Chapter 1001 – "The Mana That Lasts"
The night was quiet inside Alex's vast home. The afterglow of the recent global frenzy over Solari and Living Treasure Farms still echoed faintly from the world outside, but here in the lounge, it was peace.
Ciel sat close at Alex's side, her silver hair shimmering softly in the lantern light, her golden eyes warm with quiet contentment. Reyne leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her lavender-white hair glowing faintly under the mana lamps, purple eyes burning with a dragon's pride. Ye Ling curled shyly into a chair, her hands folded neatly over her lap, glancing at Alex every so often, cheeks flushed whenever his gaze brushed hers.
At his feet, Ying Hua and Lian Yuer knelt together in perfect reverence, their small frames composed like carved statues of devotion, their eyes never leaving him.
It was Morgan, however, who broke the silence. She had been staring at Alex for some time, her cool blue eyes sharp, her silver hair falling like a curtain of moonlight across her pale face. Finally, she asked, her tone even, but with a trace of steel beneath:
"Alex… have you ever considered what you are doing when you create objects from mana?"
Alex tilted his head slightly, golden eyes steady. "You mean shaping?"
Morgan shook her head, lips tightening. "No. Not shaping. Not illusions. Not the tricks every mage can weave." Her gaze deepened, fixed on him with the weight of a challenge. "I mean permanence."
Ciel blinked softly, glancing between them. "Permanence…?"
Morgan's hand lifted, elegant and deliberate, as though she were lecturing a hall of apprentices. "Every mage in history has tried. They can create water, but it fades. They can call forth flame, but it dies. They can conjure a sword, but when the mana runs dry, it vanishes like smoke." Her eyes narrowed, icy pride falling away into something closer to awe. "But you, Alex… you create things that last. Things that endure when your mana has already moved on."
Reyne's tail flicked sharply against the floor. "Mithril," she muttered. "I've seen it with my own eyes."
Morgan inclined her head slightly. "Yes. Mithril. Objects no one else could ever forge from mana. You shape them not as illusions, but as matter itself." She leaned forward, her blue eyes piercing. "Do you know, Alex, that no one else can do this?"
The room fell still. Even Ciel, who rarely looked shaken, tilted her head as if realizing the truth for the first time. Ye Ling's hands trembled faintly on her lap.
Ying Hua's voice broke the silence, calm and deliberate, like the voice of a prophet. "Of course no one else can. Father is not bound by the limits of this world."
Lian Yuer echoed her instantly, her tone softer but equally firm. "If others fail, it is because they were never meant to succeed. Only Father creates perfection."
Morgan's gaze shifted briefly toward the daughters, her lips twitching faintly. Their devotion bordered on zealotry, but she did not disagree. She returned her attention to Alex, her cool mask cracking just enough to reveal something deeper — a hint of reverence.
"I have studied," Morgan continued quietly. "Do you know how many archmages, sages, and immortals have sought this power? Thousands. Across centuries. They tried to bind mana into steel, into stone, into wood. To give shape to permanence. And they all failed. Every single one."
Ciel's golden eyes widened faintly, her voice a soft whisper. "And yet… Alex can."
Reyne's purple gaze flickered with heat. "Hmph. Of course he can. He is not like them."
Ye Ling swallowed softly, lifting her gaze toward him with hesitant wonder. "So… everything you make… it is not just magic. It is real."
Alex was silent for a moment. His golden eyes moved across each of them, lingering last on Morgan. Finally, he exhaled slowly, as if brushing away the weight of the world.
"I know." His voice was calm, steady, as though he were stating a simple truth rather than a revelation that shook the foundations of magic itself. "When I create… it is not illusion. It is not mana bound to form. It is matter, born anew. Water that remains water. Stone that remains stone. Steel that is steel."
His gaze sharpened faintly, though no pride touched his voice. Only certainty. "I have always known I was not shaping elements. I was rewriting them."
The words struck the room like thunder.
Ciel's hand rose to her lips, her golden eyes shimmering. Reyne's tail lashed once, fire burning in her gaze. Ye Ling's breath hitched, her cheeks flushed pink. Ying Hua and Lian Yuer lowered their heads in unison, their voices rising together, quiet but absolute:
"Father's will becomes reality."
Morgan's cold mask melted, just slightly. Her lips curved into the faintest, fragile smile — the kind she only ever gave when Alex broke through her walls. Her voice was low, reverent, and touched with awe.
"Do you understand what this means?" she whispered. "You do not merely command mana. You create truth."
The room fell into silence again, heavy not with unease, but with the immensity of the revelation.
And Alex, sitting at the heart of it all, said nothing more. For him, it was not revelation. It was simply who he was.
Ciel tilted her head with gentle curiosity, sensing there was more to Morgan's words than just awe. Alex himself seemed… thoughtful. He leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping once against the armrest, his golden eyes narrowing slightly.
Then, as if the thought had simply wandered into his mind, he asked with casual curiosity:
"Morgan, what do alchemists even use to turn something into gold?"
Her cool blue eyes flicked toward him, as if mildly surprised by the question. She folded her arms across her chest, her pale face composed as ever.
"It can be done," she admitted. "Theoretically. They use precious catalysts, rare minerals, exotic reagents. It's been the obsession of alchemists since before written history."
Reyne gave a snort of amusement from her place by the wall. "Obsession, she says. Dragons have lived long enough to watch them throw centuries away on that folly."
Morgan ignored her, continuing, "The problem is cost. Every experiment requires wealth beyond reason, and the results are worthless. It's not popular because no sane man would burn an empire's treasury chasing a pebble."
Alex raised a brow, clearly intrigued. "So… they're close to making something, at least?"
Morgan's expression didn't even flicker. Her words dropped like frost.
"Not even close."
Ye Ling blinked in surprise, leaning forward slightly. "N-Not even close…?"
Morgan shook her head, voice cool but edged with the faintest disdain.
"They have failed so completely, Alex, that it borders on comedy. Across every great sect, every dynasty, every vault of knowledge, alchemists have tried. A million experiments, a billion notes, all in vain. And the most they have ever produced—" she raised one slender finger for emphasis, her tone cutting, "—is dirt."
The room stilled.
"A single cup of dirt," Morgan added coldly. "And the cost of that failure could have built a continent's worth of fortresses. The gap between theory and reality is not 1% or 0.1%. It is less than 0.01%. That is how far away they are."
