Knowing that their Big Brother would leave them the next day, Rhia and Remi decided to sleep with Zion in his room.
When he woke up in the morning, Zion found Rhia sound asleep and clinging to him like a baby koala.
Even her leg was resting on her brother’s waist, making Thirteen smile faintly.
Remi was more modest, only using his arm as a hug pillow. Nevertheless, he still found this scene funny, so he decided to stay in bed for a little while longer until his sisters woke up.
The first one to open her eyes was Rhia. She snuggled closer to him, thinking he was still asleep.
Remi woke up about ten minutes later, but just like Rhia, she was also reluctant to get up and continued to hug Zion’s arm.
"Good morning, Rhia, Remi," Thirteen said to his sisters, who pretended that they were still sleeping.
Still, this only lasted for a couple more minutes before Alessia knocked on their door to tell them breakfast was ready.
Without a choice, Rhia and Remi finally gave in and wished their brother a good morning.
After washing their faces, the three went down the stairs, still in their pajamas.
To Thirteen’s surprise, Cristopher and Erica were already seated at their dining table.
The two had arrived half an hour ago after bidding their families goodbye.
Erica looked amused after seeing Zion in his pajamas while walking hand in hand with Rhia.
"Good morning," Thirteen greeted the two teenagers, who also returned his greetings.
"Good morning, Master," Cristopher replied.
"Good morning, Zion." Erica sweetly smiled.
The doorbell rang soon after, prompting Alessia to come to the door and check who it was.
A moment later, Lady Callista, Arthur, Michael, and Hans entered the living room.
Except for Hans, they had all come to bid goodbye.
Lady Callista had ordered her butler to go with her grandson and protect him in Artem.
Even if Zion had powerful allies, like Cranky and his Monster Army, by his side, Lady Callista struggled to feel at ease unless she had someone she trusted looking after her grandson.
"Can you send us messages through the communicator once you’re in Artem?" Arthur asked.
"I don’t think that’s possible," Thirteen answered without hesitation. "It’s too far from Pangea. In fact, communicators might not even work in Artem."
Each world had their own laws, similar to how communicators and other high-tech weaponry didn’t work in Solterra.
The world of Artem also had their own technology. That said, Thirteen planned to bring a few of these captured researchers to make communication devices for their army.
When he was still Zia, he had captured the Head Researcher of the Artemians and tossed him to work with Project Exodia [EX].
These researchers were already familiar with mass producing Azothralls, so Thirteen believed they could help him develop a stronger version using the trump card the Ashford Clan originally prepared to eliminate their family.
Exodia was made from the genes of the Dragon of Destruction, which had an incredibly high regeneration rate.
Thirteen could do it himself, but he simply had no time, so he left the researchers to do what they do best.
As of now, they had already made three prototypes of Exodia, which they could employ in the upcoming war.
All three of them were Rank 9 Monsters, and Erasmus said that he even added a few tweaks to the final creations, increasing their survival capabilities.
"Make sure to eat on time when you’re there, Zion," Lady Callista said firmly. "If something happens to you, the expedition will end in failure, so please take good care of yourself."
"I will, Grandma," Thirteen replied. "Thank you for the concern."
"When you come back, we will hold a grand wedding ceremony for you and your fiancees," Arthur commented. "You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ll handle the wedding plans for you."
"Okay." Thirteen nodded before glancing at Erica, who looked very happy about Arthur’s proposal.
He then gazed at Shasha, who was busy piling pancakes on top of Cranky’s plate. Ironically, Siri was doing the same for Mikhail, which made him smirk.
The talks on the breakfast table became lighthearted, earning a few laughs here and there.
An hour later, Thirteen returned to his room to take a bath. Everyone was ready to go and only waiting for him to finish his preparations.
Fortunately, Rhia didn’t cry when it was finally time for him to go.
She even asked her big brothers to get her a souvenir before they returned.
Perhaps the pinky promise that they made the night ago helped her calm down. Thirteen never broke any promise with Rhia, so she was assured that her big brother would return as soon as possible. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveI~Fire.net
Those who would accompany him in his journey, including Mikhail and Siri, entered Rocky’s mobile fortress.
Mikhail had insisted that he go with Zion to Artem, and after a few conditions, he was allowed to go with him.
After bidding their final goodbyes, Cranky turned into a lightning bolt and flew to the Sirius Continent.
There, they would pick up Shana and Rianna. The latter asked to tag along after knowing that both her sister and her fiance would come.
Their mother, Lady Cynthia, only told Thirteen to keep her daughters safe.
She even joked that she wouldn’t mind if they returned carrying her grandchildren with them.
This made Mikhail blush like a tomato, while Thirteen looked amused.
He even asked his mother-in-law how many grandkids she wanted, which made Shana blush like there was no tomorrow.
After hugging her daughters, Lady Cynthia finally let them go to continue their journey.
From Sirius, they flew to Cygni to pick up Princess Aracelle and Princess Xynalia.
But there was one more unexpected guest who wished to come with them.
It was none other than the Dragonkin Princess, Princess Fiora.
When she heard that Cristopher would be accompanying Thirteen to Artem, not knowing when they would return, she decided to reach out to Princess Aracelle and Princess Xynalia, asking them to take her as well.
Not wanting to let his effort go to waste, Thirteen didn’t hesitate to approve of the princess’ proposal.
He even gave Cristopher the "you got this, bro" thumbs up, which made his right-hand man smile sheepishly.
Once everyone had safely entered Rocky’s mobile fortress, Cranky picked up Zion and flew to their final destination, Antares.
There, he would meet up with the Jinn Army that he had blackmailed to fight for him before he opened the portal that would lead them to the world of Artem.