Chapter 88 – Memories of the past [Epilogue Book 1]

Hello, dear readers! here's chapter 88! The final chapter of Book 1! I really hope you've enjoyed the story so far. It\s been a journey, let me tell you that. But I'm satisfied with the result of so much 'blood, sweat and tears'. I really hope you'll keep reading the following books because it will keep growing more and more interesting, whether it be the romantic relationships, the universe itself or the 'machinations' hidden behind the curtains.

Anyway, I'll see those who chose to stay with me on this adventure next week with chapter 89, the first chapter of Book 2!

PS: If you enjoyed the story and have the financial means to, I would be super grateful if you subscribed to my Patre0n. I priced the advanced chapters at 5 euros in case you're curious. Bye!

Announcements:

-Don't hesitate to Follow, Review, Favorite, Power stone, share etc. (Depends on the platform you're currently reading on) if you like my different novels. It helps a lot with growing the number of readers.

-I've set up a Stripe page, so if you feel like making a one time donation of any amount, don't hesitate to swing by. Thank you in advance! https://buy.stripe.com/4gwdTHfLo2fR2Xu6oo

-If you prefer having something 'tangible' for your donation, you can visit my patre0n page.

My patre0n: patre0n.com/CalmWanderer

To all my Patrons: Thank you very much for your support!

**********************

Molvograd, Molkovia, Earth.

Demian's P.O.V.

Less than 30 seconds later, Demian dropped from the air to where he left Adeliya and her daughters a short while ago. Thankfully, his Aunt followed his instructions and did not move her two daughters from where he had placed them previously. After all, their injuries were quite serious and he did not want anything to go wrong while transporting them. Another reason was the fact that the two's clothes were pretty much scraps and hid nothing of their voluptuous bodies. Granted, the blood and grime covering their unconscious figures coupled with the horrifying wounds would probably kill any lustful thoughts in other people's minds, but still. The three women's and his naked bodies were only for his and the three girls' eyes. No one else.

'I'm becoming a Yandere, aren't I?' He realized with some amusement before regaining his seriousness when he noticed Adeliya's questioning expression. With a confident grin, he declared firmly. "She's gone. Permanently." His words had an instantaneous effect on the older woman who looked like an immense weight left her shoulders. She even shed a few tears of relief while having a smile on her face. After a few seconds, she calmed down slightly and asked. "We're safe now, right?" He hesitated for a second if he should tell her the truth but then decided to be honest. After all, he was aware of the bad consequences lies could have in relationships. Trust could only be nurtured if individuals were truthful with each other.

Gazing into her tired eyes, he replied. "I'm not sure. We might need to go into hiding until we increase our Cultivation a bit more. It depends on how high of a Cultivation Base those bastards from that Danilov Family have, though. Although I don't think they're much stronger than those three. At most, they should have Peak Foundation Building Cultivators, but even if they do they wouldn't have many of them." With a slight frown, the redhead seemed to ponder on his words for a few seconds before she said. "I don't mind if we need to hide as long as the four of us are safe... But why do you think that they only have Foundation Building Cultivators? Can't they also have those at the Core Formation Rank?"

Crossing his arms, Demian gazed at her with a thoughtful look for a short moment before responding. "It's just an educated guess of mine." Pausing for a second, he added. "Actually, if your Cultivation was around mine, you'd probably come to the same conclusion." Noting how she tilted her head, looking confused, a brief thought came to his mind 'Cute!' before he continued his explanation. "The concentration of Spiritual Energy around here is ridiculously low. It's fine for Low and Mid Chi Gathering Ranks, but once you get to the High Chi Gathering Rank, it's barely enough. Keep in mind that I'm talking about normal Cultivators, not people like me, big sis, and Sera since the amount we need is much higher than normal. The only reason why we could cultivate so quickly is because we can absorb Energy from much farther than average Cultivators, so we can deal with that problem for now. Although I doubt it'd be that easy when we reach Foundation Building..."

