Under the clear sky of the First World, Nahira sat in the grand plaza, watching the passing clouds while the wind gently caressed the strands of her hair. However, her expression was not calm, but rather submerged in a sea of deep thought. Acropolis and Zarda approached with steady steps, curiosity almost speaking from their eyes about what they had witnessed behind those closed doors.
Zarda asked in a tone filled with caution: "My lady.. excuse my intrusion, but what happened to Lady Clarice? Why is she in this wretched state? And who is 'Arius', whose name was echoed as if he were her personal god?"
Nahira adjusted her seating, then began to walk slowly across the spacious plaza, signaling for them to follow her and said: "Follow me.. I will tell you what you missed throughout the past periods, so you may know what kind of hell we live in."
The echo of their footsteps began to resound on the marble while Nahira narrated history with bitterness: "In truth.. my sister has been suffering since her tender youth from a sickly condition; excessive attachment to things and people. The reason for this goes back to my father, 'Nizar'.. despite all his authority, tyranny, and wealth, he deprived us of the right to a normal life. Clarice was even deprived of the right to speak or interact with humans, and it was rare for her to be allowed to meet anyone, which caused deep psychological gaps inside her.. She began to think that anyone who moves away from her sight will stop loving her forever."
Nahira stopped walking, looked toward the distant horizon, and continued: "200 million years ago, a strange man appeared.. a man who managed to eliminate my father, under the pretext that he was a tyrant who deserved destruction. My sister saw in that person a national hero who indirectly liberated her from the tyranny of 'Nizar', who had choked the inhabitants of the First World and the rest of the worlds for ages.. But I, completely opposite to her, saw in that person an enemy that must be crushed; for he was fighting for the freedom of the weak, and annihilating tyrants like us."
Acropolis interrupted her with a look filled with question: "And what happened to that strange hero? Where is he now?"
Nahira turned to him and a cold smile appeared on her lips: "He died.. he died because of his illness. Despite his immense power that had no equal at the time, everyone in the Single World gathered to kill him in his moments of weakness and breaking.. After all, he was just a mortal human no matter how legendary his power reached."
Zarda's eyes narrowed with surprise, and she asked her lady: "And what is the Single World, my lady?"
Nahira turned to her, her gaze drifting toward the distant horizon as if recalling images from a remote time, and said: "This is the world that the ten worlds were composed of together before ages.. It was a single solid mass with no division. But, in the final moments of that person's life, and amidst the fierce battle that sought to annihilate him, he did an act that the mind could not imagine; he delivered a single punch to the ground, a blow that shook existence and split that Single World into ten separate worlds."
Nahira continued as she described the scene with bitterness: "Because of that blow, the races scattered, and the single system that was ruled by only one thing—which is 'the strongest'—collapsed. In that time, there were no borders or complex systems; you lived for yourself and depended on your strength alone, but that person caused the downfall of all of that in his final moments."
Zarda said in astonishment: "Is that so.. It seems life in that time was very difficult and harsh!"
Nahira laughed a cynical laugh and said: "Rather, it was harder by stages than our time! As for my sister, after she learned that her heroic champion had died, she entered a state of shock deeper than you can imagine, and isolated herself for millions of years alone, until my mother made a strenuous effort to get her out of that shell."
Then the tone of her voice changed to contempt as she completed: "As for this Arius, in the end, he is merely a servant who served me and still does.. Look at this emblem on my hand; it represents the 'ownership contract' that proves he is my private property. A short while ago, Clarice recognized him upon her return, and became insanely infatuated with him, even though I still do not understand the secret of this infatuation with her sister's servant!"
Acropolis asked cleverly: "Is what Gelius meant previously related to that Arius?"
Nahira smiled a mysterious smile: "Perhaps yes.. but I will not place high hopes on my foolish servants right now."
Zarda asked with curiosity: "And is he a strong person?"
Nahira looked at her coldly and said: "He was good, no more.. You two are currently stronger than him by stages, so there is no comparison originally."
Acropolis and Zarda laughed with arrogance and said: "So he is weak and merely a nobody."
Nahira nodded her head and said in an ambitious tone: "Yes.. and my true goal is to make you both stronger than the rest of the rulers of the ten worlds, so that our world remains the sole pole and the undisputed power.. Do you understand me?"
The two stood straight with deep respect and said in one voice: "Understood, my lady!", then they departed to carry out their grueling training.
Nahira remained alone, returning her gaze toward the horizon with a smile never leaving her face, whispering to herself: "Let's see where we will reach soon in this grand game."
After hours of eerie quietude, Clarice was sinking into the hot spring waters rising with dense steam, and serenity began to creep into her features for the first time in a long while. She was playing with the water with her fingertips while smiling infatuatedly and whispering to herself: "Soon he will return and fulfill his promise to me.. Arius is scared for me as my sister said.. Yes, he is thinking of me now somewhere in this existence, and I will not scare him for me any more; I will be the bride he is waiting for."
