Back at the auction hall.
A sudden uproar erupted from the main hall.
Elena sat alone in her private room, only a single attendant standing silently behind her.
The time had finally come.
She leaned forward, looking down through the crystal window at the stage below. Inside a massive transparent jar, standing two meters tall, floated a black heart that pulsed faintly with an icy light. Frost crept along the glass with every beat, and the air seemed to become darker as it was pushed forward.
Elena narrowed her eyes. This heart...
Memories from her past life flickered through her mind. She had seen it before, seen what it could do, and she would not let it slip away this time.
Coming to Imai, she had three goals, First, maintain a passable relationship with the Heroes and the Towers. Second, quietly kill a certain individual before they became a threat. And third… obtain the Black Heart.
Now, the third goal was within her reach.
This heart held a secret, the key to defeating a future calamity.
Elena stood up, her gaze fixed on the stage. The bidding had already started.
7,000.
8,000...
9,000...
12,000.
13,000...
22,000…
These bids were done in low grade crystal Coins. 22,000 lNCC was the equivalent of 220,000 gold coins.
The numbers climbed, and tension rippled through the hall.
Then Elena's voice rang out, calm but resonating like thunder…
"100,000 Medium-Grade Crystal Coins!"
The entire auction hall fell silent.
For a moment, no one moved. Then the crowd exploded into an uproar, shouts, disbelief, and murmurs of awe spread out. Elena's face remained composed, but her heart raced.
Across the hall, Hexfill didn't continue bidding. Rotell didn't either. Everyone else went quiet.
The auctioneer raised his hammer, eyes wide. "SOLD!" Bang!
Elena exhaled sharply and sank back into her chair, hand drifting to the black ring on her finger. She twisted it once, whispering something under her breath.
Moments later, servants rolled in the sealed container containing the Black Heart.
Elena paid in a single Supreme Grade Crystal Coin, and the attendants left her alone.
The hall outside thundered with new bids, but Elena ignored it all, her focus was fully locked onto the black heart.
She approached it slowly. The air grew colder with each step.
Frost began to form on her dagger as she drew it closer.
Then--shhk!
She drove the dagger straight into the heart.
An ear-piercing hiss filled the room, and the jar trembled. For a moment, it seemed alive, beating a single powerful beat, but then, with a dull thump, it went still.
Elena flicked the blood from her dagger and plunged her hand into the black mass. Her fingers brushed something solid and she gripped it and pulled.
From the heart, she drew a long, black key, half a meter in length, its surface etched with empty runes.
Elena's lips curved into a smile. "Found you."
In this life, everything was starting to finally fall into place.
She tightened her grip on the key, then looked back at the shriveled heart. With a flick of her fingers, a crimson fire danced over it, consuming it completely.
Within moments, only ash remained.
In this loop, no one would be able to use this thing.
The auction continued in the distance, but for Elena… the true prize was already hers.
* * *
Elena left in a hurry.
She didn't want trouble, so the best option was to go.
As she moved through the lobby, her eyes caught a flash of green hair in the distance.
She paused, her heart tightening.
"Petra?" she whispered.
No one was around to answer.
Her feet moved on instinct. One step, two… then, before she could rise to a sprint, an elderly man blocked her path. His white hair was tied with a single bell that jingled faintly with each motion.
"Miss Elena," he said with a gentle smile, "it's a pleasure. I was hoping I could speak with you about the Black Heart."
Elena brushed past him, barely slowing down. "I'm sorry, elder, but there's something I have to do."
"Miss Elena! Please! This is important!"
She didn't look back.
"Ah… she's gone already. What a shame," the old man murmured, his bell ringing once as he sighed.
Elena pushed through the crowd, but it was too late. By the time she reached the spot where Petra had been, the little imp was gone.
She muttered softly, rubbing her head. "How unlucky…"
Seeing the old man had also disappeared, she just shook her head and continued home.
