"What?" Kael was surprised. But he didn’t show it on his face.

His feet were lifted off the pile of bodies as he flew into the sky.

His power erupted from his body and the entire royal brood came crashing down around him.

With a defiant look of arrogance, Kael smiled and rose above the wreckage.

The Primordial Bee was fine as she made her own effort to escape the crumbling buildings.

While all these changes were occurring, Kael’s senses fused perfectly with the descending presence of the Alphaverse.

His golden eyes, enhanced by the Law of Vision, scanned his surroundings.

He was at the Central Coverage but he could see through the gaps that of the crumbling hive Heaven the cracks of the Great Gap.

It was just as Jordan had said, they had all forced an opening into this place.

"Should we retreat?" Azeus asked from wherever he was. None of them had noticed the moment they started waiting for Kael’s approval before doing some things.

"No," Kael said, frowning and annoyed. This was not something he had expected to happen anytime soon.

"We shall hold our ground, take Hive Heaven as ours, and reward ourselves.

Anyone who tries to step in and cause trouble should be eliminated immediately," Kael said.

"But..." Azeus hesitated, "Some of them are divine factions. They’re not the average cosmic factions.

These groups have at least one entity beyond the immortal level on their side.

I don’t think we are ready for these kinds of enemies," Azeus quickly said.

He had to enlighten Kael after all. Kael may not be experienced in these kinds of things even though he was very knowledgeable on the matter.

"Hmm, I know. Most of the lions will be retreating to Leonine Heaven. The rest will stay here to govern and restructure the bees.

We shall begin an influx of as many vassals as possible.

Just in case, having a meat shield is proper," Kael said after thinking.

"Good," Jordan also responded through the telepathic channel.

They had already conquered the Given Heaven and the Alphaverse had already started integrating it. There was no point in backing away at this point.

Besides, there was a lot of honey to be used.

"All-King, I’m at the Gap Entrance and it doesn’t seem like they are actually interested in fighting," Jordan said.

Kael listened but didn’t say anything. He took a step back at this time and paused.

He found out that he was reacting. All this while he had been following a series of planned activities and now that a very complicated variable showed up, he was being reactive.

He would lose the power dynamic if he didn’t keep himself upright.

"We shall hold ground, but do not engage. I’ll handle the Alphaverse integration, you guys handle the rest."

After Kael said that, his body began to shimmer and disperse into moats of golden light.

This was just a clone at the end of the day.

The Hive Heaven was just one part of the universe where things were happening.

////

Leonine Heaven, the Apex Pyramid.

"Kael!"

"Kael!"

"Kael"

"Kael!"

Voices, different voices riddled Kael’s mind, disturbing him with the soulful sounds of a persistent child.

The weird part was that all these voices sounded exactly like him.

Still, Kael ignored them...for now.

Kael, the original, walked down the long hallway of the Apex Pyramid where the powerful auras of some beings could be perceived at the end.

Kael walked alone, his eyes no longer glowing as brightly as they used to. He put a lot of restraint on himself as he walked down this hallway to not damage anything.

The clones may have it easy because they could just divert the power away to the main body, but this was the main body.

Kael was still struggling to solidify the foundation of his new power level.

He was also assessing all the Laws he had gotten from Planet Gadi.

Speaking of Planet Gadi, the clone that was there was watching over Ruda as she awakened from her evolutionary slumber.

It was the same reason why Kael was walking down this hallway. The seven-day period was over.

Kael could finally have his consorts again, new and improved.

Soon, Kael’s heavy steps faded away as he came in front of a shimmering blue door.

With a mental command the shimmering blue door dissolved, revealing the entrance to a wide room.

Kael walked in, his blonde hair and stern face illuminated by the lighting from above.

As soon as he was in, his eyes locked onto the multiple pillow beds scattered around.

This room was heavy with the stench of power, sweat, and impurities. It was a little stuffy inside, like there were tiny sticky particles floating around inside the room, making the whole place feel uncomfortable.

A figure moved, catching Kael’s eyes. It was from the closest pillow bed.

All the pillow beds were scattered around and they weren’t arranged in a neat or orderly position at all.

This one that was closest to him was supposed to be all white and fluffy. It was supposed to be...

Now, it was drenched in sweat mixed with some other liquid and its colour had changed, being light grey with a mixture of brown and black spots.

The figure stirring awake on top of this bed was Zabita, his cousin, and his consort. The only Lioness with Metal Lionheart among his consorts.

It had been a while since he saw her awake. More than twenty years now.

Zabita groaned, she was in her lioness form. Her head rested with her chin underneath her. Her two wide paws spread out next to her head and the rest of her body rose and fell quietly, like a sleeping giant.

The set of shiny metallic claws was very eye-catching as they looked like they could rip through anything at all.

Just as Kael expected, there were some changes. He paid close attention to the awakening lioness and walked closer to her.

Kael did not try to soften his steps and when he got close, more figures within the room began to stir awake.

Suddenly, it was starting to seem like an invisible storm was brewing within the wide room. The auras spilling from all the slumbering lionesses were heavy and threatened to collapse the walls and ceilings.

Kael noticed all this and calmly released a bit of his power, using an invisible force to keep everything in place.

The room became calm again.

Kael crouched in front of the sleeping Zabita. Just then, Zabita opened her eyes.

Kael felt the metal bones of his ribs tingle as they resonated with her power.

It didn’t surprise Kael, he had expected it. It was the power he had given her that she was unconsciously exhibiting.

Zabita’s lazy gaze fell on Kael’s face as she quickly came to terms with her current situation and remembered the last few moments before she entered that deep sleep.

"Kael..." She said as she began to flex her limbs, attempting to stand up. Instantly, she felt the power coursing through her veins, as well as the wet and sticky fur sticking to her body.

Still, she continued to stand. Her paws sank into the soft pillow bed under her and she stood to her full height as fast as she could.

Nearly three meters tall, with a tail that kicked up a harsh wind with every flick of its end, Zabita was magnificent.

Kael stood up too. He smirked and flicked his fingers, sending out another wave of power that washed over her and cleaned up her body.

The true beauty of her lioness form was revealed once again. Her fur which was a greyish dark yellow, her eyes which were brownish yellow, her metal claws, and the little glimpse of her metal fangs that she unconsciously showed when she opened her mouth.

To Zabita’s surprise, she discovered that the power pool within her had expanded and gotten very deep, having a very potent power at the center.

She sensed the connection she had with Kael and sensed the power that they now shared.

Golden letters flashed in her eyes as the lion system was reactivated within her soul.

All the things that had been happening in the past week were shown to her. Her face was expressionless at first. No matter how shocking the things she was seeing were, they just seemed lackluster with Kael standing in front of her.

It had been twenty whole years since she saw him.

She missed him.

"Kael..." Zabita said as her body began to transform into her humanoid form.

Looking at Kael, Kael nodded, "It’s fine, check yourself properly," He said before switching his attention to the other lionesses waking up.

Zabita stared at Kael’s blanket as he walked away, a deep feeling of longing in her heart. Watching his back shift away from her almost made her squirm.

Kael walked over to the next pillow bed that was closest to Zabita and couldn’t help but wear a genuinely fond smile on his face. A smile that was not a product of pretense but it emerged from a deep possessiveness.

The person who could evoke such a smile from Kael, the All-King, was none other than Katari.