Ciel pressed her fingers to her lips, her golden eyes wide with shock. Reyne barked out a laugh, her tail swishing with savage amusement. "A million failures for a handful of mud. Hah! That sounds exactly like mortals."
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer glanced at each other, their small faces calm but their voices sharp with prophetic certainty.
"Because Father is the only one who can," Ying Hua said.
"The rest are destined to fail," Lian Yuer echoed.
Alex, however, wasn't laughing. He had a strange look on his face, his expression tightening as though he were suppressing something. His black eyes flicked sideways, avoiding Morgan's piercing stare.
Morgan narrowed her gaze instantly. The shift did not escape her. "Alex…" she said, her voice low, cool, but edged with suspicion. "You're avoiding my eyes."
He coughed once, reaching up to scratch the side of his cheek, as if brushing off the intensity of her stare. "...Am I?"
Her eyes narrowed further. She leaned forward, her cold presence filling the space between them like frost creeping across glass.
"Alex. Do you know how to make gold with alchemy… at a low cost?"
The room fell silent. Even Reyne, who had been smirking, went still, her purple eyes narrowing with interest. Ye Ling's breath caught softly, her hands clutching at her lap. Ciel leaned forward, her golden eyes shimmering with curiosity and a touch of concern.
And Ying Hua and Lian Yuer, kneeling at his feet, spoke together in quiet reverence, as if they already knew the answer.
"Of course Father knows."
Alex shifted in his seat, his black eyes finally lifting toward Morgan's icy blue. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but it was the kind of smile that promised more questions than answers.
Chapter 1002 – "The Weight of Gold"
The silence lingered in the lounge, heavy with Morgan's pointed question. Alex's faint smile remained, but his eyes betrayed a glimmer of amusement, as though the whole conversation had been nothing more than a casual thought to him.
Without another word, he reached forward. His hand closed lightly around a porcelain teacup resting on the low table, steam still curling faintly from its rim.
The women's eyes followed him — Ciel with quiet serenity, Reyne with sharp anticipation, Ye Ling with hesitant wonder, Morgan with cold intensity, and Ying Hua and Lian Yuer with calm certainty that their father could never fail.
Alex held the teacup up casually, as if he were simply examining its craftsmanship. Then, with the barest flex of intent, his black eyes deepened, and the cup shimmered.
In an instant, the porcelain glaze rippled like liquid sunlight. The delicate white surface flushed into brilliant yellow-gold, the runes of permanence humming faintly across its surface. The handle gleamed, the rim blazed, and the entire object now shone as though it had been pulled from the treasury of kings.
The teacup was no longer porcelain. It was solid, flawless gold.
Gasps echoed around the room.
Ye Ling's green eyes widened, her lips parting softly. "It's… real…"
Reyne's tail lashed once, her voice half a laugh, half disbelief. "Hah! He does it like it's nothing."
Ciel, however, did not gasp, nor did her eyes widen in awe. Instead, she smiled — warm, gentle, certain. She reached out, her golden eyes glowing with quiet pride as she brushed her fingertips along his arm. "Of course. You've always been able to do this. It's not a surprise, Alex… it's simply you."
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer bowed their heads instantly, their voices rising in unison, steady and absolute.
"Father's will becomes truth."
Morgan's mask cracked. Her blue eyes fixed on the cup, her breath escaping in a sharp exhale. For once, her voice wavered between icy composure and something almost reverent.
"You… transmuted it."
Alex tilted the golden cup between his fingers, letting the light scatter across the room. His voice was calm, casual, as if explaining something mundane.
"There are many ways I can make gold. I can create it directly from mana, the way I create mithril or steel. I can use compound magic, breaking matter down and rebuilding it. Or—" he held the cup higher, the faint glimmer of transmutation magic still humming in the air, "—I can turn one substance into another. Transmutation."
Morgan's eyes widened faintly, the weight of his words striking harder than the golden gleam before her. "Transmutation magic…" she whispered. "Every alchemist's dream. They have written libraries on it, wasted lifetimes chasing it… and every attempt fails. Just like their so-called creation magic. It is impossible."
Alex's faint smile deepened, but there was no arrogance in it — only certainty.
"Impossible for them."
The golden cup gleamed in his hand, heavy with truth.
Morgan clenched her fists slowly, her blue eyes locked onto him. For the first time in many years, the cold pride she wore as armor seemed to falter into something closer to awe.
"Do you even realize what you've done? What this means?"
Alex set the golden cup back onto the table with a soft clink. He leaned back, his expression steady, his voice calm, as though it required no explanation.
"I know. But since I can already create matter directly from mana, I've rarely needed to use transmutation or compound magic. They're slower, less elegant. Cruder methods. I prefer to build from nothing rather than recycle the old."
The room was quiet again.
Ye Ling exhaled softly, her hands clasped together against her chest. "To him… it is only a choice of method."
Reyne let out a low laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "And the rest of the world would kill for just a scrap of that power."
Ciel leaned a little closer to Alex, her smile calm and unwavering, her voice carrying no awe, only devotion. "None of this surprises me. I've always known. No matter how many miracles you show the world, to me, it's simply the man I love being himself."
On the floor, Ying Hua and Lian Yuer pressed their foreheads to the ground, their voices echoing as one:
"You are the only truth, Father. All else is failure."
Alex's faint smile lingered, but his golden eyes drifted away from the golden cup. For him, this was no revelation, no triumph. It was simply what he was.
Morgan's fingers tightened against her arm, her blue eyes never leaving the golden teacup gleaming on the table. "Transmutation… you make it look like nothing."
Alex shook his head faintly, his tone calm, but carrying weight that pressed against every ear in the room.
"It isn't nothing. The most important part is the formula."
"Formula…?" Reyne prompted, but before she could press further, Ciel answered softly for the others, her golden eyes serene. "He means the true design — the structure of matter itself. I've heard him explain it before."
Alex leaned back slightly, as though explaining to children what had long been obvious to him.
"If you want to transmute something, you need to carry the formula in your mind. A true formula, not the simplified diagrams alchemists scribble in their books. Each atom, each lattice, each bond. A thousand variables for one piece of matter. A million for anything complex."
Ye Ling's lips parted, her green eyes trembling. "That many…?"
