Henry and Kayden both looked toward Isildar.
They spoke at exactly the same time. "The clothes."
Isildar jolted and pointed at them threateningly. "Don't even think about it!"
Then he hurried outside before either of them could dare ask him again.
The four of them traveled together until they finally left the city's boundaries.
Once they had gone far enough, Isildar pulled out a small piece of paper. He searched his pocket for his lighter, only to mutter in annoyance:
"Damn it. I left it at your house."
Kayden sighed and pulled out a lighter he had stolen earlier, then set the paper alight.
"Teach us how to do this."
William smiled slyly and interrupted.
"I'll be the one teaching you. I'm one of the people who developed this technique."
Henry nodded seriously, hiding his expression.
"Learning from Sir William… is truly a great honor."
But inside, Kayden thought differently. 'I don't like this method. It's troublesome. I'll invent something of my own… something like a telephone. I want another way to transmit my thoughts, even if it means contaminating this world'
It wasn't long before Hugo appeared.
He looked exhausted to the point that his features had grown pale, his hair disheveled as though he no longer cared about his appearance the way he once had.
Yet no one noticed his presence at first.
He approached with heavy, almost silent steps, until he seemed like a ghost moving among them.
Hugo spoke in a low voice as he directed his gaze toward the twins.
"Henry, Kayden… why are you dressed like that?"
William turned toward him, a faint displeasure appearing on his face.
When he exchanged a glance with Isildar, he found the same expression reflected there.
It wasn't merely annoyance.
It was deeper than that.
It seemed that Hugo's very presence irritated them—not his words, nor his personality, but something far more fundamental.
Strangely, neither of them could sense the aura they were accustomed to, nor even the presence of spiritual essence.
Even William, who had always been confident in his strength, felt a mysterious emptiness seeping from around Hugo.
It was like a shadow without a presence.
A man walking among them, yet somehow standing outside the scene itself.
Hugo raised a hand toward Kayden, then gave a faintly mocking smile.
"Kayden… that color doesn't suit you."
Kayden chuckled lightly.
"Really? Fine. I'll wear it every day, then."
Isildar cleared his throat, attempting to restore some order to the confused atmosphere.
He calmly glanced at Hugo.
"Can you tell them apart?"
Hugo tilted his head to the side, his voice slow, carrying a layer of sadness.
"Yes, a little… I spent enough time with them to start wondering about the meaning of life."
Henry gave a short, sarcastic laugh at those words.
Of all of them, he knew the truth best.
He was the hidden reason Hugo had gradually been pushed into distinguishing between the twins, though none of them had ever acknowledged it openly.
But deep down, Henry wasn't merely being sarcastic.
He knew the future was strange and unpredictable.
Paths could remain intertwined for years, only to split apart in a single moment.
The future was unknown to them.
He and Kayden had spent a long time discussing the value of having Hugo among them. They had eventually reached the conclusion that this man with his mysterious abilities and unstable presence was not merely a passerby.
They wanted him to become a true companion, not simply a shadow passing beside them.
And in rare moments, Henry wished they could formally bind him to their group, much like Colton to make him part of their circle rather than someone lingering at its edges.
So instead of taking the difficult path or attempting to subjugate him, they had chosen something simpler… Something far more sincere.
They would make Hugo their friend.
Because in a fractured world like this, a friend could be worth an entire army.
Hugo turned his gaze toward William, a look of respect appearing on his face something rather unfamiliar for him.
They exchanged a few brief words, but there was a restrained tension beneath them. However, when he was asked to transport them, Hugo calmly refused in a strangely quiet tone.
"Actually… I can't transport you right now."
William raised an eyebrow, suspicion entering his voice. "Why? Do you need to meditate?"
Hugo shook his head. "Certainly not… but…"
His gaze dropped toward the ground, as though it concealed a secret he could not bring himself to reveal.
Then he suddenly looked at Henry, as if searching his eyes for an answer he dared not speak aloud. Henry stepped closer and asked quietly, though deep concern lay beneath his calm voice. "Hugo, what happened?"
Deep down, he knew Hugo's silence was anything but normal. That man had always been closer to an inextinguishable ray of life, a fire that never stopped moving.
Seeing Hugo this quiet now… It was like watching a storm gathering beyond the horizon.
Kayden joined the questioning, his bluntness almost unsettling. "Did someone die?"
Hugo took a deep breath before speaking. "Actually, it has nothing to do with me… or even with you. The problem is time itself. And I refuse to interfere with the laws of nature. Ron Feng… I can feel him…"
William's voice suddenly cut in. "You… which Lord do you follow?"
Hugo gave a faint smile and answered indifferently. "The Great Lord. The Lord of Time."
William looked confused, a brief expression of foolishness crossing his face. "That explains a lot! But… since when have Ron Feng's followers been this worried?"
Hugo shook his head and pointed toward the dark sky. "I'm not worried. But the world is changing, as I said earlier. I won't interfere with the laws of nature. That person… the one seeking immortality… could reach it at any moment now. I certainly won't risk using my abilities again."
Everyone raised their eyes toward the sky.
For a moment, it looked completely different.
The stars were sharper, glittering like the edges of glass, while dozens of meteors streaked across the sky like shafts of light piercing the darkness.
William whispered hesitantly, as though the question had been haunting him for a long time. "Will… our Lord return as well?"
Hugo didn't answer. There was a desire to mock their faith on his lips, a remark that nearly escaped him until Kayden lightly nudged him with his elbow, stopping him.
Hugo settled for a small smile and whispered in a mysterious tone, one that sounded closer to pain than humor. "Are you… my mother?"