Noticing the light of understanding appearing in her eyes, he exclaimed with a smile. "I'm sure you can guess the rest without me telling you." Nodding her head, she expanded on his explanation. "Since it's barely enough for the Chi Gathering Rank, then Foundation Building Cultivators would definitely not have enough Energy, let alone those at the Core Formation." "Exactly. As expected of you." He assented with a warm grin, noting the joyful smile appearing on her face at his compliment. He did not comment on her reaction, though, but instead added. "Even if they've got a place with a higher concentration of Spiritual Energy, I doubt it'd be much better than here. At most, it'd be enough for the Foundation Building Rank."

Tapping her chin in thought, she muttered. "They probably use Spiritual Pills to advance in Level then..." As he was about to reply, he suddenly heard a small clapping sound behind him and a strangely familiar voice. "Impressive. Guessing as much without possessing much information is commendable. Possessing incredible Cultivation Talent and great wisdom... Those three cretins truly did not die in vain." While the voice turned wistful, the two conscious Mikhailovs immediately turned their heads in that direction. There, a man that none of them expected to show up was standing with an amused smile on his face. "Mister Sergei?" Demian asked in a confused tone. Despite the previous promise of a reward from the man wearing a different three-piece suit than last time, the young man still held some doubts about him. And, with now having improved his strength massively along with his perception, the doubts did not disappear but only increased.

Indeed, after briefly using his Divine Sense, he ended up with results weirdly similar to what happened when he scanned Seraphine with his Spiritual Will. In other words, the tall man with a well-trimmed mustache was completely invisible to his senses. If it was not for his eyes telling him that he was there, Demian would never be able to perceive the elegant man's presence. 'Not only that but was he always as tall as me? I thought he was around my previous height when we met him...' He thought with a mix of incomprehension and caution. Apparently, his actions did not go unnoticed as the calm smile on the man's face turned amused. "No need to be scared, lad. The difference in Cultivation between the two of us is too large for you to sense me with your Divine Sense. Even if it's admittedly much more powerful than other Cultivators at your Level."

That explanation was surprisingly logical, making Demian realize he thought too much. After all, that particular situation was a common phenomenon in Xianxia novels. However, he was still curious about something else. Before he could say anything, though, the well-mannered man continued speaking. "When I provided the challenge, a few weeks ago, the terms were simply to kill a Peak Chi Gathering Cultivator, which was already a great challenge for the four of you. I did not expect Valentin Danilov to not only break through but also to bring two Outer Elders of his family simply to deal with some Chi Gathering Ranks. The man was a coward through and through..." Letting out a sigh, Sergei then resumed. "His character aside, this place will definitely end up limiting your potential. That's why I wish to take you as my student and bring you somewhere with a decent Cultivation environment. This is my reward to you. Naturally, I will not force you to accept. If you don't, I'll simply offer you some resources and I'll be on my way."

In Demian's mind, becoming Sergei's student as a reward for 'acing' that test was not even something he considered. Instead, he expected some Cultivation Manuals, Spiritual Pills, etc. Not that he was against the idea per se. 'The man seems pretty strong. At least, much stronger than I currently am.' He analyzed inwardly. 'If I do accept his offer, I'll probably receive Cultivation resources, teachings, and even some protection for me and... Wait!' Something suddenly came to his mind and he asked out loud. "What about the girls?" The smile on the older man's face grew slightly bigger at his question. "I almost believed you forgot about them." Pausing for a second he added. "As for the three lasses..."

His words were suddenly interrupted by an unfamiliar female voice coming from behind Adeliya. "Hello, kiddos! And you my handsome husband!" As soon as the unknown woman finished speaking, Demian noticed Sergei's lips twitch slightly before his face regained his previous calm expression. Feeling curious, the blue-eyed young man turned back and immediately noticed the owner of the female's voice crouching over Seraphine's and Brynhild's bodies, feeding each of them with a Spiritual Pill. Despite not being well-versed in Alchemy, he could tell from the fluctuations coming from those two Pills that they should be at least Low Tier 2 Spiritual Pills. However, that was the only information he could gather due to his lack of knowledge.

