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Hours Later

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"Reirei~!"

"You're awake~!"

Xinya and Nitro immediately hugged Xinrei as soon as he woke up and sat up in his infirmary bed.

When they let him go, they both noticed how his body had been returned back to normal. He had gained back all the weight that he had lost, and his power felt even stronger to them than before. Not only that, they were both happy to see how the life and sparkles in his eyes had returned completely as well.

"Hey, what's with you guys?? You already knew that I would be alright didn't you? You two didn't have that little faith in me, did you~?"

Xinrei lightly teased the two, surprising them both with his suddenly playful attitude.

It wouldn't have surprised them much, but none of them have seen this side of him for a very long time. However, they were still very happy to see this side of Xinrei return nonetheless.

"Pfft. We knew that you'd pull through. Don't insult us like that Rei"

Nitro playfully pouted and folded his arms.

"Yeah, I know~. It's just been a while since I've teased either of you~. But hey, where's da-"

"Xinrei~~~! You're finally awake~~!"

Renjun suddenly burst into the room after hearing Xinrei's voice.

He picked the boy up out of the bed, and swung him around as he hugged him in his loving embrace.

"Dad~! You really are back~!"

"I am~. I'm really sorry for leaving all of you like that Xinrei.."

"It's ok~. I understand why you did it now. And your plan worked in the end didn't it?"

"It did. But atoning for my sins and keeping you all safe wasn't the only part of my plan. I also wanted to find a way to get to Tristin's heart, and it worked"

"Get to his heart??"

"That's right. As most of us saw, the Tristin we know isn't his true nature. His tragic backstory was enough to prove that as well. And just like Tayden, he has a split personality that he also refers to as "Li". The problem at hand now is that Li has taken control of Tristin completely, and because of his broken heart, there's no telling what Li will make Tristin do"

"But he's not our enemy anymore right?? He knows that Tayden is with us and that were keeping him safe. And he even offered to spare us. So, what does that insinuate?"

Nitro asked.

"This does in fact mean that he's not our enemy, and its likely that Tristin doesn't see us as his enemies anymore, even if Li might see us that way later on. Now that he knows that Tayden did survive and he's in our care, he won't want to come after us anymore unless we go against him"

"And now that he knows that I'm alive as well, he'll really do his best to avoid us"

Doni added, walking into the room with Tayden right beside him.

"That's right.. I wanted to ask you something earlier Doni-hyung. Before, you said that you were the one that saved Tayden, and Tristin-hyung said that you two were friends. You even still refer to him as your best friend. But, on the day we met back in Ocean Town, you said that you were from another universe. You lied about that, didn't you?

"...That's right. I'm from the same dimension as Tristin, Tayden, and the Gang Stars. I lied about my origins and hid my identity to keep myself and Tayden safe. I didn't want to take him away from his father, and I didn't want to leave my best friend either, but I had no choice. With the state he was in, there was no telling what would've happened. Neither of us even knows what happened to the others..."

"The others?? You mean you both had more friends??"

"Correct. As you all know, Tristin came from a family of destroyer gods, and to make a long story short, they were rarely ever on the same page. They killed Ruby, and even though they failed to kill Tayden, they still took away someone that Tristin really loved and cared about. If they could take out their own son's wife, I have no doubt that they would've went after our friends as well. I escaped with Tayden to Ocean Town, but we have no idea if they got to our friends or not. But, why wouldn't they? They wanted to break Tristin's heart enough for him to become a real destroyer, so why wouldn't they go after them too..?"

"They even had spies that would look into my father's secret life. They pretty much knew everything about me and my mother. It's entirely possible that they knew about father's friends too. And what if some of his friends were spies in the end? If they were threatened by my family and forced to become spies, then father would've killed them too.."

Tayden sadly added to Doni's point.

"That may be, but there's also the chance that they survived like you did Doni-hyung. And who knows? If he did end up meeting some of the others on his rampage and found out that they were spies, he could've spared them"

"How can you be so sure Renjun?"

"You saw the look in his eyes too hyung. You saw that he had no intention of hurting us after you and Tayden came into the picture. Sure, he might've hurt Tayden, but that's only because Li is unstable. Back then, Li might not have been as dominant as he is now. There could be a possibility that he spared them in the end"

"I see.. I'm following you. If that's the case, we should hope for the best that they really are alive"

Doni smiled.

"..."

"Don't worry Tay. We'll get your father back again. We made a lot of progress before he left. There's definitely a chance that we can save him"

"I understand.. But how are we going to even get to him now..? I don't think any of us were able to get that tracking device on him.."

"Don't give up hope so soon Tayden~"

Doyoung cheered, suddenly popping into the room.

"What do you mean oppa? Did we actually succeed with that part of the plan??"

"That's right~. Renjun made it all possible~"

"Right when I got Xinrei out of Tristin's range, I used my Absolute Unpredictability to take the tracker from Doyoung-hyung and then planted on Tristin. He should have his exact location now"

Renjun explained.

"I sure do~! We just took a look at his current location, and Yuta-hyung confirmed that it's the exact same place that you two left from~"

"You guys are really amazing dad... Is this how cool you all were in your era..?"

"Well, I didn't have my Absolute abilities until the day I died saving Uncle Xinyi. None of us even had our Stands back then, and Jaemin was our only Keyblade Wielder. Back then, I only had eight out of the twelve powers that I have now. Then again, my Absolute power is technically ten powers in one. So technically I have at least twenty-one powers now.."

"TWENTY-ONE?!!"

"You're seriously overpowered dad.. And I love that~!"

Nitro excitedly exclaimed, putting a smile on Renjun's face.

He was happy to see how interested his kids were regarding his past and how many powers he had.

"This is why you've always been my favorite hero hyung. You have so many gifts and abilities, but you never let them make you overconfident in yourself. You remember where you came from and where you started, and you only use your powers when it's necessary. You never let your powers get to your head, and you always stay true to yourself. I've always wanted to grow up to be like you because of that. You're the perfect embodiment of what a hero should be"

Tayden explained to the older.

"You and me both Tay. There's also the fact that you never resort to killing your enemies, unless it can't be helped. You always try to find a way to save everyone. And you don't let your demon side hold you back or make you feel less than you are. That's exactly why I want to grow up to be a hero like you, and it's why I'm glad to have Ethora's number one hero as my father"

"Same here~"

"Couldn't have said it better myself Rei~. You took me in when I had nothing, and gave me the best family that I could ever ask for. I want to become a hero like you, that's always there for those that have nothing; and I want to be the type of hero that knows that family is everything, and that will take others in if they're in need"

"Kids... Come here you angels of mine.."

Renjun opened his arms, and all three of his kids eagerly hugged him.

Renjun was overjoyed by the words of his children, and overwhelmed by how he felt because of those words. He was also happy to finally embrace all of them at once since his return, knowing that being without him for half a year had its toll on the three. Seeing how much they've grown after all the time he was gone warmed his heart, but also broke it at the same time. He had been told everything that happened during his absence, and hearing how the kids reacted made him feel the most guilty.

However, he still hoped for the best in the future, and hoped that he wouldn't have to leave them again for any reason.