Chapter 378: _EPILOGUE

Elian’s POV

*****

Kyren didn’t answer right away.

Elian felt the hesitation through the bond, a strange, tight flutter, like a man standing at the edge of a cliff he’d been told was made of clouds.

“Kyren…” He said gently.

The Rogue King stepped forward. The healer placed the smaller bundle in his arms, and he held her as if she might shatter.

She had a soft crown of white hair, the exact shade of his own. When her eyelids fluttered open, crimson stared up at him.

Kyren let out a breath that was almost a laugh. “She looks like me.”

“EXACTLY like you,” Elian said. “It’s a little terrifying.”

Lucian took the second bundle, and his whole face went soft. The boy’s hair was a wisp of gold, the same as Elian’s before his ascent to godhood, but when he blinked, silver eyes peered out.

They were Lucian’s eyes, set in Lucian’s face, right down to the stubborn little frown.

“Well,” Lucian said, voice thick. “That’s unfair.”

Elian snorted. “They’ve been alive for ten minutes, and they’re already picking sides.”

“Two fathers, two mini-copies,” Aurora said from the bedside, wiping her eyes. “And poor Elian doesn’t even get a vote.”

“I got blond hair,” Elian said. “That’s my contribution. My entire six months of suffering gets me hair.”

The Rogue King leaned closer to Lucian’s son, and his lips curved. “He does look like you. All that scowling.”

“Says the man whose daughter is already glaring at the ceiling.”

“She’s assessing it.”

Elian laughed until his sides ached, and the babies stirred at the sound.

That was when the doors burst open.

Seraphyne came in first, then Sylas, with Elowen right behind them, and Estella bringing up the rear, looking faintly awkward about being there.

“Is it over?” Sylas asked. “We felt the palace shake, and then the clouds cleared and—oh.”

They went silent, then everyone spoke at once.

“Look at their hands.” Seraphyne whispered.

“The boy has your eyes,” Elowen breathed, hurrying to Lucian’s side. “Oh, Lucian.”

“They’re smaller than I expected,” Sylas said. “Is that normal?”

“They’re newborns,” Estella said dryly. “Not dragons.”

“Dragons would be more fun, though.” Aurora muttered.

Elowen looked up from the babies, eyes bright. “Have you chosen names?”

Elian glanced at Lucian. Lucian glanced at Kyren.

Kyren cleared his throat, though his grip on his daughter never loosened.

“The boy is Evander.” He said.

Lucian’s brow lifted. “You picked his name?”

“Elian did on our way here. Said you two were still stuck between that or Apollo. You were busy fainting at the time.”

“I did not—”

“And the girl,” Kyren continued, louder, “is Elowen.”

The room went still.

Elowen’s hand flew to her mouth. “You named her after me?”

“You raised the man I love, in a way,” Kyren said, low and a little stiff. “And you’ve been kinder to me than I’ve ever earned. It felt right.”

Her eyes filled. She crossed the room in three strides and threw her arms around him, baby and all.

Kyren went rigid.

Elian bit his lip to keep from laughing. The Rogue King of the Dark lands, who’d faced down the big bad of the continent, stood frozen like a statue, arms trapped awkwardly around his daughter.

“It’s a hug,” Elian mouthed. “Just accept it.”

Stiffly, Kyren relaxed. One hand came up to pat Elowen’s back twice.

“Thank you,” Elowen whispered.

“You’re welcome.” He managed, sounding like the words cost him something.

Eventually the family trickled out, one by one, with promises to return in the morning. Aurora went last, squeezing Elian’s ankle through the blankets on her way past.

When the door finally closed, Lucian settled on one side of the bed and Kyren on the other. Between them, Elian gathered both babies into the crook of his arms, and for a moment, none of them spoke.

The moon poured silver through the window.

“We’re in trouble, aren’t we?” Lucian said at last.

“Mm.” Kyren agreed.

“Years and years of it,” Elian sighed, pressing a kiss to each tiny forehead. “Tantrums. Broken crystals. Little gremlins running around the palace.”

Lucian laughed. “Sounds perfect.”

“Chaos,” Kyren murmured, brushing a finger over his daughter’s white hair. “But ours.”

.

.

FINAL SCENE, Four Years Later

“Elowen! Evander! Get back here right now!”

Lucian’s bellow rattled down the marble halls of the Lunarian Palace, ragged and out of breath. The Alpha King, who had once led armies against a world-ending villain, was losing a footrace to two four-year-olds.

Ahead of him, a streak of white hair and a streak of gold tore around the corner, trailing giggles.

“Hurry, Evander!”

“Papa’s too slow!”

A guard stepped into their path and bowed low. Elowen snapped her tiny fingers. His helmet floated off his head, spun twice in the air, and dropped onto the next guard’s head. Both men yelped as their boots swapped feet.

Evander cackled and waved a hand. Every crystal light in the corridor flickered pink, then green, then a blinding gold that sent the guards stumbling.

“Your Majesty, the young highnesses—” one of them wheezed, clutching the wrong helmet.

“I know!” Lucian panted, skidding past. “I’m trying!”

The twins ducked behind a pillar and ran smack into an invisible wall.

Both froze mid-step, little legs pedalling air as they rose a foot off the floor.

“Hello, darlings.”

Elian stood at the end of the hall with one hand raised, violet eyes glowing faintly, far too calm for someone whose palace now resembled a festival.

Elowen grinned. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Don’t ‘hi, Daddy’ me. Helmets don’t fly, and boots don’t switch feet.”

“They do now.” Evander said.

“Apologise to the guards.”

“Sorry…” They chorused, not sorry in the slightest.

Elian sighed and lowered them into his arms just as Lucian stumbled up, bent over his knees. “They’re… your children.”

“Funny. They’re only mine when they misbehave.”

A shadow swept over the courtyard windows. Wind whipped the curtains as a sleek black aircraft descended onto the open space, its engines whispering down to silence.

The twins gasped. “Father!”

Kyren stepped out, cloak snapping, and barely got a foot on the ground before two small bodies collided with his legs. He scooped them up with practised ease.

“Good evening. I trust I’m just in time for dinner?”

“You’re always just in time for dinner,” Elian said. “It’s eerie.”

Dinner was loud.

Little Elowen fed a vegetable to the floor when she thought no one was looking, while Evander levitated his spoon in slow, menacing circles over Lucian’s plate. Kyren told them about the Dark lands, about beasts and mountains that scraped the sky.

Elian watched all of it, chin resting on his hand, his heart so full it almost hurt.

Later, the twins lay tucked into their shared bed, eyelids drooping. Elian pulled the blanket to their chins. Before he could stand, two small hands caught his.

“Daddy?” Elowen mumbled. “Tell us the story. How you met our dads.”

Evander nodded sleepily. “The real one.”

Elian paused. Then a slow smile curved his lips. He sat on the edge of the bed and cleared his throat.

“Well,” he began. “It all began with an annoying AI system…”

And with that… we’ve come to the end of Omega Ascension System! This feels so surreal. It’s been over a year but we finally got here. Thanks once again for everyone who’s been here from the beginning.

I hope to see you at my other books. And I hope the ending was to your satisfaction. <3 I'll love to see your thoughts in the comments.