Hansel and Gretel (A Ten-Thousand-Word Mega Chapter-Please Subscribe)

For creatures known as "brats," parents were always the ultimate deterrent, practically their natural predators.

This was especially true for these newborn twins. They might have felt no fear toward their mortal mother, since Aribeth could do nothing to them.

But they were filled with fear toward their father, Raymond.

After all, the terrifying aura and immense power bearing down on them were undeniably real.

And the connection in their blood constantly reminded them of the terrible price they would pay if they continued causing trouble.

So the moment Raymond appeared, the gray-white hue blanketing Neverwinter and the mist made of mental and soul energy fell completely silent, without the slightest movement.

Clearly, like all brats caught making trouble by their parents, the twins were trying to avoid possible punishment by keeping their mouths shut.

But the truly interesting part was that they had yet to reveal their true forms. From beginning to end, they had remained hidden within this barrier-like space.

Or rather, this space might have been their true body, or the outward manifestation of some essential aspect of their power.

Raymond could even sense their omnipresent mental probing, as well as their instinctive, naked, undisguised greed and desire for souls.

"Soros! What exactly is going on? Are they truly your children and mine?"

Aribeth struggled up from the bed, looking visibly weak.

This weakness did not stem from her body, but from a deeper weakness of the soul.

For at the instant she gave birth, her soul had been unconsciously drained by the newborn twins.

If her true name had not been Twin-Soul Vadalia, granting her the Twin-Soul Talent that most mortals lacked, she would probably have been half dead by now.

Looking at his pale lover and chosen one, Raymond reached out and gently stroked Aribeth's