Leo turned in his seat and looked the man in the face. The guy was massive—broad shoulders, thick arms, a towering presence—but walking up on someone without knowing a thing about them? That was the move of a fool. And more importantly, a low-rank fool. Still, starting a fight might turn the entire tavern against him, so Leo chose a subtler path—one that served as both a message and a warning.
"Didn't you hear me?" the man growled, reaching for his hood with a cocky tilt of the chin.
Before his hand could make it halfway, two white, glowing eyes emerged from the shadow under Leo's hood, locking onto him. A wave of unnatural dread surged through the man's chest, halting his motion and rooting him in place. Cold sweat beaded at his brow. It was Leo's Illusion.
Leo stood slowly and pulled back his hood, revealing a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"You're right," he said lightly. "Where are my manners?"
He picked up the mug on the counter and gently placed it into the man's hand.
"Boss, next round's on me."
The man stumbled back as the tavern suddenly erupted into cheer. "Hey!" a loud chorus echoed across the room. Music kicked up again, and two beautiful elven girls began moving between the tables, bringing fresh mugs of beer to every customer.
Leo returned to his seat while the large man backed away, still visibly shaken, and slumped into his chair without another word.
The barkeeper gave Leo a curious glance. "You could've taken him down easily. Why let it go?"
Leo shrugged. "Didn't want to make enemies the moment I stepped into the city."
"Wise choice," the barkeeper said, nodding with a hint of approval. He reached for another mug, but Leo raised a hand to stop him.
"I don't drink. Just something to eat and a room for the night."
The barkeeper blinked, surprised, but didn't question it. He gave a short nod and disappeared into the back.
While waiting for his food, Leo kept his ears open and his eyes scanning the room. A place like this was perfect for loose tongues—and drunk ones told the best stories.
A sharp voice cut through the low buzz of conversation.
"Sir, please stop it."
Leo glanced over. One of the elven girls was being harassed by a group of armed men. One of them, a man with slicked-back hair and a cocky grin, had his arm wrapped around the girl's waist.
"Come to my room tonight," the man said, grinning. "Promise you'll enjoy it."
"Juri!" the barkeeper barked. "I told you, don't bother the girls!"
"Alright, alright," Juri said, lifting his hands and releasing the girl. He laughed, clapping one of his friends on the back, and they went back to their drinks.
The barkeeper returned and placed a dish in front of Leo. Steaming meat with roasted vegetables filled the plate, smelling far better than Leo expected in a place like this.
"Those guys never learn," He muttered, shaking his head. "I'm Gerard, by the way."
"Victor," Leo replied smoothly, using his alias again. He picked up his fork and started eating.
"Who are they?" Leo asked, speaking around a mouthful of food as he took a big bite.
"Just a bunch of bounty hunters," Gerard replied, glancing toward the group.
Leo swallowed and leaned forward slightly. "Bounty hunters? Are they any good?"
Gerard gave a nonchalant shrug. "Good enough to ambush a few unlucky pirate crews, I guess. Their leader's that loud one—Juri. Calls himself a C-plus rank shadow assassin. He's aiming for the B-minus rank soon. Keeps bragging he's strong enough already."
"Powerful enough for B-minus…" Leo murmured under his breath, the words barely audible.
Gerard turned back to him with a slight frown. "Don't get yourself tangled with them. Nothing good ever comes from mixing with that kind of crowd."
Leo smiled calmly. "Don't worry. I won't."
When the meal was done, Leo stood and dropped a gold coin on the counter, sliding it across to Gerard and took the key to his room.
"Keep the change."
Without another word, he made his way up the stairs to his room.
…
In his room, Leo carefully set a few traps at the door, a faint illusion over the windows, and a mana-triggered spell beneath the rug. Once satisfied, he sat down in the chair and sank into his domain. He sat there in silence, letting his thoughts wander toward the paths ahead.
His immediate goal was clear: find Arthur. Beyond that, he had goals —dangerous ones. He wanted to create his own Meeting—a circle of capable, trustworthy individuals. But to do that, he needed people, knowledge, and power. Especially knowledge.
His first step would be the book Alexia had given him—one that could unravel the mysteries of Domains. But it wasn't just about power. Leo needed to understand this world more deeply. Why were the vampires moving now? What were they truly after? And most importantly—what was the god of light hiding?
Too many questions. Who was the god of light, really? Why did he betray the others?
Who created the Shadow Land, and if the god of light was a traitor, why was he the one holding back the shadowland?
No matter how twisted it was, something didn't add up. But that could wait. First, he wanted to use the Mirror of Truth to find potential allies—people who could become part of his Meeting. He raised a hand and, with a flick of his will, the mirror floated before him—its surface shifting like ripples on water.
He narrowed his focus, shaping his intent. Someone not too powerful, but not weak either.
Someone smart—not a fool. And someone who either needs help now or will soon.
The surface fractured like broken glass, each shard forming an image—a dozen lives unfolding in front of him, scattered across the world.
Leo examined them one by one, dismissing those that didn't fit. Soon, only three remained. He focused on the first.
A girl with long silver hair sat alone in a dimly lit room, staring out a cracked window into the endless dark. The space around her was nearly empty—just a bed and the chair she sat on. Her skin was pale, her eyes a haunting blue devoid of emotion. She didn't move, didn't blink. It was as if she were waiting—for death or for something worse.
'A poor elf?' Leo thought.
She looked like a ghost trapped in a living body.
He pushed the image away and focused on the second. A young man, tall and well-built, stepped out of a house with a shovel slung over his shoulder. His blond hair caught the morning light, and his face was open, warm. A farmer. Around him, villagers waved and greeted him. He smiled and waved back, walking toward a field.
Leo frowned. 'He looks happy. Does he really need help? Or is something coming?'