He nodded. "And it doesn't stop there. Every step requires countless adjustments — sub-formulas to correct errors, counter-formulas to stabilize structure. It isn't one pattern, it's a thousand layered on a thousand more. To hold them all in your head is beyond what any living brain was designed to handle."
Reyne scoffed, but it was a hollow sound, her purple eyes narrowing with the weight of the truth. "So that's why mortals fail. Their minds simply break trying to grasp it."
Morgan's icy mask flickered, her lips pressing thin. "…And yet you can."
Alex met her gaze evenly. "Yes. Because my mind is not bound to mortal limits. I can hold those formulas, calculate them, weave them into reality. But even that is only half the problem."
He raised one hand, black eyes glowing faintly as he continued.
"The other half is mana. The sheer amount required to transmute matter is… overwhelming. To change porcelain to gold, to change stone to steel, to change one thing into another entirely — the drain is colossal. I can guarantee this much…"
His golden eyes swept across the room, sharp and absolute.
"Even if every alchemist alive somehow solved the formula and carried it in their heads, they would still die. Not from the strain of the calculation, but because their mana would run dry in an instant. They would burn themselves out before the change ever completed."
The words struck the air like thunder.
Ye Ling gasped softly, her fingers pressing to her lips. "Die…?"
Reyne's tail lashed once, her expression hardening.
Ciel's hand, however, slipped calmly over Alex's, her voice steady, her golden eyes filled not with fear but with faith. "And yet, you bear it as though it were nothing. Because you're you."
Morgan stood silent, her pale face unreadable, though her blue eyes flickered with an emotion rarely seen in her — awe, mingled with the faintest edge of fear.
On the floor, Ying Hua and Lian Yuer bowed low, their voices rising in perfect unison, calm yet cutting:
"This is why only Father can transmute."
"Because Father alone has the mind to shape truth and the mana to sustain it."
Alex let their words hang in the silence. Then, without flourish, he simply leaned back and set his hand over Ciel's, the matter closed as far as he was concerned.
For him, it was not a miracle.
It was simply another truth.
Chapter 1003 – "From Transmutation to Creation"
The air in the lounge carried a heavy stillness, broken only by the faint sound of Ye Ling's breath as she tried to calm her racing heart. For the others, the revelations had already overturned everything they thought they knew about magic.
It was Morgan, as always, who voiced the thought first. Her blue eyes were cool and steady, but her voice betrayed a rare edge of reverence.
"Alex… your formulas. The ones you build in your head. They are not just superior — they are many times more efficient than anything else that exists in this world. Every prayer, every rune, every circle… compared to what you do, they are children's scribbles."
Ciel lowered her golden eyes with a serene smile, as though she had always known. There was no shock in her expression, no disbelief — only quiet pride, the certainty of someone who had never doubted him.
Reyne smirked faintly, though her pride did not disguise the awe glittering in her purple gaze. Ye Ling flushed softly, her hands clutching at her lap. Ying Hua and Lian Yuer bowed their heads, their quiet voices affirming the truth:
"Father's mind alone holds perfection."
Alex leaned back slightly, his golden eyes half-lidded, as if Morgan's words were nothing but a reminder of things long past.
"When I first mastered the transmutation spell," he said calmly, "I realized something. If I could rewrite matter, then I could also create it. From nothing."
The words sank like stones into the silence.
Morgan's eyes narrowed, her posture stiffening. "…You tried to create objects from mana directly?"
"Yes." His answer came without hesitation. "At first, I failed. Many times. A hundred attempts. A thousand. Each time, the structure collapsed. The mana unraveled, the form broke. But I kept refining the formulas, building layer upon layer. And eventually… I succeeded."
He lifted a hand slightly, conjuring a faint shimmer in his palm. A silver-blue crystal took form, its lattice glowing from within, flawless as a jewel crafted by gods. It pulsed once with life, then dissolved back into light.
Ye Ling gasped softly, covering her mouth with trembling fingers. "He… he made it appear out of nothing…"
Reyne's tail lashed once against the floor, her voice a low growl of amazement. "Legendary minerals… forged from raw mana."
Ciel, by contrast, only leaned a little closer to Alex, her smile soft and certain. "I knew you would succeed. Failure was never where your path ended."
Alex nodded faintly, his voice steady. "It was much more complicated than transmutation. To rewrite matter is one thing — to weave it from nothing is far harder. But I mastered it. And once I had that mastery, I created not just simple objects, but complex structures. Metal, crystal, mithril, orichalcum… even things this world once thought lost."
Morgan's mask finally cracked. Her blue eyes widened, her pale lips trembling as she whispered: "Impossible… and yet, you made it trivial."
Alex's golden eyes gleamed, though his tone remained calm. "It was never trivial. But when I forged the Law of Mana… everything changed."
A ripple of pressure filled the air, subtle but absolute, like the whisper of reality itself bending around him.
"The Law made the entire process easier. What once took days became hours. What once strained even my mind became effortless. I could create more complex objects in less time, with less thought. The impossible became… routine."
The room was silent, each woman holding her breath, as though they feared to speak and break the weight of his words.
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer lowered their foreheads to the floor, their voices ringing as one:
"Because Father is the Law."
Alex said nothing more. The truth spoke for itself.
Morgan stood frozen, her blue eyes locked onto him as though she were staring at a being from outside reality itself. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came.
Alex glanced at her silence and, with the faintest smile, lifted his hand again.
In his palm, mana swirled, not as raw light or unstable energy, but in precise, deliberate layers — formulas etched invisibly through his will alone. The air trembled faintly, a subtle hum filling the room.
Then it appeared.
A bar of pure mithril, silver-blue and glowing faintly with natural enchantment. It settled into his hand with weight, gleaming like moonlight captured in metal.
Ye Ling's lips parted, her soft voice trembling. "Mithril…"
Before the wonder could fade, Alex let the bar dissolve, reforming the mana into something else. This time, it condensed into a deep crimson crystal, jagged and humming with restrained violence. Dragonblood Ore.
Reyne's purple eyes snapped wide, her dragon tail flicking with a sharp jolt. "That ore…! It only forms from the crystallized hearts of ancient dragons. Even my kind guard it jealously…" Her voice lowered to a disbelieving growl. "And you create it in your palm."