Feeling a bit worried, he was about to ask the woman what she fed the girls when she suddenly stood up and turned toward him with a playful smile adorning her face. The woman's height seemed to have passed 1m90, which appeared to be above average for a female Cultivator, if those he had met since he arrived at the Estate were any indication. With attractive Asian features, shoulder-length black hair, and heterochromatic irises, one golden and the other deep black, she was clearly someone impossible to forget. As for her body, it was similar to Seraphine's 'pre-elvenisation', which meant a lean and toned body with respectable curves under her dark-colored skintight suit. Naturally, he believed that the women in his family had her beat in every way when it came to attractiveness, but he may have been a bit biased.

"Relax, kid. I've only fed them some Low Tier 2 Healing Pills, not some Poison Pills. If I really wanted to hurt your girls I wouldn't need to poison them." Feeling a bit speechless at how she immediately categorized Brynhild as 'his girl', while selectively ignoring the fact that he said something similar previously, he nodded slightly and replied. "I can guess as much. Thank you, by the way." Waving his thanks away, she exclaimed. "Don't mention it." Her gaze then fell on Seraphine's unconscious figure before she added. "I'm very interested in that girl, after all."

Seeing how flippant her personality was, Demian was not sure how he should take her words and he was almost too scared to ask. However, his worries disappeared when he heard Sergei starting to lecture her. "Ling'er, stop teasing the lad. He has been through a lot these last few days and he doesn't need you teasing him further." Chuckling a bit, the tall Asian woman turned toward Demian, patted his shoulder, and explained. "Sorry about that, kid. I couldn't help myself when I saw how panicked you looked. But don't worry, I'm only interested in men. Or more specifically that handsome hunk over there. As for the girl, I only want her as my student. Nothing more."

A sudden urge to facepalm appeared in his mind which was quickly reined in as he briefly thought. 'No wonder Sergei reacted like that.' As that thought appeared in his mind, he suddenly felt Sergei's hand falling on his shoulder, which prompted him to turn his head in the man's direction. "I apologize about my wife. She's a bit of an oddball." Sergei said before he let out a sigh mixed with both amusement and exhaustion. With his reassurance, Demian's previous feeling of annoyance vanished leaving only some warmth instead. Shaking his head slightly, Demian exclaimed. "It's fine. Knowing Sera, I'm sure she'd like to have Miss Ling here as a teacher." The woman had a bright smile on her face when she heard his words, prompting her to say 'Good' a few times before turning toward Adeliya who had been silently listening to the conversation until now. With a reassuring smile on her face, Miss Ling stated. "We'll also bring you and your other daughter if you want to come with us."

The words made the redhead freeze for a brief moment, after which the glint of worry that had appeared previously in her eyes disappeared, leaving only relief and joy. Nonetheless, those emotions quickly disappeared as a question left her lips. "What about the Danilovs? Wouldn't we put you two in danger if we left with you?" Unlike her, Demian was sure that the two 'eccentric' individuals were not afraid of that Family. If his hunch was correct, they may even be strong enough to deal with those people easily. However, Adeliya did not seem to share his opinion, or at least still held some doubts, and knowing her as he did, she would not want to endanger them if her doubts were proven true.

Nonetheless, the eastern beauty's next words confirmed his guess, although to a degree he was clearly not expecting. "You don't need to worry about those dead people, little sister." 'Does she mean what I think she means?' He wondered while looking at her with his brow cocked. His Aunt seemed as doubtful, which elicited a few chuckles from Ling who explained. "I got rid of every Foundation Building Cultivator along with those at the High and Peak Chi Gathering Ranks from their Family. I also left some fake evidence pointing at some of their enemy families. So, unless a High-Rank Cultivator bothered to investigate, no one will know we're behind their 'disappearance'. And there's no way anyone with that kind of cultivation would bother wasting their time investigating the death of some weak Cultivators."

