Sokram knew of many ways to help Hannah and Alain, but he withheld offering his assistance for two reasons.

First, he lacked a credible reason to justify his knowledge of a high-level Biomancy spell.

Second, he still needed their strength to ensure his family's safety.

Yet he silently promised himself that when the time came, he would reward them plenty.

“How safe is it for us to learn it, son?” Brunhild was the first to voice her concern.

Sokram’s response was calm and confident, as though the solution were simple. “Very safe. I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong, but there will be a small setback; you’ll lose three tiers in your cultivation level.”

“How do you know about this setback?” Hilda asked, her eyes narrowing as she tried to decipher how Sokram could possibly know so much about a technique he had only just discovered.

"Yesterday, while cultivating, something strange happened," Sokram began, rubbing his chin. "I had a sudden idea and started working on it… But instead of progressing, my cultivation regressed by half."

He glanced at their startled faces before adding, "Yet, at the same time, the energy in my core intensified. It was like…"

He hesitated, searching for the right words. " It was like… everything just clicked. I could see and access all my knowledge at once. New insights, calculations, everything. It felt like I was learning and discovering simultaneously, purely through inspiration. And when I realized, I was already forming my Chaos Energy Core."

His family stared at him, bewildered.

His choice of words left them puzzled. Sokram spoke as if unaware that he had achieved a state of enlightenment, a momentous milestone for any cultivator.

Yet that was precisely the impression he wanted to give.

“You call that an idea? Baby bro, what you experienced yesterday is called enlightenment. You must’ve read about it,” Astrid interjected, hoping to make him realize how extraordinary the event was.

“Oh... that was enlightenment?” Sokram feigned surprise, adopting a thoughtful expression as though piecing it together for the first time. “I guess it should be. I did gain a lot of inspiration and understanding while forming the Chaos Energy Core yesterday. So, that’s what it was...”

He trailed off, appearing lost in thought.

Internally, however, he cursed himself for the shameless act. But it was a necessary pretense.

Snapping back to attention, Sokram looked at them and asked, “So, who wants to go first? I guess it should be Astrid or Mom since their cultivation levels are the lowest among you all. But I’ll leave it up to you.”

He paused and then added, “Besides, I need to start physical training too, right? I can only guide one or two of you a day. I'm confident I will reach the level of half-awakened soon. Then I’ll have to join the city’s military academy. That should take about a year, but that should be plenty of time.”

As Sokram shared his plans, his family exchanged complicated looks.

He was astonishingly mature for his age, sometimes a bit too much so.

Yet, beneath it all, he remained a filial child who genuinely wanted to share his knowledge with his loved ones.

He even considered sharing his insights into Chaos Energy with Alain, a servant, whom Sokram treated as an Uncle.

None of Margiory’s grandchildren paid Alain any mind, and even Astrid only treated him with polite indifference.

But Sokram always showed him respect and consideration, an unprecedented gesture of kindness that touched the centenary warrior and the women of his family.

Hannah, however, found her thoughts drifting elsewhere.

‘Garuth, you fathered an extraordinary son. It’s just a shame your greed ruined everything. But I’ll make sure Sokram turns out nothing like you,’ she silently vowed.

Time passed swiftly, and six months later, Sokram’s training and guidance had borne fruit.

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All the women in his family had successfully started cultivating Chaos Energy and reformed their Vital Cores.

Sokram’s physical training also progressed at an extraordinary pace. However, the women were puzzled by one thing: Sokram hadn’t chosen a weapon.

Whenever they asked, he would reply, “None of them fit me.”

Yet he mastered the basics of every weapon he tried with ease, leaving them even more perplexed.

Their routine was suddenly interrupted one day when Sokram and Hannah were strolling through the merchant district.

While browsing the vibrant stalls, a prickling sensation crawled up Sokram’s spine. Someone was watching him.

He lifted his gaze, and his breath caught.

Time stopped for a moment.

The bustling marketplace faded into a blur, drowned by his heartbeat in his ears.

Old memories surged, bittersweet and overwhelming.

‘It’s her…’

His chest tightened, and his vision blurred, but he swallowed back all the emotions. ‘Not here. Not yet.’

Even disguised, he recognized her instantly.

In his previous timeline, she had used the same Wood Elf disguise.

Unlike Snow and High Elves, who descended from the Sun Elves, Wood and Night Elves descended from the Moon Elves' primordial race.

Her transformation was striking.

Instead of her silvery-gray hair and eyes, she now had chestnut hair and amber eyes, and her once pale skin had turned rich olive-toned.