Alex's expression did not change. He flicked his wrist lightly, and the ore melted into gold light before reshaping into a shard of Orichalcum, its radiant surface glowing with warmth like a fragment of the sun itself.
Ye Ling gasped again, her soft green eyes trembling. "O-Orichalcum…! That hasn't been seen in thousands of years…"
Still, Alex wasn't finished. He closed his fingers for a moment, focusing, and then opened them again to reveal a black, star-speckled stone that seemed to swallow the light around it. Aetherstone, said to form only at the edge of collapsing stars.
The room fell utterly silent.
Morgan's composure finally cracked, her pale cheeks coloring faintly as her cold mask broke. Her voice came out in a whisper, as though she barely trusted her own words.
"You… you created Aetherstone. Do you even realize what you've done? Do you realize what that means?"
Alex turned his golden eyes toward her, calm and steady. "Of course."
With a casual flick, the Aetherstone dissolved into light. For him, it was nothing but another passing demonstration.
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer pressed their foreheads to the floor, their small bodies trembling, though not from fear. Their voices rose as one, quiet but absolute:
"Only Father could bring forth what even the stars themselves guard."
Morgan took an involuntary step forward, her eyes sharp with a mixture of awe and hunger, though quickly masked again. "With this… you could rewrite empires. You could collapse markets, rebuild kingdoms, unseat gods themselves. And you do it… casually."
Ciel met Alex's gaze with calm certainty, her voice soft and sure. "And he does it because such power belongs only in his hands. The world could never hold it, but he can."
Alex leaned back in his chair, the faintest smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Markets, kingdoms, gods. Those are small things. To me, it's no different from pouring a cup of tea."
The golden teacup he had transmuted earlier still glimmered faintly on the table, as though silently agreeing.
For Alex, creation from nothing was not miracle.
It was simply truth.
The last glimmer of Aetherstone faded into the air, leaving the lounge heavy with awe. Yet Alex's expression remained as calm as ever, as though he had only been idly passing the time.
Then, with a faint hum of mana, he lifted his hand again. This time, his intent shifted. The light condensed in long, sharp lines, drawn together through countless layered formulas that bent reality around his will. Slowly, the shape emerged — metal gleaming, edges forming, runes weaving themselves across its surface.
A sword.
When the light faded, the weapon rested easily in his hand. The blade was long and brilliant, silver-white with a faint glow that radiated purity. The hilt was elegant, adorned with simple, noble lines — not complex circuits or mechanical brilliance, but smooth curves, like something pulled from legend.
Ye Ling's lips parted in wonder, her green eyes locked on the weapon as though she were staring at a myth given flesh. Reyne's brows furrowed, her voice low with surprise. "That looks… like something from the old tales."
Morgan's sharp blue eyes narrowed immediately. She studied the blade with an intensity that made the room fall quiet again. Finally, she spoke, her voice cool but tinged with disbelief.
"…That doesn't look like you at all, Alex."
Alex tilted his head faintly, raising a brow. "Hm?"
Morgan stepped closer, her gaze fixed on the weapon. "Your style is high-tech. Precision. Efficiency. I've seen the constructs you make — clean lines, modern elegance, almost futuristic. But this…" She gestured at the sword with a slight wave of her hand. "This looks like something out of myth. Like… Excalibur."
Ciel's lips curved in a soft smile, her golden eyes glowing with calm affection. "Even if it looks different, it's still yours. Style doesn't matter — only the truth behind it."
Alex glanced at the blade in his hand, golden eyes gleaming faintly. Then, with a small shrug, he said,
"I just wanted to try a new design."
Reyne barked a laugh, shaking her head. "Hah! Only you would casually create Excalibur because you were bored."
Ye Ling covered her lips with her hands, stifling a soft laugh of her own, her cheeks pink. Even Ciel let out a gentle giggle, not from surprise, but from the simple joy of watching him.
Morgan, however, remained silent. Her blue eyes flickered between the blade and Alex's calm face, as though she were trying to decide which of them was more unreal.
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer bowed again, their voices soft and absolute:
"Even legends are toys in Father's hands."
Alex let the sword dissolve into light, as casually as one might discard a branch picked up during a walk.
To him, it was nothing more than an experiment.
To them, it was a glimpse of miracles.
The luminous blade shimmered once in his grip before vanishing with a flick of his wrist. The sword slipped soundlessly into the vast, unseen vault of his dimensional storage, as casually as if he were pocketing a coin.
Alex leaned back, his golden eyes calm, his tone so casual it made the words even heavier.
"I've tried creating weapons… countless times. Quadrillions of attempts. Every shape, every formula, every variation."
The women froze. Even Morgan, who rarely showed emotion, stiffened visibly, her blue eyes widening.
He continued, unbothered.
"Out of all those quadrillions, the lowest-quality weapon I've ever made would be considered legendary on Earth."
A silence fell, thick and suffocating.
Ye Ling gasped, her breath catching in her throat, her voice trembling. "Th-that means… there isn't a weapon in this world better than your failures…"
Reyne growled softly, shaking her head, though not in denial — in stunned amazement. "No wonder. No wonder gods and mortals alike can't match you."
Ciel's smile remained serene. She touched her lips lightly, her gaze warm on Alex. "That's only natural. Even your failures are beyond perfection."
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer bowed low, their voices steady and absolute:
"Even his failures are miracles."
But Alex wasn't finished. His golden eyes flickered faintly as he went on, his tone unshaken, simply stating truth.
"I don't just create weapons. I create artifacts, constructs, tools. Armors, engines, relics… objects this world has never dreamed of. Every trial brings refinement. Every failure births something greater. With quadrillions of attempts behind me… what I make now is simply truth given form."
Morgan's pale face was unreadable, but her fists clenched slowly at her sides. Her voice, when it came, was low and sharp with a mixture of awe and frustration.
"You've… gone beyond forging. Beyond enchanting. Beyond any craft that exists. You're not just a smith or an artificer. You're rewriting the very concept of creation."
Alex's gaze met hers steadily, unflinching. "Exactly."
He didn't say it with pride. He didn't need to.
For him, it was not boasting — only reality.
Chapter 1004 – "The Museum of Creation"
The lounge remained hushed, every mind still grappling with Alex's casual declaration — quadrillions of attempts. The number alone pressed against their thoughts like an immovable weight.
Morgan's pale lips parted, her sharp blue eyes narrowing. "Wait… you said you've created quadrillions. Where are they now? You didn't just discard them, did you?"
