The sun had long since set, and the twin moons' silver glow was showering down from the clear night sky, casting a different light on the capital.

  At that moment, Ren was sitting cross-legged on her bed in her own room, which she adamantly argued with her mother to have. Anya still wanted to sleep with her daughter every night, and although she didn't like the idea, she eventually gave in to her wishes. With closed eyes, Ren let the moonlight fall upon her body, illuminating her silver hair with an otherworldly hue while her breathing was steady and followed a calm yet intense rhythm.

  "This method they came up with wouldn't work back then..." She muttered to herself, "Since I let in the energy from the outside, it washed the world, filling it up... and it seems the Tear still lets some of that energy leak in. Not as much as when I tore it open, but more than enough for everyone to start cultivation," she chuckled under her breath while slowly opening her violet eyes. Both of them shone with joy and a hint of proud accomplishment. "Heh! Back then, you needed too much determination and, more importantly, too much luck to even have a chance at body refinement... If I tried to take in the energy that was around us, it would be like drinking poison without building up your foundations first… It was suicide."

  But the world had changed. When she stood up and stretched her still-little legs, they shone in a soft, purple hue before returning to normal.

  "People's constitutions have changed. It seems that the initial washing in that moment changed everyone. Good... I expected something like this... Especially... This new energy, albeit diluted by the world itself, is perfect! Now I can store it and strengthen myself simultaneously," she muttered to herself as a smile crept up on her face before sitting down again and continuing cultivation, focusing on her tiny hands.

  When she took multiple deep breaths, the energy entering her body was guided by her spirit to circute in her arms until her muscles and bones had absorbed everything before sending another wave at them, much like how the rain nurtures the soil.

  It was a slow process, but Ren knew it shouldn't be rushed. The only thing that she couldn't put her finger on yet was the faint, numbing feeling she got every time she cultivated. It was as if little bubbles would tickle her veins from the inside when she guided the energy through them. At first, it was worrying, but after rounds and rounds of repeated cultivation, she didn't find anything strange with her body. She knew it must be something new that the change brought with it, a change that she was unfamiliar with.

  "This feeling is as strong as when I started with my legs. It must be reted to the energy itself..." She concluded, still gazing at her fingers, "I need to ask Mother about this… if I ask Father, he would surely talk my ear off about why I didn't say so sooner." She whispered while pying with her hair, looking out the window. "I wonder how different that new Harmony realm is from back then… and what levels are beyond it. Airpuss is at that level, huh? Hmmm, when Father headbutted him, he didn't seem that much stronger. Mmm, I'm pretty sure he was only at the beginning levels… That means there should be other Harmony experts behind him, or Father would just need to band together with others to overthrow him... Mhm. Yes. That should be the case."

  Leaning back on her bed, she ran through all the events one more time, from that time, examining the feelings of rumbling energies of the Emperor and her Father.

  "Perhaps the old Emperors are still around, but they simply don't reveal themselves. Sounds logical... If what I sense is correct, after reaching Harmony, the life expectancy goes up by the hundreds… at the minimum. This kind of energy wouldn't let the body deteriorate like an untempered one. Hmmm... Still, it's not near the thousands or hundreds of thousands of the old demigod stages… Mmmm… I must be missing a detail. I'll need to see them fight to infer more... Anyway, let's focus on me first and let fate take its course!" She giggled before sitting back up and starting to meditate once again.

  …….…..

  It was after breakfast when Ren followed her mother to the garden for her usual hobby: tending to the flowerbeds.

  "You need to be careful not to hurt the roots when changing their spot, my Dear," Anya said while holding her daughter's fingers.

  "Mom, do you also have a tingling feeling when you cultivate?" Ren asked, and her question came out of the blue, and for a second, Anya's hand trembled while her brows furrowed a little.

  "What kind of sensation was it?"

  "It's like… Hmm… like if little bubbles flowed through me. It's not painful or anything. Ticklish. I just don't know what it means... Am I doing something wrong?"

  "It sounds like your father's..."

  "Dad's? Dad's what?" Ren asked, her ears perking up at once.

  "Everyone is born with an affinity towards an element." Anya sighed, expining it to her daughter, "It defines what kind of power they will have when reaching the Harmony stage. Of course, it has its subtle effect before that, too. We can make it show early, and by doing so, we can prepare for the future. Including the future spells they would be able to use if cultivating diligently."

  "You mean like… those who can summon rain... They have water affinity?" Ren asked, catching on immediately. "I see... So I was feeling my own affinity, huh?"

