Louis slowly opened his eyes.
The darkness was absolute, so thick that it felt like a real substance around him, not empty space. There was no clear ground beneath his feet, and no sky above his head. Only endless shadows.
And right in front of him…
Stood a tall, majestic being whose presence dominated everything around him.
His body was covered in deep blackness that swallowed light itself, as if shadow was no longer the absence of light, but a living, physical form. His eyes glowed with a cold purple light, carrying the wisdom of countless ages and the cruelty of endless wars. His black armor looked as if it was made of living shadows, slowly moving, pulsing as if breathing. His long cloak flowed behind him, moving like a conscious creature with a will of its own.
That being did not need a throne.
The shadows themselves… bowed to him.
He was the Shadow Monarch.
Ashborn.
Louis's eyes widened for a brief moment. Silent surprise crossed his face, then quickly faded. A moment later, a faint, calm smile appeared on his lips, as if he had expected this scene long ago.
Before he could open his mouth to speak—
A deep, slow voice echoed, heavy with unquestionable authority:
"You were able to stand firmly in my presence… and that alone proves your strength."
Ashborn's voice was not only heard by the ears; it resonated directly within the soul.
Then he continued, his tone colder:
"But… based on your answers, you may never leave this place."
In the next instant, Ashborn's aura changed.
And the world collapsed.
A terrifying, crushing pressure fell upon Louis all at once, like an invisible hand trying to crush his soul and force him to kneel. The shadows around him trembled, and even space itself seemed to shrink under that overwhelming presence.
For the first time since entering the Tower of the Multiverse…
Louis felt something real.
Fear.
Not instinctive fear, but a clear realization that he was closer to death now than ever before.
Ashborn spoke again, his purple eyes fixed on Louis without blinking:
"Who are you?"
Then the questions followed, heavy and sharp:
"You are not from any previous timeline."
"I do not sense the aura of any of the monarchs upon you."
"And yet… for some reason, a royal aura flows from you."
A brief silence followed, then Ashborn added in a lower, more cautious voice:
"So what kind of being are you?"
The pressure eased slightly—barely—but it did not disappear. Louis was still unable to move, as if his body no longer belonged to him.
He gave a helpless smile and spoke calmly despite everything:
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little?"
He paused for a second, then added:
"Anyway… I wouldn't be able to harm you, no matter what I did."
There was no reply.
Silence returned, heavy, as if even the shadows were holding their breath.
Louis had no choice but to let out a deep sigh.
The time had come.
The moment he had prepared this story for.
"As you already know… my name is Kim Yoo-won."
He raised his gaze toward Ashborn with difficulty and continued:
"I came from a different timeline."
Then he said the sentence that changed everything:
"The timeline where you abandoned your identity… and made Sung Jin-Woo the Shadow Monarch after you."
For the first time…
Ashborn's gaze changed.
It was not clear shock, but it was no longer neutral either. There was something like a small crack in his absolute calm.
Because no one knew yet…
That he was thinking about resting.
About stopping.
And about passing on his power.
The pressure on Louis lessened once more.
Louis felt it immediately and smiled inwardly, then continued without wasting the chance:
"In the distant future… after Sung Jin-Woo succeeded in killing all the monarchs, including the Dragon Monarch Antares…"
He paused briefly.
"For some reason, Jin-Woo fell."
The shadows around them expanded.
"And with him… the last monarch fell as well."
Silence filled the space for a moment, then Louis continued in a lower voice:
"And so… a cosmic war began, involving all beings in the universe."
He slightly raised his hand, as if recalling a distant memory:
"In one of those wars… I managed to obtain a fragment of a monarch's power."
This time, Louis did not hide the truth.
"I don't know which monarch it belonged to."
Then he said clearly:
"But that fragment… merged with me."
And there was the explanation.
That was the real reason he chose the skill Advanced Conqy Haki.
Because it carries within it a trace of the monarchs' power… even if that trace is small.
Louis continued:
"After the fragment merged with me… I lost consciousness."
"And when I woke up… I was in my original body, back when I was younger."
He looked at Ashborn again:
"The reason you cannot recognize my aura and spiritual signature… is because I was never meant to become a hunter at this time."
Then he said calmly, with deadly certainty:
"But for some reason… the power I obtained in the future returned with me."
Silence fell again.
Long.
Heavy.
Finally, Louis ended with a single sentence:
"And that… is everything."
Among the shadows, the Shadow Monarch Ashborn remained silent, his purple eyes watching Louis as if he were something that should not exist in any timeline.
Now all Lewis wants is for Ashborn to fall for his lie, or for him to die here and be done with it in this world.