The One King

After Miranda ascended to the upper floor with Lilian, the two entered a room, and Miranda closed the door behind them.

She immediately released her spiritual energy, forming an invisible barrier around the room. Her cultivation was at the Spiritual King Realm, so the barrier was enough to prevent most cultivators from eavesdropping on their conversation.

However, deep down, Miranda was not certain that this barrier could truly prevent a terrifying existence like Azrael from listening to what was happening inside.

Nevertheless, she had no other choice.

This was the best she could do.

She could not allow her sister to surrender to her emotions and reveal everything, potentially bringing destruction upon the entire Foyd family—whether at the hands of the Heavenly Council or Azrael himself.

After finishing the barrier, Miranda turned toward her sister.

Her eyes widened when she saw Lilian curled up on the bed, hugging herself while repeatedly whispering a single name:

"Victor..."

Miranda slowly approached her, then sat beside her and gently placed a hand against her cheek.

She spoke softly, trying to calm her:

"Lilian, don't do this to yourself... He's not Victor."

Her voice caught for a moment before she continued with difficulty:

"Victor... was exiled."

The moment Lilian heard those words, her spiritual energy violently surged.

Her aura began rising abruptly, filling the room with a suffocating spiritual pressure.

Then she spoke in a powerful voice filled with pain and anger:

"No! My son was not exiled... It is him!"

Miranda tried to calm her and convince her that the man downstairs was not Victor, but Lilian was completely certain of what she had seen.

She said firmly:

"Miranda... It is him. I saw the mark."

Miranda froze for a moment.

Then she asked in shock:

"What mark?"

Lilian answered:

"Do you remember the birthmark on Victor's chest? The one shaped like a red skull?"

The moment Miranda heard those words, her memories returned to twenty-one years ago.

That day...

The day Lilian gave birth to twins.

It was her second pregnancy, after Lunaria.

On that day, two children were born.

The first was Leon.

The second...

was a child with hair as black as night and crimson eyes. On the left side of his chest was a small red birthmark shaped like a skull.

That mark had been incredibly distinctive.

A mark Miranda could never forget.

Her eyes widened as the memory returned to her in its entirety.

She asked in a trembling voice:

"Does... does he really have that birthmark on his chest?"

Lilian weakly nodded.

Miranda tried to deny the truth, but even she could not conceal her uneasiness.

She said weakly:

"Even if he has that birthmark... that doesn't mean he's Victor, Lilian. Perhaps it's merely a coincidence."

But Lilian could no longer listen.

She burst into tears, her voice breaking between sobs.

"It's him, Miranda... It's him!"

She pressed a hand against her chest, as though the pain had become too much for her to bear.

"Azrael is my son... Azrael is Victor!"

The moment she said those words, she collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Miranda stared at her sister, feeling her heart break.

She understood the pain of losing a child.

Only a short while ago, when Azrael had been about to kill Alex, she had felt as though her heart would stop from fear.

At that moment, she had been willing to beg him—even to confront Azrael with everything she possessed—just to save her son.

Therefore, she understood exactly what Lilian was feeling now.

But Victor's situation was different.

One single mistake...

could lead to the destruction of the entire Foyd family.

If the Heavenly Council learned that Victor was still alive, they would not hesitate to kill him by any means necessary.

And if Azrael learned the truth before the family was prepared to face him...

the consequences could be even more terrifying.

That was why she had to prevent Lilian from revealing the secret.

Miranda approached her, knelt beside her, and pulled her into an embrace.

She spoke in a low but firm voice:

"Lilian, don't do this."

She paused for a moment before continuing:

"Even if Azrael is Victor... he cannot become part of the family."

Lilian raised her tear-stained face and looked at her.

Miranda continued:

"Because the moment the Council discovers that he is still in this world, they will try to kill him by every means possible."

Lilian trembled upon hearing those words, but she could not let go of hope.

She said weakly:

"I'll tell him in secret that I'm his mother... No one will know."

Miranda slowly shook her head.

Then she said:

"Do you really think he would want to be part of our family?"

Lilian remained silent.

Miranda continued in a harsher voice:

"A family that abandoned him when he was weak... and now wants to embrace him after he has become powerful?"

Lilian said nothing.

Miranda said:

"You saw Azrael's temperament yourself."

Then she added:

"The mere act of someone killing another person in his presence was enough for him to consider it an insult to his pride. So how do you think he will treat a family that abandoned him and caused him all that suffering?"

Miranda moved closer to her sister's face and said:

"Do you really think he will forget all of that simply because you tell him you're his mother?"

Her words were harsh.

But they were the truth Miranda feared more than anything else.

When Lilian heard those words, she broke down crying once again.

Her sobs grew heavier, and she felt an even deeper sorrow than before.

Because Miranda's words reminded her of a painful truth she had spent all these years trying to escape.

She had failed as a mother.

Even an animal would fight to the death to protect its offspring...

But her?

She had abandoned her child when he was at his weakest.

She had not stood by his side.

She had not protected him.

She had allowed the world to take him away from her.

And now, after twenty-one years, her son had returned to her...

But not as a helpless child who needed his mother.

He had returned as a terrifying existence before whom the entire world seemed powerless.

An existence that might not need her at all.

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