*Step* *Step*
A middle-aged man with dark red hair and eyes walked through a beautiful orchard.
His footsteps were steady, but his shoulders seemed burdened by carrying too much burden and responsibility.
He walked and walked without any thought in his mind.
He completely ignored all the fruit trees in his path, but there was one that he could not ignore.
For some reason, his body moved on its own towards that particular mango tree.
It was a giant tree with its shade stretching for several meters.
The moment he stepped in that shade, his body felt relaxed; the sunlight causing him stress and discomfort faded away.
"Hoh, how odd~ The busy man is free enough today to come visit this fair lady~"
A beautiful woman was sitting under the tree’s shade while leaning back on the trunk. She had a book in her hand, and it seemed that his appearance here caused her to snap out of her focused state.
The man’s dark red hair swayed in the gentle, warm breeze as he looked at that beautiful face, smiling at him with a bit of happiness, a bit of surprise, and a bit of complaint.
"I... I just..."
In front of that beautiful smile, the man could not figure out what to say.
His excuses, his reasons, his burdens, and his responsibilities—he forgot them all and felt weak and helpless.
He was scared of making her angry, he was scared of betraying her, and he was scared of disappointing her. He was scared that she would stop looking at him with that beautiful smile if he made excuses.
"Oh? That very odd... To think the strongest man on this planet would look so hesitant? I don’t think I have seen you this conflicted ever..."
The woman was surprised by the man’s hesitation.
She knew that he was the strongest man in the world; she knew that he was someone whose name alone would generate fear and awe in the hearts of many.
She knew that he was ’Ashtel Rex,’ the ’Walking Calamity’ whom no one could bind or stop.
Seeing that conflicted and hesitation-filled look on his face was definitely very rare and concerning.
"I... I killed my friend... I killed him... I have crossed one more line... I... I..."
Ashtel’s knees gave out, and he fell on his knees.
Right now, he didn’t look like the ’unbreakable,’ ’unbeatable,’ and ’invincible’ Asthel Rex; he looked like a broken ordinary man who had lost his love, his comrades, and his own best friend.
Neo was the first friend that Ashtel ever made; he was with Ashtel for almost his entire life.
The two of them grew up together; they ate from one plate once, and they went through many life-and-death moments together while growing up.
It was them working together that stabilized the human empire.
Ashtel always hoped for a better future for Neo; he considered him to be the closest friend, and he advised Neo to not walk the wrong path.
He let Neo go many times for the sake of their long-lasting friendship; he tried everything to make Neo consider being a better person.
But Neo betrayed all of his expectations over and over again.
And he crossed the final bottom line by forcefully taking over his own son’s body for his own personal gains.
That was something Ashtel could not ignore; that was beyond his tolerance limit.
Ashtel killed Neo in that battle, and even his soul was completely shattered. His motives for doing this were good, and his intentions were also good.
But that doesn’t mean that he won’t feel hurt by this matter at all.
Ashtel is indeed the strongest man on this planet; he’s capable of shattering stars and destroying solar systems with his immense strength.
But that does not mean that he has no ’emotions’ at all; he’s also a ’human,’ even if he’s already ascended to the realm of a peak-level ’demigod.’
Up until now, Ashtel had only placed restrictions on Neo because he didn’t want to kill his own best friend.
But now that he has gone and killed him, he has broken one more of his own corners of his own heart.
He’s crossed another line that powerful people shouldn’t cross, and that is ’killing your own loved ones for the sake of the greater good.’
Once you cross these limits and moral lines, there’s no going back; they take away a part of your own heart and make you lose more and more of your humanity.
No person in the world wants to lose their ’humanity’ or their ’emotions’ at all; Ashtel is no different. In the end, he’s also just a ’human,’ after all.
"Humph! And here I thought that it was something major! You are really a difficult man to deal with, you know!"
"How did I end falling for someone like you, sigh~"
The woman shook her head and got up; she came over and hugged Asthel’s head in her warm embrace.
"You only did all that because you wanted to save the lives of others that could have been in jeopardy if your friend lived, right?"
"If that is the case, you don’t need to burden yourself too much... well, if you still want to, then you can cry in my arms and no one will find out ok..."
The woman smiled proudly as she covered his face in her arms and spoke shyly.
"No one will find out that the strongest man on this planet actually has a fragile heart; I will hide it all for you. you can rest in my embrace..."
As Asthel closed his eyes while resting in the woman’s embrace, he did not want to move, he did not want to leave, and he did not want to wake up to that burden-filled reality.
He was tired of violence and endless killing; he just wanted to rest a little bit; he just wanted a brief rest to regain his courage again.
"I am worried... I am worried that if I keep crossing these lines, I will one day not be able to remember you anymore... I will not be able to remember the feelings I had for you..."
"I am worried that I will not be able to guide our son on the right path if I am like... I couldn’t even guide my close friend... how will I guide our son who’s still so young and weak-"
Before Ashtel could finish his words, the woman smiled and spoke in a proud tone.
"You worry too much you know... Our son is not some fragile glass doll! He was born with the potential to overshadow the entire world!"
"Nothing will happen to him! In fact, I think he’s already growing up very nicely. He’s happy, he’s found his ’place’ in the world... Also, he’s got people who support and care for him."
"You do not need to be such a worrywart anymore, you know..."
The woman smiled and comforted Ashtel with a sweet and gentle tone.
She was proud of her son, she was proud of his capabilities, and she was proud that Link was her son.
"You have protected him for a long, long time... I know that my promise has shackled you for a long while now... but I don’t think you need to keep yourself shackled anymore..."
"He’s already got enough friends and supporters of his own; he has a future of his own now. you can rest; you can now get rid of this shackle if you want..."
"It’s not a good idea to remain shackled despite being the strongest, you know... I feel sorry that I held you back for so long..."
Ashtel nodded his head gently and said,
"No, you never held me back... and I can’t let go of this shackle just yet... I still need to be there for him for a little bit longer..."
The woman messed up Asthel’s dark red hair and spoke with a smile.
"Hehe, look at you; you have already found your purpose back once again!"
"That’s the mentality of the strongest! Never falling does not make one the strongest; the mentality to rise up again and again after falling makes a person the ’Strongest’!"
Ashtel let go of his wife’s embrace and got up once again; he smiled and replied,
"I can never win in an argument against you; you really have a way with words..."
"I want to stay with you; I want to remain in this beautiful dream for a long long time... But I cannot stay here with you; I must go back. I still have many things left to do..."
Ashtel’s eyes were no longer uncertain; they were now filled with a newfound resolve.
Ashtel looked towards the sky and noticed a familiar energy helping his sea of consciousness heal.
"That little girl... she’s still trying her best; I can’t keep dragging things like this or I will lose my dignity as the strongest..."
"Even that young child is doing her best... I will be too ashamed to face you again if I don’t wake up now..."
The woman smiled at Ashtel, and kissed him on the forehead before saying,
"Hehe, go, show them what my husband is capable of! Make the world remember that you aren’t so easy to mess with!"
"After all, you are the man I fell for; you are the strongest!"
Ashtel smiled and nodded; he kissed his wife’s forehead in return and then stepped away.
"I am off to work, my love..."
With those words spoken, Ashtel Rex, the ’Strongest,’ finally woke up from his half-year-long vacation.