Yan’s other children came to speak with them a few times during this period. Kayden’s closeness to Athena was strange for all of them; it didn’t make much sense after all that Athena had said. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much weight in their words to engage in dialogue with either of them. On one side was a madman their father supported, who could beat them with impunity, and on the other was a sister who would also get away with beating them.
Each of Yan’s children had been raised to be capable of managing their own lives perfectly, meaning they could very well follow their paths without the help of their siblings. For this reason, they didn’t give much importance to Athena and Kayden.
Finally, ten thousand years had passed. By this point, Kayden had maximized his sixth sense as much as possible. He had reached the mark of 500,000 kilometers and had broken through any barriers that might have existed.
At this moment, his power easily reached the peak of peak strength among the mages in this universe. He could launch three full-force attacks, which were simply ridiculous in strength. Kayden’s strongest move had become something beyond any standard or measure. He doubted there was any opponent at his level in his realm, and even among higher ones, it would be difficult to find a match.
His increase in his sixth sense was by tens, but his power increase was by hundreds. Mathematically, it was a proportional increase, but in terms of raw mana, it was something far beyond.
"He’s going to open it; we need to leave before we get trapped in here," Athena communicated to Kayden, pulling him from his reverie. A huge black spot opened in the skies; the day had finally come to say goodbye to this paradise.
"Haya, you must ask Reyna for permission to be my second wife," Kayden said these words along the way, and a slight furrow appeared on Athena’s brow.
"Jarvan, I’m heading to the upper world. You’ve served me well all these years. If you want to join me and abandon your pack, just nod your head." This was the last test for the wolf.
Kayden had perfectly molded him into one of the most fearsome animals this plane had ever seen. He was a true sixth-realm mage with eight bolts of lightning, superior to anything this plane had ever created before. Furthermore, Kayden had made him develop a lightning path.
"I’ve held the pack leader," Jarvan communicated. He had been a lone wolf for many years in power, and only Kayden could provide him with true companionship.
With that, the four of them floated toward the black spot, among the first to leave. The order didn’t matter, as time was compressed, so everyone would leave at the same time. It was no surprise that, on the other side, all the people who had entered were there.
Most had grown in aura to a palpable level. The ones who had grown the most were Haya and Jasmine, their strength light years ahead since they entered this environment. But the truth was that it was Kayden who had reached the true pinnacle of power.
"Athena, what are you doing with the master?" Atlas appeared beside them immediately, and...
"ROAR!" Jarvan leaped at the boy with high speed and exploded with lightning from his mouth directly onto Atlas’s throat.
"No, he’s a friend," Kayden grabbed the wolf by the neck as if he were a plush toy. "Everyone here is a friend. You don’t need to assert dominance over any of them." Atlas’s heart was racing from the fright.
He was a strong mage in the fourth realm, but this was a high-level sixth-realm beast and... incredibly cute. Atlas loved animals, and this one was no exception, especially after Kayden released him, and the wolf rubbed against his leg in a clear sign of apology and friendship.
"Athena and I have become friends during this period. She will come live with us from today onward," Kayden’s words took everyone by surprise, including Athena, who had no idea, and everyone else who knew of her strength.
"I don’t recall that," Athena muttered, glaring at Kayden.
"I spared you from coming uninvited and living off me without notifying anyone," Athena was about to retort, but Kayden pinched her cheeks with a level of intimacy no one there had ever seen before.
Not even Reyna had this kind of closeness with Kayden. Furthermore, Athena was the darling of all of Yan’s children, not to mention she was the darling of Yan and Amanda. At that moment, an extremely heavy aura descended upon Kayden.
Amanda appeared, floating around them, not even glancing at Kayden. She inspected Athena thoroughly, and only after finding nothing wrong did she turn to talk to Kayden.
"Who do you think you are to have such intimacy with Athena?" Amanda’s aura should have suffocated any mortal to the point where they couldn’t even move their eyes, but Kayden responded calmly.
"We’re just two good friends, my lady, nothing more." Kayden’s words were completely sincere, earning him a slap on the back of the head from Athena.
"Sorry, my hand slipped," everyone was stunned by this completely out-of-the-ordinary interaction.
"Even a friend of my daughter must be special."
"That’s right! Who do you think you are? Prove that you can be this close to Princess Athena."
"Yes! She deserves only the best of the best!" Cries came from all sides, from low-realm mages to false gods at the peak of the ninth realm. Kayden just smiled. It had been a long time since he’d been challenged.
"Atlas, honor is something you must defend only once in your life, so always make sure to leave a good impression," Kayden ignored everyone else and gave a life lesson to his disciple.