"So you’re telling me we’re not originally from the Prime Universe?" Grandma asked from across the table while I sat in the kitchen eating the food she had prepared.
"Yes. All Ironharts aren’t," I replied. "Did you ever know anything about it?"
She shook her head slowly.
"No. I had no idea." Then a small amused smile appeared on her face. "All Ironharts, huh? Interesting."
She leaned back slightly and chuckled.
"So I guess that means I married an alien."
I chuckled as well.
"Yeah, looks like that. So how does it feel to have married an alien?"
"It was alright," she said with a small smile. Then her expression slowly turned serious.
"But we still don’t know where their souls are, right?" she asked quietly. "And... could your grandfather be there too?"
"It’s possible," I said with a nod.
She exhaled slowly, as if steadying herself, then straightened in her chair.
"Well then," she said firmly, "I suppose I’ll have to rejoin the military and start preparing to welcome your grandfather back."
I raised an eyebrow.
"But why did you leave in the first place?" I asked.
"Well," she said with a small shrug, "I thought it was time to retire and relax. There aren’t any real threats left on Vaythos anymore."
She pointed at me with a faint smile.
"You made the planet too safe."
She chuckled lightly.
"That’s alright," I replied. "It won’t stay safe for long."
Her expression immediately shifted.
"What do you mean?"
"I’m planning to connect Vaythos to one of the planets I recently acquired. And then—"
"You acquired a planet?" she interrupted sharply. "What does that even mean?"
I coughed awkwardly.
"It means... I took control of a planet."
She stared at me.
"And now I need people to help run operations there," I continued. "So I plan to connect that world to Vaythos."
She remained silent, clearly trying to process that sentence.
"That planet sits near the center of our galaxy," I explained. "From there, our people will have access to other regions where rifts appear."
I leaned back slightly.
"Those places are the frontlines against the Eternals."
"Then I definitely need to rejoin the military," she said suddenly as she stood up from her chair.
I paused mid-bite and looked up at her.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"I need to make some phone calls," she replied while already turning toward the living room.
"Wait, grandma," I said quickly. "I haven’t told anyone that I’ve arrived yet."
She waved a hand dismissively without even stopping.
"That’s alright. It won’t take long for people to find out anyway."
I frowned slightly.
"How?"
She looked back at me with a knowing smile.
"The Winter family," she said. "They’ll inform the royal family immediately. They won’t hesitate for a second."
"Oh," I said quietly.
That... was probably true.
"Still," I continued after a moment, "there’s no need to make those calls."
She stopped walking. Then slowly turned back toward me.
"What do you mean?"
"You can just come with me directly," I said calmly. "Leave Vaythos and come with me."
She blinked.
"Leave Vaythos?"
I nodded.
"Yes. Come with me."
I leaned back slightly in my chair.
"You said you wanted to rejoin the military and prepare yourself again, right? You can train there if you want. The world I control is far more dangerous than this one, which means the training will be much more effective."
I paused briefly before adding,
"And I can help you grow stronger much faster than the people here ever could."
She stared at me for a few seconds without speaking. The idea was clearly unexpected.
Finally she muttered quietly,
"That... doesn’t sound like a bad idea."
She slowly walked back to the table and sat down again, thinking carefully about what I had said. She remained quiet for a few moments after sitting down again. She folded her hands on the table and looked at me carefully, as if studying my face and trying to measure how much I had changed.
Then her expression softened slightly.
"So," she said slowly, "that boy... Steve. Is he still following you around everywhere?"
I chuckled.
"Yeah. Some things never change."
She nodded with a faint smile.
"I always liked him," she said. "That boy had a good heart even when he was small. Always getting into trouble with you."
"We still get into trouble," I replied.
"I’m not surprised."
She leaned forward slightly.
"And what about that girl?" she asked casually.
I paused for a second.
"What girl?"
Grandma raised an eyebrow.
"Don’t pretend with me," she said. "North."
I sighed quietly.
"Yes, North is still with me."
Her eyes brightened a little.
"Good," she said immediately. "She is a very good girl," Grandma added firmly.
"I know."
She studied my expression for a moment before asking the question she had clearly been holding back.
"So when are you marrying her?"
I nearly choked on the food I was eating.
"Grandma!"
"What?" she said innocently.
"You two have been together for enough time now."
"It’s complicated," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Complicated how?"
"We’ve been fighting wars across the galaxy," I said. "It’s not exactly the best time to plan a wedding."
She waved her hand dismissively.
"That sounds like an excuse."
I looked at her in disbelief.
"An excuse?"
"Yes," she said calmly. "People have gotten married in the middle of wars before."
I opened my mouth to argue, then stopped.
She leaned forward slightly, smiling.
"You love her, don’t you?"
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Yes."
Her smile widened.
"And she loves you?"
"Yes."
"Then what exactly are you waiting for?"
I leaned back in my chair.
"Maybe... when things calm down."
Grandma laughed softly.
"Billion, if you keep waiting for things to calm down in your life, you will never get married."
I couldn’t help smiling at that. She pointed a finger at me.
"Don’t make that girl wait forever."
"I won’t."
She nodded in satisfaction.
"Good."
"Now tell me more about these two... Amun and Theras," she said, leaning forward slightly. "I want to understand what we are really up against."
I nodded slowly.
Then I began explaining.
I told her about my first encounter with Amun, about the trials he had placed before me and the strange guidance he had given along the way.
She listened quietly, not interrupting once.
Then I spoke about Theras.
About the power he wielded and the ambition that drove him. About the conflict between the two brothers and how their struggle had spread across countless worlds. I explained what I had learned about the Prime Galaxy and the forces moving behind the scenes.
From there the conversation naturally moved to the wider universe.
I told her about the different races I had encountered—the Nagas, the Ferans, the Elementals, and the many other civilizations that existed beyond Vaythos. I described the alliances I had formed, the battles we had fought, and the strange worlds I had seen during my travels.
At times she asked questions. At times she simply listened.
But throughout the entire conversation, her expression remained thoughtful and serious as she tried to piece together the scale of the conflict I had become part of.