Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.

Chapter 68

— In a land as wild and harsh as this, there is nothing more important than community, Ed. To survive, you must honor your family and trust your closest friends, for it is only in them that you can seek support. —

Advice from Roland to Edzard when he was a child.

The midday sunlight entered the room through the window, illuminating the interior. Inside the room, which was in the medical area of the palace, was Asia, who was looking out the window, watching the curtain sway gently in the soft breeze.

Edzard's wife was sitting on her bed, waiting for her husband. She had woken up not long ago, and when she did, she was updated on what had happened since she arrived at the palace. So, she knew that her husband was out on an emergency mission. This made her clench her fist and squeeze the sheet that covered her body. The young woman had several things on her mind at this moment, causing a whirlwind of feelings, which only caused her a lot of anxiety.

Of the many things that occupied the young woman's mind, there were two things that were her priority, first, to know how her daughter was and second, how her friends were. The young woman's mind began to go back to the moment she opened her eyes, but before she even started that retrospective journey, the door to her room was opened.

The moment the former nun heard the door being opened, she looked in that direction, noticing that the one who had opened it was her husband. The moment she set her eyes on Edzard, she realized that he looked tired. The shoulders that she felt could carry the weight of the world were drooping, not enough to mean that the obligations they carried were overwhelming him, but enough to indicate that he was tired.

"Hello…" Edzard greeted as he approached his wife, sitting in the chair next to the bed.

The moment Asia heard her husband's voice, she looked him in the eyes.

"Hello, Ed…" whispered Asia, who looked away after those words.

After those short words, the room fell into silence, which was not broken by either of the two young people. This was because neither of them knew how to talk about what had happened, as recent events had put everyone in a complicated situation.

The silence, far from being a balm for what was going through the couple's mind, began to turn into a poison that slowly began to erode both their minds, significantly intensifying the whirlwinds of emotions they were feeling. Upon realizing this, Edzard, aware that this environment was not beneficial for either of them, took his wife's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. That action caused Asia's heart to overflow, starting to shed tears unconsciously.

"I'm sorry…" were the words that came out of Edzard's mouth upon seeing his wife cry.

The moment Asia heard that, everything exploded within her. Making use of an agility that should not be possible for her weakened body, Marcoryan's daughter moved her hand and threw a punch at Edzard's face.

Asia's blow was such that Edzard's body fell from the chair, and since he was holding her hand, Asia was dragged with him. They both fell to the ground, where Asia ended up on top of Edzard.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry!" Asia screamed as she began to repeatedly hit Edzard in the face. "Do you think feeling sorry will solve everything?! You weren't there when our daughter was kidnapped! You weren't there when we were ambushed! You weren't there when she almost made me kill my friends!"

With each word from Asia, Edzard's heart shrank more and more. His wife's words hurt more than the physical blows he was receiving. Even so, he did nothing, he stayed still, letting his wife vent all the anger she felt at that moment. Such was his willpower that he never let go of his wife's hand.

Asia's mind was a complete chaos at that moment. The young woman was taking out on her husband everything she felt, something that she, deep down, in that rational part that remained in her mind at that moment, knew was unfair, because what happened was not only her husband's fault, but also hers. Even so, she just let herself go.

Shedding tears incessantly, Asia's blows began to decrease in intensity, until they finally stopped.

"(Sniff)… Why?... (sniff) Why didn't you come earlier…?" where the last words Asia could say before opening her eyes and seeing her husband's face.

Edzard's face was full of wounds, which would surely turn into bruises very soon. Not only that, both Edzard's nose and lip were bleeding, dropping thin lines of blood. The sight of what she had done made Asia feel worse than trash, as she had done something she never thought she would do in her life. Even so, even though she wanted to apologize immediately, her words died in her mouth when she saw her husband's eyes fill with tears.

"I'm sorry… really (sniff)." said Edzard as he let the tears fall down his cheeks.

The sight of her husband crying, something she had only seen on a few occasions, made her start crying again. The anger she had felt before had been replaced by guilt and sadness, so without thinking twice, she threw herself into a strong hug while she began to apologize between tears and sobs.

Edzard was sitting in the chair where he had been before. The young dragon felt a bit sore, but it wasn't something that mattered much to him. He had received bigger beatings in his battles, this was not something new for him… at least the part of the physical damage. The emotional damage he felt was nothing he had faced before. The guilt he felt had adhered so much to his being that it would not disappear in the short term.

"Ed… I… I…"

His wife's voice made Edzard look up and see her. Asia's face was haggard, her eyes were red, and her voice sounded hoarse. All of this was a consequence of the explosive reaction she had recently had.

"You don't have to apologize…" said Edzard, taking his wife's hand again, which made her shudder, as she remembered what she had done recently.

"No." Asia said quickly, shaking her head. "I must apologize… what I did was wrong… no… I shouldn't have hit you… I… I don't know why I reacted like that…"

"It doesn't matter."

Edzard's words made Asia look up and see her husband. Strangely enough, he was smiling, at least it seemed that way, but due to the wounds on his face, it was hard for him to smile.

"It does matter… what I did is not normal… I… I…" Asia said, starting to hyperventilate a bit, as the memories of what she had done to her husband began to mix with what had happened in the battle, when she lost control of her body and began to attack her friends. She began to see in a vivid memory her actions, but before she exploded into a panic attack, she was brought back to reality by Edzard, who had taken her face with his other hand.

"Calm down, take a deep breath. Nothing you see is real, it's just your mind." Edzard said, looking into his wife's eyes. "This time you're not alone, I'm with you. Don't let it control you, show that you're stronger than that."

Asia nodded awkwardly upon hearing her husband. Therefore, she began to take in air in long gulps, managing to calm down. When she felt that she was calmer, Asia stood still, enjoying her husband's touch. The various emotions that were in her being began to clear, leaving only guilt for what she had done.

"It seems that you are calmer now… that's good."

"Yes… T-thank you…" Asia said with a somewhat broken voice, as guilt began to make her feel sad.

"Don't thank me, it's my duty as your husband to be there for you in these moments…" Edzard's voice had been soft, almost like a whisper, yet Asia could hear it.