Alex leaned back, golden eyes glinting faintly, the corner of his lips tugging upward. "Of course not. I stored them."
The words fell like thunder.
Morgan froze, her composure fracturing. "Stored…? In your dimension storage?"
"Yes." Alex's tone was calm, almost casual. "Every weapon, every artifact, every construct. Even failures."
Reyne's purple eyes widened, her tail flicking hard against the floor. "Quadrillions of creations, sitting in your vault? Hah! That's no storage — that's a world unto itself."
Ye Ling's soft voice trembled in disbelief, her green eyes shimmering. "Th-then… it must be… endless…"
Ciel only smiled, serene and certain, her golden eyes resting warmly on Alex. "Of course it would be. His storage is no different from himself — limitless."
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer lowered their heads in unison, voices calm and absolute:
"Father's vault is truth."
"Every star, every treasure, every miracle belongs to him."
Morgan drew a sharp breath, her fists clenching slowly at her sides. "Show us, Alex." Her tone was cool, but beneath it burned a hunger for knowledge she could no longer mask. "If you've truly created quadrillions… I want to see it. All of it."
Reyne's smirk widened, sharp teeth flashing. "Hah! I'll admit, even I want to see this."
Ye Ling hesitated, her hands clasped against her chest, but she nodded softly. "I… I would like to see as well."
Ciel's voice was quiet, warm, and certain. "Then let us go."
Alex let the silence linger a heartbeat longer. Then, with a faint hum of mana, he rose to his feet. His black eyes glimmered faintly as he extended his hand, and in the next instant, reality bent.
The lounge dissolved into light.
When the light faded, the women stood frozen in awe.
They were no longer in the quiet chamber of the mansion. Instead, they found themselves in a vast expanse — a dimension unlike any other, stretching endlessly in every direction.
It was not chaotic like some pocket realms. It was orderly, impossibly so, crafted with precision and artistry. Towering halls stretched like the wings of a cathedral, vaulted ceilings arched overhead, and light poured down in radiant beams with no visible source. The floor beneath them gleamed like polished obsidian, reflecting their awed faces.
And around them, lining the endless halls… stood his creations.
Weapons suspended in crystalline cases, their blades glowing faintly with power. Armor sets displayed on pedestals, some sleek and futuristic, others ornate and mythic, each radiating presence like the guardians of gods. Artifacts and relics shimmered behind barriers of light — orbs, crystals, crowns, engines that pulsed with mechanical rhythm, books whose pages turned themselves as if whispering secrets.
It was a museum. No — more than a museum. It was a shrine to creation itself.
Morgan's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes darted wildly from one relic to the next, her composure fracturing completely. "This… this is…!" Her voice cracked, icy pride collapsing under sheer awe. "It's like walking inside a divine treasury… no… greater than any god's hoard…"
Ye Ling's soft lips parted, her green eyes brimming with tears. "So many… each one flawless… each one…"
Reyne's dragon blood stirred, her tail lashing as her pupils narrowed sharply. "Hah! No wonder you said even your failures were legends. This… this is beyond mortal comprehension. Entire dragon clans couldn't amass this in a thousand lifetimes…"
Ciel's voice was steady, calm as ever. "This is who he is. To create is not his craft, but his truth."
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer dropped to their knees, pressing their foreheads to the polished floor. Their voices rang together, clear and resonant:
"We walk in the hall of Father's miracles."
"Every step here is proof that he alone is creation."
Alex stood at the center, calm and unmoved by their awe, his golden eyes sweeping over the vast halls of his vault. To him, this was not spectacle. It was simply the record of his path — every failure, every triumph, every truth given form.
Morgan took a trembling step forward, her fingers brushing the crystalline barrier of a suspended weapon. Her voice was hushed, reverent.
"Alex… this… this is no storage… this is a world you've forged. A museum of miracles."
Alex's lips curved faintly. "Perhaps. But to me, it is only memory."
The artifacts shimmered around them, endless and eternal, while the women stood amidst a treasury that dwarfed empires.
For them, it was revelation.
For Alex, it was simply another truth.
The vast hall pulsed faintly with power, every artifact humming like a note in a cosmic symphony. The women were still rooted in place, eyes wide as they drank in the impossible scale of his creations.
Alex finally broke the silence, his voice calm, but his words carrying the weight of command and invitation alike.
"Your rings," he said simply, golden eyes sweeping across them.
Every woman instinctively glanced down at the band gleaming on her finger — the white-gold rings he had crafted for each of them, flawless in design, elegant yet simple. They already knew the rings carried endless functions — teleportation, long-range contact, barriers stronger than any artifact, and countless features they had yet to discover.
Alex's gaze sharpened faintly. "These rings also carry another function. Through them, you can come here. This place is not locked away from you."
Reyne's purple eyes snapped wide, her tail freezing mid-sway. "You mean—this museum? This treasury?"
Alex nodded once. "Yes. Any time you wish."
The words struck them harder than the sight of the artifacts themselves.
Morgan's breath caught, her icy composure crumbling into disbelief. "You're… giving us access to this? All of this…?"
Alex raised his hand slightly, mana flaring faintly in his palm. "You are mine. Everything I have is yours." His golden eyes gleamed faintly as he gestured around at the endless halls. "Any of you can walk these corridors and choose. If there is something you want, take it."
The stillness shattered.
Ye Ling gasped, her soft green eyes trembling, hands clasping tightly against her chest. "T-take… anything…? Even these legendary creations…?"
Alex's calm gaze settled on her, steady and certain. "If your heart desires it, then it is already yours."
Reyne let out a sharp bark of laughter, half exhilaration, half disbelief. "Hah! You hand out treasures that could spark wars like you're offering fruit from a tree!"
Ciel's lips curved into her usual serene smile, golden eyes glowing with quiet warmth. "This is just like him. He creates, and he gives without hesitation. To him, the value is not the object… but us."
Morgan's fists trembled faintly at her sides, blue eyes flickering between hunger and reverence. "Even gods would kill for what you keep locked away here… and you… you tell us to choose?"
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer fell prostrate against the obsidian floor, their voices ringing in perfect harmony:
"Father's gifts are absolute."
"What he offers cannot be measured."
The endless halls shimmered faintly as if the artifacts themselves had heard and acknowledged his words.
