"Mmm... That's a surprise."

"Right? No one could have expected that."

"Who knows? Someone might have."

"What do you mean? Ofcourse there's no way anyone saw that coming."

In a well-furnished yet simple living room, a strikingly handsome man lounged on a plush couch. His blonde, almost golden, hair framed a face so perfectly symmetrical it seemed sculpted by divine hands.

He had light amber eyes that gleamed with amusement, with small, yet undeniably beautiful lips that curled into a smile as he conversed with the woman resting on his lap.

She was just as breathtaking, with crimson bob cut for hair, full, plump lips, a small nose, and those piercing crimson eyes that always made a statement of the Crimson family.

Her gaze was unfocused, as she was lost in the black letters of her Records within her mind space. Yet despite that, her attention never wavered.

"Well, I guess so," Lucien finally conceded, his grin widening.

Her blank stare shifted as she pulled her consciousness out of her mind space.

"Lucien Light! What's going on in that head of yours?" She asked in a voice that carried amusement, while giving him a raised brow.

Lucien chuckled, the corners of his lips curling into a smirk. "Now, now, Karrie. You make it sound like I'm always scheming."

Karrie's expression did not change, still giving him the same nonchalant look.

"Aren't you?" she quipped.

Lucien let out a soft laugh, his fingers idly running through her silky bob of crimson hair. "I'll have you know, my thoughts are as pure as my golden locks."

"Yeah, right" she snorted and he chuckled again.

Karrie let out a small sigh, rubbing her temples.

"Drying up the bloodline pool twice over is just... I still find it hard to believe."

Lucien leaned back, his amber eyes gleaming with amusement. "It's quite surprising, honestly. But he's always been an enigma, so if you just think of him as an anomaly, it kind of makes sense."

Karrie shook her head. "In the history of the Crimson family, only a handful have ever reached a hundred percent bloodline resonance. He did that twice over."

Lucien chuckled. "The Crimson family has only existed for four generations. There's still a chance another offspring might achieve it in the future. I don't see why you're making such a fuss over it."

Karrie shot him a sharp look. "You're not understanding. No matter how much of a genius he is, drying up the pool twice over, and almost a third time is unheard of."

Lucien shrugged. "You're forgetting what an anomaly is. Nothing about them makes sense. Instead of comparing him to average geniuses, you should be treating him as something beyond comprehension."

Karrie's expression darkened.

Lucien inwardly cursed. Big slip up.

_'This is why talking to women is a dangerous game. Traps everywhere.'_

Her next words came out slowly, her voice, eerily calm. "So… our kids are just average geniuses?"

Lucien coughed. "I mean, in a certain way, yes. If you put things into perspective, you'd come to the same conclusion as I did."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, but he pressed on.

"In raw intelligence and cunning, he's a super prodigy. Meanwhile, Garth and Genevieve are smart geniuses, but they simply don't compare. Not in battle IQ, not in politics, not in charisma, and definitely not in bloodline resonance. When everything is counted... unfortunately, he leaves them in the dust."

Karrie stared at him for a long moment before she scoffed. "You're impossible."

Lucien spread his hands. "You should see reason. Even more, he just turned seven yesterday. Genevieve is five years older, and Garth is already thirteen..."

Karrie's expression continued to darken, and sensing the storm approaching, he coughed again and quickly added,

"However, he has a flaw they don't have."

That made her pause.

"With this much talent, without what truly matters, it's all just superficial. What's the essence of all this intelligence, all these abilities, if in a world where might makes right, he's fundamentally… useless?"

Karrie's frown deepened.

Lucien leaned forward, his golden hair catching the soft light. "Sure, he could become a brilliant schemer, but against absolute power, all tricks are meaningless. Fate played a cruel joke on him."

She exhaled. "Because he can't awaken naturally."

"Exactly." Lucien nodded. "The moment he kills, the moment he takes a life... which he would have to do sooner or later, the Existential Compendium would force his core to awaken. The problem is that such awakened cores are always of poor quality.

"A poor-quality core means poor affinity for dynamis. A poor affinity for dynamis means a weak capacity for it, unable to store any substantial amount; which makes him talentless in the path of the mystics."

Her gaze turned contemplative.

Lucien continued, his voice smooth. "In this world, you climb through the tiers of Ascension with the Existential Compendium as the facilitator of evolution. It controls all things and displays them as your progression in those black status screens in our mindscape. But if you don't have enough dynamis to cast powerful skills or spells to kill stronger foes and level up, how can you progress?"

Karrie clicked her tongue. "A dirty and cruel game, fate has played on him indeed."

Lucien leaned back, watching her closely. "Yes."

A long silence stretched between them before Karrie let out a small chuckle, though there was no humor in it.

"I guess you're right. He is an anomaly… but a pathetic one."

Lucien's grin widened to its limits.

"I wonder what people would say if they heard you say that? I thought you found him satisfactory enough to support him as the next Patriarch?"

Her eyes flickered with realization. "You scheming bastard."

Lucien laughed. "Did I say something wrong?"

Her glare intensified. "You goaded and manipulated me into saying that! You've been leading me by the nose all along."

"Did I? How hypocritical" His laughter only grew.

Karrie snarled, "No one hears about this. If you dare... I'll castrate you."

Lucien raised his hands in surrender. "Of course, of course! No need for violence."

She snorted, but he could tell she wasn't actually mad.

Still, inwardly, Lucien was smiling.

_'Boy,... I think it's time we see each other. It's been too long, hasn't it… my friend?'_