Nodding his head, Sergei indicated. "The Cultivation World is much more ruthless than what you've witnessed so far." Pausing for a second, he then continued while looking at the two 'newbies'. "When a Family grows stronger, it'll create stronger enemies. Once the Family is weakened, especially when all their 'high-level' Cultivators are killed, others will usually finish the work and divide the resources among them. So now that the Danilovs lost their Foundation Building Cultivators, they are basically finished. To be fair, Ling'er didn't even need to deal with the Chi Gathering Rank herself..." His eyes turned to look at the black-haired woman, his gaze and smile filled with warmth. "But I guess she didn't want to leave anything to chance."

Nodding her head, with a smile matching his, she explained. "With how quickly you three cultivate, even if one Danilov survives and breakthrough to the Foundation Building, you'd have probably reached Core Formation or higher by then." As if something came to her, she said. "Actually, that's why those three attacked you guys so quickly after that Valentin guy went through his Lightning Tribulation. They noticed a few of theirs 'mysteriously' missing, so they wanted to deal with the 'weaklings' first before investigating." A few chuckles escaped her lips, accompanied by the other three grinning at the incongruity of the statement.

Shaking his head, Demian exclaimed. "Some mistakes are more costly than others. But back to your offer..." His gaze turned toward Sergei who looked at him with a knowing smile. "...I'm very interested, but I need to ask Sera and Bryn. I can't make that kind of important decision without consulting them, after all." Nodding his head, the older man replied. "It's fine. The two should wake up in a few hours. By then, their wounds will have completely healed." After those words left his lips, the young man felt a delicate hand land on his shoulder and heard the teasing voice of that childish woman. "It's good that you care about your wives' opinions. You're a great husband."

Feeling speechless for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that day, he briefly noted the sympathizing look on Sergei's face, while Adeliya's face, who was standing by Miss Ling, started turning red for some reason. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he celebrated inwardly. 'Thank God she'll be Sera's teacher and not mine. I feel more exhausted since we started talking than right after the fight where I almost lost my life a few times.' He then exclaimed out loud. "Anyway, I'll bring the girls inside to let them rest on something more comfortable than the dirty ground. Why don't the two of you stay with us while we wait for them to wake up?" The two quickly accepted since, from their words, they had nothing urgent planned besides taking the four with them to the place they talked about earlier. Demian tried to inquire about the specifics of that place, but they refused. Or more specifically, Ling refused. "It'll be more fun if you don't know anything before we get there." She responded to his questions.

Despite feeling extremely curious, Demian had to resign himself to wait. With a thought, a blanket of Water materialized around Sera's and Bryn's bodies, hiding everything but their heads, before lifting them gently from the ground and moving them along the group toward the eastern side of the Estate Manor where their suite was located. On the way, they chatted briefly with Roman, explaining who the 'unknown' couple was, and, after some superficial small talks, the group resumed moving toward their earlier destination. A short time later, they all arrived in the suite where the blue-eyed young man declared. "I'll bring them to my room while you guys can wait in the main room." While intentionally ignoring the strange look given by his Aunt, he walked to his bedroom with the two unconscious women floating behind him. Once he had closed the door, he proceeded to check the two young women's injuries. With a quick examination, he instantly noted how different they seemed after each having taken a Healing Pill, especially Seraphine whose external wounds had completely vanished, giving the illusion that she had never even been injured in the first place. Even the sheared-off part of her hair had regrown to its previous length. She still had some bone fractures, though. However, they were mending relatively swiftly, something he made sure through using their Soul Bond.

As for Brynhild, a few fading scars remained on her golden skin, but the worst external injuries were gone. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he did notice that her organs and bones were still in the process of regenerating, though. The good news was the disappearance of any internal hemorrhage, the useless blood having been systematically eliminated by her healing factor. Letting out a sigh of relief, he muttered. "It shouldn't take much time for them to be completely healed. Although I'm not sure about their minds..." Due to how much they strained their minds and bodies, he would not be surprised if the two stayed unconscious for longer than expected, even if their bodies were otherwise fine.