* * *
In another part of the auction hall, a man in flowing red robes walked leisurely.
The fabric hid his head and hands, but if one looked closely, his footsteps were far too heavy for his size, each step resonating through the otherwise empty hall with a mountainous thud.
He paused, slowly turning to face the figure behind him.
From the shadows, a man in black robes approached. His movements were calm, almost lazy, but his pale, ash-colored skin and the strange tattoos peeking from beneath his sleeves marked him as no ordinary man.
His smile was faint, amused, almost predatory towards the red robed man.
The man in red clicked something in his hand and spoke softly. "You're the mutant that was recently born? What brings you to the great me?"
The man in black tilted his head, eyes glinting. "Are you not going to ask why I am 'already' here?"
The red-robed man shrugged. "If I wasted my interest on trivial matters, I would achieve nothing."
"Indeed. Perhaps the others don't know, but how can we not know the true face of Ticelli, the Red Hand?"
Click, click, click. Ticelli's fingers tapped against his hood, the faint metallic sound echoing in the empty hall. "True face? Hehehe… I've had so many of those lately, it's hard to remember, even for me."
Ticelli scratched his cheek under the hood, producing only a metallic scratch. "I'm more interested in why Keskell, the genius prince of the Telltara, has graced me with his presence."
Kaskell's brow furrowed. "Hmm… I'm wondering the same. I only wanted to ask, is it appropriate to give that thing out?"
Click, click. Ticelli's voice dripped with amusement. "Whatever could you mean?"
"The key," Kaskell said bluntly.
Ticelli 'seemed' to smile widely beneath the hood. "Ah, of course, of course. You want to know why I took the Black Heart and brought it here? Telltera, they have quite the nose for conspiracies."
"Are you so sure Elena will get it? What if it falls into the wrong hands?"
"Ah? That guy? You noticed him too?" Ticelli clicked.
"It's hard to miss something that massive. The locals of the Cross Continent are far too weak, too young, its almost funny, don't you think?"
Click click click click click. "Actually," Ticelli added, "he would never take it. That key can only end up in Elena's hands. I only wanted to test how much of the world's providence was tied to her."
Kaskell crossed his arms. "Then, why not tell me, hmm? Just how loved by the world is our little hero?"
Ticelli clicked again, his voice bubbling with glee. "Indeed, she hasn't lost it, even with the appearance of the other heroes. Since you asked… I'll share something else too, in exchange for a future favor. How about that?"
Kaskell paused, considering, then nodded slowly.
Ticelli leaned forward, his excitement barely contained. "It would seem that there is a divide between the gods… and not a small one."
"Who's on what side?"
"I thought your kin had abandoned your God? Or am I mistaken?"
Kaskell's glare was sharp. "Continue."
"Ay ya ya… the divide is between the world, the elements, and the Sun God! It's already beginning to crumble."
"That bad?"
"Who knows, this is a matter between the gods, after all, I'm just a small figure overlooking a large game, click click!"
Kaskell's eyes narrowed. "Is it true that the Earth God has fallen?"
Ticelli froze.
"Ha?"
"Pfft! Looks like you didn't know! Baha! Have fun, Red Hand! I'll see you again when you return to the continent!"
Kaskell laughed and walked away.
Ticelli remained frozen in the hall, his body tense, struggling to keep pace, not just physically, but with the sudden flood of information that his 'brain' was struggling to comprehend.
* * *
Rotell followed her small team out of the auction house.
Four guards each carried a crate, transporting them to the carriage one by one.
Currently, her expression was dark.
They had purchased a few items, yes, but it did nothing to wash away the frustration that lingered from earlier in the day, especially after seeing that rat of a sister's smug face.
The crowd had thinned.
Now that the main auction had ended, Rotell and her team slipped out relatively smoothly.
Unfortunately, the instant she left the auction house, her mood worsened. She glanced at the Royal Guard from the side, giving a subtle sign with her hand.