While her racial appearance had changed, her features and physique remained unmistakable.

As their eyes met, Miralyn felt a jolt of surprise. ‘Did he recognize me? Impossible! We’ve never even met. But why is he looking at me like that? Am I imagining things, or is there affection in his gaze?’

Miralyn hesitated briefly but then began to approach.

Her son’s gaze flickered, and he smoothly adopted the demeanor of an unsuspecting boy, leaving her thoughts spiraling further.

‘What was that change? Was it some empathic link? Could he have sensed our bond?’

For the first time in years, she allowed herself to feel anything but sadness and self-loathing.

She allowed herself to hope.

Hope that she could be a part of his life, not as a distant figure but as a mother.

No longer feeling the need to watch from afar, Miralyn finally approached, drawing closer to where Sokram stood with Hannah.

Hannah, distracted by the stalls, only noticed Miralyn when she was near. “It seems the peaceful life in this small city has dulled your senses, Hannah,” Miralyn teased with a friendly smile.

“Nana, who’s the beautiful lady?” Sokram tilted his head with feigned innocence.

His silvery eyes gleamed mischievously as he added, “She feels familiar, like family.”

“A friend, darling,” Hannah replied, her expression conflicted. “A good friend I owe a great deal to.” She then turned to Miralyn. “Mira, why have you come?”

“Well, at least your Dragon Sight remains as sharp as ever,” Miralyn smiled, deflecting.

Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think an artifact I created could fool me?”

The growing hostility in her voice stirred the attention of the imperial guards spread around, and Hannah finally sensed them too. “I’ll ask again... Why are you here?”

Miralyn smiled warmly but gestured subtly with her head, causing the guards surrounding them to disappear into the shadows.

“I came to speak with Hilda. Don’t worry, I’m not here to take him away,” Miralyn reassured her. “But I’m definitely here to stay.”

She crouched in front of Sokram, her voice softening. “And you must be Sokram. Even more handsome than I imagined. Can I give you a hug?”

Sokram hesitated only a moment before nodding.

The emotions threatening to overwhelm him were too strong to ignore.

Miralyn’s presence brought back bittersweet memories of her tragic death, as she was the first person he had lost in his previous timeline.

He couldn’t resist the opportunity to embrace her.

“Hehe, it seems you can feel the connection between us, hm?” Miralyn murmured, hugging him tightly.

Sokram squirmed slightly, pretending to be embarrassed. “Mom says hugs are good for the soul,” he quipped, earning a chuckle from both women.

When they finally parted, Hannah quirked an eyebrow. “Did you like the beautiful lady that much?”

Sokram nodded earnestly. “Yes, she’s beautiful. But for some reason, she makes me feel just like Mom.”

Hannah’s heart softened at his words. ‘That will make things easier to explain in the future,’ she thought.

As they strolled through the market, Miralyn updated Hannah about her life after the events of the ritual.

Following Garuth’s death, Miralyn had fallen into a deep depression, convinced her child and fiancé were gone.

She refused to believe Empress Meriande’s account of events, her grief clouding her judgment.

Learning that Garuth had used her bloodline and their unborn child for his ritual shattered her.

His decision to have Hilda carry the fused fetus only deepened the betrayal.

In her despair, Miralyn committed an unspeakable sin: She tried to cut down the Sacred Tree, which in the past had prophesied her child would be the strongest warrior in the world. For this, she was stripped of her title as Crown Princess.

But time, however cruel, eventually granted clarity.

Miralyn’s grief remained, but she became lucid enough to function.

Her turning point came when Nhiria’s galactic message revealed Sokram’s name, confirming her shared motherhood of the child Hilda carried and birthed.

Thus, rather than disrupt his life, Miralyn chose to come to him.

She knew her presence in his household might create tension, but she hoped to prove her intentions were pure.

But when they finally arrived at the Dracnakrid state, tension filled the dining room as Miralyn and Hilda sat face to face.

The room was deathly silent.

Even the flickering ceiling lights seemed hesitant, casting uneasy shadows across the table.

Miralyn’s smile was warm, unwavering, with the practiced grace befitting a princess.

But Hilda… her fingers tapped against the table, slow and deliberate.

Her eyes, usually soft with maternal warmth, were sharp now. Assessing. Guarded.

"You’ve come a long way, Princess," Hilda finally spoke, her voice carefully neutral.

A muscle tightened in her jaw, but her expression remained unreadable.

"I would have crossed galaxies," Miralyn replied, never breaking eye contact. "For him, I would have."