Rise Of The Anti God

Valentina was quite nervous about asking him as she knew that whoever Talia was, that person was very dear to Damien. But she was dying to know what made Damien call her Talia. 

Not once but twice, Damien accidentally called her Talia.

Damien froze when he heard her question. He stared at Valentina and asked in a low voice, "You heard me say that name before?"

Damien realized that the only reason Valentina would ask him was that he probably called out Talia's name during his sleep and not because Valentina was hearing the name Talia for the first time today.

Valentina nodded slowly. Damien sighed and said, "Valentina, don't misunderstand. The reason I named you Talia today was because, at that moment, I couldn't come up with any other good names for you. That name was the name of an old friend. You don't have to bother with it too much."

Damien inwardly felt like a jerk for not telling her the truth, but no matter how much he wanted to, for some reason, when he thought about Talia and Valentina, he felt as if they seemed similar in many ways, especially when he was having more thoughts about Talia recently.

He didn't want to make her sad by telling her that sometimes he gets reminded of Talia when he sees her as he thought that Valentina might misunderstand and think that he was seeing some other girl in her.

Valentina believed his words, but inwardly she felt as if there was more to it. Especially when she remembered the words, he said to her when he was in an intoxicated state.

Damien saw her standing in a dazed manner and beckoned at her as he said, "Valentina, come here."

Valentina walked towards him and sat on his lap, resting in his warm embrace.

Damien whispered in her ears, "Do you not like being called that name? I can change it if you want."

Even though some of the people in the Forsaken, especially Yara Haley, would find it strange that he changed her name, he felt that it didn't matter as long as Valentina felt comfortable.

Valentina slowly shook her head as she hugged his arm, "No, I am fine with it." However, her expression was dim as she said it.

He suddenly asked Luna a question that was plaguing him for a while, "Luna, do you know if Valentina's soul is a reincarnated one?"

"Hmm, I can see where this is coming from. But what's the point as every soul must be reincarnated in some way unless they are immortal from their first birth itself. For example, my soul is not a reincarnated one, which means I have never died before. I am not powerful enough now to know Valentina's past destiny lines. If I was at my peak form, it would only take a mere thought to look into her previous life. Are you hoping that she is your long-gone lover from your previous life?" Luna asked in a meaningful tone.

Damien said in an evasive tone, "Nonsense. Valentina is her own person. I am not trying to confuse her with someone else."

Luna scoffed, "Hmph, stop lying to yourself. You may be able to fool Valentina, but you are eons younger to fool me. The day you truly accept your feelings is the day you will know peace. Otherwise, you will just not be suffering yourself but the ones near you as well."

"I will handle it myself. You don't have to worry too much about it." Damien said in a stiff tone.

"Hmph, go knock yourself out. You are a big dumbo!" Luna said in a piqued tone before going silent.

'Ah, my head...does she have to shout…' Damien rubbed his head, but Luna's words seemed to drill into his heart. He didn't like how Luna could guess his inner thoughts and tell him what he should do.

"Valentina, tomorrow morning, we will pay a visit to the Clive and Rivers Family, and I want you to come with me, okay?" Damien thought it was time he officially opened shop and let the top echelons of the Xeton Empire know that Alchemist Azrael is not someone people could step over. However, he had other plans for the Clive and Rivers Family.

Valentina's eyes sharpened as she could guess what Damien was probably going to do and nodded with zeal, "Mn."

But he knew that as soon as people came to know that he had opened shop, there would be a sudden influx of people rushing to him with Spirit Stones in their hands.

So he thought of buying a nearby villa for business purposes and to receive customers. He didn't want people waiting outside his Ocean Haven Villa's gates.

He also thought of hiring some maids and servants to look after the second villa he was going to buy.

However, he only slept after trying out an experiment with Piggy.

——-

The next morning, in the front of the Ocean Haven Hilla, a black-cloaked figure without a mask and a rosy-pink-haired girl was standing before the gates.

"Let's first take a quick visit to the Alchemist Society."

Within a few minutes, two figures descended from the skies towards the entrance of the Rising Sun Trading Guild.

Seeing the azure token in Damien's hands, no one dared to impede him, and within moments, Damien was on the topmost floor.

"Senior Azrael, what brings you here?" Falko said with a flattering smile as he gave a slight bow.

Damien said plainly, "I am here to meet your master."

"Ah, of course. I suppose I could keep Fairy Valentina company while Senior talks with my master." Falko said as he glanced at Valentina with a gentlemanly smile.

'Does this idiot not go out?' Damien wondered if Falko was not privy to the news of the happenings inside the Xeton Ethereal Foundation. Otherwise, he was sure Falko would think twice before even remotely trying to court Valentina.

He thought that since Falko was the personal disciple of Leon Xeton, he might be trying hard not to disappoint his expectations by confining himself inside the building to practice alchemy.

Damien said in a stiff tone, "No need. My disciple stays with me."

Falko's expression became dispirited as he nodded meekly. He led Damien and Valentina towards Leon Xeton's chambers. As they entered, Damien saw Leon Xeton arranging back some jade scrolls.

"Welcome, Alchemist Azrael and Valentina. Please take a seat." Leon Xeton said with an amiable smile as he gestured towards the sofa.

Damien and Valentina greeted Leon Xeton and sat down on the sofa.

He looked at Falco and said, "Make sure to bring the best morning tea for our guests."

Leon Xeton took a seat and asked in a friendly tone, "So, what's the reason for this pleasant and sudden visit?"

Damien leaned forward, "Before I move on to the main reason I came here. I want to apply for the Rank 5 Badge exam. I also decided to start accepting customers, and for that reason, I am looking to buy a good villa near my own."

Leon Xeton chuckled, "Hoho, seems like you must have made some breakthrough. Good, good. Sure, we can arrange it. I will instruct Falko to see to it personally. We have some unused villas near that area. I am sure we can arrange for one of them to be your place of business. I am sure everyone would be pleased to know that you are back in business. So, what is the main reason?"

Damien said in a serious tone, "I know you must have heard what happened between Valentina and Roy Clive's friends. Even Dennisa Rivers was also involved in a verbal scuffle. Even though my disciple was trying to protect her friend, I admonished her for going a bit overboard. So, I was thinking whether you could arrange a meeting between me, the Clive, and Rivers Family. I want to sort out any misunderstandings that happened between the youngsters before they take things too far. After all, they all are studying in the same place. I don't want to see my disciple getting involved in fights again nor cause trouble to you. I am sure you hold the same opinion."

Valentina was inwardly surprised why Damien was saying these things.. But her expression didn't change, and she knew Damien must be having some other plans in his mind.