Haruto's Student Training Ground sat high on the mountain.
The air felt wrong.
Heavy.
Still.
Like a funeral.
Students stood gathered.
Silent.
All present—
except Kuroko.
Shock lined their faces.
Disbelief.
Tears brimmed in some eyes.
Aeloria stepped forward.
Head lowered.
Face shadowed.
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
"Lord Haruto… won't be teaching you anymore," she said softly.
Her voice caught.
"H-He's… dead."
Silence fell.
Takumi's fists clenched.
His face twisted.
Tears burned in his eyes.
"I don't accept this," he said.
"He promised… he'd see us reach higher."
Aya shook her head.
Tears spilled down.
"Teach can't be dead," she said, voice breaking.
"He said… he's the strongest…"
Shizuku's jaw tightened.
Her eyes cold.
"I won't believe it," she said.
"I'll accept it when I see it myself."
Ayame froze.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Renji pressed her head into his chest.
Hand resting gently on her hair.
"Don't worry, sister," he said softly.
"I know Teach will rise again… and come back."
Kaito stood apart.
Silent.
Fists trembling.
Eyes fixed on the ground.
(How…?)
(Why…?)
(How am I supposed to prove myself to him now…?)
Amara didn't move.
Her playful expression—gone.
Completely.
Her eyes widened.
Unblinking.
Disbelief settled deep.
For the first time—
She said nothing.
"The higher-ups asked me to inform his students first," Aeloria said.
Her voice soft.
Measured.
"Before making it public today."
The words sank.
Heavy.
Inescapable.
Later, they found themselves in the tea café.
A quiet table.
Sparse chatter around them.
Kaito, Renji, and Ayame sat together.
On the long bench-like couch.
A table separated them from the others.
Across from Renji, the others sat.
Eyes distant.
Thoughts alone.
Everyone locked in their own head.
Shizuku sipped a glass of cold water.
Still.
Distant.
Eyes hollow.
No expression.
An older woman approached.
White hair straight and long.
Eyes distant.
Steps measured, professional.
She carried a tray.
Cold drinks balanced in one hand.
Placed them in front of each student.
"They've been through a lot," she said quietly.
Her voice calm.
"I can't fully relate, just settled down here a week ago…
…but I can imagine what it's like to lose someone great."
She paused.
Eyes softened as she looked at them.
Then she left.
Pressing the tray against her chest as she walked away.
Kaito leaned forward.
Curious.
"Hey… guys. What was Teach like?
From your perspective."
Renji swallowed.
Hands gripping the edge of the table.
"When my sister and I had no place in the world…
he took us in."
His eyes softened.
"He was like a father to me."
Takumi, Aya, Shizuku, Amara, and Kaito nodded in agreement.
Each with their own small movements.
Shizuku, last, lifted her glass.
Her voice quiet.
"Haruto… was a benefactor.
Always."
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Lingering.
He had been that to so many people.
Never asking for anything in return.
Truly a god.
Balancing good and evil.
They nodded.
A figure appeared.
See-through.
Passing through the crowd.
Impossible to fully see.
The clothes matched his.
The stance.
The presence.
It was Haruto.
He stopped.
One table behind them.
Turned his head.
Through dark hair,
A smile curved his lips.
Pride.
Eyes narrowed with it.
Then he vanished.
Fading into nothingness.
"Teach may not be with us," Amara said softly.
"But as he said… we carry the memories.
The lessons he taught us."
Takumi's gaze hardened.
"Agreed.
As his true students,
We do not smear his name.
Not in disappointment.
Not in failure."
Shizuku's eyes glimmered.
"With that…
We will win against the heroes of Solmaria."
Aya's voice was quiet but firm.
"Great.
Teach would hate it if we grieved
And did not move forward."
Renji lifted his drink.
"We'll consume knowledge.
Techniques.
Whatever we can."
They all raised their cups.
Nods passed between them.
A new path was forming.
A path toward ascending.
Toward meeting him again.
News spread across the world.
The King.
Emperor of the Satoria Federation.
Dead.
The news burned like wildfire.
Monsters heard it.