Clarice emerged from the springs with water dripping from her body like pearls, and went to select her most expensive and beautiful silk dresses woven with threads of gold. Then she walked through the palace corridors with pride and an enthusiastic smile that never left her face. Every servant or guard who saw her bowed his body in reverence, feeling astonished by this sudden transformation in her condition.
She reached the throne room and did not find Nahira, so a servant told her respectfully: "Lady Nahira just left the planet to destroy a cluster of universes whose energy has been depleted and are no longer useful in the balance of existence." Clarice shook her head indifferently and said: "It's fine, I'll see her later anyway."
Clarice set off toward the bustling capital to practice her favorite hobby of shopping. She began moving between luxury shops and buying expensive garments and gifts while servants carried the piled bags for her. At the moment she was waiting to pay the bill, a girl wearing a long cloak covering her entire body and features bumped into her.
The girl stepped back and apologized gently, but Clarice cast a haughty, disdainful look at her and said: "Watch out, girl! Don't you see who is in front of you?" The girl apologized again and said in a calm voice: "Excuse me, my lady, I didn't mean to.. May I ask a question? Have you seen this person anywhere here? I was told he used to live on this planet."
The girl pulled out a picture and displayed it before Clarice's eyes. At that moment, time stopped for Clarice and the blood froze in her veins. The picture was of **Arius**. Her eyes bulged, a volcano of murderous jealousy ignited inside her, and she asked the girl in a terrifying tone: "Where did you get this picture? And what do you want from this person specifically?"
The girl smiled from beneath the veil of her cloak with a mysterious smile and said: "I am searching for him because I need him for a matter concerning me."
Clarice could not bear to hear the word "I need him" from another woman, so she snatched the picture from her hand and burned it with her purple energy in the blink of an eye. Then she seized the edge of the girl's cloak tightly and said in a commanding tone that accepts no discussion: "Come with me.. we will talk a little in my house."
Clarice forced the girl to board the royal carriage and they headed straight toward the palace. There, she ordered the guards to take the guest to the guest wing and lock the doors. A few brief minutes passed during which Clarice prepared a set of sharp, poisoned daggers in various shapes, intending to extract the truth from that girl using her own methods.
Clarice rushed toward the wing and opened the door violently while brandishing her blade, but a shock awaited her: the room was completely empty.. no trace of the girl.. no trace of the cloak.. and even the window was tightly closed. Clarice went mad and came out screaming at the guards like a wounded lioness: "Where is the girl?! How did she get out of here?!"
The guards panicked, fell to their knees in terror, and swore that they had not seen anyone come out through the door or the window. Clarice screamed in a voice that shook the corners of the palace: "Search for her in every corner of the planet! Turn the cities upside down and don't let her disappear! If you don't find her, I will execute you all here and at this very moment!"
Heavy hours passed while the guards trembled in terror, yet no one found a trace of that mysterious girl, as if she had been nothing but a passing illusion. **Clarice's** madness flared up, and her chest boiled with a cauldron of jealousy and hatred, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She screamed in a voice that tore the silence of the palace: "I will find you even if you are a speck of dust in this wretched universe!"
Clarice flew into the sky of the planet and unleashed her terrifying ability **"The Dark Web of Existence"**, completely wrapping the planet in indescribable purple energy threads. She began to scan every heartbeat, every atom of air, and every living creature's energy on the surface and in the depths, searching for that frequency she had felt in the market. But the shock slapped her pride repeatedly: she found nothing, as if the girl had vanished from the fabric of reality entirely.
Here, Clarice lost what remained of her mind and began venting her anger on the planet itself. She unleashed energy lightning bolts that burned vast forests and turned them into ashes, and with blows from her palms, she split great mountains in half and began to shake the ground beneath the feet of the inhabitants, who fled in all directions thinking that the end of the world had arrived. The planet groaned under the weight of her destructive madness.
In those terrifying moments, **Nahira** returned accompanied by Acropolis and Zarda to see the planet collapsing from a distance. Nahira landed like lightning amidst the rubble, stood before her raging sister, and grabbed her hands with immense energetic force, forcing her to stop. Nahira screamed: "Clarice! Stop! Have you completely gone mad? You will turn our kingdom into wreckage!"
After a great effort, Clarice calmed down, fell to her knees panting, tears mixing with the sparks of anger in her eyes, and began recounting to her sister the details of the encounter in the market, the picture that girl was carrying, and how she vanished from inside the fortified palace.
Nahira fell silent for a long time, her eyes narrowing in deep thought. She felt a coldness creeping into her body—not out of fear, but suspicion. Nahira pieced the threads together in her mind: her departure from the planet on a sudden mission, then the appearance of this mysterious girl searching for Arius with precise detail, and her impossible disappearance from the palace. Nahira looked toward the burning horizon and muttered in a low voice: "Someone is toying with us, Clarice.. This is not just a passing girl; she is a bait carefully designed to provoke your madness and test our defenses in my absence. A grand conspiracy is being hatched behind these walls."
Several heavy days passed, dominated by cautious anticipation, until Nahira decided to resolve doubts with certainty. She set off, piercing the borders of the worlds until she reached the Sixth World, specifically above the planet Arlin, which was enjoying a peace that did not last long.
