The car rolled to a gentle stop on the gravel driveway.
They reached their destination fairly quickly.
Before Henry could get out of the car, Neo opened his mouth.
"Wait a second."
"What is it?"
Henry paused mid-movement, his hand on the car door.
Noticing the seriousness in Neo’s expression, he hesitated and got back into his seat.
"Maybe we shouldn’t meet them. It will be too shocking for them to find out they are reincarnations—"
"Why?" Henry’s voice cut through Neo’s ramblings.
His dark eyes narrowed, scanning Neo’s face for answers."Why are you afraid?"
"I’m not…."
Neo stopped speaking with a sigh and closed his eyes.
He leaned back into the soft leather seat.
"Life is really shit, isn’t it?" he suddenly said.
Henry frowned.
He stayed quiet, waiting for Neo to speak further.
Neo tilted his head back, staring at the car’s ceiling as if searching for answers.
"Our family is cursed. The closer we are to each other, the worse deaths we will face. Mom and Dad are about to have a kid."
He paused for a few seconds.
"The curse should already be quite strong on them. If we try to make them our ’family,’ it won’t end well."
Henry didn’t respond immediately.
He didn’t ask Neo where he had found such information, nor did he question its credibility.
He trusted Neo enough to know he wouldn’t spout nonsense about something so serious.
"They should already be dead," Neo said.
His hands clenched into fists.
"I saved them by luck. But I can’t guarantee I can do that again."
Henry’s expression darkened.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Remember the labyrinth incident? They were supposed to die then.
"I met the Sphinx, and it told me how my interference changed the destined fate," Neo explained, mixing truth and lies.
"So? What are you planning to do? Don’t tell me you’re thinking we should stay away from them forever."
"No, of course not."
Neo shook his head firmly.
His lips pressed into a thin line as he stared out the window at the dimming sky.
"Dad was at least a Stage-5 God," Neo continued, "It seems like he wasn’t strong enough to destroy the curse that is responsible for our family’s reincarnations. ȒäɴôΒĚꞩ
"All I have to do is—"
"Be stronger than Dad," Henry interjected, completing Neo’s sentence.
"Yes. Until then, we should stay away from them."
"And how much time do you think you need to surpass Dad?" Henry questioned, tightening his grip around the steering wheel in frustration.
The news Neo revealed was stabbing daggers into his heart.
"He was the Ruler of the Underworld, Neo.
"That isn’t the level of strength you can reach anytime soon," Henry said.
Neo bit his lips.
He wanted to meet their parents just as much as Henry did.
But…
’We can’t do it. Not unless we want them to die again.’
Neo clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as he felt helplessness sink.
"You can sit here if you want to," Henry said abruptly, pushing the car door open.
"Where are you going?" Neo asked.
"Going to meet Dad, and help him clear the misunderstanding with Mom."
"I just told you—"
"We can’t be a family, but we can be friends at least. Even acquaintances is fine," Henry said.
Henry didn’t immediately enter the training center visible in the distance.
He stopped at the entrance, and turned back to look at Neo.
"You aren’t coming to meet him?"
"No," Neo said, shaking his head.
"Do as you wish," Henry replied, though a trace of disappointment lingered in his eyes.
Neo watched as Henry entered the premises.
The automatic doors slid shut behind him.
Neo’s fists clenched tighter.
Henry was strong—far stronger than Neo.
That was why he was confident about meeting George—Hades’ reincarnation.
’He knows he can protect Dad.’
But until when could Henry do that?
And…
’I’m sure he wants me to meet Dad too, but that would only strengthen the curse.’
Henry would handle the effects that would appear after his interference in their parents’ lives.
He would bear the burden of the curse brought by his presence.
’He told me to come with him since he was planning to handle the curse’s effect brought by my presence too.’
’But there is no way I can do that.’
Neo exhaled slowly.
He was no longer a kid.
He couldn’t ignore the curse, not when he couldn’t even handle the dangers that would appear after he entered the life of his parents’ current reincarnation.
Henry could, but not Neo.
"Life really is a sack of shit," Neo muttered.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he activated the Shadow Jump Spell.
The shadows beneath him rippled.
They pulled him in.
It felt like falling into cold, endless water.
He moved through the shadows, and when he opened his eyes again, he had reappeared inside the training center.
The well-lit interior buzzed faintly with activity.
The clinking of weights and muffled footsteps echoed in the vast, modern space.
Rows of equipment gleamed under the bright fluorescent lights, and the faint scent of metal and sweat hung in the air.
From afar, Neo spotted George.
George was on the ground, bleeding.
His breaths were shallow, and his face twisted in pain as blood stained the floor beneath him.
He seemed to have received a powerful punch to the abdomen that knocked the air out of him, leaving him helpless.
Even in such a state, his sharp features were visible clearly.
"Should we stop the training today?" the female trainer asked worriedly. "You have an important day today. It’s better if we stop now."
"I-it’s fine," George said, wiping the blood from his lips and standing up with effort.
He tried to mask his pain with a weak smile.
"What’s the point of training if I’m going to take a break every time I’m busy?"
His arms trembled from exhaustion.
His legs wobbed slightly.
Beads of sweat rolled down his face, and his chest heaved with labored breathes.
He seemed to be on the verge of fainting, yet he had no intention of giving up.
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