"I'm sorry, Ed… I'm sorry…"

"I told you that there's no need to apologize, it wasn't your fault. You've been through a lot, it's normal for you to be stressed to this level…" Edzard said, interrupting Asia, who looked into his eyes as she heard him. "What happened was also partly my fault. Among the two of us, I am the one with more experience in these matters, yet I didn't foresee that the enemy could infiltrate their agents into our allies' territory. This time we were lucky, but next time we might not be. However, I will make sure they don't have another opportunity to do something like this."

Seeing the way her husband spoke, Asia smiled softly, as she saw the conviction in her husband's words. However, despite being happy, Asia felt bad, as she had not yet finished processing the fact that she had hit her husband several times.

"Ed… I-"

"If you try to apologize again, I won't let you. I've already told you that you don't need to apologize."

Hearing how Edzard interrupted her again, Asia clenched her fists, but not out of anger, but out of guilt and disgust towards herself. She had already understood that her husband did not hate her for what she had just done, yet she could not let this go… no, she felt that if she did not apologize properly, she could not move forward. So, opening her mouth, she interrupted her husband, who was talking about how she should not apologize.

"Ed… please… let me say it…" Asia said, causing her husband to look at her. "I know you don't blame me for what I did, but I'm not you… I can't just let this go as if it didn't happen… I need to tell you at least for my own sanity… I'm sorry, I don't know what happened to me… please… please… forgive me…"

Asia's words were accompanied by some tears, which began to gently fall down her cheeks.

Edzard's eyes fell on his wife after hearing her apologies, putting on a somewhat awkward smile, he approached her and taking her face, he gave her a kiss on the lips. That sudden action caused Asia to tense up a bit, but after a second, she responded to the kiss.

The couple continued kissing until the need for air forced them to separate. After that, looking into each other's eyes, Edzard pressed his forehead against Asia's.

"I hope this is more than a clear indication that I forgive you," Edzard said with a smile on his face.

Seeing that smile, Asia just smiled, and shedding tears, she nodded, as there were no words that could express what she was feeling at that moment.

After that exchange of words, the young couple began to change the subject. Focusing on what mattered to them at that moment, the kidnapping of their daughter. Although he knew it was not going to be pleasant, Edzard asked Asia to tell him everything that had happened during Marie's rescue, as he wanted to know what had happened until he arrived.

Although that memory was not pleasant at all, Asia nodded and began to tell her husband everything that had happened, stopping every now and then to calm down, as there were times when she almost hyperventilated, especially when she mentioned what had happened at the end.

"I see… so that happened," Edzard said as Asia passed a linen cloth soaked in a minor healing potion over his face, slowly healing the wounds she had caused. "So, you heard a voice in your mind… I suppose it could have been a deity of this world. I doubt it was an aedra, they are bound to the bones of the world of Nirm and their presence in this world would be very reduced. A daedra would not have referred to the only one with so much respect… Even so, I'm proud of you, darling. Awakening a new power is something worthy of praise. I suppose I'll ask the geek Azazel about what happened."

Edzard's words were accompanied by a smile and a gentle handshake. This made Asia blush slightly, because although it was true that her husband was very kind to her, he almost never used words of affection in this way.

"Thank you… although I still can't fully assimilate it… especially with what happened at the end…" Asia said with a whisper at the end.

"Darling, it wasn't your fault… They used a powerful spell on you, one that, I'm afraid, I don't know which school it belongs to. Therefore, we will have to investigate it to create effective countermeasures. Fortunately, we have six months of relative peace to do this."

"What?" Asia asked, completely surprised to hear her husband's words. "What did you say?"

Hearing his wife's question, Edzard looked at her for a second, after which he remembered that he hadn't explained the reason why he hadn't been there when she woke up. So, letting out a sigh, he began to narrate everything that had happened with Sheogorath and Sanguine. He told her how these two Daedric princes had appeared as if nothing in the underworld, demonstrating that the Daedric princes could enter this world with ease. This caused Asia to feel a chill running through her body.

"I-I see… this is serious…" Asia said in a whisper, then looked at her husband and asked him the question she should have asked before she burst into a poorly contained fit of anger. "Ed… Where were you? What were you doing with Zakir?"

Upon hearing Asia's question, Edzard smiled and, opening his mouth, tried to talk about it, but before he could even say anything, there was a knock at the door. Hearing this, Akatosh's son asked who it was and the person who responded was the leader of the maids. The devil entered the room and told him that the two individuals he had brought to the palace had awakened. When the girl finished saying that and after apologizing, she withdrew, leaving the couple alone.

Asia was completely confused by what she had heard, as she didn't know exactly what was going on, since Edzard had forbidden anyone to tell Asia about those two individuals. This was because it was Edzard himself who wanted to tell her about them.

"Ed, what's going on? Who are the two people you mentioned?" Asia asked with quite a bit of curiosity in her voice.

"Do you remember you asked me why I wasn't there when our daughter was kidnapped, right?" Edzard asked, causing Asia to nod. "The reason was simple, or at least I hoped… the truth is that it all started as an infiltration into the Castle of the God Hades in the Land of the Dead."

Asia's eyes widened at those words, as she was aware that Hades was one of the most powerful gods in the world. This made her scared and she wondered why her husband had gone, so without wasting a second, she asked.

"We went to Hades' castle to verify a 'vision' that Zakir had of something there… believe me, it sounds like a stupidity, but what I discovered there was very revealing… first, we found Lilith, the wife of the original Lucifer… second, I discovered that Zakir is the Champion of Meridia."

"The Champion of Meridia?!" Asia shouted in surprise upon hearing her husband.

"Yes, I was as surprised as you. But it's the truth, that furball has been in the service of Meridia since the Second Era."

"I see… and… what else happened?"

Edzard continued recounting what had happened, telling her that Meridia herself had appeared, something that froze Asia's blood again. Knowing that another Daedric prince had appeared caused her a lot of concern for the future. Even so, after that, Asia noticed that Edzard let out a sigh, something that confused her, as Edzard didn't usually sigh so much in a single conversation, unless delicate topics were being discussed.

Seeing her husband in that state, Asia was about to say something, but before she could even say anything, he took her hands and, squeezing them gently, looked her in the eyes.