Nahira landed with her overwhelming majesty, followed by Acropolis and Zarda like shadows of death. Arlin came out to greet her with surprise mixed with suspicion on her face, while Wang, Mythos, and Ramos stopped their training, watching this terrifying presence in astonishment.
Arlin mocked, saying: "Strange to see you here, Nahira. Did a major problem happen that drove you to ask for our help, for example?" Their gazes met sharply, so Nahira smiled a cold smile and replied with matching sarcasm: "In reality, I came to make you one of my next female servants."
The two female rulers entered the palace while the new commanders remained outside, exchanging a deadly silent gaze. Ramos watched Acropolis and Zarda with intense concentration and whispered to Mythos: "Look, these two are strong to a frightening degree. I see they are suppressing their energy with extreme difficulty." Mythos nodded seriously and said: "Yes, I haven't felt such density except from Arlin or Wang. I wonder what hell they went through to reach this power?"
Their whispering did not last long before Zarda cast a disdainful, cold look at them and said to Mythos: "Is there anything worth your look?" Mythos averted his gaze away calmly, avoiding an early clash.
Inside, Nahira was recounting to Arlin the details of the mysterious conspiracy, the appearance of the girl searching for Arius, and her ghostly disappearance. But Arlin maintained her absolute coolness and said: "I know nothing about that girl's story, and I don't care about it in the first place." Nahira narrowed her eyes and said: "It seems you are trying to hide your interest in the matter." Arlin replied steadily: "This is better, for the matter does not concern us. Isn't Arius part of your world? Then the problem goes back to you alone."
Nahira looked at the back of her hand where the ownership contract gleamed and said in a sharp tone: "Yet he resides in your world and refuses to return to me, so what is the solution?"
Here came the shock Nahira did not expect when Arlin said calmly: "No, Arius is not in the Sixth World currently."
Nahira sprang up in surprise: "What? Isn't he residing somewhere here under your protection?" Arlin shook her head, saying: "No, he left a long time ago and we haven't seen him since his mother's death and his argument with his sister Lina."
Confusion took over Nahira's face, and she muttered: "If he is not in the First World nor here, where on earth did he go?"
Arlin looked at him with a telling gaze and said: "It doesn't matter where he is as long as he is away from you and your evils, he is fine."
Nahira laughed a laugh that shook the corners of the hall and said in a tone filled with arrogance: "But I do not easily abandon what belongs to me, Arlin, and I will find him even if the worlds collide with one another."
Nahira stood up from her seat with a majesty that commanded awe everywhere and said in a tone carrying an ill omen that Arlin's ear did not miss: **"Soon a catastrophe will happen in this world of yours.. so pay close attention."**
Arlin was surprised by this excessive confidence in the threat, but she maintained her coolness and showed no interest in what she heard, contenting herself with a cold parting look.
Nahira walked out of the palace with firm steps, followed by Acropolis and Zarda, who did not turn their gaze away from Ramos and Mythos until they all vanished into the horizon, leaving behind a massive energetic roar. Ramos stepped toward Arlin and asked her with curiosity and concern: **"What did she tell you? It seems the visit was not friendly at all."**
Arlin replied, brushing the dust of the encounter off her clothes: **"Nothing.. just trivia and hollow threats, nothing more.. Don't trouble your mind with it."**
In a dark place submerged in silence and mystery, the girl with the cloak stood in front of a hologram device displaying a blurred image of a faceless figure. The person addressed her with a sharp, reproachful tone: "What you did in Nahira's palace is considered sheer recklessness.. We could have been exposed prematurely."
The girl smiled from behind her veil and said calmly and with confidence: "It's fine.. rather, I found major benefit in what I did. I tested their reactions and knew their weak points, and we are very close to our goal now."
The voice replied strictly: "Return to us currently, we don't want any more risk."**
The girl looked at the void around her and said: "Don't worry.. we are fine here and will come to you together soon, but allow me to tell you that we will do some simple business before the big bang we are planning for."
She abruptly hung up the line, then turned behind her with a mysterious smile and said to whoever was standing in the shadow: **"We are finally going.. It has been a long time since we stayed in this corner, and we must move now, for the hour is approaching."
As for the First World, specifically in one of the secret wings, Clarice was meeting with some soldiers whose loyalty she managed to buy away from her sister's eyes. She told them in a sharp tone and eyes blazing with determination: "We will focus currently on other things, for since my arrival here I have not fulfilled my main goal, and it is time to do that.. I want you to spread out among them and find out for me the secret of that old incident.. Was it a coincidence or a premeditated plan by someone?"
Clarice continued, pressing her fist: "My sister Nahira hides many secrets from me.. And any of you who brings me true information about what happened to my mother 32 years ago, then he will be rewarded with a reward he never dreamed of at all.. Set off now and leave no stone unturned without searching."
The soldiers departed to mingle among Nahira's loyal aides, and Clarice remained alone, whispering to herself with an old grudge: "Soon I will know the complete truth.. and I will know what happened at that time and who was truly behind my mother's absence."