"Arthur Nodragon."
"One of the five only B-grade talents in the entire Aegis Domain, and the only one worthy of my love."
"A talent like him should not have to have trash like you as king, nor be reduced to nothing but your protector."
"He deserves the throne more than you do, and anyone in the Aegis Domain would easily agree to that."
"The foolish old rules prevented that, and now… that's been removed."
She rose from the seat and seized his hair roughly, dragging him up.
"I should dip my fingers into your eyes and blind you eternally for ever daring to lay your eyes on me with love."
She said, before releasing him as he dropped helplessly to the ground.
"But removing your eyes now may just make you bleed to death before help arrives."
"If you died, many who know well of your background may grow suspicious, and that might lead to unwanted trouble."
"So I'll spare those undeserving eyes of yours."
She released his air, and he collapsed face-first, before she reached for the door, but then paused.
Liora dipped her hands into her pockets, bringing out an envelope on which were the words:
"To Cadwaldar Aegis."
"A letter came for you from the Association an hour ago. I bet they're calling you so they can ban you from the academy. After all, it's an academy for cultivators, not cripples."
She said, dropping the letter on the sofa before reaching for the doorknob, but paused.
"I trusted you, loved you… fought for you… and yet… You betrayed me."
Cad whispered, and her brows creased slightly, her eyes quietly shaking for a moment, before immediately relaxing.
"Trusting me, loving me, and fighting for me, none of these things have I ever asked you to give to me. You did them of your own accord," she said mercilessly.
"As for betraying you… How can the weak be deserving of the strong's loyalty?"
Those were her last words before she stepped out the door, shutting it with a bang.
Cad remained on the ground quietly for a while, listening to the sound of her footsteps fade away.
After it did, he immediately pushed himself off the ground.
"Well, I hope that was convincing enough."
CREAAAK!
"Yow! My waist!"
He screamed as he tried to rise, holding his waist tightly.
Her gravity force was indeed crushing, but it wasn't worse than getting shot over and over again.
He took off his shirt, wiping off the blood pouring from the slice on his forehead, before he turned to the envelope on the sofa.
Opening it, he scanned the contents. It was a very short letter.
Come to Elder's Hall at the highest peak of the Lunar Moon!
~Aegis Academy Management.
"The highest peak of the Lunar Moon…"
Cad mused beneath his breath, brows furrowing as he searched through his memories.
"The Lunar Moon. That'll be three days from now."
Searching further, he found the location of the Elder's Hall, and only then did he put the letter aside.
"Ahhhhhh…"
A deep exhale left his lips as he reclined on the sofa, looking at the ceiling above him.
He had just faced a betrayal, and though he shouldn't have felt anything, judging that he had zero emotions toward Liora, somehow, he could feel his heart stinging with pain.
"In a way," Cad mused, raising his hands to his chest and grabbing tightly.
"I'm glad you never got to see this."
"To be able to fight for love, you have to believe it's true... and mutual."
"And to get crippled only to be faced with such poisonous words from the one you thought truly loved you."
"Though I've never felt that before, I can imagine how deeply that would have hurt."
Besides, he knew this wasn't just some hotheaded fool in love.
This was an immaculate ploy and a dirty fight for the throne, one that cost this body his father and also his cultivation.
Verily, if the true Cad had heard all that just after getting crippled and betrayed, he might have just chosen to end his life.
"But this affects me now."
Cad mused, sitting upright as his hands rubbed together, eyes furrowing deeply.
"I have no cultivation."
"From what I've heard from Liora, it shows that one doesn't just need to cultivate, one also needs considerably high talent, at least D-grade."
"Even those with E-grade talent are deemed trash."
"If that is true, then how trashy is someone with no cultivation at all, a cripple?"
"My fate would be worse than even that on Earth."
"Besides, I have just three days before I face the Aegis Academy Management, and just like Liora and those gossiping students said, they're most likely planning on throwing me out of here."
"Mother believed the only way for me to be anything, to change the family's fate, was to join the academy, meaning there is no future outside of it."
"If I'm thrown out of the academy now, the only thing that awaits me outside is a life of hardship that will most likely end in a harsh and unwanted death."
"This is my last chance at life. I cannot live like trash and die unceremoniously."
He determined.
"But what do I do?"
"No, that's the wrong question."
"First… what do I need?"
He asked, and the realization came fast.
"Power."
"Enough power to prove to the Association that even though I'm crippled, I am not less than any student."
"To prove to them that I possess potential and am still capable of growth."
"If I can show that, I get to remain in the academy, where the only good future lies."
"This is what I need, power to prove them all wrong."
"I need power!"
Cad declared aloud, and in that moment, a runic panel flashed before him.
[The Magic Code Words Have Been Uttered: A Need for Power!]
[Transport to the First Level of the Tower Will Now Commence.]
"Wait, wh,"
All of a sudden, a gigantic black vortex appeared right behind Cad as he shot to his feet in shock.
It released a terrifying absorption force that sought to grab him.
Cad's instinct was to rush toward the door, but he never reached it before the absorption force pulled him in, and he was instantly sucked into the dark vortex.
The second he was gone, the vortex faded along with him, as if it had never been there at all, leaving the room empty.