"Ed?" Asia asked with some concern at the way her husband was behaving.

"I will tell you what happened in the end… you see, Asia… When we arrived at Hades' laboratory, we found two people enclosed in capsules…"

"Two people enclosed in capsules?"

"Yes… but they were not ordinary people…" Edzard replied, leaving a silence before uttering his next words. "The people we found, one of them was someone Zakir knew… a person who was born in the Duchy of Alcaire during the second era…"

Edzard's words made Asia's eyes widen as a crazy and unusual idea formed in her mind. An idea that she knew should not be possible, but, even so, a part of her wished it were. This feeling began to make her feel somewhat anxious, so she asked a question. "Ed… who were they…?"

"The man's name was Marcoryan, Asia… and next to him was who we only assume is his wife… so… you could say we found your parents…"

The sunlight was coming in through the three large windows of one of the largest rooms in the medical area of Edzard's palace. In the middle of that room, on two beds that had been put together, two people were sitting.

These people were sitting, observing the place with curiosity and, above all, with suspicion. This was due to the last thing they remembered. The names of these people were Marcoryan Cumberland and Zephyra Argento, both parents of Asia. The couple was looking at the place with bewilderment because the last thing they remembered was the hunt that Hades had subjected them to.

The couple had not been awake in this place for long, so they were still somewhat bewildered. When Marcoryan woke up, the first thing he did was to get up abruptly, observe the whole place and put a hand on his left side, the place he remembered had been grotesquely wounded by Hades. However, when he ran a hand over it, he realized that the wound was not there. This made his eyes open wide, but above all they opened wide when he realized that he was in an unknown building. He was about to move when he heard the moans at his side. Turning his head, he saw his wife, who got up in a similar way to him. After looking into each other's eyes, they both tried to approach each other, only to be interrupted by a young girl dressed as a maid. The girl had come to check their condition and, upon seeing them, she asked them how they were feeling. Before either of them could ask her a question, she quickly left, saying that her lord would be there soon to speak with them.

"Marc…" said Zephyra, calling her husband. The voice the woman used was soft, almost like the chirping of birds on spring mornings.

"Yes, dear." Responded Marcoryan, who stopped looking forward and set his eyes on his wife. "What's up?"

"Where do you think we are?"

His wife's question made the son of the Duke of Alcaire bring a hand to his chin, beginning to think. He was thinking about several possibilities, but none made any common sense. This was due to several factors. Many of these had been considered by the man's mind.

"I don't know… by the architecture of the place, I would tell you that it is a palace, which in the first place could indicate that we are in some noble's place, perhaps a devil, one who may be affiliated with the devil you have as a contractor." Responded Marcoryan, mentioning the devil with whom his wife had a contract.

Upon hearing her husband's response, Zephyra looked at the ceiling, thinking about the devil with whom she had formed a pact. This was because she was a magician, a magician who did not belong to any lineage of magicians, at least officially, as she had been the illegitimate daughter of a magician and one of his maids. When the magician found out about his maid's pregnancy, he expelled her from the mansion, throwing her a bag with a few thousand dollars, telling her to leave and never come back. Her mother had left the country, traveling from Italy to the U.S., where she was educated and where one day she met a devil, with whom she made a pact. The relationship with that devil was good to the point where they became very good friends, and that friendship was what made the devil teach her magic, thus discovering her lineage.

'Heh, heh, heh… I wonder what she's doing right now… I suppose she's still in Japan.' Zephyra thought with a mental smile, which soon disappeared, as she had something more important to look for and that was, to find her daughter. The mere memory of her daughter made her remember everything that had happened before her strength ran out and they were captured by Hades. This caused Zephyra's eyes to begin to fill with tears, something that was noticed by her husband, who wasted no time and wrapped her in his arms.

"Calm down, Zephyra… Don't cry…" said Marcoryan, trying to calm his wife. Although, those words were not only for her, but also for him, as he was in a similar state. This was because since he had awakened, the only thing that had occupied his mind, apart from the issue of their current location, was the safety of their only daughter.

Although the heir to the Duchy of Alcaire was in a state of distress similar to his wife's, he could remain calmer thanks to his upbringing during his youth, where he was educated to control his emotions and not let them be a tool that his enemies could use. All of this had been with a single goal: to make him the perfect prospect for a consort when he married Selene, thus assuming the future position of king consort of High Rock.

"(Snif) B-b-but how do you expect me to calm down… (Snif) We don't know how she is (Snif) We don't know where she is… (snif) We don't know if she's cold or hungry (Snif)"

Zephyra's words struck Marcoryan's mind like the impact of a Riekling's spear on a pumpkin, causing his concern to increase. This made him unconsciously increase the strength with which he was hugging his wife, causing her to feel a bit uncomfortable.

The discomfort from the increased strength of her husband's hug caused Zephyra to let out a soft moan of pain, which made him realize that he was slightly hurting his wife, so without thinking twice, he decreased the strength with which he was hugging her.

"I'm sorry…" Marcoryan whispered, apologizing for the slight pain he had caused her.

"Don't worry, it's okay… sometimes I forget how strong you are…" said Zephyra as she tried to smile a little.

Seeing her attempt to smile, Marcoryan also tried to smile, but he couldn't, as he didn't feel it was right to smile with all the worry, they both had on their shoulders. Even so, despite not smiling as such, the couple entered an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, which provided them with comfort and calm.

Unfortunately, that atmosphere was interrupted when they heard voices outside the room. Those voices brought them back to reality, so, letting go of each other, they waited to see who was coming through the door. And fortunately, they didn't have to wait long.

The door opened slowly, almost as if the person entering was afraid to open it. Even so, the door made a deep creak when it opened, causing the gaze of the two in the room to fix on those who were about to enter.

The moment the first silhouette entered the room, the couple's eyes opened a bit, as they realized it was a young man of about eighteen years old. The appearance of this young man didn't tell them anything about him, except for some features that Marcoryan thought he had seen in the past, but for the moment he couldn't remember in whom.

