Three days later.
Two men—one in white armor, the other in pitch black—appeared silently within a lavish, secluded estate. They stepped out of the darkness that blanketed the path leading to the gates.
The shadows peeled away from them like silk curtains.
"Ughhh... I'm never crossing the Abyssal Sea in that damp element ever again." Cain ran a hand through his signature snow-white hair, his proud features twisted in lingering disgust. His armor gleamed—white mingled with spots of gold—as he shook himself like a displeased cat.
Leo emerged beside him, black hair silent against the night, his face covered in a mask of living darkness that erased all features.
"Please." Leo shot him a look. "You're just pissed that you don't get to announce your presence."
He shrugged with a smirk, gold and black heterochromatic pupils catching the moonlight. "My presence should not be hidden for any number of reasons, and I have the po—"
"Shhhhh." Leo's hand rose. "Listen."
Cain paused mid-stride, mouth open.
Leo stood still, arms crossed, head tilted toward the night sky. "See how peaceful the quiet of this night is? Try appreciating it a little bit..."
Cain's lips twitched. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
Then shrugged it off with visible effort.
"Say whatever you want." He resumed walking. "But it's better to crush any opposition before they can even start forming."
Leo's featureless face turned toward him, thoughtful. "You would think," he said, arms still crossed, "with how long you've been crushing opposition, ascendants in Zekaa would steer clear."
He shook his head—a small, disappointed motion.
Step by step, they walked toward the mansion in the distance.
---
Five figures materialized before them, armored and armed. Guards of the lavish estate, their weapons drawn, their stances firm.
"HALT!" The leading figure's voice boomed beneath his black helm. "This is a restricted area! Return now—while you still can!"
Behind his words, power surged. The full extent of their spiritual energy erupted outward like a tidal wave, crashing toward Cain and Leo.
Cain didn't stop walking.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't even blink.
He shook his head, still advancing, steps unhurried. "You'd think they'd pass pictures of me around already in this garbage empire. Save me the trouble of killing their guards whenever I visit."
Leo matched his pace. "And who was going to let you handle this?" A pause. "I'll take care of it. You're not ruining this beautiful, quiet atmosphere."
His next step he took as his foot touched ground—
Darkness exploded from his feet.
Not shadow. Not absence of light. 'Darkness'—thick, living, hungry. It shot toward the guards like a serpent striking, tendrils coiling and writhing.
The guards didn't even have time to scream before the tendrils found them.
Arms pinned. Legs bound. Weapons clattered uselessly against stone.
The lead guard thrashed. "What—what IS this—" His voice cracked. His comrades struggled beside him, but the darkness held firm, tightening with every movement.
Horror dawned in their eyes—slow, creeping, absolute. They were being *dragged*. Pulled inch by inch toward the darkness pooling beneath their feet.
---
Suddenly, three figures appeared in a flash.
The elders of the Blackstone Empire's council materialized between the guards and the princes.
Master Poddin Blackstone moved first—arm shooting out, hand closing around the air
A guard was whisked free of the darkness, landing in a heap beside the elders, gasping, trembling.
"Tsk." Poddin clicked his tongue.
He'd aimed to save them all, but-
The darkness tightened around the remaining four guards, the tendrils contracted so fast the air cracked. Leo's featureless face turned toward Poddin, silent, still.
One guard freed. Four remained.
Poddin's hand froze mid-reach. The other two elders stood rigid, muscles coiled, neither daring to move.
The freed guard—the one now beside Master Poddin—shook so violently his armor rattled. His eyes were fixed on the four still caught, still sinking, still staring at him with desperate, pleading eyes.
Leo watched them all. Silent. Patient. His face was a void.
---
Master Poddin straightened slowly. Carefully. His shaved head gleamed under the moonlight, gaunt features arranged in careful neutrality.
"To what," he said, each word measured, "do we owe the presence of the Empire's princes? Surely we haven't missed the taxes to the Templar Empire... have we?"
Cain's smirk widened. His heterochromatic eyes—one gold, one black—glowed with faint intensity.
"I'll assume," he said slowly, savoring each syllable, "that you don't think we're stupid this time. And let you... 'rephrase' your words."
He let the silence stretch.
"Now." He tilted his head. "Come on. Try again, Master Poddin."
Beside him, Leo stood motionless. Arms crossed. Face literally masked in darkness—not shadowed, but deep darkness, like someone had painted his features into nonexistence. The four guards continued their slow descent, waist-deep now, their silent screams visible only in their eyes.
---
To the right, beside Poddin who was standing right in the middle of the three council elders, Principal Lyer Greenwood trembled.
His hands shook inside his sleeves. His breath came short.
Two of them. Not messengers. The Templar bloodlines themselves—standing in the Blackstone Royal City, on a mess he was trying to conceal.
'Did something else happen?' His mind raced. 'Did that Tasher bastard hide something from me?'
He'd expected questions from the Templar Empire. Maybe a messenger. Perhaps a formal request for compensation, as they had done in the past.
Not 'them'.
Not Cain, whose destructiveness was legendary, whose SSS-rank relic had turned battlefields into craters.
Or Leo, who possessed a God-rank relic, and had never—'never'—allowed an opponent to escape, his strength and true nature of his ability was shrouded in complete mystery, much so that no one could even 'describe' even his techniques because no one had ever lived after seeing them.
'Monsters. Both of them.'
Greenwood swallowed.
---
Master Poddin cleared his throat. "My apologies, Your Majesty." He bowed—not deep, but deeper than he wanted. "The Blackstone Empire has prepared sufficient compensation and a full explanation regarding the incident within your borders and our connection to it."
Cain's smirk didn't fade. Didn't waver. Didn't shift by a single degree. This was why he loved power.
"Hmnnn..." The sound was pleased. Predatory. "I hope you've prepared comfortable seats."
He began walking again. Toward the mansion. Toward whatever waited inside.
Leo fell into step beside him, silent; even his armor seemed to respect that silence.
The Blackstone council members cleared the path—moving aside, to avoid being *near* those two as they passed.
Behind them, Poddin shot Greenwood a look.
...Indicating the obvious and questioning the compensation that Principal Greenwood provided for covering up this incident.
Greenwood gritted his teeth but still nodded, indicating his agreement to increase the compensation because it seemed that the matter had become a lot more complicated than he expected.