Reincarnated in the Astral World

Aria lands in front of her house with Arthur and Alicia. The trio sees Draven sitting on a bench in the garden with a gloomy expression; he seems upset, frustrated, and also sad.

He casts a sorry glance at Arthur and Alicia before focusing on Aria. "We need to talk," he requests, and she enters the house without looking at his face. "Make it short."

Arthur instinctively follows Aria, but Draven puts his hand on his shoulder and looks into his eyes. "Let us be alone, son."

"Let them deal with their things," Alicia places her hand on Arthur's other shoulder, and he steps back, letting Draven enter the house and close the door. Arthur turns his attention to his aunt, and her eyes sparkle, making him more curious about her.

Alicia smiles gently. "You must think your father is an idiot, right?" He doesn't show a response because he doesn't want to hate his father, but he also doesn't agree with Draven's thoughts, so Alicia continues. "I am not proud of my brother currently, but he wasn't always like this…"

"What was he like before?" Arthur quickly asks, inquisitive. Alicia makes a nostalgic expression as she remembers the past. "He used to be a good brother, loyal and caring… well, he wasn't perfect, always casting lustful glances at any woman who appeared in front of him… but I used to feel safe beside him."

"I see," Arthur walks alongside Alicia through the garden in front of the house as she talks about his father and their family. "Draven was born with very high potential, taking the best from our father's Lineage… but it was his also curse,"

"I don't know much about our father's childhood; it must have been over a thousand years ago, and I also didn't know my grandfather, but I saw how my father treated Draven, always trying to make his son a copy of himself." Alicia becomes sad remembering those dark days.

"Our father was never satisfied with Draven; he mistreated him, didn't give any respect to him, and was always distant, mainly concerned about his selfish goals… That made my brother hate our father; Draven wanted to be better than him in everything, and as our father looked down on everyone, it made my brother develop this stupid heroic mentality."

Alicia shakes her head, trying to get rid of such bad feelings, her eyes full of sadness and disappointment. "That's why Draven thinks he can fix everything and save everyone; he has to be the hero loved by everyone and not a tyrant like our father. But that tyrant kept his family united and protected even if it was just through force."

Arthur becomes very curious about his grandfather and his relationship with Draven, but then Alicia delivers the bad news. "Your grandfather has been killed, Arthur... it's been two years, and the situation at home is getting worse every day. Your other uncles are not like your father, with such stupid heroic mentalities, but they don't think about the well-being of this family as a whole, either."

"Draven may not be in his best mental health now, but he is still the strongest Leonhart," Alicia speaks honestly, but there's no pride in her tone. "People will follow him; our family can be united under his leadership as long as he proves himself determined enough."

Arthur can imagine his father as a heroic king loved and admired by the people. 'He would certainly like that...' But Arthur feels no desire to be like his father himself.

Alicia looks at his expressions and tries to decipher what he's thinking while exposing her own thoughts.

"The only thing preventing my family from completely collapsing now is my mother, maintaining a fragile balance between my father's heirs, but our enemies are aware of this; they move troops every day; their spies are everywhere, gathering information about us and manipulating alliances from the shadows,"

She seems genuinely upset as she talks about it. "This is a shitty political war; my other siblings don't care about selling their daughters and making deals for their sons to marry daughters of powerful nobles... I don't like it, but I don't have the power and influence to stop them, that's why..."

Alicia looks into Arthur's eyes, her own eyes shining with expectation. "I'll be straightforward with you; I want you to come home with me; we can let Draven try his way with the others.

Meanwhile, I'll train you to be the next in line for the crown; our family has many resources, and I can use them to help you improve your cultivation fast; it may take a few years, but as soon as you demonstrate the potential to surpass your father, you can become the leader that our family needs."

'What???' Arthur is surprised by Alicia's idea. 'Is she really suggesting that I steal the crown from my father?' He can't understand how she can have so much faith in him after just meeting him. But at the same time, she made it clear that she would teach him to be a proper ruler.

Alicia continues trying to analyze Arthur's reactions. "I know I'm putting a lot of pressure on your shoulders, but I can promise to be by your side all the time, showing you the right way. I can see that you have what is necessary to be a great ruler, qualities that your father and grandfather never had, not in such perfect harmony."

Arthur smiles at his aunt. "I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, but everything you say about our family feels very far from what I know and have here; I love my mother and my sister, and I won't abandon them."

"Of course, my good nephew," Alicia also smiles at him. "If you abandoned them to go with me, you wouldn't be as good as I think you are. I would say that I could convince your mother to go with us, but I'm not so sure about that anymore… not after seeing how Draven messed everything up."

Arthur can't help but feel disappointed in his father whenever he thinks about his relationship with Aria. On the other hand, he feels that he can take better care of his mother than any other man, so that outcome isn't so bad.

As he thinks about it, Alicia continues. "I just want to make one request of you; if I can't convince Aria, I would like you to keep an open mind, and maybe one day not too far away, you feel ready to come home. On that day, I'm sure Aria and all the women in your life would follow you, and I will be waiting for you there."

