"Your mother told me your name before she died."
"Meru."
"From now on, your name will be Meru.."
The Ant King Meruem's original name naturally wouldn't do anymore. The gender was different, and so was her nature.
Fortunately, the Chimera Ant Queen had only said the first two syllables, so he'd use them as the Ant King's new name.
Hearing Nara Dan's words, Meru looked displeased. She gazed at the Chimera Ant Queen's corpse with disgust.
"That ugly thing isn't my mother!"
Then Meru looked back at Nara Dan, her eyes shining with reverence.
"Only Father God is my Father God."
Nara Dan was speechless. Wasn't that just a loop?
"Get up first."
At Nara Dan's command, Meru rose without hesitation and looked up at him.
Although she'd inherited Nara Dan's genes, Meru didn't resemble him. Compared to Nara Dan's sharply masculine, chiseled features, Meru had almost perfectly feminine beauty.
Of course, this wasn't surprising. Nara Dan's gene pool contained countless genes from his human ancestors, so it was only natural that it included every kind of female appearance.
Looking at Meru's exquisite face and radiant smile, Nara Dan couldn't help stroking her soft white hair. A feeling of affection passed through him.
So even someone like me, a seeker of the Way, can feel affection for my own bloodline.
Or perhaps my sense of ethics and self-identity still haven't entirely escaped the limits of humanity.
From the perspective of human ethics, Meru was indeed Nara Dan's child.
After all, some of his genes and blood flowed through Meru, and he'd practically arranged her birth himself.
But from the perspective of transcendent beings, only a blood relative of equal rank could be called one's child.
Those beneath the transcendent rank, with limited lifespans and only part of one's bloodline and