By the time the silver-haired youth’s turn came to see the elder behind the counter, he was already secretly trying to leave the hall using instant teleportation. But to his dismay, it didn’t work in the Hall, causing him to mutter to himself in frustration.
’What a waste of time.’
The elder before him had his eyes lowered, adjusting the monocle on his left eye as he studied pages filled with old text scattered before him. The text described natural laws. From the day he realized he could no longer control them without full authority, just like Yizhe and the others, he had begun striving to gain complete mastery over more laws.
Unaware of the annoyance in the youth’s eyes, he spoke without looking up as he gestured toward the fist-sized, round orb resting on the counter between them.
"State your name and quickly place your right hand on the orb, so I can create an identity card for you. Then you can leave."
The sudden commotion in the Golden Hall of Light, sparked by the arrival of the group of newcomers, had subsided after they all joined the lines to get their identity cards.
Only a few still kept their eyes on them.
The elder behind the counter stiffened, his hand trembled unconsciously as a young voice spoke above him, carrying a hint of familiarity to someone he dared not even remember, sending a chill down his spine.
"Amon Ohan. My name."
The voice rang out, confident and clear.
For some reason, hearing the voice, the old elder Osko didn’t dare lift his head, his eyes unconsciously drifting toward the fist-sized orb on the counter. As he watched the long fingers of the youth brush against it, the orb pulsed with a bright, eerily familiar sea-blue light. But unlike before, the blue glow wasn’t cold—it burned with a powerful, fiery heat.
At the sight of the light, Osko froze, along with the few Celestials from various clans who had been watching secretly. Even the other elders snapped their eyes toward it.
Many of the elderly Celestials present had witnessed an identical scene eleven years ago, and their faces paled with recognition.
Those who hadn’t were confused, unsure why the atmosphere had suddenly grown tense and heavy. The elders watching the orb almost stopped breathing as another color emerged within it, mingling with the sea blue—then another, and another. With each new color that appeared in the orb, those watching grew increasingly horrified.
Ultimately, with a soft cracking sound that silenced the entire Hall, the core shattered into little pieces that fell onto the counter—a scene the elders were eerily familiar with. It was followed by familiar words, just as back then, as the youth whispered guiltily.
"Ah... it broke. My bad."
Amon scratched his head and muttered, glancing back at the tall, crimson-haired, handsome man who had quickly followed to stand behind him. Sheepishly, he asked.
"Uncle Jian, can you cover the damage?"
He had no idea what currency was used in the higher realm—the mana stones he had were probably useless here—so he decided to leave the money problem to the one who had the most wealth among them, thanks to the numerous profitable businesses he had built in their universe over the years.
Amon had just spoken when another soft crack reverberated through the hall. All eyes instantly snapped to the crisp sound, only to see another orb break into pieces above the counter before the elder next to Osko.
The blue-haired boy who had caused it blinked and glanced at Jian as well.
"Uncle Jian, you’ll cover for Leon too, right? Leon knows you care about me the most!"
After him, a sweeter voice spoke from his left. It was the panicked, golden-haired girl who quickly released the shattering orb.
"Uncle, Caria made the same mistake!"
The hall descended into utter silence, all eyes gawking at the three youngsters.
Osko, shocked, finally raised his eyes toward the youth standing before him.
His fingers trembled. The first thing he noticed was the familiar short silver hair—enough to make his heart stop for a while.
Then he met green eyes, slightly sharp yet still carrying a trace of childishness. They were different from the indifferent ones he had seen eleven years ago, each encircled by a thin amber ring within the green irises.
The only thing that allowed Osko to finally draw a breath was the unfamiliarity of the facial features. He repeated to himself,
’It’s not Kyle. It’s not. He’s long dead!’
Jian’s brow twitched, his crimson eyes narrowing as he glared at the three kids.
He had grown way taller and more mature, though he still appeared like a young man in his mid-twenties. Only few knew he was over a hundred years old. He pointed at the blue-haired boy, then toward a handsome, tall man feigning invisibility farther back.
"There’s your biological dad, kid. Don’t come to me every time you need money!"
Then Jian gestured toward Caria, the golden-haired girl, who ducked her eyes.
"Your dad’s back there too! Call him!"
As for Amon, Jian ruffled his hair.
"Don’t think I don’t know just how much wealth you’ve stashed in your mind space! Still, considering how much I dote on you, I’ll pay this time. But this is the last time."
Immediately, Leon gasped and bristled.
"Uncle! You are showing favoritism again! So all the love you showed me before is gone? Why don’t you love me anymore?!"
He began shouting like a child, whining to Sinon, who had followed behind him, about how unfair Jian had been to him and Caria.
The demi-human laughed at Leon’s antics, joined by those behind him who burst into laughter. They couldn’t grasp from whom Alec and Lara’s kid had inherited this trait.
Seeing the group laughing, Osko and the other elders finally regained their calm.
They quietly exchanged glances, sharing the same complex and shocked emotions.
For now, it seemed the best option was to stay silent and report this group—especially the three youngsters—to the other Rulers.
Something big was about to happen.
These people were definitely connected to Kyle. Seeing the silver-haired boy confirmed it. Were they his distant relatives? That was something they all needed to find out first.