The Lord of Space stopped before Ion, who was lying on the ground, looking at him.
"Why are you so scared? Come on. Is there a need to act like that? No matter what, Iâm still your father after all," the Lord of Space said as he reached out his hand towards Ion.
"What father? Do you even remember how long ago it was before you left mother and me to go to your Isolation?" Ion retorted as he stood up, frowning.
"Are you still angry because of that?" The Lord of Space asked, sighing.
"Why did you even come back here? Leave! I donât want you here! I managed without you all this time, and I can do it now as well!" Ion said, furious.
"Why are you being a child?" The Lord of Space asked, frowning.
"Donât disturb me and leave. Iâm busy with something. I donât want you here!" Ion said again. "I told you, leave! Why did you even come here in the first place?"
"Howâs your mother?" The Lord of Space asked, not leaving.
"Why does it matter? She has nothing to do with you! Just go away. Or better, Iâll leave. You stay here!" Ion said as he furiously left his office.
The Lord of Space once again appeared near him and started following.
"Come-on! What do you want! Why are you here!" Ion said, stomping his foot on the ground.
"I donât want anything. I came to this world looking for something. I was just walking around in search when I felt your aura here. I decided to check out," the Lord of Space said.
"Hah, as expected. Youâre not even here for me. Instead, youâre here for something else. It just happened to be a convenient stop, isnât that right?" Ion said, sounding a bit disappointed.
"Not exactly. After being done here, I wanted to go meet you back home. Who knew Iâd meet you right here," the Lord of Space said, smiling.
"So, are you here for the Trial of Gods?" He asked.
"Yeah. Iâm the secret entry. I need to finish this trial before the others find out about me," Ion let out sharply.
"Not bad. I think youâre doing pretty good so far. If only you adjusted your spatial aura a little bit, you could be even more stealthy," the Lord of Space told Ion. "Come, let me teach you how to do that like old times."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"I donât want you to teach me anything! You werenât there most of my life, and I donât want you now either! Iâll do everything I want myself, including learning!"
"Thatâs why Iâm attempting this Trial! So I can get the right to be a true God! I donât need you. Leave!" Ion repeated again, but it didnât seem like the Lord of Space had any interest in listening to him."
"I understand what youâre trying to say. In short, youâre upset, and you want to do it yourself to prove yourself. Fine, I donât interfere. Iâll just wish you luck," the Lord of Space said as he sighed. "Iâll see you later after you succeed and come back home."
The Lord of Space disappeared after wishing Ion luck and resumed his search.
"Huh, the old man finally listened," Ion muttered as he walked back to his office. "Still, Iâm curious why he came here for. Does the other know about him? How did they let him come to the world of trials?"
"What am I even thinking? Thatâs my father. I doubt he told them what he was doing. And even if he told them, itâs not like they could stop him. No matter how disappointing he is as a father, heâs still a primary God in the Heaven, one of the strongest," he said as he sat on his chair inside his office.
...
Two gods and seven god-sons were on earth, excluding Ryder. While one god was searching for other, the other seemed to be in a search of his own for something he believed he could only find here.
As for Ryder, he was in a quest of his own to kill the remaining seven god-sons to get stronger and get him off the hook.
He was still waiting on the roof of Itsuki Corporation headquarters, waiting for Itsuki.
The door soon opened as Itsuki stepped forward. Soon, another Itsuki came out. It didnât take long for the third Itsuki to come out. One after another, more and more Itsukiâs kept coming out until soon; there were tens of Itsuki standing before Ryder.
"I assume one of you is the real Itsuki?" Ryder asked, frowning.
"Possibly," All the Itsukiâs answered at the same time.
"I assume you really are scared of me, arenât you?" Ryder asked.
"Not at all. You asked the real me to come, and I did. Now donât tell me to feed you like a baby. Iâm not going to make everything easier for you. You want to fight; then youâll use your strength. Similarly, this is my strength," Itsuki answered.
"I must say, Aluren was more brave than you," Ryder taunted Itsuki. "You, on the other hand, are a coward."
"Itsuki was braver than me? Is that why he is dead as well?" Itsuki asked, laughing.
"Ryder, Iâm not an idiot like Aluren. You know about me. Iâm not the one whose identity is hidden. Everyone knows about me. You, on the other hand, are someone who is keeping his identity hidden. I donât even know who your father is," he further said.
"So if you want me to come out in the open and fight you without any tricks, you must do the same. You must stop hiding behind your mysterious identity!"
As Itsuki spoke, it wasnât just one. Instead, all Itsuki was speaking at the same time.
"If you do that, I promise Iâll also stop what Iâm doing. Tell me the truth about you, and only the real me will be left," Itsuki further told Ryder.
"Is that so? Fine," Ryder said as the rain started.
Ryder had already used his skill long ago, which was why there were already clouds when Itsuki came to the top floor. He didnât find it strange at all.
And now that the clouds started raining, it also didnât feel out of place.
Itsuki didnât know that it was Ryderâs ruler of Water at play, bringing this rain. It wasnât a normal rain. Instead, it was the rain that decreased Itsukiâs strength while also increasing Ryderâs strength.
Ryder also brought the Moon Scythe out of his inventory and held it before Itsuki proudly.
"Iâll tell you the truth about me," Ryder said, laughing.
"Iâm the Son of the Lord of Time," he said, grinning.
"Youâre lying! You canât be! He had no son!" Itsuki blurted out in shock, not believing.
"Correction! He had no son that you know of. Iâm the one you didnât know. I was born in the future. He used his strength to send me back in time to do something important," Ryder said, using his art of bluffing.
"What did he send you to do? If youâre not lying, then tell me," Itsuki asked, frowning. Even though he didnât believe it, he didnât outright dismiss the possibility. He had checked Ryderâs records.
They were too thorough to be forged. It seemed like he did grow up here since childhood, unlike them. This could only be possible with the powers of the Lord of Time, who ruled over all time.
"I told you the truth about me; now you tell me the truth about you. Show me your fall self. Then we can talk further," Ryder told Itsuki. "You said you would."
"You still havenât proven your identity. Only after you tell me why he sent you here could it be proven," Itsuki said.
"He sent me to kill Aluren," Ryder answered, deepening his lie.
"He sent you to kill Aluren? Why? He could easily do that himself," Itsuki asked.
"He couldnât because he is trapped in the future. Aluren betrayed everyone and destroyed everything. Itâs only chaos in the future. Thatâs why he sent me back in time to make sure that I stop it before it happens," Ryder said, telling a movie story.
"What? What did Aluren do in the future?" Itsuki asked, shocked.
Ryder had lied so convincingly that even he slightly believed it.
"Thatâs enough. I already trusted you more than I should. You either trust me back, or I leave. In any case, I didnât fight to kill you. I only found out that you were searching for me, and I believed it could put innocent humans around me at risk."
"Moreover, if you had informed the others about me, things could get problematic for me. I canât be stopped from finishing my targets, or the future will be hell for all of us!" Ryder said.
"You mean there are more of them? You need to kill more of them? More of the god-sons that can destroy everything in the future?" Itsuki asked, frowning.
"Thatâs right. You werenât amongst them; thatâs why I didnât kill you yet," Ryder answered.