Chapter 772 Tempered
Luna lay on Dyon's lap, obedient as a little kitten. The cunning and mystery in her eyes had disappeared, filled with nothing but love with flashes and hints of reverence. Her husband's stamina seemed endless, and if it wasn't for the fact he new that they would be arriving at their destination in little more than a half an hour, who knows when he would have stopped? Luckily for her petite body, Dyon was giving them time to clean themselves in the carriage bathing room.
However, deep within Luna's heart, there was a dark fog spreading. Even if the barrier to accepting Dyon in her heart had disappeared, how could that change what she had done?
There were some things in life that couldn't be easily forgiven. Dyon knew this more than anyone else because he had witnessed it multiple times in his young life already.
Ava's brother and his trusted friend, Arios, was deeply in love with Tammy Ragnor. It was to the point where he couldn't bring himself to hate her even knowing she had every intention of killing him that day during their Elvin Kingdom trials. By all rights, if Arios wasn't hiding his cultivation as a young prince of the Sicarius family, he would have died that day without a doubt.
Arios knew that Tammy wasn't a match for him, and he knew that it would only take a bit of effort on his part to defend himself, yet he was caught in the pain and anxiety in her eyes. Something told him that she was struggling with the decision she was making and that it wasn't her choice to try and kill him. Knowing this, Arios faked his death, allowing Tammy to believe that he was dead so that she could fulfill her wish to protect her elder brother, Thor.
Despite this, Arios never hated her. Even when he practically lost his family, falling into the depths of gate, he didn't hate her. Even millions of years in the past, he couldn't bring himself to hate her. In fact, he even longed to see her.
However…. When he found out what she did to his little sister, Tammy crossed a line that Arios could no longer forgive. And scars or wounds she afflicted upon him, he could shrug off, but Arios loved Ava even more than he loved Tammy. He couldn't find it in himself to forgive that.
The concept here was the same. Although Dyon wasn't aware of the full scope of what Luna had done, how long would he be ignorant for? And although Luna was hiding it now, could she bear to hide it forever? Could she live a lie? Could she continue to betray a man that had won her heart?
Just like Tammy, it wasn't just a matter of Arios or Dyon forgiving these two women… It was also about whether they could forgive themselves…
So, Luna continued to sit in Dyon's lap, letting his soapy hands wash her body without struggling. If she couldn't enjoy this man's embrace forever, she would at least enjoy it for now…
When the time came, she would do everything in her power to help him. And then, she would punish her own self.
By now, she had decided that she had no right to be queen, and even less right to be his wife. In that moment, the flash of a red-headed beauty appeared in her mind. Luna could only sigh in her heart, lamenting the fact she never became friends with such a wonderful woman… Although their personalities were strikingly opposed, hadn't they both fallen for the same man? Couldn't it be said then that there was a threat of fate tying them?
There was another reason for Luna's decision though… She couldn't understand it fully, but ever since her youth, she had been able to see the world in a way completely different than others. Not only was she the most intelligent person she had ever known, as narcissistic as that may sound, she felt a oneness with nature. If her instincts were correct, there was an off current flowing around her husband, as though it was unnatural for him to be here.
This meant only one thing to Luna: he was here for a purpose. If that was the case, shouldn't Luna do everything she could to help him before he disappeared from her life completely… ?
A dull ache stabbed into Luna's chest when she thought these words. Maybe she wouldn't be the one to leave first… What if this husband that she had fallen for left them first?... What if the living hell that she had been suffering through came back?...
Luna, though, underestimated Amphorae. The worst part about all of this was that Luna wasn't the only one who had felt that Dyon's presence in this world was on a timer that was quickly running out…
While Luna had resolved to do everything in her power to rectify her mistakes and repair her husband, Amphorae was speeding through the Angel Clan as fast as her long and slender blemish free legs would allow, determined to bring the clan to a level even higher than where her husband had left it at.
She organized the evacuation, organized the women with determination to help, and even calmed the waters politically, staving off the once unbridled misogyny with her fiery words and decisiveness actions…
All the while knowing that her and Luna may likely never see their husband again.
Just about 40 minutes later, a celestial beauty radiating with satisfaction and endless love stepped out of a large carriage, clinging to the arm of maybe the only man that could complement her looks perfectly.
Just as they did so, the entrance of a grand clan greeted them, only to be interrupted by the whistling of Dyon's personal guards as though they were serenading a newly wed couple that had just consummated their marriage.
Dyon laughed, not minding. But, the dao formation experts gave the young men a side-eye that made them turn their heads and pretend as though they hadn't done anything.
But, maybe the most surprising thing for them was that Luna wasn't embarrassed at all. She happily held onto her husband's arm as though nothing else in the world mattered.
However, their happy moment was interrupted by the loud voices of the guards at the entrance.
"State your names and purpose! The Viserion clan is not a land to tread on lightly!"
Dyon laughed inwardly. He had been here once before and these were the exact words they said them. How full of yourself did you have to be to have your guards rehearse lines to make you sound more mighty than you really were?
At this point, Merchant Brinsop stepped forward, taking his job very seriously. He knew that Dyon had spared his life to be the figure head in their starting an alliance and he knew time was short. It usually took weeks to months of building a trusting relationship in order for such a thing to happen, but, he only had 2 days to convince 5 clans, all of which were larger than the Angel Clan. And, he also had to somehow convince them to allow Dyon to lead their troops.
At first, he thought it was a blessing for his king to allow him to live. After all, traitors were always sentenced to death. However, when he learned more about his task, he almost felt that maybe dying would have been the better option. At least then, he would be free of all of this stress.
What Merchant Brinsop didn't know was that Dyon only needed him to get a foot in the door. He had his own plans after analyzing the landscape of Planet Haven, and was quite confident in succeeding. The only troublesome clan would be this one, because it was led by a battle crazed idiot. And, unfortunately, that battle crazed idiot was also quite the genius.
He placed 5th in the last Universe Tournament… One might think that that meant that Dyon was leagues above him for finishing first. But, the truth of the matter was that he finished 5th with the cultivation of a peak essence gatherer!
While it was impressive that Dyon was able to place first with a lower saint level cultivation. The chasm between essence gathering and sainthood was as vast as day and night!
Think about it, a saint was someone who was tempered by a heavenly tribulation!