Roth gritted his teeth in anger but held back. "But what else are we to do then, mother? Beg the other gods to allow the existence of our race?"
"You know that is impossible, mother. Our new race feeds off other living things and no gods will let such existence live among their own race," Roth said in a defeated tone.
"I don’t disagree with your choice of starting point. I merely want to snuff out your arrogance," Keles said, looking at Roth and Xerosis.
"From your earlier tone, it seemed like you planned on moving like you already own the place as long as your sister is close to you," Keles said as Roth and Xerosis bowed their heads in shame.
Shaking her head at their antics, Keles spoke up. "You can go there, but remember to keep your existence hidden and act from the shadows. Even though that will be hard considering how the two of you affect the normal world just by being close to it, regardless, keep your existence as hidden as you can while slowly growing your race in strength and number."
"The demon will make no move against you directly once it confirms your lineage, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t play or guide others into making a move against you," Keles said in a cautioning tone.
"Understood, mother," Roth and Xerosis both responded as Keles waved her hand to open up a portal behind them.
Sadness once again washed over the two before Xerosis sprang up from where she was and flew into her mother, hugging her tightly. Keles was taken aback by that when Roth also joined in. Keles’ eyes widened before she brought her arms together around them and pulled them into a hug.
The family stayed this way for a while before separating. "Figure out the ritual and conditions needed for me to be summoned or travel the world in search of the focal point to my realm so we can see each other again," Keles said as both Xerosis and Roth went through the portal.
Deep in the underwater kingdom ruled by Tide, the underwater kingdom had also experienced growth and sprouted over the years with countless buildings spread across the ocean floor. Things had changed for a while here as Tide had to work for a change once he noticed this flaw that the enemy takes advantage of.
Before, the Sharkmen were the ones deciding how things went in the kingdom, but now Murlocs’ opinions were being included. Tide let them have the freedom of their voice being heard and at the same time let them make a few changes on the way of the kingdom.
Murloc, once he saw the gain of doing all this, regretted not doing it earlier as the Murlocs now worked happily, better, and came up with a lot of genius ideas. The Sharkmen were good at a lot of things but came short when they were required to use their brains to come up with something new.
That is not to say that they were all brutes; there were a few exceptional Sharkmen, but there was only so much that a few of them could do and achieve, which is why the Murlocs were a good addition to Tide’s kingdom.
There were still Murlocs who were not satisfied, but that was just a small part of them. Tide no longer worried about a coup cooking up or his people easily falling prey to the demon’s words and promises.
The same can’t be said for his sister Flowua. She was very stubborn and steadfast in not changing her ways. Tide wandered away as he remembered his last serious talk with his sisters a few years back.
She told him of the men uprising, how they created a system of their own to be able to go against the women rule. Tide remembered trying to give his sister some advice, but that wasn’t a good move on his part as she blew up on him for acting like he knew better than her.
Since then, there hadn’t been much communication between both of them, but unlike Flowua, who seemed to believe things were over between them, Tide made sure he knew everything going on in his sister’s kingdom.
Which is why lately he had been hearing rumors of there being a possible attack on his sister’s kingdom. At first, Tide was taken aback by the rumors, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him if he was his sister’s enemy.
Things were not looking so good on the other side; some of the women were united, but at the same time, some were against their current way, which now created a division in Flowua’s force. Tide tried to see things from the enemy’s perspective, and the conclusion he came to made him believe the rumor more.
Things had been disorderly for a long time in his sister’s kingdom, so what better time than now to make a move on the kingdom? Once Tide understood that, he already had his two sons preparing his army for war.
"I hope things aren’t as I thought they would be, sister," Tide whispered from his throne with a look of worry present in his eyes. "This can’t be what we plan on presenting to father after all these years."
Tide knew of his father’s awakening; he remembered making sure everything in the kingdom was kept pristine for the moment his father visited him. Weeks passed by, and his father’s presence was nowhere to be seen.
Tide tried summoning a portal to his father’s realm like before, yet nothing happened. It wasn’t until a few weeks back when Xerosis paid him a visit, informing him of his father and other gods’ predicament, that he understood what was happening.
Tide immediately ordered the best scholars of his kingdom to start researching the best way for him to get his father’s presence into the mortal world. Nothing was as important to Tide as hearing his father’s praise once he presented his kingdom to him. He was eager to show off his progress to his father, but he also knew that would mean nothing if his sister lost everything.
On the other side of the ocean where Flowua’s kingdom could be located, the difference between the visage of how the kingdom looked compared to Tide’s could clearly be seen with the first look. From the center of the palace and spread out, outstanding-looking structures could be seen littered across the landscape.
But that was where it ended as from there on, buildings that could be seen were not up to par and only looked like they were built from leftover materials. The people living on this side of the city were mostly men, and occasionally, glimpses of a female figure could be seen.
At the center of the palace, Flowua could be seen on her throne. Unlike other demigods whose looks hadn’t changed much over the years, a clear difference could be seen in her with baggy eyes and a stressful outward visage.
Flowua didn’t know when, but she had already given up. Maybe it was after she went off on her brother and no longer talked with him, or maybe when she felt her father’s awakening and looked around her to see nothing of her growth.
It took a long time, but Flowua had come to understand that everything was her fault. She knew her brother was right, but her pride didn’t let her take accountability for her actions and accept the fact that the men were right.
At first, after learning of how the demon was taking advantage of the loophole in her kingdom, she believed she had everything in control as long as she could keep the men satisfied. It worked for a while as men were getting the attention they needed, but soon the men noticed that even if they got the attention they needed, they seemed to have become slaves to the women.
The men found out that the women’s good treatment of them came at a price, which was that they weren’t allowed to have an opinion or say on some things. When it was brought up, the women believed it to be right as the men didn’t work for the treatment that they were being given.
That brought another issue at the time as the men began asking for more work since the women believed they were doing nothing to deserve the treatment they received. Flowua regretted the decision she made that day till now.
She denied the men their request, and that was when it became clear to the men of their situation. Nothing much had changed from their previous treatment, only that they were offered a bit of sweetness to blind them of the reality of their situation.
Flowua understood that she started off her kingdom building the wrong way from the beginning. She made everyone live according to her insecurities because she was the leader and had a say over everything. She had always wanted to prove herself to her father, but later that turned to her also wanting to prove her worth to her brother who she believed from birth that she was better than.