Humanity heard it.
Their protector…
Their savior…
Gone.
The one who defended all life in their universe.
Fallen.
The Five Empire-Seized Kingdoms received the news immediately.
● Elarion Skyhold Kingdom
● Solmaria Kingdom
● Holy Kingdom of Lumina
● Soltheris Kingdom
● Kingdom of Dragons
At the Elarion Skyhold Kingdom, Kuroko ran down a luxurious hallway.
Knights bowed lightly as she passed.
Her boots echoed on polished stone.
She stopped sharply at a door.
Opened it just as Ronóva reached for the handle from inside.
"Uhh… Kuroko."
Ronóva's voice was soft, restrained.
Her brows lifted slightly.
"You have business here?"
Kuroko panted.
"Did… did you hear—"
She was out of breath, words trembling.
But Ronóva spoke first.
"The ruler of the Satoria Federation… is dead."
Kuroko froze.
"Yeah…"
Her back straightened.
Shock stiffened her frame.
"You already knew?"
Ronóva walked past her.
Stopped behind Kuroko.
Soft smile playing on her lips.
"Of course I would," Ronóva said.
"Why wouldn't I?"
Kuroko's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're so calm… I thought you didn't know."
Her voice was sharp.
"He was your lover. Aren't you… sad?"
Ronóva's gaze dropped.
She looked out the palace window.
Below, her kingdom sprawled, bathed in sunlight.
"I am."
Her hands clasped behind her back.
"Not even words could describe what I feel.
Even so… I must move forward."
Kuroko watched her sister silently.
Sunlight kissed Ronóva's figure.
She shone like an angel.
A presence both serene and terrifying.
(Yeah… sis's heart must be broken. She's carrying his child alone.)
Kuroko thought softly.
(Darling… I'll personally deal with anyone who threatens your people.
Those who endanger them… will die.)
Ronóva's inner voice was cold.
Silent.
Absolute.
Minutes later, Ronóva sat before Kai and Sai.
Their hands chained behind them.
Heavy. Restrictive.
Not ordinary chains.
"Suppression Chains".
Sealing strength. Sealing magic.
They looked up.
Ronóva perched on a few steps above them.
A table before her, piled with modern sweets.
Her gaze sharp. Calculating.
"What do you want from us?" Kai asked, voice firm.
Two Royal Knights stood behind them.
Keeping distance. Silent. Alert.
"Why ask a question you already know the answer to?" Ronóva said.
Eyes piercing. Cold.
Looking down at them.
Kai's eyes narrowed.
"Uhh…"
"I will answer it anyway," Ronóva continued.
"Your purpose… is to give me all information on the High Circle."
Sai's laugh was bitter.
"Huh… no way.
You really think we'll do that?"
His chest rose and fell fast.
"You must be a fool to believe it."
"Yes." Ronóva's voice cut like ice.
"You even get the freedom to choose for yourself wouldst was wrong."
Her gaze cold.
Unwavering.
Kai and Sai froze.
Sweets dripped down their chins.
Words caught in their throats.
Their eyes darkened.
Ink-black.
Ronóva's gaze pierced deeper.
Through memories.
Copying.
From birth.
To this moment.
Everything.
They collapsed.
Unconscious.
Faces hitting the floor.
Ronóva now knew everything.
Leaders.
Plans.
Commanders.
All that mattered.
Yet something caught her attention.
A subtle anomaly.
Sai and Kai weren't from this universe.
(Planet Earth… isn't that where Haruto is from?) Ronóva thought.
Luck stacked strangely in their favor.
She extended a hand.
Green light shimmered.
Sparkling dust.
Then vanished.
Healing.
Not physical. Mental wounds.
"Healing Magic".
"You two aren't loyal to the High Circle," Ronóva said.
Her tone deliberate.
Measured.
And she waited.
For their reaction.
"Join my kingdom," Ronóva said.
"You'll never need to worry about money.
Food.
Shelter.
All of this… yours… with a simple yes."
"Yes!" Both of them said in unison.
No hesitation.
Serious expressions.
No second thought of betraying the High Circle.
