Leon began to levitate toward the center of the fractured reality. His eyes burned with the intensity of twin suns, and his silver hair glittered like stardust against an ominous, engulfing aura.
In a state of pure panic, Ren launched a desperate barrage of lightning and howling tornadoes at the boy. But before the spells could land, a thunderous snap echoed through the void. One of the alien gods simply flicked its fingers, nullifying Ren's legendary magic as if it were a mere candle flame. The entity stared down at Ren, its gaze treating the "Sky God" as something less than a speck of dust.
Leon lifted his hand. A ball of pure, nameless energy materialized, growing at a rapid pace. It wasn't fire, air, or any substance known to the magical world—it was the raw essence of the void, and its intensity vibrated through the very marrow of Ren's bones.
Ren watched, his mouth hanging open, words failing him as he gazed at the creature Leon had become. A terrifying stream of consciousness flooded his mind:
This is not flesh. It's not a boy. It is a monstrosity stuffed into fragile bones—an absurd entity, a cosmic joke with eyes that devour stars. A fathomless abomination disguised as a kid. No one told me a walking singularity lived among us. Looking into those eyes... even death would be a mercy.
"No... No! I can't die like this!" Ren screamed internally.
Leon launched the sphere. Ren desperately surrounded himself with a raging tornado, pouring every ounce of his legendary mana into a final defense. When the energy collided with the wind, the resulting explosion ripped through the dimensions. The shockwaves leveled the concept of space itself, yet the silent gods and Leon remained unfazed. Ren, however, took the full, catastrophic impact.
The glow faded from Leon's hair. His feet touched the damp earth as the divine realm shattered completely, revealing the familiar waterfall in the forest. The "Throne of Nimbus" was gone, and so was Ren Henderson.
Leon's focus immediately snapped back to his sister. He rushed to her side, his hands glowing with a soft, restorative light as he finished purging the last of the poison from her system.
Claire's eyes fluttered open, the first thing she saw being Leon's bright, relieved smile.
"Leon?" she managed to mutter, her voice thick with exhaustion.
"Hey, big sis. What happened?" he asked softly, his voice once again that of a concerned younger brother.
Claire's head was heavy, her memories of the cosmic horror already beginning to blur into a hazy dream. "I think I need some rest," she whispered. "I'll fill you in later."
Before she could say another word, she collapsed back into the grass and fell into a deep, healing sleep. Leon stood up, his gaze drifting toward the churning waters of the waterfall. He felt a faint, lingering pulse of mana in the distance.
"He survived," Leon whispered to the wind.
Hours later, the sun began its descent, casting long, amber shadows across the forest floor. Claire finally stirred, her strength returning as the last traces of the Sky God's poison withered away. As they began the long journey back to the mansion, she recounted the harrowing experience—how Ren had lured her with the promise of mentorship, only to reveal himself as a cold-blooded assassin determined to prune the kingdom's prodigies.
The Fabricated Truth
Surprisingly, Claire's memory of the Throne of Nimbus remained intact; she vividly recalled the suffocating pressure of the Legend's domain. However, the image of Leon in Ren's palace was missing, lost in the haze of her unconsciousness.
Leon seized the opportunity to weave another veil over the truth. "I found the envelope under your bed," he explained, his voice sounding like that of a worried, lucky brother. "I followed the coordinates to see your training, but when I arrived, I just found you lying unconscious by the waterfall. I managed to wake you up for a moment, but you fell right back asleep."
Claire nodded, still shaken. "I must have pushed myself too hard... or the poison acted faster than I thought."
When the siblings finally crossed the threshold of the Vinci estate, they found a house in absolute turmoil. Duke Dris von Vinci had mobilized every guard in the territory, his face a mask of terror and fury. The moment he saw his children walking through the gates, the atmosphere shifted from panic to a thunderous calm.
The scolding was legendary. Dris paced the hall, his voice booming as he reprimanded them for vanishing without a word, leaving the family vulnerable and the house in a state of chaos. After a long hour of stern lectures, Leon and Claire offered their deepest apologies and retreated to their respective rooms, the weight of their secrets heavy in the air.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, the "Sky God" was anything but divine. Ren staggered through the undergrowth, his clothes tattered and his body a map of bruises and internal fractures. He was alive, but the realization of why he was alive was more painful than his injuries.
He stopped by the edge of the waterfall where the nightmare had begun. He looked at his trembling hands, realizing that Leon had spared him. The energy ball hadn't been an attempt to kill; it was a warning. If the boy had put even a fraction of true lethal intent—using a flame the size of that cosmic sphere—Ren Henderson would have been turned into ash.
"What kind of child is that?" Ren whispered, the sunset reflecting in his hollow eyes.
He knew then that his mission had changed. He wasn't just a gatekeeper anymore; he was a survivor who had seen a glitch in the universe. "That child will be a problem for all of us," he thought grimly. "I need to inform the Boss."
Deep within an unknown stronghold, a throne room bathed in a visceral, dark red light sat in oppressive silence. At the center of the gloom, a mysterious figure occupied a massive throne, their face hidden in the shifting shadows. The heavy doors groaned open, and Ren walked through. Though he had dressed in proper attire to hide his shame, his movements were stiff, and his face remained a map of bruises.
"Ren," the figure on the throne spoke, the voice laced with a mocking edge. "You look quite battered. Who could possibly possess the power to do this to you?"
Ren approached the dais and knelt, his head bowed low in a gesture of absolute submission. "It was a child from the house of the new Duke. One of the von Vinci line. I believe he possesses a skill currently unknown to this world."
"If he is a noble, you must have his records," the person stated. "What is his rank? What is his skill?"
"He is officially a B-Rank," Ren replied, his voice trembling slightly. "And according to the Academy administration, his skill is Theft."
The temperature in the room plummeted. "A B-Rank messed you up this badly?" the voice asked, now dangerously cold. "And what do you mean, Theft? Theft is a Primordial Skill. No two users can exist at the same point in time. Explain yourself."
"That is what the machines detected," Ren explained quickly. "Theft is what is registered. But I saw the truth. The administration claims he is B-Rank, yet he was able to manifest a Soul Palace—one that completely dominated my own."
The mysterious figure paused, the silence heavy with skepticism. "A B-Rank creating a Soul Palace? That sounds like a myth. But if it is true... tell me. What did he call it? What did you see?"
"He called it the Realm of the Almighty," Ren responded, the memory of the alien gods causing a cold sweat to break out on his skin. "Inside, there were an absurd number of gigantic, alien beings. Each one... each one felt like a god."
"Really?" the figure whispered. A soft, unsettling giggle began to echo through the red-lit chamber. "I know you wouldn't dare lie to me. So that means..."
The figure stood from the throne, the silhouette descending the stairs with predatory grace. A dark ambition ignited in the master's mind: This might be the one thing I need to finally surpass that bastard. This is destiny.
The figure reached the bottom of the stairs, the red light glinting off a pair of hungry eyes.
"It's time," the voice commanded, "to pay a visit to the House of von Vinci."