The young man did not have the presence of a supernatural being, so for a second, they ruled out that he was a supernatural being, but that changed when Marcoryan noticed something peculiar. And it is that, due to the time he had spent in this world, he had become accustomed to measuring the powers of those he saw using the parameters of this world, but on this occasion, the son of the Duke of Alcaire decided to use the method he used when he was in Nirm. The moment he did, Marcoryan's heart almost came out of his chest, this due to the fright he got, because when he felt the level of Magicka in the young man, he felt that he was in front of the seas of the city of Dagger Jump, but not when they were calm, but when they were totally agitated by a great storm.

The pressure and the presence of that large amount of Magicka caused Marcoryan to unconsciously take his wife's hand, causing her to look at him with concern, as she, for the first time in her life, had seen her husband put on a face of fear in that way. Feeling panic, she slowly looked at the young man and saw nothing special in him, so she whispered to her husband. "Marc… What's wrong with you? Why are you so scared?"

"I think it's due to the large amount of Magicka I possess." The young man replied, drawing the couple's attention.

The mention of the energy used by the natives of Aurbis caused the couple's eyes to open wide.

"H-how do you know about Magicka?" asked Marcoryan, who couldn't believe that someone knew about that energy. This was because since he arrived in this world, he had been looking for more beings like him, but he found no one, not even the person who had used the spell with him years ago.

"That's easy… I'm also from Aurbis… it's a pleasure to meet you, Marcoryan Cumberland, heir to the Duchy of Alcaire…" said the young man, putting a smile on his face, which for strange reasons did not raise the couple's alarms.

The mention of his old title made Marcoryan uncomfortable, while his wife was astonished, as she thought that only she knew about her husband's past. But it seemed that this was not the case, as this boy knew about him and that raised many questions, questions that her husband also had and that he asked.

"How? How do you know that?" asked Marcoryan, frowning and subtly gathering a little Magicka in his right hand, but when he did so he realized that he had a minuscule amount of this energy, which made him stop abruptly, as he realized that even a «Solar Flare» ball would be as big and powerful as a spark from a dying fire.

"You shouldn't get so upset, I'm not your enemy, in fact, I'm your ally… no, the truth is that I'm something closer than that… but first, before we have this talk, there is someone who wants to see you and I'm sure you also want to see her." said the boy, walking towards the door, then extending his hand, which was taken by another hand.

The boy's words confused the couple, who were grateful that he said he was not their enemy, but at the same time they did not understand what he meant by him being more than an ally. However, what caused them the most confusion was mentioning that there was someone who wanted to see them and that they also wanted to see her. That expression could only refer to very few people and this only seemed to reinforce the fact that this boy knew who they were, which caused even more confusion in them… But that changed when the person who had taken the boy's hand presented herself to them.

The couple's eyes opened as wide as possible when they saw a younger, blonde-haired version of Zephyra enter the room. The breath of the two adults began to leave their lungs when they saw her, beginning to feel overwhelmed by a great number of emotions.

'It can't be…' thought Zephyra when she saw the young woman in front of her eyes. The woman was amazed to see that young woman, who could only be described as a miniature version of her with hair and eyes of a different color. Even so, despite the surprise, she recognized her immediately upon observing her better, so while her eyes filled with tears, she unconsciously began to move, abruptly standing up and approaching the girl, no, approaching her daughter. However, because her body had been unused for a long time, her legs didn't have much strength, so she ended up tripping and falling to the ground.

"Zephyra!" Marcoryan shouted when he saw his wife fall to the ground, moving to try to catch her. He had been just as surprised as his wife to see their daughter, who seemed older than he expected, which made him wonder what had happened after they were captured by Hades. Even so, even though he didn't quite understand what was happening, he quickly identified his daughter, so he tried to do the same as his wife. Fortunately, his Nirmnian body had recovered better than his beloved wife, so he was able to stay better on his feet, but when he saw how Zephyra fell, he quickly threw himself to catch her, but even though his body was better recovered, he didn't have the necessary strength to catch her.

Zephyra's eyes closed, expecting the pain of the impact. However, that pain never came, as it was replaced by a hug, which caused her to open her eyes. Upon opening her eyes, her light brown eyes met a pair of green eyes. Both gazes crossed, showing that they were tearful, but that alone was enough for both mother and daughter to recognize each other and without wasting a single second, they hugged each other tightly, crying with happiness.

While mother and daughter cried with happiness, Marcoryan watched everything with tearful eyes while being held by the young man. He had stumbled when trying to help his wife, but before falling he was caught by the young man, who moved very quickly. After that, he saw how his daughter caught his wife, and they both began to cry as they hugged each other.

"Moving, isn't it?"

The young man's voice caught his attention. Shifting his gaze towards him, he noticed something upon looking at him more closely: his eyes.

'Those eyes are not normal… no human, not even in Nirm, has eyes with those facets… yet… that eye color and the shape of his jaw… No… it can't be…' Marcoryan thought in astonishment, as he saw in the young man a person, he believed to be dead. "Y-you…"

"It would be better to answer that question in a moment. Something tells me you want to know what's happening, right?"

Hearing the young man's suggestion, Marcoryan could only nod, as it was a sensible idea. So, looking ahead, he saw his daughter helping his mother to stand up. That image filled him with pride, but also concern, as he noticed that his daughter seemed to be injured in some way, as her posture indicated that she was using certain parts of her body to divert pressure to other areas. This worried him, but he decided to leave the doubts for later, during their conversation.

After those moments, both Marcoryan and Zephyra were taken back to their respective beds, where they were left by the two young men. After that, they watched as the young man brought a chair, which he placed in front of them and where their daughter sat, not before giving a loving look to the young man, something that caused Asia's parents' eyebrows to raise in curiosity.

"Well, I suppose you have several doubts…" said the young man, sitting down in a chair, which he placed next to where his daughter was sitting.

"More than you can imagine, young man… but there's one thing I want to know first…" said Marcoryan, taking his eyes off the young man and looking at his daughter. "How old are you now, Asia?"

Marcoryan's question caused his daughter to tilt her head to one side for a second, then open her eyes with some surprise. After that, she gave him and his wife a look of both sadness and concern.

"This… What's the last thing you remember, Dad?" asked Asia, saying the word 'Dad' with some difficulty, something that saddened Marcoryan a bit, but he understood that it wasn't easy for his daughter to use that word, as she surely never used it until now.