Ronóva's mind skimmed theirs passively.
No thoughts of spying.
No plans to betray later.
All she could hear: Finally… we don't need to worry about food or money.
No more moving from kingdom to kingdom.
"What do you want us to do?" Sai asked.
(Shouldn't you ask that first?) Ronóva thought silently.
They come from a place… someone important to me came from there.
"I want you to teach my children," Ronóva said.
"To be like the people from your world."
"This world… full of evil. Full of hatred."
Their eyes widened slightly.
Confusion.
Suppressed disbelief.
She knew they weren't from here.
"Wait… you know about us?" Sai asked.
"That we aren't from this universe?"
"Do you know a way back?" Kai asked quickly.
Before Ronóva could answer.
"No," she said.
Fingers resting elegantly on her chin.
"Unfortunate."
"Even knowing other universes exist…
There is no path.
All universes are self-contained story realities."
They sighed.
Not new to them.
Expected it.
They had tried everything.
No luck.
"Serve me long enough," Ronóva said.
"You may obtain the power to do so."
"We accept," Kai said.
"To serve you to the very end."
They lowered their heads.
Foreheads touched the cold ground.
A thin smile appeared on Ronóva's face.
Satisfied.
With that, she killed the "Suppression Chains".
"Thanotós Sovereignty"activated.
Ultimate-level authority.
Override rules themselves.
They felt the strings lift from their arms.
They rose…
One knee.
Heads down.
Respect.
"Why don't you explore my domain in the meantime?" Ronóva said.
"We'll talk again.
I have training to do."
"Alright then," Kai said, standing fully.
Ronóva took a sip of her tea.
Placed the cup on the plate.
Flicked her fingers elegantly.
"Translocated"activated.
Kai and Sai vanished.
Reappeared… elsewhere in the kingdom.
Where Ronóva had chosen.
She leaned back in her chair.
Eyes golden.
Reflected the sky.
Fresh garden air.
(I need to master "Thanotós Sovereignty".
Darling said I'll ignore stat gaps…by doing that)
Ronóva was pulled into the air.
No warning.
No chance to react.
Golden sand stretched across rolling hills.
Endless. Shifting beneath the black sky.
Stars twisted slowly. Watching.
Massive pillars rose from the ground.
Half-buried. Ancient.
Like forgotten monuments of a dead world.
She landed hard.
Thunder cracked behind her.
A shockwave tore outward.
Sand lifted violently.
The ground trembled beneath her feet.
Silence settled over everything.
Heavy. Waiting.
Watching her.
Then the sand shifted again.
Rising unnaturally. Swelling from below.
Something massive forced its way upward.
A towering figure emerged.
Sand poured from its body like a waterfall.
Its size blocked the horizon.
Endless. Overpowering.
Ronóva tilted her gaze upward.
Unmoved. Unfazed.
Calculating every motion.
White armor covered its frame.
Bone-like. Cracked in places.
Crimson streaked beneath, glowing faintly.
A massive blade rested in its grip.
Ornate. Heavy.
Marked with runes she didn't recognize.
It knelt.
Silent. Waiting.
Still.
Her eyes narrowed.
Then it vanished.
Gone in an instant.
The blade slammed downward.
Impact tore the earth apart.
Sand exploded upward. Dust roared like fire.
The ground split open.
A trench carved forward.
Deep. Endless.
Ronóva hovered above.
High in the sky.
Face to face with it.
Unshaken. Untouched.
She raised her hand slowly.
Then flicked forward.
A small motion. Casual.
Crack.
The head snapped back violently.
Its body dragged through sand.
Carving a deep path behind it.
Fractures spread across the armor.
Thin lines first.
Then widening.
Breaking outward.
Ronóva caught the blade mid-air.
Stopped it instantly.
Weightless in her grip.
She threw it back.
No effort.
No strain.
No hesitation.
The blade pierced its chest.
Clean. Precise. Deep.
It pinned the body to the ground.
Driven into the earth.
Locked in place completely.
Blood erupted violently.
Crimson flooded the sand.
Pressurized. Unstoppable.
The creature struggled.