With a sigh, he dismissed the image. Then the last one appeared—and Leo's eyes narrowed in surprise. It was a face he recognized. Liam Hans, from the Paladin Association.
Leo leaned forward slightly, the glow of the mirror painting light across his face. He stared for a moment, watching the image move as Liam sat at a desk, reading intently under candlelight. Something was stirring in him—resolve, ambition, fear? Whatever it was, Leo guessed one thing. Liam was about to be pulled into something dangerous.
For the next few hours, Leo sat in silence within the white mist of his domain, eyes fixed on the images floating in the Mirror of Truth. He watched the three people he had chosen, hoping to see something—anything—that would give him a clearer understanding of who they were and what role they might play. But nothing truly meaningful happened. The silver-haired girl remained still in that dark room, barely moving except to blink or breathe. The blond boy, strong and smiling, continued his work on the land without trouble. Liam moved through his usual training routine with focused energy, just as expected.
Time passed slowly, or at least it felt like it. Eventually, a sharp throb of pain formed behind Leo's eyes. He raised a finger and tapped it lightly against the mirror's surface, and the images dissolved instantly.
'Well… I guess I need more than a few hours to understand what's going on with them.'
He leaned back in the chair of his domain and sighed. His gaze drifted downward for a moment, to the floor hidden beneath the fog, and his thoughts turned inward. There was something strange about how time flowed here. When he entered this place, time was moving slower, yet when he was watching the mirror, the world beyond seemed to move at a normal pace. That didn't add up.
To test the idea, he pulled a watch from his pocket—a plain metal piece, not magical—and summoned one of the mirror images again. As the vision returned, Leo glanced between it and the ticking second hand. It moved exactly as it should. No delay. No acceleration.
'So… time here matches the outside world when I focus on someone?'
It wasn't a question he could answer right away. Without a reliable way to measure the passage of time inside the domain compared to the outside world, it was only a guess. But a guess worth remembering. He pushed it to the back of his mind for now.
He had bigger questions to answer. Who did he want to be in this place?
Just another member? A presence that offered nothing more than casual help or empty talk? That wouldn't work. It would only encourage the others to treat this domain like a place to explore freely, and that wasn't what he wanted. He thought for a moment about Mr. Sage—hidden behind his hood and shadows, powerful but passive. That was closer to what he had in mind. But even that felt lacking.
He needed something else. A way to present himself that wasn't just mysterious—but commanding. A source of fear, yes, but also a symbol. This wasn't meant to be a club or an exchange of favors. He wanted to build a gathering with structure, with power. Something that could grow and stand apart from everything else. Like a guild—but one rooted here, inside the domain.
And to lead that kind of force… he needed to become something far greater. A god.
The word didn't feel too large. Not anymore. Not after everything he'd seen, and everything he was becoming. He wasn't a normal human anymore. And if he had to shape this domain into something new, into something that could influence the world beyond it, then he couldn't remain small.
But what kind of god? There were already gods in this world. Leo had read about them—some worshipped, some feared, some hated. The God of Light, whose betrayal had changed the world's balance. The God of Magic, whose power flowed through every spell ever cast. The Goddess of Nature, who was said to breathe life into forests and rivers. The God of Madness, the Goddess of Love and Betrayal, the God of the Underworld, the Goddess of the Moon, the God of War. They each had their own nature, their own legend. Each one was defined by something clear, something known.
He thought of becoming the God of Secrets. That had a certain charm. But it didn't suit him. Secrets required knowledge—unlimited, ancient knowledge. And Leo didn't have that. Not yet.
Then he considered the God of Storms. It sounded strong, forceful. But again, it didn't fit. He wasn't an elementalist. Storms weren't his strength.
He was an illusionist. An enchanter. A warrior. A half-vampire with a mind full of riddles and shifting shadows. And more than anything else, he had always been fascinated by one thing—creation. The room in Alexia's tower that could bring forth anything from nothing had left a mark on him. A place where thought became form. He wanted to build something like that. Not just inside a tower. Not just inside his domain. But in the world.
And with that thought, an idea bloomed in his mind.
"The Creator…"
He said it quietly, as if testing how it felt in the air. The word hung there, full of weight.
It made sense. More than anything else. The one who shaped things from chaos. Who gave structure to nothing. Who stood between light and shadow—not choosing sides, but keeping balance.
He took a deep breath and gave it form.
"The Creator — an eternal presence, neither good nor evil, bearer of both light and shadow, who forged balance from chaos and gave form to the formless."
The words settled around him like a crown. He smiled—partly from satisfaction, and partly from the strange embarrassment of naming himself like that.
Now that he had the name, he needed a way to show himself. He couldn't appear like a mortal. Not if he wanted to be believed. He needed presence. Authority. Something divine. He briefly considered summoning one of the others into the domain just to kill them in front of everyone—make a point—but the idea was flawed. He didn't even know if someone could be harmed here. Was it their body that came in? Their soul? Their mind? And even if they could be hurt, should he really take that risk?
So instead, he would show an illusion. A simple one. But meaningful. He raised his hand and willed the white mist around him to gather. It flowed and swirled, condensing into his figure. An exact copy of himself formed from the mist, standing across from him.
"Hello, I'm Leo Mantine," the figure said with a calm voice.
It wasn't the clone's voice but Leo's will, pushing the words through. He smiled and with another wave, the clone dissolved back into mist.
His mind was beginning to feel heavy. Fatigue crept in. He could feel the strain of maintaining awareness here. With a final glance around the ever-shifting fog, he let himself return to the physical world.
Night had fallen outside. The room was quiet. He stretched, rolled his shoulders, and walked toward the door.
He wasn't tired enough to sleep. Not yet. So he decided to go for a walk.
A look around the city might help clear his head.