"The last thing I remember… is the hunt that Hades subjected us to after your birth… although, I don't know why the God of the underworld started hunting us in that way."

The answer he gave made his daughter and the young man look at each other, so that she then looked back at them.

"I-I don't know how to say it, but… I'm seventeen years old… you were captured by Hades for seventeen years…"

The revelation of the years that had passed caused Asia's parents to open their eyes as wide as possible, turning to stone, as they did not expect so much time to have passed. While the mention of the years hit both hard, in Zephyra the blow was greater, as she understood why her daughter looked this age, also understanding that she had missed the best moments of what should have been her life with her, moments such as her first steps, her first words, among others.

That revelation and understanding of the facts caused the eyes of Asia's mother to fill with tears again, but even though she wanted to cry and curse Hades for having stolen her time with her daughter, she decided not to cry, as she wanted to know everything that had happened.

"I-I see… so seventeen years have passed…" said Marcoryan, feeling downcast. Even so, he looked at his daughter and asked her a question he feared to ask… a question that would reveal the kind of life she had led… "Asia… H-how have you lived all this time?"

His father's question caused Asia to shudder slightly. Fortunately, it was so slight that her parents didn't notice. Even so, she didn't answer them immediately, but looked at the young man next to her, causing her parents to raise an eyebrow again, but this time reaching two possible conclusions… the first, and the one they feared the most, was that this young man had their daughter as some kind of hostage, while the other, one that Marcoryan didn't like much, was that this boy was her lover, something normal in young people of that age.

After several seconds, Asia finally opened her mouth and began to narrate her childhood in the church, being stopped every so often by her parents, who asked her specific questions about some events. Finally, they reached the tensest moment to narrate in Asia's history, her exile and excommunication.

Marcoryan's face showed an innate desire to destroy something, or rather, to destroy a certain religious organization on Earth, all born from the anger he was feeling at that moment. That boiling anger was born from the fact that his only daughter had just told him that she had been kicked out of the church for which she had given her entire existence, just for the mistake of healing a devil. Even though he, thanks to his diplomatic training, could see his daughter's mistake in healing a devil, he also saw the hypocrisy of the church in banishing someone who only follows the teachings of the biblical God, which spoke of helping your neighbor, whether this one is an enemy or not…

"Honey, calm down…" Zephyra whispered when she saw her husband so upset.

Marcoryan's response to these words was to let out a growl, which worried both Asia and Zephyra, but in fact, it brought a smile to the young man, who put his hand on Asia's shoulder, as it seemed that it was time for him to introduce himself to the couple. Seeing the young man stand up, the curiosity they had felt about him caused Marcoryan to calm down a bit.

"Even though we have already met, I must introduce myself formally." said the young man, putting a smile on his face. "Nice to meet you, my name is Edzard Rolandson Cumberland."

The mention of the boy's name caused Marcoryan and Zephyra to look at him in surprise, as they did not expect the Cumberland surname, nor the Nordic surname… It was there, at that moment, that Asia's parents realized something… The reason why the boy could have that surname only had two explanations: the first, that he had adopted it for Asia, or perhaps… he was the son of Selene, Marcoryan's ex-fiancée.

"W-w-w-what?" asked Marcoryan, still in shock.

Hearing that question, Edzard decided to add fuel to the fire, so, making a small bow he spoke again. "I am the son of Selene Cumberland, and I am also Asia's husband… It's a pleasure to meet you, dear in-laws."

Edzard's revelation caused Zephyra and Marcoryan's jaws to drop in surprise, leaving them completely speechless and looking between Edzard and Asia, who were reacting differently. Asia was completely blushing, averting her gaze, but still, there was a small smile on her face, indicating that she liked that Edzard had introduced himself as her husband without hesitation or doubt. On the other hand, Edzard was holding back his laughter at the expressions his in-laws were making.

Asia's parents were silent for a while, internalizing what they had just heard. The internal reaction of both was different. For his part, Marcoryan was incredulous, as he could not understand how Selene had had a child, if he had been looking for her non-stop since he arrived on earth and even when he started his romance with Zephyra, he did not stop looking for his relative. However, here, in front of him was a son of hers, who was married to his daughter, something that left him completely speechless. For her part, Zephyra was torn between absolute happiness and sadness, happiness because her daughter apparently had married someone who at first glance seemed to be someone trustworthy, and sadness was for not having been present at such an important moment of her daughter.

'At least for now it doesn't seem like there are any grandchildren…' Marcoryan and Zephyra thought in unison, realizing that there was no infant in the room, indicating that there was no grandchild.

After that thought, the room fell into complete silence, which was broken when out of nowhere Marcoryan burst into laughter, almost falling off the bed. The man's reaction came from the revelation he had when he noticed some things.

"Ha, ha, ha…! Oh, by the gods! This is so ironic!" Marcoryan laughed in amusement, worrying everyone.

"Marcoryan… what's going on? Why are you laughing like that?" Zephyra asked, worried about her husband's sanity, fearing that knowing their daughter had gotten married might have driven him mad.

Just like Asia's mother, Asia herself and Edzard were looking at her father with concern, but to everyone's relief, Marcoryan stopped and, looking at Edzard, asked him a question.

"So, you're Selene's son… Yeah, you have that same sly smile as her. I suppose she's here, tell me… why hasn't she come to say hello?" Marcoryan asked with a smile, as he wanted to see his relative, who was not only that, but also his best friend. However, his smile and the good mood he had obtained from knowing that Selene had had a son vanished when he saw his son-in-law's eyes darken. Feeling a bit scared of the answer, he asked, "What happened to Selene?"

The answer that the boy began to give, which was the story of his family, made Marcoryan and Zephyra feel a bit sorry for him, but not only that, but they were also surprised to learn that the boy had been born and raised in Aurbis. However, despite having doubts, they did not interrupt him, clearly listening to everything and watching in surprise as their daughter took his hand, giving him support. That action made them see that they both loved each other very deeply, so they knew it was true love that united them.