Alicia's intentions are so honest that they shake Arthur's heart; he feels he can fully trust her, and the desire to share one of his secrets instinctively arises. 'I want to see how she reacts to you, Nyx.'

'I'm curious, too,' Nyx responds positively, and Arthur doesn't hesitate before taking Alicia's hand.

"Come with me," he says as he pulls her towards a small gate that leads to the backyard of the house. Alicia gets surprised, but the gentle and firm touch of Arthur awakens a good feeling in her body, and she just follows him. "Where are we going?"

"I want to show you something," Arthur leads Alicia to a small room in the back of the yard, a pantry that Aria uses to store various items. As soon as they enter the room, Arthur closes the door and looks at Alicia with an expectant expression.

"Arthur?" She feels her body getting warmer due to the proximity to him in the cramped room. When being so close to him, it's impossible for her not to notice how handsome his face is and his body's attractiveness.

Alicia is used to facing all kinds of men in battle, but dealing with Arthur is something new for her, as while her good relationship with Draven changed drastically many years ago, Arthur ends up being the only man she wants to be gentle and even loving to.

"What are we…" She becomes embarrassed due to Arthur's penetrating gaze, their breaths mixing due to the closeness. Then, making her even more apprehensive, he starts to lift his shirt. "I need to show you my-"

"WAIT!" Alicia quickly grabs his hand, her face blushing while a mysterious glow appears in her eyes. "What are you thinking, Arthur? I am your aunt!"

"Huh?" Arthur is confused for a second until Nyx speaks in his mind. 'She thinks you're into her.' As soon as Nyx explains it, Arthur starts to laugh, leaving Alicia confused and more embarrassed. "You got it wrong; I want to show you my Nexus."

"Your Nexus?" Alicia laughs, too, a few drops of sweat running down her face as she feels relieved and a little disappointed, too. "Oh! Your father told me about the pink heart… you still don't have any control over your Astral Beast, right?"

Arthur lifts his shirt, revealing the heart in his lower belly area. He plans to call Nyx immediately, but when he sees Alicia's eyes glowing and her cheeks blushing deep, he is surprised to find her reaction so cute.

Alicia may be a fierce warrior on the battlefield, but when she sees that large pink heart so close to the most private area of her attractive nephew, even she can't handle the new feelings arising in her body. "Oh, so this is... the heart... really... interesting... you know..."

She begins to lose herself in thoughts while her eyes are fixed on Arthur's lower belly area. He also gets carried away by the moment but quickly regains his focus and calls Nyx. "Can you appear, honey?"

His words surprise Alicia, but when she sees his heart turn into a beautiful demoness wearing a black dress before her eyes, the shock is much greater. "What the…" Her wide eyes and open mouth leave Arthur a bit apprehensive, but then Alicia begins to laugh. "Hahaha…"

Nyx and Arthur look at each other before turning their attention back to Alicia. "Hello, auntie," Nyx waves excitedly to Alicia, leaving her even more astonished. She extends a finger to touch Nyx but hesitates a bit. " Hi, dear… Are you really... well, what are you?"

"Nyx is my wife," Arthur says proudly, making Nyx smile and Alicia cast a teasing look at him. "You made your Astral Beast your wife? For real? Hahaha... I can see; she's so beautiful!"

"Shhh, don't speak so loud," Arthur asks while he can't help but be happy that Alicia reacts well to Nyx. 'She is really trustworthy.'

"Oh?" Alicia starts whispering. "Who else knows about Nyx?" She asks, and Arthur quickly responds, "Only Mom and now you."

"I see," Alicia feels good about being the second person to know Arthur's secret, but then a bright glow appears in her eyes. "So Draven doesn't know, hehehe… look at Nyx, she's so young, but her beauty can already rival even Aria's... if Draven found out, he would be consumed by jealousy!"

"Hmm…" Arthur had never thought about it from that angle. But now, thinking that Draven lost Aria, one of the most beautiful women ever, while he gained Nyx, another of the most beautiful women ever, makes his father seem really sorrowful.

As soon as Arthur thinks about this, he hears raised voices coming from inside the house; that's Draven's voice, apparently very upset. "Why are you doing this to me, Aria?!?"

Alicia also hears that and casts a sorry look at Arthur. He places a tender kiss on Nyx's lips before she disappears in a pink cloud, returning to his Nexus.

"So…" He looks at Alicia with a curious expression. "What did you think of her?"

Alicia smiles. "You certainly know how to choose your wives well… but two already? Maybe you are more like your father than I thought... except you seem much more capable of making them happy."

Arthur feels proud of himself upon hearing that. The feeling of being better than his father at something is really good, especially when he wants to be good at that, to be good for his lovers.

But before he can talk more with Alicia about it, Draven's yells become louder, leaving Arthur and Alicia concerned. "We better go see what's happening; it would be bad if Aria hurt Draven before he could save our family from imminent ruin."

"Alright," Arthur heads towards the door and almost grabs Alicia's hand instinctively, making them exchange glances before leaving the small pantry.