"If I couldn't save one, I will prove myself by saving hundreds," Aaryan mumbled, leaving the dead boy's side.
He flew over the city, high above everything—except his own thoughts.
The fight with the Rakshas had become an unforgettable event in his life.
"Even Rakshas have high expectations of me," Aaryan said, recalling Amar's final words.
"You said that the next time we meet, you want me to see you as a mortal, not an insect, right?" His words paused, but his flight did not. "If that's what you wanted from me… then you already have it."
With that thought, Aaryan came to a halt. His eyes wandered across the view beneath him. Everything looked so small, yet glowing—everything except the one who stood above it all.
A being unreachable by anyone below.
But what right does the one at the top have to be above all?
---
On the other side of Rajya, in the secret underground lab of the six Seatholders, everyone—except Kaiser and Aaryan himself—was watching Aaryan's every movement.
The expressions on their faces were pale, as if struck by lightning.
"Why—why was there a Rakshas in Miss Aureya's district?" the robot asked, its mechanical voice stuttering and trembling. Not because it was coded to do so, but because seeing a Rakshas was that big of a deal.
The bot panicked, floating around the lab, bumping into things.
"How is this possible? There was a chance—but it was astronomically low! Then ho—"
The bot's words were cut off by a familiar voice.
"No need to worry, bot-thing. After all, they used to appear a hundred years ago too," said Mr. Keesing—warm, gentle, sarcastic, and strangely fearless.
"But even so—" the bot tried to speak again but was interrupted once more.
"Besides, the Rakshas is already dead," Mr. Keesing said casually. "So, what is there to be scared of?"
"Keesing's right, iron-bin," Michael added, agreeing with him. "Besides, we can beat the Rakshas race ourselves."
His tone carried confidence—borderline arrogance.
---
The robot finally stopped its chatter and panic.
The room once again fell silent… only to be broken by another voice.
"The bot is right, though," said Ms. Krul, agreeing with it. "Why are the Rakshas showing up now? Weren't they supposed to be exiled from ever appearing in the human realm again—because of that event?"
"Yes, you're right," Aureya said. Her earlier breakdown was nowhere to be seen; her expression was cold, her eyes sharp and calculating.
To Aureya, the bigger problem was no longer their enemy, but their ally—Aaryan.
"But even though a single Rakshas can destroy an entire district of Rajya with one strike, how did Aaryan kill one so easily?" she asked, her hand on her chin, her mind spiraling.
"The answer's pretty simple if you think about it," said Mr. Keesing, his tone light and sarcastic.
"If you know, then please tell everyone," Aureya replied sharply, her brows furrowing.
"Why should I explain to everyone when they already know it?" Keesing said, shrugging.
"What do you mean by 'everyone knows'?" Aureya asked, suspicion growing in her tone.
"Exactly what it sounds like," Keesing replied with a mocking smile.
Aureya looked around the room. The others' expressions told her everything—she was the only one who didn't know.
"Why did you hide it from me?" she demanded.
No one answered. The only response she received was silence.
Her anger slowly faded; she straightened her posture and regained her composed, elegant tone.
"Then at least tell me how he could defeat a Rakshas. Rakshas—a being capable of erasing an entire district of Rajya, which itself is as durable as a galaxy, even denser than one. How?"
---
"Well, it's because he's Aaryan. And that alone makes him everything we want," Keesing said, fixing the collar of his suit.
"That doesn't answer anything," Aureya argued. "For a human to defeat a Rakshas this strong, they should at least be Mirror-level—"
Aureya froze mid-sentence. Her own words struck her like lightning.
"Hey, robot!" she shouted, her brows furrowed, panic faintly visible.
"Yes, ma'am!" the bot responded immediately.
"Open the file on Aaryan."
The bot obeyed and projected the data before everyone.
As Aureya read, her eyes widened further with each line. Her face turned pale; a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek.
"Is Aaryan really… a human?" she asked, her voice hoarse, disbelief clear in her tone. "No. Aaryan can't be human. He's… a God."
Pfft—
A soft laugh escaped Mr. Keesing's lips.
"Why are you laughing?" Aureya asked, cheeks flushing red with irritation.
"Why shouldn't I?" Keesing replied, clutching his stomach, trying to hold back laughter. "After all, you just called Aaryan a God, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did," Aureya replied firmly. "There's no way a human can have this much strength. He was Mirror-level by birth, the literal second tier in the entire power hierarchy. There's no one this strong in all of Sant."
In the world of Sant, power was measured in two ways—physical and mental.
Physical strength followed a simple ranking: S, A, B, C, D —
with D being the lowest, and S the highest.
Mental strength, however, had a different hierarchy: Enlightened, Mirror, Transcendent, Detached, Awakened —
with Enlightened being the highest, Awakened the lowest.
---
"If you think it's impossible for a human to be this great, then you're right," Keesing said, leaning back in his chair.
Aureya's expression softened slightly. She opened her mouth to ask something, but Keesing cut her off.
"But Aaryan isn't a normal human, you know?" he said, locking eyes with her.
"What do you mean?" Aureya asked, curiosity and unease mixing in her tone.
"Nothing worth listening to," Keesing said with a small, knowing smile.
Aureya stared at him but didn't press further. She knew that provoking Keesing never ended well.
---
High above Rajya, Aaryan flew faster than light—his figure a blur among the clouds.
Suddenly, he stopped midair.
He looked up at the sun and murmured, "The sun, from a distance, brings light. But when that distance closes… all it brings is chaos."
He raised his hand, as if he could touch the sun without moving an inch.
Then, Aaryan blinked—and in that instant, a massive portal tore open across the sky.
It was vast.
So vast that it covered the entire district.
Darkness swallowed the endless heavens.
This enormous disturbance was visible even from the Seatholders' lab.
"What's happening?" Aureya asked the robot. "How did this portal appear?"
"Currently, there is no data available on its formation," the bot replied, scanning every feed and record it could access.
The lab erupted into panic—everyone rushing to assess the situation.
Then Aureya asked, "Where is Aaryan? What is he doing right now?"
The robot projected the footage of Aaryan standing at the center of the colossal dark portal—calm, unmoving, unshaken.
Seeing this, Aureya felt a strange relief wash over her. "Now, we won't have to worry about the portal," she murmured.
"Zoom in," she ordered.
The robot complied.
As the image sharpened, Aureya squinted, confusion flashing in her eyes.
"What does that gesture mean?" she whispered.
---
On the surface of Rajya, Kai walked through the ruins of Aureya's destroyed district.
He suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.
A small, knowing smile curved his lips.
"So," he said softly, eyes gleaming, "the portal has opened, I see."