Isildar blinked several times, an odd expression spreading across his face. "I think something really strange is happening…"
"What do you mean?" Henry asked sharply.
His eyes widened as he caught sight of something falling between the shadows of the forest.
The twins exchanged a strange glance before following the group with hurried steps.
Their attraction to the fallen figure was almost instinctive.
There, amid smoke and scattered dirt, stood a man holding a long whip.
The whip gleamed with a harsh light, producing a sharp sound like a metallic scream piercing the ears.
The man's face was unclear, as a heavy mask covered half of his features, adding to the dread surrounding his presence.
Before they could comprehend what was happening, another figure charged at him violently, as though an ancient grudge between them could no longer afford to wait.
William stepped backward, his voice rising in alarm.
"We have nothing to do with this! We need to leave… or get back to the Lord's City immediately!"
Isildar agreed, his eyes anxiously scanning the scene.
"Our Lord might already be dead… We won't be able to survive a battle like this."
But suddenly, one of the fighters turned toward them.
His face glowed with an unnatural light, and his crooked smile carried something deeply unsettling.
Kayden froze. "We need to leave… immediately."
They felt the ground shaking beneath them, leaving them no opportunity to escape.
Even after the smiling man delivered several brutal punches to his opponent's face, the other man remained standing, unmoved, as though pain meant nothing to him.
At the same time, the trees shook violently.
Hugo raised his voice above the chaos. "He's… one of the Fate Followers? What the hell is happening?! Is the Lord of Fate still refusing to allow someone else to ascend to immortality after him?!"
Henry answered quickly, his eyes fixed on the battle. "Which one?"
Hugo pointed sharply. "That one… the one wearing the grim-faced mask."
After those words, Henry remained silent for a long moment. Then he whispered tensely "Eden… don't tell me you're thinking what I'm thinking."
Unlike them, however, Kayden's face had gone pale.
He pressed a hand against his chest as though trying to suppress a headache.
"I want us to leave… We shouldn't even be here. I'm just as worried as you are!"
Before them, the battle resembled an impossible painting of chaos.
The blows were so fast that the human eye could barely follow them, while the air filled with sounds of destruction that did not belong to the human world.
It was as though they were watching a legend materialize before their eyes a legend in which there was no place for mere spectators like them.
Hugo whispered, his voice barely audible beneath the tremors. "Wait… just three minutes. Then we'll return to Sir Ayrton's residence."
William's expression tightened. "Why exactly three?! Three?!"
"Your Lord won't interfere… and my Lord is dead! If we don't run now, that one trying to ascend will come and cut all our heads off. Actually… just seeing two identical heads would be even more terrifying."
William became flustered and pointed nervously at his companions, then at Isildar. "Look at them! That idiot over there has such a stupid face that people could be traumatized just by looking at him! And you…"
He pointed toward Hugo. "You're so good-looking that girls might kill themselves over you!"
Isildar jabbed him sharply before answering "And you have a face resembling a lazy cow on a cursed Sunday morning. I'll smash your head, you ignorant fool… you commoner. You don't even deserve to raise your voice in front of me! Lower your voice before I throw you into that mess."
William froze and pointed at himself in disbelief "Me?"
Isildar nodded slowly, as though the matter allowed no argument.
"Of course, you. You commoner… Don't ever repeat that in front of me again."
William staggered away, shaking his head in horror.
He nearly got struck by a falling rock amid the surrounding violence.
Swallowing hard, he shouted nervously:
"You and I are on the same level, you narcissist! But… this place isn't safe anymore! We need to leave… immediately!"
He suddenly turned around, looking as though he was ready to run and leave the others behind without a second thought.
His panic was impossible to hide, as though simply remaining with them might drag him straight into an open grave.
"Whoever moves… I'll kill them!"
The man radiating that terrifying light shouted.
His voice echoed through the trees, as though the forest itself were warning them not to disobey him.
William and Isildar immediately froze.
They fell completely silent.
Kayden and Henry looked at them with undisguised disdain.
Kayden muttered while turning his face away from them:
"Even we… don't do that."
Then he turned back toward the battlefield, whose movements were impossible for a human mind to comprehend.
But Henry didn't let the opportunity pass. He seized upon William's earlier words as though they were evidence of betrayal. "You said your Lord was dead… Well, it's good that you admitted it. You two are traitors!"
William quickly moved to defend himself. "I meant that his whereabouts are unknown… Nothing more!"
Henry looked at him in disbelief, narrowing his eyes as he lowered his body slightly to avoid a stray rock that tore through the air.
"Really?"
His voice was cold, carrying an unmistakable threat to expose the secret.
At that moment, Hugo's voice remained as steady as the ticking of a clock.
"One minute and thirty seconds."
He returned his gaze to the battle, his eyes gleaming with an obscure coldness.
Hugo spoke calmly, as though attempting to explain some incomprehensible equation. "My Lord truly won't interfere. But… It seems the Lord of Fate doesn't want to see another person become immortal. So one of his followers is fighting this clown with a ridiculous face."
Kayden lifted his chin with concealed pride.
"Hugo, did you know… we have a brother who follows Fate?"
He smiled, his voice carrying a mixture of arrogance and recklessness.
"I think he's one of the most skilled… and insane people alive."
Hugo nodded in understanding. But deep inside, a shiver of fear passed through him when a massive rock suddenly fell from nowhere like a miniature meteor, crashing into the ground between the fighters.
It forced both combatants to retreat, separating them as though the battle itself needed another breath before erupting once more.
A moment later, gleaming knives rained from the sky like poisoned rain, targeting the other fighter.
The glowing man smiled and shouted in defiance:
"You won't stop me, no matter what you do! The trial will end soon… and my Lord will become immortal!"