Asia's parents continued to listen attentively, especially the part where he mentioned that he was a Dovahkiin, something that surprised Marcoryan, who just smiled, saying that his father and Edzard's grandfather would have been more than delighted to know this, because thanks to the marriage of Edzard and Asia, the Cumberland dynasty would be of the Dragon Blood in its entirety. After that comment, the young man continued telling his story, explaining how Asia had arrived at Aurbis, something that surprised her parents, but even so, they felt happy that she had managed to find happiness there. Finally, the whole conversation took a turn when Edzard mentioned Marie, the daughter that he and Asia had, causing Asia's two parents to almost faint from surprise. Even so, after recovering, they continued talking until Edzard finally finished telling them the fate of their parents.

"I see… so Molag Bal…" said Marcoryan while his eyes were shadowed by his hair. The joy he felt knowing that he had a granddaughter to spoil had been overshadowed by the news of what had happened to his relative. Even so, getting up, he looked at his son-in-law. "Edzard… I want to see them."

The single and forceful phrase that Asia's father blurted out took everyone by surprise, even Edzard, who didn't think his father-in-law had the stomach for something like that in his state. Even so, he nodded, as he had noticed that he was a very stubborn person, a trait he shared with his mother.

Getting up from his chair, Edzard was about to approach him, but before he even took a step, his hand was taken by Asia, who gave him a worried look, which arose from the concern she had about how this could affect her father's mind in his current state. The answer Edzard gave her was a look, which conveyed everything he thought about this. That exchange of glances was all they needed to communicate, so in the end, Asia let go of her husband's hand, while letting out a sigh.

After that, Edzard approached his father-in-law and, moving a hand, conjured a glass bottle, whose red content caused Marcoryan's eyes to open, giving way to an amused smile.

"Wow… you really are a box of surprises… tell me something, did you make it?" Marcoryan asked as he extended his hand, taking the bottle.

His father-in-law's words caused Edzard to smile, giving him a nod in response. Seeing Edzard's response, Marcoryan took a deep breath and, bringing the bottle to his lips, drank its contents in one gulp. The taste of the liquid invaded Marcoryan's mouth, causing him to open his eyes, as this potion tasted very different from the ones he was used to, it tasted good, something different from the potions of the second Era, which usually tasted like goblin urine, something mentioned by some people, not that he had drunk goblin urine.

After drinking the potion, a golden light covered Marcoryan's body, healing his wounds. This event caused Zephyra's eyes to open wide.

"In-incredible." Zephyra stammered, who couldn't believe what she was seeing. This was because, being a more than accomplished mage, Zephyra had never seen something like this in her life, something that her mind quickly compared to the famous Phenex tears sold by the homonymous devil clan. "What is that potion?"

The question thrown by Edzard's mother-in-law was answered by her daughter, who was by her side, so she could speak comfortably without raising her voice too much.

"It's a definitive class healing potion made with Nirm plants." Asia replied, putting on a smile, as she had never expected to be able to speak like this with her mother in her life.

Her daughter's answer caused Zephyra to quickly look at her, opening her eyes in surprise to see how her daughter seemed to know how to make those potions. It was at that moment that she had an idea, especially seeing how she had healed her husband. So, looking at her daughter, she asked. "Asia, dear… could you give me one of those potions to heal myself?"

Not a second passed from the time she asked that question until she received the answer, with her son-in-law responding.

"I'm sorry, but that's impossible."

The response was so quick and decisive that it made both Marcoryan and Zephyra quickly turn their heads, looking at Edzard.

"W-w-why?" asked Zephyra, who was still in shock from the speed and frankness with which Edzard had answered her.

"You are a pure earthling, ingesting food or substances that originate in Nirm would be the same as taking nitroglycerin mixed with TNT… I don't have to tell you what will happen to you, do I?" The answer Zephyra heard caused both her and Marcoryan to be surprised, but at the same time they wondered how they knew it.

"If you wonder how we know, I will just say that we have already tested that theory." Edzard commented, who realized that his in-laws were trying to figure out how he knew that.

The reaction that Edzard and Asia observed after Akatosh's son's response was not unexpected at all, as they knew that what Edzard had done was not something a good person would do, but they hoped they would understand that it was a necessary measure. Fortunately, they realized that they understood that these actions were necessary, cruel, but necessary.

"I see… we won't ask for the moment, but after this, I would like to have a deeper conversation with you, Edzard… just the two of us…" said Marcoryan, who after feeling renewed by the potion, got up and started walking towards where his wife and daughter were. Upon arrival, he approached his wife and gave her a kiss. After that, he put his hand on his daughter's head and slightly messed up her hair, causing Asia to pout, which caused those present to smile amused.

After that, Edzard and Marcoryan said goodbye, leaving Asia with her mother.

The atmosphere that followed the sound of the door closing was one of discomfort, but not the discomfort that comes from hatred or contempt, but the discomfort that arose from the inability to start a conversation between two people.

Both Asia and Zephyra were facing each other, looking at each other and looking away, unable to start a decent conversation. When one tried to open her mouth, the other did it at the same time, causing them to interrupt each other countless times. Fortunately, after more than fifteen attempts to communicate with each other, Zephyra managed to say the first words of what would be the first mother-daughter conversation they would have since Asia's birth.

"So married and with a daughter…" said Zephyra, not in a tone of reproach, but in a tone of sadness. "I really missed the best moments I could have spent with you, Asia."

The way her mother spoke to her caused Asia to look up and she was not too surprised to see her tear up a little. This was because she was also a mother now and could understand how her own mother felt, as just thinking about being separated from her daughter was already a torment for her, she couldn't even begin to understand how she was feeling right now. The only thing Asia could do, which was more instinctive than anything else, was to hug her.

The moment Zephyra felt her daughter's hug, she let the tears run like waterfalls again. This was because, since they woke up, she and her husband had focused on knowing where they were to then inform themselves of their location and go out to look for their daughter, whom they thought would be at most two or three years old, but reality was not like that. It was a hard blow for them, but unlike her husband, who could better control his emotions, she was always too emotional, so the fear of knowing that so much time had passed and that her daughter was almost an adult became palpable in the possible rejection they could suffer from Asia. However, it seemed that her daughter did not hate them, and she would be eternally grateful to any deity for this.

The hug between mother and daughter lasted a good while and when they separated, they both smiled and let out a giggle, as they realized they were very similar.

"So… dear… what is your husband like?" asked Zephyra once she stopped smiling, putting on the most serious face she could at this moment.

