For some other people, Aegon's family's overprotectiveness might have seemed annoying and over the top, but he understood their concerns and let them be.

Whether it was Xiu or Arnold, he happily welcomed their concerns because it showed they loved him and cared for him. He also understood where that worry came from, so he never complained.

"You know Xiu is adopted, right?" Aegon asked, giving them a side glance.

All of them had gathered around the table, eager to listen about their favourite Aunt's past. Xiu was the type of person every child either loved a lot or hated a lot.

"Yes and she's also related to Moonrise Kingdom somehow," Cali nodded.

"Chen Clan. It hailed from Moonrise Kingdom. Actually, they were the royalties," Aegon explained to them calmly. "Back then, a terrible war shook the human domain."

"The Great Tenma War?" Elara guessed. "It happened more than thirty years ago, right?"

"Yes, that one." Aegon nodded in agreement. "Demons pushed the Empire back a lot, so humans called upon all the major powers of Human Domain. Including the King and Queen of Moonrise Kingdom who for some reason took their daughter with them too."

He raised his head, looking at the ceiling as he continued.

"During such disadvantageous position, someone named Liliana devised a great Formation named Death Eye. It was deadly and unstoppable with defence so great even powerful people couldn't break it. A terrible war formation that was supposed to help humanity get back on track."

"Your mother became a legend at such young age," Rosa whispered to herself.

"Yes. And surprisingly, Liliana was quite fond of Chen Xiu, so she told her about the Death Eye. She already told how it worked to the Army officers before, after all. But only Xiu knew how to actually enter the Formation and get out of it. Liliana never told that to anyone else for some reason."

"Wait. Didn't the Demons use Death Eye?" Elara asked, confused about this point.

"Of course, they did. Humans' greed knows no bounds, so traitors always show up. The Death Eye got leaked and Liliana coincidentally fell in coma. Lots of coincidences happened that day."

Aegon closed his eyes and added.

"Demons practically pulled every hidden force they had inside human domain to make this succeed. The next day when the battle began, they used the Death Eye Formation and humans had no way of breaking it. The only supposed one to know of breaking was in coma."

"There was Aunt Xiu who knew of it..." Xavier said.

"Yes, but during wartime, her parents went to battlefield and left her with Liliana. So she was put down along with her," Aegon sighed. "It was a poison to kill them, but even they knew the girls would survive. But it would buy them enough time."

"Then they attacked with Death Eye Formation?" Rosa asked, her brows furrowed. "What about the top echelon like the Emperor? Can't he break through that formation?"

"Perhaps. But Demons also had their leader."

"Then, how did we win?" Xavier asked, confused. "History says we won."

"Xiu was a kid and missed her parents, so they accompanied her every night to sleep," Aegon answered, as his eyes dimmed. "She loved to talk even back then, so she blurted out the secrets of Death Eye Formation to them. But they didn't understand it immediately, after all it was a kid's rambling."

He sighed, remembering the time Xiu told him about all of this.

"But she only told them how to enter it before falling asleep. The King and Queen had half knowledge and when faced with that horrifying formation ready to devour human forces, they decided something. If it wasn't broken, humans would have suffered great losses that they might never recover from."

"You don't mean..." Cali's eyes widened in horror.

Aegon nodded and said, his voice solemn.

"The King and Queen asked others to keep the opening open after they enter so they could retreat and as usual, humans promised them that. But Demons proved even more devious and once the King entered the formation with the Queen, they closed that opening and changed it somewhat, which made the Formation weak but still trapped the two of them inside."

The room turned silent. They hadn't met demons, but had read and heard many disturbing things about them.

Being trapped among thousands of those unholy creatures sent chills down their spine. They couldn't even imagine what those two must have felt.

"Neither of them knew a way out. Inside they met the most ferocious of the demons the likes of Dukes. And you know what Duke represents in Mobius Alliance hierarchy."

Aegon's smile turned wistful, as he continued.

"Still, they fought for a whole day, making the formation stale from inside. Even while facing such monstrosities, they fought bravely and fell along with the sun in evening."

A heavy atmosphere hung in the room, as everyone silently prayed to their Gods for the fallen legends.

"Still, that gave humans enough time to cure Liliana who broke the formation and also introduced changes, which brought humanity the hard earned victory. That day, humans survived their most tragic possible future all because of two fallen heroes."

Sometimes, people really forgot that their freedom was built upon the corpses of such fallen heroes. They sacrificed everything, including their future with their lovely daughter, so that humanity could survive.

The current humanity might seem prospering and leading to greatness, but Aegon knew very well on what its foundation was built upon even if some people forget it.

This was yet another reason why Aegon respected House Augustus so much. And also felt pity for Samuel who had to watch all of this happen helplessly.

He had become one of the strongest persons in the continent, but what was the point of it if he had to watch everyone die like this while he sat on throne, enjoying all the prosperity bought on their sacrifices.

The burden was too great for him and Aegon understood that even without him saying anything.

'Perhaps, this is also why he preferred keeping his secret from me. He wanted to be Grandpa Sam, not Samuel the Emperor.'

Aegon sighed and said, "That wasn't end though. Xiu's life turned messy from that point onwards. Her happy life was gone... just like that."

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