The moment Anna laid eyes on her little brother, she rushed toward him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Thank goodness," she murmured in relief. She felt her eyes turn warm and teary, but she managed not to shed any tears. "Thank goodness, you’re alright!"

Adam smiled warmly. He held her gently in his embrace and patted her back. "Why wouldn’t I be? Your brother is crazy strong, you know."

The two separated, and Anna clasped his shoulders, scanning him intently. Soon, she couldn’t help but frown. "Why do you look so... malnourished? Did you not eat at all during your travels?"

Adam’s lips twitched. How was he supposed to explain to her that no matter how much he ate, his body refused to get any bigger? In fact, his body could now even go without food and water for days, without affecting his energy levels all that much.

"Uhm, you see..." Adam tried to come up with an excuse.

It was strange. He never felt nervous, even while facing multiple Mana Core Magi. But under his sister’s piercing gaze, he instantly lost composure like a child about to be reprimanded by an elder.

Meanwhile, Goro, who was witnessing Anna and Adam’s interaction, felt like lightning had struck his body. The corner of his lips twitched incessantly, and he couldn’t help but feel as if his world was crumbling down.

I-I-Impossible! The man stuttered even in his thoughts.

Edward, who was standing beside the Venom Dragon, clearly saw the color fade away from his face. Silently amused, he stepped forward and whispered to him, "They’re siblings."

Goro visibly sighed in relief. He then turned to the blue-eyed youth and snorted. "Of course, I knew that," he said in a hushed voice.

But inwardly, he fell into deep thought.

Anna is Brother’s sister. Does that make her my sister? I refuse! Never! I think... Adam is my brother-in-law? Yes, that makes so much more sense.

As the self-proclaimed smartest man in Yen-Lu, Goro Tsuitsui quickly came up with a line of reasoning to put himself at ease.

Where there was delusion, there was hope!

Regaining his usual demeanor, Goro stepped forward and was about to greet Adam when suddenly a bolt of gray light flashed by him.

"Myu!!"

Valerian threw himself at Adam’s face, coiling his limbs tightly around his head. "Brother, I missed you!"

Adam struggled to breathe. He finally managed to separate the little guy from his face and smiled. "I missed you too, little brother."

"Myu~"

Valerian felt like all was fine in the world. He was the happiest being in this world — no, in the universe — when he was by his brother’s side. Nothing else mattered.

Adam tickled the little guy’s tummy, eliciting a cute giggle out of him.

"Did you behave while I was gone?"

"Myu!" Valerian nodded. "You should have seen me during the Battle of Summer Sea, brother! I was so strong and heroic. The bards sing of my legend to this day! It was glorious!"

"Good." Adam smiled. He then planted a gentle kiss on Valerian’s forehead.

"I’m proud of you, Little Val," he added with a gentle smile.

"Myu!" The little guy hugged Adam again, this time tighter. Whenever his brother praised him, he felt that all was well and that all his hard work had been worth it.

After greeting Edward and Lisa, Adam suddenly sensed a giant shadow looming over him.

He looked up and saw Goro’s towering figure in front of him. He put on an awkward smile as he saw the man cross his arms and look at him with a questioning gaze.

"So should I call you Ao or... Adam?" Goro said in an even voice.

"Uh..." Adam thought of the right words to say, but before he could even reply, he felt Goro’s big and muscular arms coil around him in a tight bear hug.

"You might have deceived me," Goro’s thunderous voice boomed in the tent. "But you are still my brother!"

Adam’s lips settled into a genuine smile. "Thank you, Goro... thank you for understanding."

Goro applied strength in his grip and was secretly surprised. He took a step back and cast a peculiar gaze at Adam. "You look so frail and tiny, yet your figure carries surprising durability."

He paused briefly, then asked, "Just what happened to you after the Battle of Kurogane Pass?"

Goro’s eyes flickered with slight suspicion. "The Hermit claims you descended into the Dark Valley. Is that really the truth?"

Adam nodded as he let out a sigh. "It’s the truth, alright. After we won the battle at Kurogane Pass, I traveled the land with the Hermit. And then... I went to the Dark Valley. I spent around twenty years there before I came out."

"The last time I saw you, you were blind," Goro said in a low voice. "Did you..."

Adam silently nodded.

"Understood." Goro nodded as well. Nothing else needed to be said. Everyone had their secrets, and he knew that better than most.

He tightly clasped Adam’s shoulder and grinned. "It is nice to see you again, Brother."

"You as well." Adam smiled.

He then turned to the pair of Magi in white robes standing beside Goro, and cupped his hands.

"Bai Ge. Bai Xun," he said with a faint smile. "I’m grateful that you came. Thank you. Truly."

Bai Ge silently nodded. Whereas, Bai Xun, the Sword Dragon, replied humbly, "Knowing what was at stake, how could the Baihua Sect not fight?"

Adam learned from them that from Yen-Lu, only the Baihua Sect, the Tsuitsui Clan, the Qingyun Bang, and the Shadow Sect had chosen to participate in this great world war.

These organizations weren’t the full fighting force of Yen-Lu. Far from it. But it wasn’t nothing. And Adam was grateful for all the help he could get.

He was about to ask where the leaders of said organization had gathered when suddenly his eyes abruptly widened. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and he instantly disappeared from within the tent.

Adam reappeared high in the sky above the central camp, gazing northward. His face twisted into a dark expression, and he murmured:

"It’s starting."

***

Aranal, Haynam Empire.

Several hundred meters beneath the now-empty capital of the Empire, a great change was taking place.

The Cult Leader, the Blood Lord, the Stone Lord, and the Wind Lord stood before a humongous portal.

"Begin," the lich coldly said to Marden Benton.

"Aye, my lord." The Blood Lord weaved a complex set of hand seals.

Following that, the mana crystals gathered in the vast chamber rapidly drained, feeding the massive runic formation on the ground.

Almost a minute later, the surface of the portal turned blood red.

The portal rippled once.

And then...

Figures began to emerge.