The way her mother asked about Edzard sparked Asia's curiosity about how she did it, but after thinking for a few seconds, she realized something. She noticed that her mother wanted to know what kind of person Edzard was, and she feared that her mother would not approve, not because she would accept anything she was told, but because she wanted her entire family to get along.

Seeing that her daughter seemed to be afraid of what she might say upon hearing about the young man, Zephyra smiled and began to stroke her hair, humming a soft song, which, strangely enough, began to calm Asia's nerves.

"Don't think I want to separate you from your husband, dear. As much as it hurts me, you are almost an adult, and I must respect your decision." Zephyra said, smiling with some sadness, yet her words caused any doubt Asia had to dissipate, so smiling, she began to talk to her about Edzard.

Zephyra listened attentively to her son-in-law, smiling with each word her daughter commented, as it was noticeable that there was a lot of love in each word she said. Thanks to her daughter's words, she learned that her son-in-law was not the kindest person she could find, as Asia did not hide anything.

'That boy… How much does he carry on his shoulders?' Zephyra thought sadly after hearing everything her daughter had told her. What her daughter had said about Edzard made her realize that the boy had some mental problems, he did not have any madness, but he did have some disorders, which were very common in war veterans. 'I will have to talk about this with Marcoryan when he returns… that boy, no, Edzard, cannot continue like this… not only for his own good, but also for my daughter and granddaughter…'

"Mom… can I ask you for advice?" Asia asked, pulling Zephyra out of her thoughts. Hearing her daughter's question, Zephyra looked at her and felt something well up inside her. A smile appeared on her face knowing that apparently there were some things she could teach her daughter.

"Of course! What do you want to know, daughter?"

Asia's lips opened, trying to ask the question, but before she could even say anything, her mind remembered something important, something she hadn't told her.

"Asia?" Zephyra asked as she watched her daughter seem worried about something. "Is something wrong?"

"Y-y-yes…" Asia replied, who turned her face away, causing her mother's concern to increase slightly.

"What is it?"

"W-well… it happens that Ed has concubines and…"

"What?" Zephyra asked in shock, her eyes wide open at hearing that, beginning to seriously think that her son-in-law was not a good person at all. However, before she could even make a fuss, Asia beat her to it.

"W-well you see…" Asia said with some shyness, as she didn't know how to start. However, she knew she had to explain quickly, before her mother got the wrong idea about what was happening and ended up thinking that Edzard hadn't consulted her about anything, so gathering a lot of courage, she began to explain everything.

Zephyra's mind, which had initially been in shock, began to piece together the whole picture of what was happening, thanks to what her daughter was telling her. She listened to all of it for several minutes, until finally her daughter finished telling everything… and if she was honest with herself, part of her wanted to give her daughter a good slap and another part wanted to congratulate her for her maturity. While it is true that she came from a traditional Catholic home, her exposure to the supernatural world thanks to the devil with whom she had a pact had made her see somewhat ambiguous situations that would be considered abnormal in normal human families, the most common situation being polygamy. She knew that most people with influence linked to the supernatural world had a harem, but she didn't expect that there could be harems in Nirm, based on what her husband had told her. However, it seemed she was wrong. Even so, she was not comfortable with it.

"Are you sure you want to maintain that kind of relationship?" asked Zephyra, who was worried that her daughter might get hurt by this. However, the response she received from her daughter made her see that she shouldn't worry so much about it.

"Yes… at first it didn't seem right to me, but now… I can't imagine a life without them being with us…"

"I see… And from the way you talk, I suppose you want my support for something that has happened with them, right?"

"Yes…"

"Well, then… tell me everything."

While Asia and her mother began to create their mother-daughter relationship, Edzard was walking with Marcoryan. Their pace was calm but hurried.

"So… Is this castle in a pocket realm?" Marcoryan asked as he observed the landscape outside the castle.

"Yes." Edzard responded somewhat rigidly.

Seeing the way Edzard responded, Marcoryan just smiled amused, as he found it funny that he spoke to him like that.

"What name have they given to this realm?"

"We have not chosen yet, but there are some names on the table."

"I see… Can I ask you some questions?" Marcoryan asked after turning a corner, arriving at some stairs.

"Sure, I see no problem, as long as they are sensible questions."

"Relax, they are not weird questions… Tell me something, what are you doing to treat your Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?"

The mention of that psychological condition caused Edzard to stop abruptly.

"What?" Edzard asked, squinting his eyes, as he felt his father-in-law had just called him crazy.

"Ahhhh… Look, kid, don't try to intimidate me… I know you are much more powerful than me and that if we were on opposite sides, I would have no chance against you. But we are not on opposite sides, and I know you won't attack me…"

"What makes you think I can't do it?" Edzard asked, moving his fingers, conjuring magic in them.

The way Edzard moved his fingers in a threatening manner caused Marcoryan to smile with amusement.

"You're not a monster… at least not one that would attack someone just because…"

Hearing Marcoryan's response, Edzard smiled and shook his head.

"You know nothing…"

"I know, that's why I want to know… it's not good for you or my daughter and much less for my granddaughter that you keep everything to yourself… when you married Asia, they promised to carry their problems together. So, trust her, trust me… I know we just met, but your mother was my best friend, and you are my daughter's husband… you were there for her in her worst moment, not only that, by the way she looks at you, I've realized that you are special to her…"

The way Marcoryan spoke caused Edzard to blush a bit, as it felt strange to be praised by his father-in-law, as fathers-in-law usually seemed to hate their daughters' husbands. Feeling increasingly embarrassed by Marcoryan's words, Edzard decided to respond.

"O-okay… I promise I will talk to Asia and the rest of the girls about my problems."

"Good, that's better… Wait… it seems to me, or did I hear you say 'the rest of the girls'… Don't tell me that…?" Marcoryan asked after noticing Edzard's words. The Breton's mind began to work a thousand times a second and, in an instant, he deciphered what was happening. "You have a harem, don't you?"

The way Marcoryan mentioned the word Harem made Edzard feel somewhat intimidated, as there was nothing but fierce anger in his father-in-law's voice. Even so, he would not let himself be intimidated by him, so looking him in the eyes, he replied. "Yes, that's right."

