499 Right?
During all of this time, Patia-Neva had been silently watching with a space concealment technique. He couldn’t reveal himself for the same reason Kawa hadn’t done so. Letting the Ragnor Clan and their other allies know of their power was a detriment to their larger goals. So, he could only watch as his first love continued to suffer.
At first, Patia-Neva had left his wife, naively pursuing the path of the Absolute. He knew of their greater purpose, and thus he cast everything away for the sake of greater power. Because his path required coldness to one’s depths, or so he thought, he had severed even familial ties.
The problem with his decision was that his wife had been pregnant at the time, unknown to him. Because of his cold demeanor, and an inability to explain the situation due to the treaty, Patia-Neva’s former lover had thought that he wanted nothing more to do with her. So, she never told him about their child, lest he feel obligated to stay because of that.
Her love was youthful and naïve. Even at the risk of being a single mother for the rest of her life, she was willing to let Patia-Neva pursue the path he wanted. Maybe one day when Delia was strong enough, she’d be able to follow him.
However, Patia-Neva’s actions went further than anyone would have thought possible… He went so far as completely neglecting his clan, ignoring his duties as their first-in-line genius and then eventually, King.
How could a Royal God Clan survive without a mid-level celestial expert? After Patia-Neva’s father passed away, it was up to him to uphold until he reached that level of strength, but he had never tried to do so.
Seeing the clan crumbling, the current Queen Clyte didn’t know what to do. She knew of the temperament of the former Clyte God Clan, and current Clyte Royal God Clan’s, first in line genius. He had unceasingly pursued her in his youth, and now knowing that Patia-Neva was out of the picture, he would never let her go.
The problem was that Queen Clyte was already pregnant! Due to the turmoil of their Planet Naiad, she had used special treasures to prolong her term of pregnancy and slow Delia’s growth. But, that was only a temporary solution. It was only a matter of time before King Clyte found out and killed her child!
But, Queen Clyte had no hope in sight. She had no way of contacting Patia-Neva who seemed to have completely disappeared, and King Clyte was steadily growing more and more frustrated that hundreds of years had passed without her giving birth to his child.
As time continued to pass, King Clyte eventually began to completely neglect his Queen. It couldn’t be said that he ever truly loved her. The truth of the matter was that Patia-Neva was always a rival that stifled him throughout his life, and thus, he wanted something of his. The problem was that he never truly felt fulfilled because it was clear to everyone that Patia-Neva had thrown her away.
The constant sneers and talks behind King Clyte’s back were things that got to him in the beginning. But, as more time passed, he simply killed all those who offended him, eventually reaching a point where his Clyte Clan was the undisputed ruler and the Patia-Neva legacy was completely wiped.
Through all of this, Patia-Neva stood above his home planet. He watched as his people died. He watched as the love of his life lied with another man and cried herself to sleep every night. He let his emotions boil and rage, before they simmered and tempered. Eventually, his heart reached such a cold peak that his ice intent had torn its way all the way to the ninth level – a peak that not a soul in this universe could match. Even King Acacia had never reached such a level of intent. But, neither had he sacrificed so much either.
It could be said that King Acacia had reached the extremity of the absolute path. With his methods and the help of the ice belt, he could be said to be unrivaled in the ice will cultivation among those below the dao formation level.
And yet, he was empty.
He felt a constant itching, a doubt that wouldn’t leave him be. His methods and sacrifice had succeeded, but why did he feel as though he was missing something? Why couldn’t he evolve his intent into a Dao?
Pain. He decided. He needed more pain.
But where would this pain come from? Hadn’t he already given up his everything? He couldn’t even form new relationships to tear apart, his heart was too cold… Too broken.
All he could do was continue to observe, trying to decide whether he should bloody his hands with his love’s blood. If he killed her, would it be enough? If he looked her in the eyes, and gave her the glimmer of hope that he had returned, before taking her life away, would that be enough?
In his heart, Patia-Neva had already decided that he would do it if it was his final resort. But, the problem was that this was his last chance. What if it didn’t work? What if he killed her and his intent remained at that level? He only had a single one of her lives to use, he couldn’t afford to squander it.
He didn’t even notice when he had stopped seeing her as his love. Somewhere along his path, she had become a tool for his cultivation – a life he could end whenever he wanted.
But then, after even longer of lying in wait, trying to decide whether to make use of her, he finally saw a glimmer of something he could make a solid bet on.
Queen Clyte, after so many centuries, had lost her ability to continue to hide her pregnancy. If she pushed it any further, Delia would die. But, if she gave birth to Delia, King Clyte would know immediately that she didn’t share the Clyte bloodline. She had reached a dead end and Patia-Neva was nowhere to be found.
As the days passed, Delia’s lifeforce continued to grow, and who else but Patia-Neva would have been the first to sense this? Who watched over Queen Clyte more than he did? And who could be more powerful than he was in this universe?
‘My child?’ He thought. To have hidden such a thing for so long, Patia-Neva was impressed. But, at the same time, he had found his opportunity.
If he killed both his wife and his child, that would be enough… Right?