Shoving that thought to the side, he was about to lay the two women on his bed when he recalled something. Scratching his chin while looking at them, he pondered. 'I can't really leave them on the bed in that state, right?' The reason behind his hesitation was the two sister's current body states. Their clothes, now mere scraps barely hanging onto their bodies and being objectively useless at hiding their female assets, coupled with the blood and dirt scattered over every centimeter of their skin made him pause for a brief moment before he made his decision. 'I've already seen what can be seen about Bryn and I'm still planning to make her mine, so there's no need to act like an indecisive hypocrite now.'

As soon as he decided to act, the Water covering their bodies fluctuated slightly, gathering the grime plastered all over their skins, hairs, and external crevices. He also used his Water Elemental Energy to cut the rest of their clothes into dust-sized bits and gathered everything into a small dirt sphere floating between the two sisters' unconscious figures. A few seconds later, they were squeaky clean, displaying a very stimulating image for the ever-lustful young man. A brief second later of dazed admiration, he shook his head and muttered. "Let's not be a creep, Dem. I can look at Sera anytime I want and it's just a matter of time before I can do the same thing with Bryn with her consent."

After taking a deep breath, he regained control over his lust, something he had plenty of practice with since he first used his Soul Bond Perk. He then gently set the two on the bed before lifting the blanket to cover their naked bodies. Once he made sure that the two were comfortable, he was about to leave the room before his feet suddenly stopped moving. 'I've been so busy thinking about the two that I forgot that I'm as dirty as them.' He thought wistfully as his Divine Sense scanned his own body. When it came to clothes, only a piece of it remained, and it was mostly due to his use of his Water Shield Spell. What was once a pair of pants could now barely be considered underwear doing an okay job of hiding his privates and most of his buttocks. Shaking his head slightly, he used his Water Elemental Energy to put an end to its agony, leaving him completely naked. He then washed the blood and dirt covering his body and combined it with the other dirt sphere floating by his side. 'Finally clean.' He inwardly exclaimed while letting out a sigh of satisfaction, after which he swiftly opened the window and threw the ball through it before closing it back.

Done with the cleaning chore, he went to his closet, grabbed some casual clothes, put them on, and then walked to the Main Room where the rest of the group was chatting together. His arrival was met with the questioning gaze of Adeliya, prompting him to explain. "I had to clean the two before putting them to bed. I only used Water Elemental Energy, though." 'Why do I even feel guilty?' He pondered while noting the slight jealousy in her eyes. Coughing slightly while avoiding her gaze, he exclaimed inwardly. 'Those novels made it seem so easy to have a harem... A bunch of bullshit!' Out loud, the young man changed the subject under the amused gaze of Ling and the knowing one of Sergei.

The next few hours passed relatively quickly, with the four people chatting about random topics, from basic Cultivation to which cities were the best to live in Molkovia at this time of year. They did not touch on the couple's circumstances, though, since they had collectively decided to wait for the other two to wake up before sharing anything else important. Speaking of the girls, it took almost three hours for Bryn to wake up, unlike Seraphine who had the benefit of Demian's Perk. The latter thus only took around 1h30 to do the same. Not only that, but her Cultivation Base had reached Peak Seventh Level during her slumber, something that brought a smile to Demian when he noticed it.

The Sergei couple was then succinctly introduced to the beautiful pair of sisters before they left the room to let the four Mikhailovs decide on their offer. A quick explanation later, Demian was then waiting for their decision. While leaving the two some time to think, his gaze subconsciously moved from one face to the other, marveling at how lucky he was to not only have been reincarnated in that family but also that one of them had chosen to become his Soul Bonded lover, while the other two were most likely going to fall for his charms very soon. 'It's strange thinking that despite all the danger and death looming everywhere, I never felt as alive as since I regained my past life's memories...' Past memories, whether from his previous or current life, kept surfacing in his mind, bringing him contradicting feelings like sadness and joy, depression and excitement, fear, and happiness.

'As long as the four of us are together, I'm sure we'll be fine. Whatever we do and wherever we go.' He declared inwardly, a loving smile on his face as his gaze was directed at the three women trying to make up their minds. Understanding his thoughts, Seraphine returned his smile and started.

"I..."