The Tale of the Void Emperor

Athan and others ate dinner in the exquisite dining hall. All the food was top-notch, and everyone literally benefitted by eating it, strengthening their body's foundation.

After eating there, they used Starling River Organization's Star River traveling function and arrived at a close region next to Thousand Deaths Valley. From there, it only took three days to reach Thousand Deaths Valley.

...

Athan and Avelia arrived at the small hall of the house where Lily, Mimi, Dreevindo, and Huarin were living...

"Sister Avelia!" Mimi rushed towards Avelia upon seeing her and hugged her directly, "*sob* I missed you so much!" 

"Awe~," Avelia smiled and caressed her back," I missed you too, Mimi. You really grew up from little girl to young maiden."

Athan told Avelia about Mimi's circumstances, and she was happy that Mimi was such a strong girl.

"Hehe," Mimi giggled as she looked at Avelia, "I also want to meet sister Tiana, sister Qerin, and brother Mike. Do you know about them?"

"I don't know," Avelia said with a sigh, "It's up to Athan on how to find them."

Afterward, Athan introduced Avelia to Huarin and Dreevindo, but Lily was nowhere in sight.

"Where is Lily?" Athan asked.

"Who is Lily, Athan?" Avelia asked with curiosity.

"She..., "Athan smiled and paused before he continued, "she was my first crush and now, my life partner like you."

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"Ohh...," Avelia was surprised.

"Cough...Athan returned?" 

Suddenly, Lily arrived in the hall where Athan and others were gathered after opening the door.

Lily seemed weak, as if she had suffered some injuries. Her face was pale.

"What happened?" Athan asked with a frown as he and others dashed towards her.

"It's fine, it's fine," Lily weakly smiled, "I just overdid myself in the forest and was injured while fighting. But I already ate a pill given to me by elder Komin's subordinate, and that foreign power inside my body is cleansing rapidly.

She then looked at Avelia and walked towards her with a smile, "you must be sister Avelia. Nice to finally meet you."

She then leaned closer and whispered into Avelia's ears while conjuring a barrier around them, "Athan was really worried sick about you all, you know? Also, we didn't do anything...umm, except for a kiss. Athan's love for you is immense, and I didn't want to take advantage of your absence."

Avelia smiled and grabbed Lily's hands, "when Athan asked for you and uttered your name, I could see his concern and love for you. Also..."

*pat*

Avelia flicked Lily's forehead and pouted, "why didn't you do anything with him?"

"Huh?" Lily was startled, "b...because..."

"Stupid," Avelia sighed as she shook her head, "I and all others knew how much pain he must have suffered when all of us were separated from him, with him not even knowing about our condition and state. He doesn't feel physical or soul pain, but we could imagine his state when all of us left from his lives...for 2nd time."

"So it would have been better if you made him happier and lifted his mood by being romantic with him," Avelia said with a sigh.

Lily was stunned and also remembered something.

It was at that time when she decided to open up to Athan completely. Athan also said that she didn't need to hold back.

However, instead, she indeed held herself back after that one long kiss in consideration of Athan's feelings and his wanting to get back to Tiana, Avelia, and others.

'Should I not have held myself back?' Lily thought with regret.

Actually, when Lily opened up to Athan, he did that subconsciously in a way. That's why he told Lily not to hold back. 

Actively, he really didn't want to do anything until he found Tiana and others, but he wanted to reciprocate the strong and intense feeling that Lily showed him with action. That's why he told Lily not to hold back because of that subconscious thought process. 

Seeing Lily's face, Avelia smiled and said, "don't worry about that anymore. Now that I am here, you don't need to hold back. Athan loves you, and you also love him, which is clear to me. Now, we will not let Athan be depressed or gloomy. He must smile and be cheerful like before."

Lily looked at Avelia as she actually admired Avelia's character, "alright."

Both girls found a strange connection between them. It was absolute trust and related to one thing.

They both loved Athan and could do anything for him, just like how Athan would do anything for them.

They shared this same sentiment, and as such, they understood each other.

"What are they talking about?" Dreevindo asked as he rubbed his chin.

Huarin rolled her eyes as she smacked Dreevindo, "you don't need to know."

"Cough...looking at how they are grinning and chuckling, it seems that they are planning something," Dreevindo said with a cough.

"Mimi wants to know," Mimi said with a pout as she walked toward them.

Athan smiled as he was happy as well. Suddenly, he sensed something and took out his comm crystal.

'Athan...about your answer, do we make it final that you are really joining us?'

Athan nodded, "make it final."

"What, Athan?" Huarin asked.

"I am joining the Grand Meet that will happen after four years," Athan said. 

"What is Grand Meet?" 

Lily asked as she, Avelia, and Mimi walked towards Athan.

Lily and Avelia stopped talking when Mimi was coming toward them, so Mimi's mood was down as she had a big pout on her face.

"Why is our little Mimi in a bad mood?" Athan asked as he smiled and rubbed her head.

"Brother Athan! They are keeping me in the dark. I also want to know what they were talking about," Mimi said with a sad face, "they stopped talking when I approached them, so it's clear they don't want to tell me about it."

Avelia and Lily looked at each other and shook their head helplessly, "it's not like that, Mimi. We finished talking about a matter regarding brother Athan, that's why we stopped talking. It was not because of you."

"Really?" Mimi asked with narrowed eyes.

"Absolutely," Lily and Avelia nodded with a smile.

"You already know about it, but sister Lily here didn't know, so I was telling it to her."

"Really?" Mimi asked with doubtful eyes, "then tell me."

"We will tell you later, but first, let's talk about the Grand Meet," Avelia said, "I have heard about it as well."