A-Xuan got off the carriage when it landed. He caressed Neo and ran up the stairs. The guards opened the doors of the dining room and he entered eagerly.

He froze when he saw a woman sitting next to the empty throne. She had long hair and an oval face. Her eyes were round, and her nose was slightly turned up. She looked beautiful.

A-Xuan frowned, so this is Astra. He thought Gege just wanted to have breakfast with him. A-Xuan walked to the table.

He was about to take a seat when the woman said, without looking up from her book:

"Bring me apple juice."

A-Xuan took a seat, and Astra looked up. She asked impatiently:

"What are you doing? Didn’t anyone teach you that the help doesn’t sit around the table?"

A-Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look like the help?"

Astra stared at him and asked:

"Are you A-Xuan?"

When he nodded, her eyes darkened. She wasn’t at the arena yesterday, but her friend told her what happened.

She can’t believe Kyrios behaved this way with a filthy mortal. And now he even dares to take a seat, at the same table as her.

Astra asked coldly:

"What are you doing here?"

A-Xuan simply answered:

"Breakfast."

"Did Supreme invite you?"

A-Xuan nodded. Astra’s hands tightened on the book. She’s so angry, she can’t stand it. Having breakfast has always been something she and Kyrios would do together, but now he invited that thing.

Astra ordered:

"Leave."

A-Xuan said:

"I didn’t realize Orion palace was yours."

Astra said:

"Supreme and I have a special relationship, and I won’t let anyone get in the way. If you don’t want me to deal with you, you’ll leave right now."

A-Xuan smiled and asked:

"How about we let Gege decide when he comes down?"

As soon as A-Xuan finished his sentence, Astra wrapped her hand around his neck and lifted him.

She yelled:

"Who do you think you are, calling him Gege? You’re nothing more than a filthy mortal!"

A-Xuan could feel his vocal cords being crushed, but didn’t make a sound. It hurt like hell, but he showed nothing.

He struggled to say:

"Gege."

Astra tossed him against the wall. His body hit hard and A-Xuan fell on his head. He was wheezing and gasping for air. He coughed up blood and wiped his mouth.

A-Xuan whispered again:

"Gege."

Kyrios, who was in his bedroom, having his hair done, opened his eyes and disappeared. When he reappeared in the dining room, he looked at Astra. She was holding A-Xuan by the neck, and his robes and forehead were bloody.

Kyrios walked to her and howled:

"Astra!"

Astra immediately let go of A-Xuan and looked at Kyrios in fear. Kyrios walked to her and wrapped his hand around her neck.

Astra tried to get out of his hold, but couldn’t.

"Supreme..."

When Kyrios pulled out her heart, she gasped and begged:

"Please don’t... I love you."

Kyrios crushed her heart, and it turned into ashes. Her body quickly followed suit. Kyrios walked to A-Xuan. He was on the floor, bleeding and in excruciating pain.

When he felt Kyrios’s murderous aura, he gasped and move as far away as possible from him.

Kyrios stopped and moved his hands in a circle. A ball of energy appeared in his hand and he tossed it on A-Xuan. A-Xuan felt a warm light surround him and his body repaired itself.

He bit his lip tightly because of the pain. A-Xuan let out a breath when he was healed. Kyrios walked to him and helped him up. He sat him on the throne and knelt in front of him.

Kyrios lifted A-Xuan’s head to see his state, but as soon as he did, he wish he hadn’t. He felt his heart clench when he saw that A-Xuan was crying silently.

But the worst was seeing the resentment in his eyes. Kyrios reached out to wipe his tears.

"A-Xuan..."

Before he could, A-Xuan forcibly pushed him and he fell backward. Kyrios looked at him incredulously. A-Xuan wiped his tears, but it was useless, they kept falling.

A-Xuan yelled before running out of the dining room:

"I hate you."

Kyrios stood up and ran after him. Before he could pass through the doors of the palace, he waved his hand, and they closed. A-Xuan ran up the stairs and entered the first room he saw.

He locked himself in the bathroom. Kyrios entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

He walked to the door and called:

"A-Xuan, please open the door."

Kyrios sat against the door and felt his heart breaking when he heard A-Xuan crying. He sat there waiting until he was ready, but even after half an hour, A-Xuan was still crying.

Kyrios appeared in the bathroom and looked at A-Xuan. He was sitting against the door with his head buried in his legs, crying desperately.

Kyrios knelt in front of him and caressed his head. A-Xuan immediately looked up and yelled:

"Don’t touch me!"

Kyrios swallowed and pulled back his hand.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t know how she felt about me. She’s dead now. You’ll never see her again."

A-Xuan yelled:

"I will. She’s everywhere. There are gods in every corner of this godforsaken place. Like she said, I’m just a filthy mortal, and I’m at the whim of every one of you. Do you even know what it feels like to be weak? I can’t even sleep at night because of that."

A-Xuan is living his nightmare. He is in a place surrounded by wolves, and he’s a sheep. He doesn’t have power here. What if he looks at a god, and he takes offense and kills him?

Isn’t that what started this whole thing? A god dealt with him so easily. He spent over 20 000 years suffering. If he fails, history will repeat itself. How can he succeed when he is at their mercy?

Last night, he couldn’t sleep because he felt so worried. What if he dies before he can save Gege? He could’ve died by the hand of Astra if Kyrios hadn’t gotten there in time.

Who knows if next time he’ll be this lucky? This is too much. A-Xuan sobbed:

"I can’t stand it. Why would you do that to me?"

Kyrios looked down, and a few tears ran down his face. A-Xuan buried his head in his legs again. When he heard a sound, he looked up. Kyrios had pulled out his own heart, from his chest.

It was gold and shining. Before A-Xuan could react, Kyrios reached out and pulled out A-Xuan’s heart. He looked at him wide-eyed.

"What are you doing?"

A-Xuan was about to take his heart back, but a bubble blocked him. Kyrios closed his eyes, and A-Xuan saw that the gold energy from Kyrios’ heart, was being transferred to his heart.

A-Xuan yelled:

"Stop it!"

He kept hitting the bubble, but it wouldn’t break.

"Kyrios stop!"

No matter how long A-Xuan pleaded, Kyrios continued. Kyrios opened his eyes and put his heart back in place. A-Xuan stood up, and so did Kyrios.

A-Xuan shook his head.

"Don’t."

Kyrios pushed his heart into his chest and he gasped for air. Kyrios pulled him into his embrace and A-Xuan felt a warm power take hold of him and the pain faded.

He felt sleepy and struggled to keep his eyes open. Kyrios carried him to the bed and lay with A-Xuan in his arms. A-Xuan stopped fighting and fell asleep.