The celebration continued long after Jade disappeared.
Music echoed throughout the enormous banquet hall as hundreds of newly awakened Initiates laughed together, exchanged stories from their trials, and dreamed about the future that now awaited them. Government officials moved through the crowd while waiters carried trays filled with food and sparkling drinks. From the outside, it looked like the beginning of a beautiful new era for humanity.
Yet for two people...
Something felt terribly wrong.
---
Nora quietly lowered the glass she had been holding.
She hadn't taken a single sip.
Ever since arriving at the celebration, an uncomfortable feeling had settled inside her chest.
She couldn't explain it.
It wasn't danger.
Nor was it one of the terrifying visions she had grown accustomed to receiving.
It felt...
Incomplete.
As though someone important had stood only a few meters away from her...
Only for Fate itself to force them apart.
She slowly closed her eyes.
Nothing.
No vision appeared.
That frightened her even more.
Her visions had never completely abandoned her before.
Sophia noticed Nora's expression immediately.
"You've been quiet all evening."
Nora opened her eyes.
"I'm fine."
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
"No, you're not."
John looked over from the dessert table.
"Another vision?"
Nora remained silent for several seconds before finally nodding.
"I think..."
"...someone was supposed to meet me tonight."
Mark frowned.
"Supposed to?"
"It feels like I missed something."
She placed a hand against her chest.
"The feeling won't go away."
The four friends fell silent.
Eventually Nora shook her head.
"I don't want to stay here anymore."
Sophia looked surprised.
"The speech isn't even over."
"I know."
"I just..."
Nora looked toward the enormous ballroom one last time.
"...want to go home."
No one argued.
John simply smiled.
"Honestly, I miss NTOEL too."
Mark stretched lazily.
"I'm not complaining. Planet Diamond is nice, but home is still home."
Sophia nodded.
"Let's leave."
None of them knew...
The person Nora had unknowingly searched for all night had already left the ballroom.
Only Fate remained between the siblings.
---
Elsewhere...
Aaron searched every floor of the banquet hall.
He had already checked the ballroom.
The gardens.
The rooftop.
Even the washrooms.
Nothing.
No trace of Jade remained.
Aaron sighed.
"Where did you disappear to?"
He rubbed the back of his head.
"I swear..."
"...if you got lost again..."
Before he could continue complaining, someone called his name.
"Aaron."
He turned immediately.
His expression softened.
"Dad."
A tall middle-aged man stood beside an elegant woman.
Both smiled warmly.
Aaron's mother immediately pulled him into a hug.
"You worried us."
Aaron laughed awkwardly.
"I survived, didn't I?"
His father crossed his arms.
"Barely, from what Sarah told us."
Aaron scratched his cheek.
"She exaggerates."
His father simply smiled.
"Come on."
"The ship leaves in twenty minutes."
Aaron nodded.
Then he looked around one last time.
His eyes searched the crowd.
Still...
No Jade.
"I'll find you later."
He whispered quietly.
Then followed his parents out of the ballroom.
---
Far away...
Jade quietly returned to the Government Residential Center.
The brightly lit streets had become peaceful.
Only a few Initiates remained outside.
Most had either returned to the celebration or gone to sleep.
Jade unlocked his apartment.
Click.
The door opened.
Silence greeted him.
He slowly walked inside before locking the door behind him.
Only then did he allow himself to relax.
His fingers reached toward the black horned mask.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then...
The terrifying mask slowly dissolved into countless black threads.
They disappeared into his chest one by one.
Jade released a long breath.
"So it can be dismissed after all..."
Without the mask, the pressure surrounding him vanished completely.
He sat down on the edge of the bed.
Everything that had happened tonight replayed inside his mind.
Mason.
The Soul Sea.
The Blood Army.
The Beast God Body.
The Fate Mark.
He still couldn't believe any of it.
After several minutes of silence, Jade spoke softly.
"Status."
Immediately...
A translucent blue screen appeared before him.
---
Name: Jade
Rank: Initiate
Class: Dormant
Data: Obsidian vine shadow, Blood wings
Flaw: Blood Debt
When your essence is completely exhausted, corruption consumes your body until fresh blood infused with essence restores your sanity.
---
Jade continued reading.
Then...
His eyes stopped.
Several new lines had appeared.
Lines that had never existed before.
---
God Body:
Beast God Body
---
Legacy Practice:
Beast Sutra
---
Mastery Level:
0
---
Jade stared at the screen for a very long time.
"So..."
"...it's real."
He slowly closed the profile.
His fingers unconsciously touched the place where the mask had rested moments earlier.
The Beast God...
Had truly left him a legacy.
Outside...
Night quietly embraced Planet Diamond.
Far away, a spacecraft carrying Nora and her friends slowly departed toward NTOEL.
Another vessel carrying Aaron and his family followed soon after.
Neither ship knew...
That one lonely teenager remained behind.
Not because he wanted to.
But because he believed staying away was the only way to protect the people he loved.
And deep within Jade's Soul Sea...
The endless Blood Army remained kneeling before an empty throne.
Waiting.
For the day...
Their king would finally sit upon it.