The two siblings sat on the edge of a skyscraper, their legs dangling over the city below.
The world had been restored. People walked the streets again, unaware of how close everything had come to ending.
Maya swung her legs back and forth, gazing at the horizon.
"Brother," she said, "I didn't expect you to remember me."
She glanced at him.
"Back then, you didn't seem that smart."
Cipher's eye twitched.
"But now you're so powerful." She sighed dramatically. "Even more powerful than your sister. Sister feels a little jealous."
Cipher decided to ignore the first part.
"What's your plan now?" he asked.
Maya held up the book, then it dissipated into motes of light, it was more for show really, she had already merged with the original in the future.
"After merging with the Fragment of Passion, I've reached the Pseudo-Creation Realm," she explained. "While it's not a perfect Creation Realm like yours - granted by the Absolute Source - it should be enough to handle Zhu Que."
Her expression darkened.
"She's just in the Dao Sage Realm."
She slammed her fists together.
"I'll make sure she regrets ever going against us."
Cipher observed her.
Then he sighed.
He had basically received the entire recap of the situation from Maya. She had been through a lot. More than he could imagine.
He was also angry at their so-called mother.
This whole apocalypse - it had been nothing but a game for her.
When he first received the time skill, he thought it was some noble cause. A mission to save humanity. A purpose.
But it turned out Zhu Que merely liked pulling strings. Manipulating him so he could awaken Maya through his death.
She definitely wasn't a good person.
But now that he had all the power to confront her...
He was having second thoughts.
Now that he was this strong and had fixed everything - ended the apocalypse, created the tower so anyone still seeking power and adventure could climb it, encounter monsters, explore other worlds, all with minimal risk - now that everything was resolved...
Couldn't they just forget about her?
Maya suddenly looked into his eyes.
Her expression twisted into a frown.
"You're thinking of letting her go, aren't you?"
Cipher blinked.
"You're wondering if there's really a reason to do this," she continued, her voice rising. "You're thinking 'everything's fine now, why stir up trouble?' You're telling yourself 'maybe she had her reasons' and 'revenge won't change anything' and…"
"I didn't say…"
"You were THINKING it!"
She jabbed a finger at his chest.
"I'll tell you the reason we should do this."
He listened carefully.
"I'll do it because why not."
"..."
She crossed her arms.
"If you keep being soft, people will take advantage of you despite your strength. Like that woman from before."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Lyra, was it? She's definitely playing you. Don't listen to her lies."
"Lyra is not…"
"You don't want to listen to your elder sister anymore?"
Her voice dropped.
"Are you saying that I'm boring and should just die?"
Cipher's jaw dropped. "What? I didn't say that!"
"It's basically the same thing."
"How is that REMOTELY the same…"
"So you admit it."
"I didn't admit anything!"
She turned away, her nose in the air. "You've gone silent. That means I'm right."
Cipher opened his mouth to argue.
Then he just gave up.
He nodded.
His elder sister was a little crazy. He prayed for any man unfortunate enough to marry her.
Maya's expression softened slightly.
"I don't know exactly what it is," she said, her tone more serious now. "But I have a bad feeling about that woman. Even if she isn't trouble herself, she'll definitely bring you trouble."
She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked directly into his eyes.
"Cipher. You know sister wouldn't harm you, right?"
He nodded.
"I know I'm a little crazy sometimes," she said quietly. "But I really wish the best for you."
He nodded again.
That "a little" was doing a lot of heavy lifting, but he decided not to bring it up.
"I will be more careful," he said.
She smiled, satisfied.
"Good."
She reached over and patted his head.
Instinctively, he lifted it away.
Her expression crumbled instantly.
"You... you don't like your sister anymore?"
Her voice trembled.
"It's okay. I'll go kill myself now."
Cipher stared at her in disbelief.
"It CANNOT possibly be THAT serious!"
…
A while later.
Zhu Que floated in the void.
Endless darkness stretched in every direction. No stars. No light. Just emptiness.
She turned around slowly.
"So in the end, it turned out like this."
Maya and Cipher floated before her.
Maya's expression was pure fury - teeth clenched, fists trembling, eyes burning with hatred accumulated over trillions of years.
Cipher's expression was... nothing.
He didn't even meet Zhu Que's gaze. To him, she simply didn't matter. No hatred. No affection. Nothing.
He just really didn't care.
Maya stepped forward.
"First, I'm going to rip off your wings. Feather by feather," she began, her voice eerily calm. "Then I'll pluck out your eyes and feed them to you. After that, I'll…"
"You really are just like the Lady."
Zhu Que sighed, cutting her off.
"It's a shame you're a failure too."
She made a gesture.
Space rippled beside her, and a bound girl materialized - chains of golden light wrapped around her limbs, and a talisman seal plastered on her forehead.
Zhu Que placed a hand on the girl's head.
"Do you think you're the only ones with a fragment of the Lord?"
She looked up at the void above them.
"YU TIAN! I know you can see this! Come here or your little girlfriend gets it!"
Her eyes narrowed.
"And don't you dare try a sneak attack. You can look into the future - check her future after you kill me and tell me if you want to make that decision."
Then a man appeared above them with a tired sigh.
He had long black hair and wore simple robes. His expression was one of mild inconvenience, like someone who had been called into work on their day off.
A massive dragon materialized beside him.
The dragon looked at Zhu Que with profound disappointment.
"Zhu Que. Just give up. Seriously." Its voice rumbled through the void. "Threatening people? Hostages? Just how low can you fall?"
"I don't want to hear anything from your lizard mouth."
Zhao Long just sighed.
The woman being held hostage - Yu Xueling - looked up at the man who had appeared.
"Husband..." she muttered.
Yu Tian sighed again and cracked his neck.
Then he vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of Maya and Cipher.
Maya sidestepped instantly, throwing a punch toward his head.
At the same time, Cipher had already flipped above him, dropping down with a devastating kick.
Yu Tian smiled.
He spun his body casually, flowing smoothly between both attacks. Neither came close to touching him.