  "Yes." Anya smiled and gently stroked Ren's hair. "Your father has an affinity with lightning; I have a water affinity. That's why your father's fighting style is quick and impactful while I am more... gentle."

  "Are you?" She asked, receiving a knock on the top of her head, making her squint.

  "You do take after your Father..." Anya grunted, shaking her head, "He always strikes at full force and doesn't know how to hold back. To be precise, he can't hold back, or he would suffer a backsh."

  "Oh, you never told me about this!"

  "Because you are still young!" She snorted, berating her daughter, "This would only come up when you have your coming-of-age ceremony to see what affinity you have! Geez!"

  "What can I say? I'm good!" Ren answered with an unabashed grin, "Then if both of you reach Harmony, would you be able to form a thunderstorm?"

  At that moment, her question stunned Anya because it was precisely what happened when two affinities of their kind worked together. However, for that to happen, the two users had to be in perfect sync, unified to such a degree that their spells wouldn't fight and cancel each other out.

  "Y-yes. If we are in sync, we could do that. It would boost both of us, and it wouldn't be just adding one plus one together."

  "That's so cool!" Ren squealed, her eyes shining like stars, "So you say I have the same affinity as Dad? Can we confirm it? Do I need to modify how I cultivate?"

  "No, you don't need to do anything." Anya added quickly, "It won't show itself yet. Perhaps it will appear after you have finished refining every part of your body twice or three times... But it usually takes five complete circles for it to appear. Still, as an example, if your affinity is lightning, you would be faster than others."

  "What about Air- khm, Emperor Aerthus?"

  "He is a special one." Xendar cut in, as he just walked into the garden holding his hands behind his back, "He has the bloodline of his ancestors, and his affinity is life energy. It doesn't grant any special strength or speed boost, but he is one hard son of a..."

  "XenXen! Language!" Anya snapped at him before he could finish.

  "Ugh… khm, so he is hard to beat. He regenerates like a monster and has abundant energy; that's why he is such a womanizer; he can't control his rod."

  "Not before the child, you pig!" Anya screeched, putting her hands on Ren's ears and throwing daggers at her husband with her eyes.

  "Mooom, you are squishing my head!"

  "A-anyway!" Xendar blushed, looking away, "Aerthus can outst most people in battle and survive wounds others deem fatal. He is also able to tap into your energy if you let him enter you and-"

  THWACK

  "Yeooow!!! I'm so sorry… no, no, let it go, let it go! Dear, you are going to tear it out!" Xendar screamed as her wife grabbed his long blond hair and pulled him down to the ground, forming a choke hold around his neck with her legs while pulling his hair upwards.

  "I'll give you a new monk-like hairstyle, you big ox! What are you talking about before Ren?! You should just go and cut that thing off between your legs. Hmph! Maybe then you could think before speaking!"

  "No, please! It was a mistake! Not my hair! Ren! Please, speak to your mother! YEOOOW! My ears! They are coming off!"

  "Mom?"

  "Yes, Dear?"

  "This is how you and Dad make a little sister for me?" she asked innocently, looking at her parents, but inside, she almost couldn't keep back her ugh, especially seeing their immediate reaction. Especially her mother's... She nearly froze and fainted. "I may have lived for a long time before, but… I only kept hazy memories about my early life." Ren thought to herself, "I don't even remember who my parents were… It's going to be different now. I'll make sure of that!"

  Returning to her senses, Anya quickly released Xendar and stood up, dusting off her clothes and looking more than a little embarrassed. Meanwhile, Xendar checked his head for bald spots, sighing with relief when he felt none.

  "No, my Dear!" Anya began, "Your father just sometimes needs a check in the head."

  "Oh, I see! Okay!" Ren nodded, smiling, not wanting to tease them more than necessary.

  "Ren, you want a sibling?" Xendar grinned all of a sudden, looking at his wife, who turned a little redder at the question, but her eyes were watching Ren's reaction instead of berating her husband this time around.

  "I wouldn't mind; I would be a good Sister!"

  "Bwahaha! Do you hear that? It seems we have our work cut out for us now!"

  "Dream on," Anya said, rolling her eyes. "It took ten years of trying so Ren could be born!"

  "Hey, who says it would take another ten years this time around? It may only be 5!"

  "Enough! We will talk about this after dinner. Why did you even come here? Shouldn't you be at the meeting in the pace?"

  "It was boring." Xendar moaned, stretching, "So, I left. I rushed home to see my beautiful wife and child!"