She clenched her fist tightly. She both wanted to cry, and bash someone's face in at the same time.
Rotell would not forget this.
Mercenaries were meant to be recruited, yes, but that didn't mean she wouldn't vent her anger on the Mercenary Alliance!
The carriage moved slowly through the darkening streets, the city around them quieting as night fell.
Eventually, they stopped in a dark alley.
The door to the carriage opened slowly. Rotell stepped out with an exhausted expression. Her sword was already drawn.
With a flick, the stone road beside her split under the blade's edge. She narrowed her eyes, peering into the shadows ahead.
Sigh!
"Thought so…"
Rotell watched as hundreds of shadows emerged from the cloak of night.
The third day of the Grand Gathering drew to a close. Its curtain fell admits the chaos, ambition, and scheming that had already started to fill the city.
* * *
[Day 4]
The fourth day of the competition arrived over a slightly gloomy sky. Unlike other places, the land above the clouds received bad weather slightly differently. 'Rain' came in the form of a dense mist that rose from the lower level of the mountain like a grey tide. When it swept in, the streets below had an almost ethereal, submerged look. Despite the weather, the competitions continued.
The combat tournament gradually entered a stage where raw strength alone was no longer enough. Only the skilled and experienced individuals continued to rise, refined through repeated trials.
The magic tournament, meanwhile, shifted from knowledge to innate talent. Unlike combat, magic relied less on study and more on the ability to control something through sheer will and a natural aptitude. It became clear that raw magical talent could outweigh years of study alone.
The forging and alchemy competitions continued steadily, quietly culling the weaker participants.
Finally, the fourth day marked the beginning of the Beast Master competition. This event tested participants in taming beasts, and ones ability to fight alongside there beasts. It was a violent display of ferocity and power. Speed, strength, and durability became a matter of strategy. Various techniques emerged, some participants built bonds through patience and trust, while others used magic to bind the mind, and some connected through soul contracts. It was a spectacle of both strategy and pure instinct, leaving the crowd in awe after every fight.
-
[Day 5]
By the fifth day, the mist from the previous day had vanished, and the sky was bright and sunny.
While the Beast Master, forging, and alchemy competitions continued, the fifth day marked the conclusion of the combat and magic tournaments.
The combat tournament finale was explosive. In a shockingly entertaining match, a strangely powerful blind granny wielding a massive sword faced a young man with two bird wings on his back. Against all odds, the granny, who had no cultivation, emerged victorious, instantly becoming a national idol and a great hero for all the elderly women across the continent.
The magic tournament winner was a young woman named Albery Amberwind. Petra felt a strange sense of deja vu and quickly learned that Albery was the sister of that irritating man from Sevensen who had tried to force Dorthy back, Albert. Like her brother, she had grown up in the southern region and studied at the Royal Magic Academy with Dorthy, but unlike him, she had not bowed her head to the Storm Tower in the eastern region.
Albery demonstrated a level of magical mastery far beyond her peers, surpassing both Albert and even Dorthy. If Dorthy hadn't possessed a near-infinite mana pool, Albery might have been considered the strongest student in her graduating class.
With the combat and magic tournaments concluded, the grand gathering transitioned into a nighttime celebration.
Rewards were distributed on the last day of the event.
* * *
On the night of the fifth day, following the end of the Combat and Magic Tournaments, Imai hosted a nighttime celebration.
The streets at night resembled the bustling market streets, but instead of stalls filled with goods, they were alive with music, laughter, playing, and dancing. Bright lanterns of every color hung overhead, casting a warm, flickering glow across the stone. Street performers entertained crowds with acrobatics and magic tricks, while the aroma of sizzling food and sweet treats filled the air.
Colorful banners fluttered in the breeze, and the sound of cheerful chatter mingled with the distant clinking of glasses, turning the street into a vibrant, joyful celebration that seemed to stretch on forever.