"Wake up, brother," Hanna said, pinching us''s cheek. Since she was the one closest to us''s room, she came to wake him up. us had been sleeping for the past 12 hours.


    Lately, us seemed to enjoy sleeping a little too much. Perhaps it was because of all the hard work he''d done without rest or the time he''d spent pleasuring his women before leaving.


    Let''s just say sleep had been catching up with himtely—and a little too much at that.


    "Come on, Big Sis, can''t you just let me have my beauty sleep in peace?" us growled in his sleepy state.


    "Wake up,zy bum. Mom said you shouldn''t sleep too much," Hanna said, dragging him off the bed and sending him straight to the bathroom.


    "I''ll be waiting for you inside," Hanna added before returning to the room to wait for him to finish bathing.


    "Tsk, the least you could do is give me a good bath like you used to," us muttered with a smile. Back in his past life as Fruity, Haniva—Hanna''s incarnation—had been his best friend, sister, and partner in crime.


    She used to do everything for him. Sometimes, she would even drag Fruity to the bathroom just so she could bathe him.


    It seemed that, although her habits hadn''t entirely changed, she wasn''t as shameless as us by thinking of undressing him and giving him a thorough bath anymore.


    us went to bathe. Meanwhile, inside his room, Hanna, with a racing heart, looked toward the bathroom and muttered with a sigh,


    "This feeling again. Why does it feel like I''ve done this before? And not just once—a lot of times, even?"


    She had been experiencing a strange sense of déjà vu ever since us helped her awaken the 10,000 Lightning Divine Body.


    However, it wasn''t as strong as when they had fallen asleep on the ne to the academy. Before, it had been a narrow, fleeting familiarity.


    Now, it felt as though that familiarity had widened slightly, and she was beginning to notice a pattern.@@novelbin@@


    First, there was how she hadn''t minded holding his hand in public despite their curious eyes.


    Then, there was the time she had intentionally made his girlfriends jealous, hoping it would help them snap out of their shyness and make her brother happy.


    Now, she felt as though she had dragged us to the bathroom countless times before. But, as always, she couldn''t understand how such a thing could be possible.


    She had only known us for a year and half, and in all that time, she had never once dragged him to a bathroom.


    "Maybe I need a good night''s sleep myself," she muttered with a sigh, sinking into a chair in the room.


    A few minutester, us emerged from the bathroom, freshly bathed.


    "Done already?" Hanna raised an eyebrow as she saw her handsome brother emerge from the bathroom.


    "I work fast," us smirked, noticing her motherly gaze on him.


    Hanna sighed, shaking her head. Fortunately, she didn''t have to worry about him too much—most of his women were in the academy with them now.


    "Do you like the room you were given?" us asked as he started getting dressed.


    "Yes, it''s the same as yours. I like it, but the bed is a little too big for one person to sleep on," Hanna replied. Indeed, the bed wasrge enough for three people.


    Perhaps the academy had designed it that way, knowing the disciples might need to blow off some steam with their significant others.


    "Big enough for things to happen on it," us teased, his grin mischievous.


    Hanna shot him a sharp re but decided to change the subject—or at least redirect it slightly.


    "I read the rules, and it''s prohibited to have someone in your room for more than 48 hours without a valid reason. Just saying," she remarked with a sly smile.


    "Don''t worry, big sister. I won''t keep you that long," us quipped, shing her another teasing smile.


    Hanna looked both frustrated and amused as she shook her head. "Just don''t overdo it," she warned. "If you know what I mean."


    "I promise on my honor," us said with mock sincerity.


    "Good. I am your closest neighbor; I don''t want to be disturbed. Knowing your track record, even with soundproofing in the rooms, I might lose my mind," Hanna spoke in a bashful tone.


    Obviously, she was referring to us''s nightly activities with his women. In fact, with her room close to us''s, she always had to move to their mom''s room whenever his women were around to avoid hearing certain noises.


    "You do know you can also make those noises, right?" us teased, making Hanna smack the back of his head.


    "Shameless. Unlike you, I am here to grow stronger so I can beat you in a duel. I don''t have time for this kind of stuff," Hanna smiled.


    She was enjoying the brother-sister banter between them recently. us felt the same. Having memories of his past life made it even more pleasant.


    Back then, he would guilt-trip Haniva into doing all kinds of mischievous things with him. They sometimes disguised themselves and sneaked out of the pce to cause trouble outside.


    Sometimes, they would get caught by his mom; other times, they would get away with it.


    But what he didn''t know was that even on the days they got away with their mischief, Haniva would always receive a scolding from his mom about how she was spoiling him rotten.


    But Haniva didn''t care since she seemed to enjoy Fruity''s mischief even more. Of course, there was also the dark part—when he witnessed her detonate her core to buy time for him and their mom to escape.


    us could never forget the loving smile on her face as she detonated her core. That smile was etched into his memory, and because of it, us vowed never to let any harme to her again. He would destroy the heavens this time if they daredy their hands on his sister.


    ''She seems happy. I have to keep it that way forever,'' us thought, gazing at the smile on Hanna''s face.


    ''Mercy on the soul of those who set their demonic sights on my sister. I will show them what true pain feels like.''


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    Hanna felt a protective,forting warmth settle in her heart from nowhere. She looked at us, who was smiling back at her, and thought inwardly,


    ''I will protect the smile on your face for as long as I draw breath.''


    us also felt a soothing warmth spread through his body. Smiling, he finished dressing, and they left to meet their friends. The Inner disciples will be descending within the hour.


    ***


    Somewhere in the vast cosmos, a star in hibernation for aeons began to stir. Once faint and iplete, its rings formed steadily, radiating a subtle yet profound energy.


    Deep within the star''s core, a figure sat in a lotus posture, a teacup cradled in his hands.


    At a nce, it was clear he was neither truly alive nor entirely dead—an enigma caught between existence and oblivion.


    He turned his gaze in a particr direction and smiled faintly.


    "Tsk, what a lucky bastard. I suppose this is the least we can do for her, considering she''s the reason we''re here now."


    With a sigh, he drank the cup''s contents, the faint glow of the liquid disappearing into him. Then, he closed his eyes, his expression serene, as though awaiting something inevitable.