Marcoryan's eyes widened as he heard Edzard respond to him so directly. Clenching his fists, the son of the Duke of Alcaire was about to give Edzard a good punch, but before even moving a finger, he decided to give the boy a chance to explain everything.

"Before I decide to hit you, I'll give you the opportunity to tell me why in the name of the divines you have a harem… I doubt Selene raised you like this… So, please, explain to me what's going on." Marcoryan asked with clenched teeth, who looked at Edzard in the eyes all this time.

Hearing the Breton's request, Edzard looked at him and after thinking for just a few seconds he nodded and sitting on the stairs, he indicated to Marcoryan to sit next to him. When the Breton sat next to him, Edzard began to tell him everything, like how the idea of the harem was somewhat driven by Asia, thus surprising Marcoryan, who just put a hand on his forehead. After that, Edzard continued to tell him everything, telling him that while he could fall in love with other women, he would never go behind Asia's back, so if anyone wanted to enter, she had to talk to Asia, who had the final decision in all this matter.

"I see… so that happened… a part of me doesn't want to accept it at all, but if my daughter is happy with this, I won't oppose. So… what is it like to have several women?" asked Marcoryan, blushing a bit, as it was a bit embarrassing for him to talk about this with Edzard.

"Umm… strange, incredible… Everything depends on the moments." Edzard said as he brought a hand to his chin.

"Really? Wow… I always thought that being a man surrounded by several women was something incredible, but I suppose it's not… well, we can leave that for later when you introduce them to me… they may not be my daughter, but I am part of the Cumberlands and so are they… so, now, take me to see Selene." said Marcoryan, standing up.

"Okay… let's go." said Edzard, standing up and walking to where his parents were locked up.

The duo of men walked calmly, arriving at where Edzard's parents were locked up.

"So, this is your laboratory… It's very well stocked." Marcoryan commented upon seeing the alchemy laboratory, which had several test tubes and other gadgets for potion making.

"Yes… I recommend you wait a moment; I will remove some of the seals so you can see them." said Edzard, walking to the entrance of the room where his parents were, placing his hand on the magical lock.

"Okay." Marcoryan's words were accompanied by his steps, as he walked to the table, where he sat and waited for his relative's son to remove the seals.

'That lock is strange… three rings with combination, an energy containment barrier, a paralyzing curse barrier… Truly formidable, even the highest-level dungeons in High Rock didn't have such security.' thought Marcoryan, observing all the barriers that had been deactivated. After seeing that the young man would take a while, he diverted his gaze, and it landed on the book that was on the desk. The moment he saw the content of the book, his eyes opened in surprise. Moving quickly, he began to flip through the pages. 'All… all are antidote recipes… But they are not normal antidotes, all the ingredients are very difficult to find, but not only that, among the mixtures he is using some fragments of Aetherius as stabilizers… The amount of money invested in this alone is comparable to the amount of money needed to rebuild a city three times…'

"It's ready…" said Edzard, pulling Marcoryan out of his daydream.

Upon hearing Selene's son, Marcoryan returned to reality and, leaving the book, approached where Edzard was. Upon arriving, he saw that the door was open and led to a passage.

"Is it here?"

"Yes… just enter the room and you will see them behind the barrier." Edzard replied with a somewhat sad and distant voice.

"Okay… I'll be right back."

After saying those words, Marcoryan walked towards the barrier. The steps of the duke's son were heavy, and so was his breathing. Each step made his heart weigh and worry filled his being. When he finally reached the barrier, his eyes opened in surprise and filled with tears. The person he considered his younger sister was sitting on a bed, wearing a white robe with pants of the same color. Her hair was tangled and when he set his sight, he realized that Edzard had told the truth, for her eyes were no longer green as before, but were blue.

"Selene…" Marcoryan whispered with a voice full of sorrow.

After that whisper, Marcoryan turned his head and saw Selene's husband. Upon seeing him, he realized that he was a Nord, but he was not a normal one, as he realized that his gaze seemed more lost than that of a normal person. The man was wearing the same clothes as Selene and was in the same state.

'Really the world is cruel… to think that they are so close to their son and cannot speak to him… to think that they are not capable of thinking for themselves… damn, damn it…' thought Marcoryan, feeling a mixture of sadness and anger in his being. Clenching his fists, he made them bleed while mentally swearing to help his son-in-law find a way to save them.

After his mental oath, he turned and began to leave the room, ready to talk to Edzard about everything that had happened in the past and what was happening now in the world.

While Edzard and Asia were talking with Marcoryan and Zephyra in one of the rooms of the medical wing, the rest of the girls who lived in the castle and were part of Edzard's group were resting. The sun came in through the window, allowing it to illuminate and warm the room.

The girls were in various beds, all of them connected to different machines, which monitored their health statuses.

In one of the beds was Rossweisse, who slowly began to move her eyelids, ending up opening them and waking up. Although she was not the only one, as next to her, the rest of the girls also woke up.

Author's Note:

To those who have made it this far, thank you for reading. To be honest, my English writing skills are not strong, and I'm relying on Google Translate and the dictionaries that come with Office 2019.

And here is Chapter 68… Wiiii…

New Year 2024 to everyone! May this year be a year of personal success and peace in your hearts and minds.

It took me time, not sleeping for days, but at least I managed to finish it… I hope you like this chapter.

Now, speaking of this, we see that it is more than anything an interlude chapter, where I finally manage to portray Asia's parents. It cost me a bit, but I hope you like how they behave. Now, about their past, little by little in the following chapters I will be presenting it to you.

Finally, about how the fanfic is going… I'm afraid things with my family have not calmed down and therefore I will have to take a break, this is being told to me by my psychologist (because yes, I had to go to one because I was starting to have panic attacks this week), so I will stop uploading chapters for a while. However, that does not mean I will stop writing, no, I will use this time to write the future of the fanfic, that is, to write my ideas to better connect them with what I already have advanced. If I'm lucky, when I come back, I will do it with a marathon of 3 chapters.

I apologize for any spelling errors. Please don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter, or if there's something that needs improvement, or if you have any questions about the story. Any constructive advice is welcome. With nothing more to say, see you in the next chapter.