Alex leaned back slightly, his voice calm as though none of this was extraordinary.
"Explore. See what calls to you. Whatever you take will recognize you through the ring and bind itself as yours."
The weight of his words hung heavy in the vast, shining museum.
For them, this was overwhelming freedom.
For him, it was simply truth.
The women stood frozen at his words, their eyes wide, their rings glimmering faintly as though echoing his will.
But Alex's faint smile deepened, a glimmer of amusement touching his golden eyes. "You should know something."
Morgan's sharp gaze snapped toward him instantly. "What?"
Alex's tone remained calm, as if speaking of something trivial. "You are not the first ones to come here."
A ripple of surprise ran through them.
Ye Ling blinked rapidly, her soft lips parting. "N-not the first…?"
Reyne's tail lashed once, her purple eyes narrowing. "Then who—?"
Alex's voice was unhurried, steady as stone. "Aphrodite. Athena. Artemis. They discovered this function on their own long ago."
Gasps slipped through the hall.
Morgan stiffened, her jaw tightening. "They… figured it out by themselves?"
"Yes." His black eyes glimmered faintly. "One day, they appeared here through their rings. They asked me if they could take anything they wanted. And I told them the same thing I've told you now."
Reyne barked a sharp laugh, shaking her head. "Of course it would be those three. The bold ones. Hah! Leave it to the goddesses to walk straight into the treasury of creation without hesitation."
Ye Ling's cheeks flushed pink, her hands fidgeting at her lap. "A-and you really let them…?"
Alex nodded once, his expression steady. "If they desire it, then it is theirs. That has always been true."
Ciel smiled softly, unsurprised, her golden eyes warm as she murmured, "I wondered why they sometimes wore things none of us had seen before. Now I understand."
Morgan's icy façade flickered, her teeth pressing against her lower lip as if fighting the words, but finally she exhaled, muttering, "…so even they… have chosen from here…"
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer remained prostrate on the floor, their voices rising together, calm and absolute:
"Because all that is Father's belongs to his women."
"Because Father withholds nothing from those he loves."
The endless halls shimmered faintly, as if confirming the truth of their words.
Alex simply folded his arms across his chest, gaze sweeping over them. "The difference is simple. They discovered it themselves. I am telling you directly. That is all."
The silence that followed was not of disbelief — but of awe.
The golden light of the vast hall shimmered softly, casting long reflections across the obsidian floor. The women remained silent, each still processing the weight of Alex's words — that Aphrodite, Athena, and Artemis had already been here before them.
Alex's gaze shifted, calm and absolute, his voice carrying effortlessly through the hall.
"I've already sent word to the others."
Reyne arched a brow, her tail swaying slowly behind her. "The others…? You mean—"
Alex nodded faintly. "Every member of my harem. They know of this place now. I've told them what the rings can do."
Ye Ling's breath caught, her soft green eyes widening. "Y-you mean… all of them?"
"Yes." His voice was steady, without hesitation. "Each of them will come here in time. I told them the same thing I told you — if they wish to choose, they may. Nothing is forbidden."
Ciel smiled warmly, unsurprised, her golden eyes glowing as though she had expected it all along. "That is just like you. You never keep your gifts to only a few. Your love is the same for all."
Morgan's sharp blue eyes flickered faintly, her icy mask struggling to hide the ripple of something more complicated — awe, envy, hunger — all beneath the surface. "…and what did they say?"
Alex's lips curved faintly, a small spark of amusement in his golden gaze. "They said they will try later. When they are ready."
Reyne barked a short laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "Hah! I can imagine it now — dozens of women wandering through here, each finding something that would drive mortals insane with greed… and to them it will just be a stroll through Father's garden."
Ye Ling pressed her hands to her chest, her voice trembling softly. "So one day… all of us will walk here, together…"
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer bowed lower, their voices steady and absolute, echoing like a vow:
"All will kneel before Father's creation."
"All will choose, yet all remain his."
The endless halls glimmered faintly again, as though acknowledging Alex's decree.
Alex himself stood calm, unmoved by their awe. "This place does not limit itself. It was made to hold more than I will ever create. No matter how many times you come here, there will always be more. It is infinite, as I am infinite."
The women shivered, not from fear — but from the sheer gravity of truth.
Chapter 1005 – "The Potion of Fortune"
The shimmering halls of Alex's dimension storage glowed faintly, relics casting soft light across the polished obsidian floor. The women still wandered like pilgrims in a temple, their eyes overwhelmed by endless artifacts.
It was Ye Ling who finally broke the silence, her soft green eyes resting on a small crystal vial resting atop a pedestal. The liquid within shimmered not with one color, but a thousand, as though probability itself had been melted into fluid.
Her voice was quiet, hesitant, but filled with awe. "What… is this?"
Alex stepped closer, his black eyes glinting faintly in the reflected glow. He lifted the vial casually into his hand, turning it so the rainbow sheen caught the light.
"This," he said, his voice calm but absolute, "is a luck potion."
The women stiffened at once.
Reyne's tail lashed sharply, her purple eyes narrowing. "Luck… potion?"
Ye Ling's breath trembled, her hands pressing against her chest. "C-can… can luck even be bottled?"
Alex's golden gaze swept over them, and he spoke with the weight of truth.
"I used the Law of Fortune to shape its essence, creation magic to bind it into form, the Law of Mana to stabilize it, and the Law of Ice to preserve it in liquid state. What you see here… is probability made drinkable."
Morgan froze, her blue eyes wide, her cold mask faltering as the meaning sank in. "…You condensed fortune itself… into a potion."
Ciel's lips curved into a soft smile, unsurprised as always, as though she had known Alex could do such a thing long before he chose to show them.
Ye Ling stepped closer, her voice shaking with disbelief. "If someone… drinks it…"
Alex swirled the vial gently. The liquid within seemed to dance on its own, fractals of possibility flashing like lightning trapped in glass.
"For one day, their luck becomes absolute," he said. "Coincidence bends. Probability kneels. Fortune itself aligns with their will."
Ying Hua and Lian Yuer bowed low at his feet, their voices rising as one, calm but cutting:
"Only Father would turn destiny into medicine."
"Only Father could give mortals what the heavens themselves cannot control."
The women were silent, the weight of his words pressing heavy in their chests.