Hands clawed at the blade.
Trying to pull it free.
It could not.
Still alive. Barely.
Ronóva looked down.
Eyes sharp. Cold.
Unmoved.
"This battle is beneath me," she said.
Calm. Absolute. Certain.
"There is no honor in killing insects."
The jaw cracked open.
Energy gathered inside.
Condensed into a sphere.
Aimed directly at her.
"Severance," she said.
Nothing moved.
The head slid off cleanly.
Effortless. Absolute. Inevitable.
The energy collapsed.
Burst apart instantly.
Scattered into nothing.
The head fell.
Spinning. Crashing into sand.
Sending waves outward.
The body followed.
Arms dropped. Loose. Lifeless.
Everything went still.
Silent. Final.
It was dead.
The same blade the bone knight wielded flew toward Ronóva.
Moving faster than any human eye could track.
It shattered on impact.
Striking the thin glow of light around her.
Her barrier.
It nullified all physical force.
Ronóva turned her head.
Through her bangs, she looked behind her.
Tens of thousands of bone knights advanced.
Matching each other like titans.
Each step shook the earth.
Quakes rippling outward.
"Two minutes," Ronóva said.
"Two minutes is all I need."
No power.
Only physical strength.
A light beam cut through them.
Shattering armor and bone alike.
Holes opened in countless chests.
They fell into peace.
Ronóva landed on the ground.
All the bone knights collapsed behind her.
The earth trembled under their weight.
All dead.
Ten thousand of these life-forms erased.
Zero time passed.
All done by moving faster than light.
So fast they wouldn't know they died.
No memory of pain.
No experience of death.
"Two minutes wasn't needed," Ronóva said.
"That was overrated."
"No point in staying here," she added.
Walking down the sand hill.
Past the corpses.
At the Satoria Federation domain.
The Nether biome stretched wide.
Armor clicked sharply through the air.
Troops of knights and mages marched forward.
Weapons gripped tightly in their hands.
A simple symbol marked their banners.
A red sin crossed by a line.
The emblem of the High Circle.
Ahead, a muscular man rode a black horse.
Silver and black armor gleamed across his frame.
His hair matched the horse.
Dark. Flowing.
He raised a fist.
A signal to halt.
The order carried back through the ranks.
"Something is coming," he said.
Eyes narrowed.
The leader obvious to all around him.
Dark smoke rolled toward them.
Thick. Dense.
It blocked all sight beyond its veil.
An unsettling presence pressed against their senses.
Shock rippled through the troops.
Whispers passed between them.
Fear touched every face.
"What is that?"
"We're going to be engulfed!"
"Stay calm. Don't get separated!"
The smoke stopped.
Just a meter from their line.
A red eye glowed within it.
Piercing.
Hateful.
It rose.
Towering over them.
Looking down with malice.
The troops drew into shadows.
Panic stirred.
Their hearts raced under its gaze.
"Humans, turn back now!"
A commanding voice boomed from the smoke.
Warning. Threat.
"What gives you the right to command knights of the High Circle?"
The leader's voice cut sharp.
Anger flaring.
"The layers of this palace are not for your kind.
Turn back, or you will cross the will of God."
He smirked.
Hand went to his sword.
Pulled it from his side.
Pointed straight at the glowing eye.
"Fire this thing down."
The mages raised their staves.
Magic circles flared from the tips.
Power ready.
Aiming at the eye.
They launched a ball of blue fire.
Merging with another caster's attack.
The two combined into a massive sphere.
A fireball that could turn cities to ash.
Smoke rising, choking the air.
Heat radiating, warping the ground beneath them.
Then the smoke moved.
A hand formed from its depths.
Reaching outward.
Slapping the fireball into nothingness.
"What?"
"Our attack… canceled?"
"That could have destroyed cities!"
The mages whispered among themselves.
Shock in their voices.
"I can't believe it.
All that power… erased so easily."
A voice boomed from the smoke.
Cold. Absolute.
"Your choice is made.
As the righteous hand of the Father,
I shall tear you apart."
The air trembled.
The ground quaked.
Fear spread through the ranks.