Okay, Erebus. Welcome to the team, I guess."

The rest of the day passed in a new, comfortable quiet. With Erebus standing silent and unobtrusive vigil in the corner of her lab, invisible to all but us, Stella and I tinkered with her projects. The tension of the cafe visit, the weight of my impending departure, was forgotten, replaced by the shared focus of engineering.

As evening fell, I walked her to her room. She hugged me tight at the door, her arms wrapping around my waist, her face buried in my shirt for a long moment. "Be careful, Daddy," she whispered.

"Always," I promised.

I watched her climb into bed, her data slate already in her hand, her mind already back to her work. I smiled, and pulled the covers up, tucking her in, a simple, paternal gesture that felt more real and more important than all the Divine power in the universe. Erebus, from his position in the hallway, unseen, was a silent, comforting presence. My anchor was secure, protected by my oldest friend.

I closed her door, leaving her to her dreams of physics.

I stood in the silent, empty living room, the lights of Avalon glittering far below. Now, it was time for the next step for Stella.

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.