Chapter 97: Strange Old Man (Fixed)

​For a brief moment, he had genuinely believed some apocalyptic threat had descended upon one of the Dominion’s outer worlds.

Naturally, he couldn’t ignore it, so he had immediately activated a long-range spatial teleportation skill to track the source.

​Only to arrive... in a bedroom. A perfectly ordinary bedroom.

​At first, he thought he had made a spatial error. Then, he sensed the true source: the young man who had just descended.

​And just when he thought things couldn’t possibly get any stranger, a woman appeared, a woman capable of effortlessly blocking his spiritual sense, and who, even now, was subtly overpowering him in their unspoken clash of wills.

​He had been a Lord for over a century. He had crossed countless battlefields, witnessed the rise and fall of whole civilizations, met Sovereign Lords, and spoken directly with Divine Lords... yet he had never once heard of a woman like this.

​That fact alone was terrifying.

​So, the old man chose the safest possible option: absolute honesty.

​He slowly raised both hands, a universal gesture indicating peaceful intentions.

​"My name is Louis Ferdinand," his voice remained measured and polite. "I am the Overseer of the Astral Dominion."

The room suddenly became quiet, the heavy, suffocating kind of silence that appears when something utterly unbelievable has just been revealed.

​The Overseer.

​The Overseer of the Astral Dominion. The highest authority beneath the Dominion’s ruling council, a Tier V existence and an Ascendant Lord.

The single most powerful man among countless Lords spread across innumerable worlds.

​And he was currently sitting inside Cassian’s bedroom.

​Cassian couldn’t help but stare.

​Pictures of Louis Ferdinand existed throughout the Dominion, though they were rare.

Most had been taken decades ago and depicted a much younger man, whereas the figure before him looked significantly older.

That wasn’t surprising, a century was a long time.

​Still, appearances weren’t what convinced Cassian.

​[Soul Gaze] was.

​The skill quietly confirmed the old man’s identity. There was no deception, no disguise, and no illusion, this really was Louis Ferdinand.

​As for Seraphina, she clearly had her own methods. Louis could tell from her reaction that both mother and son had accepted his identity almost immediately.

​The old Overseer’s shoulders relaxed slightly. ’Good... at least that part is settled. Perhaps I can still salvage this situation.’

​After all, he hadn’t actually harmed anyone. Surely a reasonable, civilized conversation could solve everything—

​"So because of that..." Seraphina’s voice interrupted his train of thought, her words dripping with absolute frost. "...you felt it was appropriate to enter someone’s home without permission?"

​Louis blinked, the question striking with surprising force.

​The Overseer quickly straightened his posture. "To be fair, I sensed an enormous amount of—"

​"You sensed something," Seraphina interrupted immediately, cutting him off without a shred of hesitation. "That is not an excuse."

​Louis opened his mouth, then closed it again. For some reason, his instincts warned him that arguing right now would be remarkably dangerous.

​Seraphina folded her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing. "If a stranger appears inside your house because they sensed something unusual, is that acceptable?"

​"..."

​"No," she answered for him. "If someone enters without permission simply because they were curious, is that acceptable?"

​"...No."

​"Then why is it acceptable when you do it?"

​"..."

​Cassian watched the exchange in utter fascination. The mighty Overseer of the Astral Dominion was somehow losing an argument, and losing it badly.

​Louis cleared his throat, trying to regain his footing. "I am the Overseer."

​Seraphina stared at him, entirely unimpressed. "Congratulations."

​"..."

​Louis felt another invisible arrow strike his chest.

​The woman continued mercilessly: "Before asking questions, before conducting investigations, and before entering someone’s home, there is a proper procedure."

​Louis frowned slightly. "And what would that be?"

​Seraphina slowly raised her hand, her finger pointing straight toward the bedroom door.

​Louis followed her finger toward the doorway, then looked back at Seraphina, then back at the door again.

​Realization slowly, excruciatingly dawned upon him.

​"No..."

​"Yes."

​"..."

​Silence returned to the room.

​Cassian stared at his mother, then at the Overseer, then back at his mother. ’Surely she doesn’t mean...’

​Seraphina’s expression remained perfectly, ruthlessly serious. "Go outside."

​Louis blinked. "What?"

​"Go outside." She pointed at the door once more. "Then knock."

​"..."

​Cassian nearly choked on his own breath.

​The Overseer of the Astral Dominion, a Tier V Ascendant Lord who governed countless planets, was being told to leave a suburban house and knock properly on the door before re-entering.

Louis stared at Seraphina for a few moments, the silence stretching between them until he eventually nodded.

​"...Fair."

​To Cassian’s complete shock, the old Overseer actually stood up. The single most powerful Lord in the Astral Dominion straightened his simple robes before calmly walking toward the bedroom door.

​Then he vanished.

​Cassian raised an eyebrow, genuinely bewildered. "Did he just run away?"

​Seraphina shook her head gently. "No, dear. He sensed people approaching the house and decided to teleport to the front entrance."

​Understanding dawned on Cassian’s face. "Ah."

​That explained it. Given the violent disturbance caused by his ambient death mana earlier, it wasn’t surprising that people had gathered outside, especially after the Overseer himself had made a sudden appearance.

​Seraphina nodded, turning back toward the bedroom door. "I’ll go calm down the guests."

​She paused midway, glancing over her shoulder. "Oh, and help me prepare some snacks."

​Cassian blinked. "Snacks?"

​"Yes." His mother smiled warmly. "Guests should be welcomed properly."

​Without giving him a chance to respond, she stepped into the hallway.

​Click.

​The door closed, leaving silence in its wake.

​Cassian stood motionless in the center of the room for several seconds before suddenly freezing. His expression slowly shifted as a sudden realization hit him.

​His mother had done it again.

​The diversion had been so absurdly smooth that he hadn’t even noticed it until now, leaving the massive elephant in the room completely untouched.

​The Overseer: a Tier V Ascendant Lord, the strongest existence in the Astral Dominion, and a man whose spiritual pressure could flatten entire cities without effort...

​And somehow, his mother had not only matched him, but effortlessly subdued him.

​The realization sent countless questions racing through Cassian’s mind. Who exactly was Seraphina? Was she a hidden Lord?

​Cassian rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

​How long had she been hiding this? Was she even just an ordinary human? Was he actually her biological son?

​The questions multiplied endlessly, but the single most critical one remained: ’What else is my mother hiding?’

​Cassian released a long, slow breath.

​There was no point in rushing. The answers weren’t going anywhere, and sooner or later, he would ask her directly. Judging by today’s absurd events, he suspected her true identity would be far more shocking than anything he had learned from the Eternal Serpent.

​For now, however, there was a far more immediate issue to address.

​Extending his senses outward, Cassian perceived dozens of powerful life signatures surrounding the house.

Many were visibly nervous, some were frightened, and a few were on the verge of outright panic.

​A wave of death mana potent enough to alarm a Tier V existence had caused widespread chaos, and it was all because he had failed to properly restrain his aura upon returning.

​Cassian sighed heavily.

​It seemed his quiet, peaceful return home had officially failed.

​With a shake of his head, he left the bedroom and headed down to the kitchen.