Alex replaced the vial on its pedestal with casual ease, as if it were nothing more than a cup of water. His tone carried no pride, only truth.
"It is simple, if you have the right tools. But for others… it is impossible."
The rainbow-glass vial shimmered faintly on its pedestal, its glow softening as Alex stepped away. His calm footsteps echoed through the hall as he moved toward one of the many towering display cases.
The women followed him, their eyes darting from artifact to artifact — swords that seemed to hum with their own voices, crystals that pulsed like captured stars, armors that bent light around themselves.
Alex stopped before a tall crystal case. With a flick of his wrist, the obsidian-black surface cleared, revealing a faint glowing panel beneath the glass. Golden letters appeared in neat, precise strokes — perfectly legible, yet alive with mana.
He gestured toward it casually. "You can look, and you can think. The display will show what it is. That way, you don't have to guess."
The women leaned closer. On the pedestal sat a dagger of translucent silver-blue, its edge so fine it seemed to vanish into the air itself. Across the display panel, words flowed like ink on parchment:
Name:Moonveil Dagger
Properties: Can cut through shadows; grows sharper under moonlight; grants wielder limited concealment.
Origin: Created after one hundred failed attempts to stabilize mana under lunar resonance.
Reyne whistled low under her breath, her dragon tail flicking. "You even write the failures into the record."
Alex nodded faintly, his golden eyes glinting. "It is my habit. My hobby. When I finish creating something, I always write what it is. That way, the truth of its creation is never lost."
Morgan's sharp blue eyes scanned the glowing words, her lips tightening. "…so every artifact here… carries your personal record."
"Yes," Alex said simply. "Every attempt, every success, every lesson. Even if I never touch them again, the knowledge remains."
Ciel's golden eyes softened, a quiet warmth in her voice. "That is just like you, Alex. You don't simply create… you leave pieces of yourself behind."
Far away, beyond the vault of Alex's dimension storage, the marbled halls of Olympus gleamed under divine light. The Twelve Olympians gathered in solemn circle, voices sharp with debate over the shifting currents of mortal faith.
But in the middle of their tension, Aphrodite sat with languid ease, her pink hair cascading over her bare shoulders, golden roses glimmering faintly in the light. She was not listening — at least, not in the way the others expected.
Instead, she toyed with a small object in her hand. A simple dice, shimmering faintly as if each number carried the weight of fate. She rolled it lazily across the polished table, the clatter of ivory echoing against the pillars.
The others paused. Hera's sharp eyes narrowed, her regal voice cutting through the silence.
"Aphrodite. What is that toy you're distracting us with?"
A slow smile curved the goddess of love's lips. She plucked the dice up between two slender fingers, letting it spin in the air with a flick. The light caught it strangely — not just reflecting, but bending, shimmering as though probability itself rippled with its roll.
"This?" Aphrodite purred, her pink eyes glinting. "It's no toy. It's a gift. A dice that gives luck."
The council stilled.
Poseidon's sea-blue eyes narrowed. "Luck? You mean chance?"
Aphrodite chuckled, shaking her head. "No, brother. Not chance. Luck. Real luck. Roll a one, and you will have a little fortune for a day. Small, but true. No gambler's trick, no divine favor. Absolute."
A murmur spread through the gods. Hermes leaned forward, intrigued. Athena's brows furrowed, analyzing. Even Zeus's stormy eyes darkened with curiosity.
Hera's suspicion sharpened, her voice cool and demanding. "Where did you get such a thing?"
Aphrodite's smile only deepened, the corner of her lips curling with knowing pride. "Where do you think?"
Her fingers traced the dice fondly, as though it were a love letter written in probability itself.
The gods exchanged glances — and in the unspoken silence, a single name drifted across their minds.
Alex.
Aphrodite's laughter was soft, sultry, as she flicked her wrist and let the dice tumble across the marble table. It clattered once, twice — then settled.
A perfect six.
The air rippled faintly, a shimmer of unseen threads weaving themselves around her, the laws of probability bending in her favor. Her pink eyes glowed with delight as she leaned back lazily in her chair, the dice balanced between two fingers like a charm.
"Well, well," she purred, her smile widening. "It seems fortune has decided to spoil me. For the next twenty-four hours, my luck is… absolute."
Gasps spread around the circle. Hermes' mouth fell open in fascination. Poseidon's jaw tightened, a scowl tugging at his lips. Even Zeus's thunderous gaze flickered with unease.
"Impossible," muttered Hephaestus, his single eye narrowing as he studied the dice. "Not even fate can be bent so simply."
But Aphrodite only laughed, the sound light and mocking. "And yet, it is."
Her pink eyes shimmered, full of secrets she had no intention of sharing.
Across the table, Athena and Artemis exchanged a fleeting glance — silent, sharp, knowing. Neither spoke, their expressions masks of divine calm. Yet beneath that silence burned a truth none of the others could suspect.
They had already walked within Alex's dimension storage. They had seen the endless halls, the artifacts beyond comprehension. They had chosen their treasures with their own hands.
They were his.
But in this council, surrounded by the rest of Olympus, they held their tongues. To reveal the truth was unthinkable. The others would never understand.
So Athena's blue eyes remained cool and contemplative, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Artemis's silver gaze was sharp but quiet, her face unreadable. Outwardly, they were serene goddesses of wisdom and the hunt. Inwardly, they belonged utterly to Alex.
Aphrodite rolled the dice idly again, though it didn't matter — the six had already sealed her fortune. She smirked, enjoying the way the others squirmed.
"This is the difference between me and the rest of you," she said softly, almost as a taunt. "While you argue over prayers and offerings, I play with destiny itself."
The dice glittered in her hand, but her thoughts, like Athena's and Artemis's, were not truly with Olympus.
Aphrodite spun the dice lazily in her hand, the faint glow of her newfound fortune curling around her like invisible threads of silk. The other gods watched her warily, some with suspicion, others with envy.
Then—
A sharp chime echoed through the marble halls of Olympus, like a bell ringing from the heavens. A radiant messenger, wrapped in divine light, stumbled into the chamber and bowed low before the Twelve.
"Forgive my intrusion," the messenger gasped, his voice trembling with urgency. "But a miracle has occurred!"
The gods stiffened.
Zeus's stormy eyes narrowed. "Speak."
