At this moment, within the Central Continent's High Temple, the Golden Emperor was not seated upon his throne. Instead, he presided at the head of a long table within the hall. Three others were present: The executioner who stood silently behind him, a figure still shrouded in impenetrable darkness;
Sera sat with a stern, composed expression, and a third individual, whose face appeared as if painted a flat, featureless black, sat with his arms folded in absolute silence, his deep purple armor, his ink-black hair a compliment to his void-like visage.
The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps. Two new figures entered the hall.
"Father!!!"
For the first time, the Golden Emperor's stern expression broke into a genuine smile. A girl no more than thirteen years old ran into the hall and straight into his arms. He lifted her effortlessly, settling her on his knee. Unlike his signature white hair, hers was a deep, pitch-black, matching the elegant black dress she wore. A subtle, telling detail went largely ignored by the others: with every step she had taken, tiny cracks had spiderwebbed across the ancient stone floor.
"Oh, Belle. What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice unlikely warm.
Belle frowned, a cute, childish pout wrinkling her face. "Daddy doesn't sound happy to see Belle?"
"You know that's not true," he said, softening instantly and ruffling her hair. "Now, tell me, has your big brother Cain been treating you well?"
Belle shook her head, her expression turning somber. "All he does is make me train every day. I want to go stay with Big Brother Odden again."
The moment the name left her lips, a palpable pressure stiffened the air in the hall. Yet the Emperor's response was smooth, unchanged. "You know your brother Cain only wants you to grow strong. How about this, Victor will take you anywhere you want to play for now?
I'll come find you when I'm done speaking with your siblings. Grown-up talk is terribly boring, alright?"
She nodded. "Alright."
The Golden Emperor glanced at his executioner, Victor. "Take her. Do not let her leave your sight. Let her do what she wants."
The executioner bowed silently, took Belle's hand, and both vanished into a wisp of shadow.
The figure who had entered with Belle—Cain—had already taken a seat without a word. His hair was the family's iconic white, and his eyes possessed double-colored pupils; his right eye shone gold, while his left was a regular black. He sat with a proud, imperious bearing, waiting.
Finally, the last figure was entered. His form was strikingly similar to Cain's, with the same heterochromatic eyes, though his 'left' eye was the golden one. He walked with the same innate pride radiating off his figure and took his seat in silence.
All now waited—Sera, the faceless man, Cain, and the newly arrived brother—for the Emperor to reveal why he had summoned them.
"Romulus… Cain… Leo… Sera."
The Golden Emperor's voice was lazy, almost bored, but the spiritual pressure weighing down on each of them told a different story. They sat rigid, expressions hardened, none daring to so much as stir their own energy to lessen the load. They knew this was him *not* trying.
"Tell me again," he continued, his gaze drifting over them like a man surveying mildly interesting insects, "why do I let the Blackstone Empire and the Nether Empire exist, even after claiming Zekaa for the Templar banner?"
Silence. They knew the answer—rivalry bred strength. He only regarded the Western empires as a polishing tool for the blades of his empire—but voicing it felt like stepping onto a razor's edge.
"Hmm… No answer. It seems even my children deem my questions useless now." He leaned forward slowly, and the pressure in the room spiked as his presence intensified. The air became so dense that breathing got a lot harder.
"Romulus." The lazy tone vanished, replaced by a frigid tone. "The Blackstone Empire infiltrated the Northern Continent under your leadership. The Blackstone stained my domain, and this... happened... under your command!."
Romulus kept his head bowed, jaw clenched so tight a muscle feathered in his cheek. Sweat beaded at his temple.
"I never thought those rats would grow such courage, not while I still breathe. Their existence was meant to sharpen you—to turn my children into pillars of the empire. Now, it seems your existence is for *their* benefit. This is an insult to my name and a stain on my empire. And you let it happen!"
No one breathed. The pressure was a mountain on their souls.
'Sigh.' "It seems I have given you all far too much freedom." The crushing weight lifted, leaving them gasping silently for air. "Romulus, you will be reassigned to the frontlines of the war zone for fifty years.
The Northern Continent will be transferred to Cain's governance. When you have regained your edge, you may return to your territory."
Romulus's head snapped up, eyes flashing with furious betrayal before he forced them back down. Losing the territory was one thing. Having it handed to Cain—his twin, his eternal rival—was the true punishment.
Cain, for his part, kept his face a mask of solemn duty, but a glint of triumph shone in his golden right eye.
"Now, Cain. Leo." The Emperor's gaze swept to the other two brothers. "You will contact Blackstone Empire. You will demand a full accounting and significant compensation. Inform their council that if I am not satisfied with this explanation… I will deliver my response in person."
He finally released the remnants of his pressure entirely. A collective, near-inaudible sigh of relief passed through the siblings.
The Emperor's attention shifted, his demeanor cooling to something more analytical as he turned to the Sera, his sole daughter present.
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The trip was quite long, but aboard the Savage Sky Hawk—a spiritual beast renowned for its speed—the distance became negligible. In just over 10 hours, the sprawling settlements of the Blackstone Empire came into view below.
They soon approached the capital city. Neo gazed in wonder at the magnificent architecture—towers of dark, polished stone banded with veins of glowing blue ore, grand bridges, and bustling avenues far below.
"Halt! Do you have a permit to fly in this sector?"
They flew for another ten minutes before being stopped by a guard clad in red armor, mounted on a majestic griffin—a powerful fusion of lion and eagle with pristine white fur. The guard held a spear leveled in their direction.
Neo, marveling at the mythical beast, suddenly felt a spike of horror. *Shit. That little terror is going to give me a heart attack.*
Pandora was now lounging casually across the griffin's back. He hadn't even seen her move. They were eight meters apart—how had he missed it?
"Thank God they can't see her," Neo muttered mistakenly in relief.
"See who?" Helen asked, having heard his muttered words.
"Huh? Nothing." He turned his face away sharply, confusing her.
Ever since emerging from the cube, Neo had become noticeably more expressive. With the emotion-control relic gone, he didn't register the change himself, too absorbed in every new sight. But Helen noticed. It confused her, though she observed him a little longer and concluded,
'Maybe he's just overwhelmed, seeing the world for the first time after a lifetime in a coma.'
Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Richard.
"Where is it… where.. is.. it." Richard muttered, pulling several different pouches from his spatial storage. "Ah, this should work." He withdrew a golden brooch and pinned it to his robe. "Will this suffice?"
The guard's face paled instantly. "P-Please, Master Tasher, forgive my insolence! I was only doing my duty."
Richard nodded once and signaled Peck to continue.
"Grandpa, are we… royalty or something?" Helen whispered.
"Hehe, no, we're not. It's just that Grandpa is really strong," Richard replied, puffing his chest out slightly.
Neo smirked at the showboating before returning to sightseeing.
"Aww, I couldn't stay longer with the puppy," Pandora pouted, reappearing silently beside Neo's ear.
"So she can't stray too far from me," Neo realized. "That's safer. I wouldn't want her causing trouble."
"Hey! Stop thinking something bad about me! I can sense it, you pervy creator!" Pandora huffed.
Neo's lip twitched at the new title. 'I hope the system doesn't approve of this… Wait a minute, what if she IS the system?'
A chill ran down his spine. Quickly, he focused inwardly.
(Status.)
Name: Neo Ilyad
Rank: Awakened (Acolyte)
Titles: Creator
Awakened Element: Fire (10%)
Creator Relic: Pandora's Forge
Bonded Relics: World-Split Blade, Space Key
Bloodline: The Creator's Bloodline
Bloodline Abilities: True-Sight, Transcendence, Creator's Physique,
Souls Collected: 1