  "Out with it. Why did you skip the meeting?" Anya pced her hands on her hips, knowing her husband well enough to know it was a me excuse.

  "Here." Xendar sighed and put forward his hand, showing a milky white jade piece the size of an acorn.

  "An Element Shard?" Anya asked, furrowing her brows together

  "We already discussed it with Hal." Xendar expined, "We will perform Ren's Coming of Age ceremony, which will show us her affinity. She advances too fast; if we dey it, it may have an adverse effect."

  "But after using the Shard..." Anya muttered, "Her affinity will solidify, and she can't use another... When we hold her ceremony, everyone will know that we tried to conceal it!"

  "Not if we prepare a fake Shard." He chuckled, "I already prepared a dummy empty energy crystal. It looks just the same, and we will fill it up with the same force she has and present it to the public then. A little sleight of hand, and it should be fine."

  "Why?" came a sudden question from Ren herself, looking at her parents, visibly confused.

  "Why, what, my Dear?" They looked down at her, both of her parents feeling a bit taken aback.

  "Why would you want to hide me?" Her question was innocent and pure, but also filled with genuine confusion.

  "Because-" Anya tried to answer, but her daughter cut her off

  "Do you think the Emperor will assassinate me?"

  At that moment, Anya looked at her husband, who closed his eyes, thinking silently before shaking his head and sounding serious when speaking.

  "No. He would make sure your marriage happens with the Prince and that you give birth to his grandson, who will bear his name."

  "That's good!" Ren breathed, rexing as the thought of fighting the imperial family was something that would be nonsense in her mind, "Then? Why hide me? Are there rival families with us? Would they do something? Kidnap me?"

  "There are rivals, but they couldn't touch you." Hal's voice appeared suddenly as he stepped out from nowhere, standing behind Ren, smiling down at her. "I'm always close and protecting you, young Lady."

  "Teehee, I knew it!" Ren ughed with an angelic voice. "So? What else? Should I be afraid of the rival princes? I can handle a harem!"

  "XenXen..." Anya grunted, but her husband was also unsure where Ren learned about something like that.

  "There are other princes, yes," Anya said with a serious face, looking at her daughter, "But they would touch you. Still... this..."

  "If I show my value to the Emperor, he would also protect me and make my soon-to-be husband the Crown Prince." Ren continued, not seeing the issue at all, "It's not a problem, really! Also... without rain, no pnts grow! What else? The neighboring countries? To be honest, I haven't read any books on them yet. Are they a problem?"

  Xendar's and Hal's eyes started to glow mysteriously as they listened to Ren, and they couldn't believe what was coming out of the mouth of a five-year-old girl. Meanwhile, Anya's face bore a sad smile when she mentioned the neighboring countries, something that didn't escape Ren's eyes. There was something there... Something... Unpleasant.

  "Maybe." Xendar continued, "Thanks to the Northern Forest and the demons inhabiting it, the situation is stable there. We don't have rivals in the north; the wars we usually have there are against the hordes of monsters when they move around and spill over into the Empire." He expined, looking at his daughter. "As for the other side of the Shert River that splits the continent... You don't have to worry about it." He added, gncing at his wife once, before continuing, "You are trying to say you don't want to hide but put yourself forward?"

  "If I could choose Father," Ren answered thoughtfully, "I would choose to cultivate at my own pace, not bothering with things like this. Honestly, I'm not interested at all in schemes and other boring things… It's for people with a tiny mind. But I'm the awesome daughter of the best parents in the Empire, so my goals are much grander than being an Empress! Teehee, even if I hide away, some trouble would find me sooner or ter because of who I am." She giggled, winking at her parents. "Then why not make myself so important that everyone wants to befriend me instead? Problem solved!"

  "Really… the young Lady inherited the Lord's confidence." Hal ughed, forcing Anya to chuckle, too.

  "Ren," Xendar spoke, kneeling before her, holding her tiny hands, watching her eyes. "If you want to befriend someone, you will make enemies of others. You can't be friends with everyone."

  "Of course not, Dad! I just need to make stronger friends than enemies!" she answered, hugging her father's neck, pnting a kiss on his cheek while he picked her up, and Anya snuggled up to them.

  "Ahahaha, okay, okay! You little imp!" Xendar ughed loudly, "We will do as you wish. Don't worry, I'll keep out the troubles until I'm dead; nobody could hurt you in this country!"

  "Don't even say something like that, Dear… never again…." Anya whispered, tiptoeing to kiss Xendar's lips while Ren grinned happily, sitting on her father's arm, enjoying the warmth she was feeling.