The messenger swallowed, his light flickering. "In the heart of Aphrodite's territory… a divine fountain has erupted. Its waters are brimming with power — healing, blessing, renewing the faithful. Mortals are already gathering by the thousands. Word spreads fast. Every god's followers are whispering of it, saying it is a gift from the heavens themselves."
The hall erupted into chaos.
Poseidon slammed a fist against the marble table, his sea-blue eyes flashing. "A divine fountain? Those have not appeared since the dawn of the age of gods!"
Hermes leaned forward, his golden eyes gleaming with intrigue. "And it appears… in Aphrodite's domain, the very moment she rolls her little dice…"
Hephaestus muttered darkly, his scarred face twisting. "Coincidence… or proof?"
All eyes turned toward Aphrodite.
She reclined in her chair like a queen basking in worship, her pink eyes sparkling with mischief and delight. She twirled the dice between her fingers once more, letting it flash like captured fate.
"Did I not tell you?" she said smoothly, her voice dripping with amusement. "For twenty-four hours, fortune belongs to me. This fountain is merely the first ripple."
A stunned silence fell over Olympus.
Even Hera, proud and unyielding, faltered for the briefest moment. Her voice was sharp, but tinged with unease. "You play a dangerous game, Aphrodite."
Aphrodite's smile only deepened, her laughter soft and intoxicating. "No, dear Hera. I simply play a different one."
Across the chamber, Athena and Artemis kept their silence, their serene faces unreadable. But within their hearts, both felt the same realization stir — Alex's creations were already reshaping Olympus itself.
The hours that followed in Olympus became something no god would soon forget.
From the moment the dice showed six, Aphrodite's domain turned into a living festival of miracles.
First, the divine fountain in her territory swelled even further, its waters sparkling like liquid diamonds. Mortals who drank from it found their wounds healed, their youth restored, their fields blessed. Within a day, her temples overflowed with offerings, worshippers collapsing in prayer until the marble cracked beneath their knees.
The other gods watched, their temples suddenly feeling quieter, emptier.
Then came the second stroke of fortune.
In the grand hunting grounds of Artemis, prey simply vanished — yet in Aphrodite's gardens, entire herds of rare divine beasts suddenly appeared, docile as lambs, nuzzling against the hands of her priestesses. Even a silver-horned stag, long thought extinct, walked calmly into her temple. Artemis, seated in the council, twitched violently, her silver eyes darting away as she muttered through clenched teeth.
"H-How… convenient."
Hermes nearly choked trying to hide his laugh.
The next miracle came not from beasts, but from the skies themselves. A rain of golden feathers descended over Aphrodite's cities, each one carrying a spark of blessing. Priests scrambled to collect them, weeping with joy. Hera slammed her fist on the council table so hard the marble cracked.
"Golden feathers?! Do you realize how rare that phenomenon is? It has not happened since—" She stopped mid-sentence, watching as yet another feather drifted down right onto Aphrodite's lap.
Aphrodite plucked it up with a coy smile, twirling it between her fingers. "Since now, apparently."
By evening, the council had all but collapsed into chaos.
Poseidon, furious, demanded to know why three of his sacred sea-serpents had migrated into Aphrodite's harbors and were now happily letting mortals ride them like ships. Zeus nearly tore out his beard when lightning bolts that struck mortals no longer killed them, but instead left behind holy relics — relics that were immediately claimed in Aphrodite's name.
Even Hades received reports that the gates of his underworld had briefly opened… only to spit out a handful of heroic spirits who promptly declared themselves devotees of Aphrodite.
By the twenty-third hour, the Olympians sat in utter silence, eyes bloodshot, expressions blank. Every new report made their divine heads ache.
And through it all, Aphrodite lounged in her chair, rolling the dice idly, her laughter spilling like honey. "I did tell you. For one day, everything bends in my favor. Isn't it wonderful?"
The gods twitched in unison.
Hermes groaned, burying his face in his hands. "If this continues, half the pantheon will be wearing pink roses by morning…"
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the twenty-fourth hour struck.
And then, just like that, the flood of miracles came to an end.
The divine fountain that had erupted in Aphrodite's territory faded back into the earth, its waters dispersing into harmless streams. The golden feathers crumbled into dust. The silver-horned stag trotted away and vanished into mist. Even the heroic spirits that had crawled out of Hades' domain dissolved back into the underworld.
The gods sat frozen in the council chamber, their expressions somewhere between relief and exhaustion.
"...It ended," Hermes muttered, slumping in his seat.
Poseidon rubbed his temples furiously, growling. "If even one of those things had been permanent, my oceans would have been thrown into chaos."
Zeus let out a long breath, his stormy brows furrowed. "History will write this day as a chain of omens and wonders. But fortunately… none remain."
"Fortunately indeed," Hera hissed, her tone sharp. "If her fountain had stayed, it would have shifted the balance of all worship across the world. If those relics had endured, kingdoms would have torn each other apart for them. If…" She trailed off, biting down hard on her lip.
But Aphrodite only reclined further in her chair, pink hair tumbling down her bare shoulders, her smile smug and radiant. The dice spun lazily between her fingers as though it were nothing more than a trinket.
"Oh, don't look so sour," she cooed. "You should be grateful it was only temporary. Imagine if the world had been permanently altered just because I rolled a six."
Every god twitched at once.
A long silence fell.
Then Aphrodite broke it, her pink eyes glimmering with teasing mischief. "Ah, but don't despair. This little treasure of mine does have a cooldown. Only thirty days. When the month passes… I'll roll again."
The words hit like a thunderclap.
Hermes choked. "T-Thirty days?!"
Hera shot upright, her voice sharp. "You mean this madness will repeat itself?!"
Aphrodite giggled, twirling the dice between her fingers. "Naturally. And next time… I'll wish for something permanent."
The Olympians froze.
Her voice dropped to a playful purr, but her words sent a chill through even Zeus himself.
"A holy hot spring. Eternal, blessed, mine alone. A place where all who bathe are healed, rejuvenated, and bound to me forever."
Her smile widened, dripping with satisfaction. "A permanent spring… doesn't that sound divine?"
The council chamber erupted into chaos once more, gods shouting, Hera clutching her crown, Poseidon roaring in fury.
And through it all, Aphrodite only laughed — light, careless, victorious.
The dice gleamed faintly in her hand, as if destiny itself was already eager for the next roll.