CHAPTER 191: RETURN [1]

For the next few days, Ethan simply enjoyed life with his loved ones. The weight of his power, the burden of transcendence, the cold calculation that had driven him through dimensions—all of it fell away like discarded armour as he rediscovered what it meant to be human.

The wedding had been simple, held in the restored courtyard of Uncle Lin’s restaurant. No grand ceremony, no elaborate decorations—just the people who mattered most gathered under string lights. Hong Wei had served as his best man, tears streaming down his cheeks as he watched his big brother finally come home in every sense that mattered.

Tiana had worn a simple white dress, her hair adorned with flowers that Lin had picked from the city gardens. When she walked toward him, Ethan felt his breath catch from pure, overwhelming love. The kind of love that made powerful beings remember they had once been mortal.

Now, lying in their shared bed as dawn light filtered through the curtains, Ethan marvelled at how complete he felt. Tiana’s warm body pressed against his side, her soft fingers tracing lazy patterns across his chest. Her breathing was soft and even, the rhythm of perfect contentment.

He had told her everything.

About the bullying that had driven him to his death in that river. About waking up in another Ethan’s body, in a world where monsters roamed and power determined survival. About the Tower of Death, the First Sanctuary, the gradual erosion of his humanity as he climbed toward transcendence.

He told her about the people he had killed—not just monsters, but humans like Seraphina and Magnus. About the cold calculation that had driven him to murder for power. About becoming something that could destroy entire realities with a thought.

Surprisingly, she had taken it with a good heart and didn’t resent him. She was always empathetic and never showed him any kind of hate, asking clarifying questions but never judging. When he finished his confession, expecting horror or rejection, she had simply kissed him softly and said, "You came back to us. That’s all that matters."

Now she stirred against him, her eyes fluttering open to meet his gaze.

"Good morning, husband," she murmured, the word carrying a warmth that made his chest tighten with emotion.

"Good morning, wife," he replied, still marvelling at how natural it felt to say it.

Tiana shifted, propping herself up on one elbow to study his face. Her hair fell in gentle waves around her shoulders, and the morning light caught the gold flecks in her eyes. For a moment, they simply looked at each other, sharing the intimacy of a couple who had found their way back to each other across impossible odds.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly, her fingertips tracing the line of his jaw.

Ethan was quiet for a moment, considering. There were so many thoughts swirling in his mind, concern for the friends and family he had left behind back on earth, hate for his bullies.

But beneath all of that was something more personal, more immediate.

"My family," he said finally. "My original family. My parents from before... before everything."

Tiana’s expression grew thoughtful. She had listened to his story about his previous life—the poverty, the bullying, the parents who had worked themselves to exhaustion trying to provide for their son. The memory of their tired but loving faces still brought him pain, even after all these years.

"You want to see them again," she said. It wasn’t a question.

Ethan nodded, his throat tightening with emotion. "I need to know what happened to them. Whether they’re still alive, whether time passed differently there. I don’t even know if my death affected them, or if somehow my consciousness just... transferred without them ever knowing."

He paused, his hand finding hers and intertwining their fingers.

"I abandoned them," he continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "By choice. They probably think their son drowned in that river. They might have spent years grieving, blaming themselves. I need to... I need to make that right, if I can. I need to know, are they still alive? Had time passed and taken them?" she asked, voicing his deepest fears.

"You don’t know yet," Tiana said with a soft tone.

"That uncertainty is eating at me. Every day I wait is another day they might be suffering, thinking I’m dead. Another day, they’re getting older; if time moves the same way there."

Tiana sat up fully, the sheet falling away as she turned to face him completely. Her expression was serious but supportive, the look of someone who understood the weight of unfinished business.

"Then you should go," she said simply. "You should go and find them."

Ethan felt a surge of love for this remarkable woman who had not only accepted his impossible story but was encouraging him to pursue what his heart needed most.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I just got you back. We just got married. I don’t want to leave you again so soon."

Tiana smiled, leaning down to kiss him softly. "I waited so long for you to come home the first time," she said against his lips. "I can wait a little longer if it means giving you peace. Besides," she added with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "I have faith that you’ll come back to me. You promised, after all."

Ethan pulled her down into his arms, holding her close as emotion overwhelmed him. This was what he had fought so hard to return to—not just the power or the victory, but this. Love. A home worth coming back to.

She then stood up, stretching gracefully as the morning light painted her skin in shades of gold. "I will go make breakfast for us, honey. You stay here."

Ethan smiled at the sight of his wife, marvelling at how something so simple—watching the woman he loved prepare to make them breakfast—could feel more meaningful than all thepower he had ever wielded.