King Karma sat with his usual majesty upon his broad throne. To his right sat Nahira, her features cold and shrouded in a deep mystery, her eyes staring at Arius as if she saw something in him that he himself barely recognized.
Everyone stepped forward with hesitant strides toward the King. As they drew closer, Arlin noticed Nahira's presence beside Karma. She paused for a moment, then spoke in a surprised tone, charged with bewilderment:
— "Nahira?! What are you doing here?"
Nahira gave a cold, smirk and said in a low but clear voice:
— "I am here for a matter that concerns me… a matter that may change many things you think you know."
The group arrived before the throne. Arlin, Wang, and Raymos bowed, and even Grandmaster Amal inclined his head out of respect for the King. Meanwhile, Arius remained standing as he was, his gaze fixed far away toward the hall's floor, as though he saw nothing.
Arlin turned toward him and whispered sharply:
— "Arius, bow! You fool, this isn't the first time you've let your bad habit show in a place like this…"
But Karma laughed—a short, quiet laugh—and said in a resonant voice laced with friendliness:
— "It is fine… leave him. I consider Arius a friend, and he is free to stand as he wishes in my presence."
Silence prevailed for a few seconds. Then Karma spoke, his tone shifting to a formal one:
— "More importantly… the reason for summoning you today concerns a grave matter, or rather… a truth I heard just moments ago from the dear Lady Nahira."
Arlin raised her head and asked in a hesitant voice tinged with curiosity:
— "And what is this truth, my Lord?"
Karma answered calmly, but his words fell upon them like a thunderbolt:
— "In truth, the matter may shock you… but Nahira claims that Arius is not merely a warrior from this world. Rather, he is a being from her own world… and he was formerly her servant."
A sudden, ringing silence filled the hall, as if time itself had stopped for a moment. Everyone's eyes turned all at once toward Arius. Even Wang, Raymos, and Arlin bore expressions of shock and confusion. As for Arius, he remained standing in his place, his gaze still directed far away, as if trying to hide a tremor deep within his soul.
Arlin said in a trembling voice, trying to remain polite:
— "Lord Karma… with all due respect, I do not dare question your words or Lady Nahira's words… but… this is impossible! Arius is a being who was born and lived in the Sixth World… he is no older than sixteen… how could this be true? This is… this is unbelievable!"
Nahira rose slowly from her seat, as if displaying her majesty, and stood before them all. She said in a sharp yet mysteriously calm tone:
— "It is not impossible, my dear… that person… Arius… is indeed a part of my world."
She then pointed her hand toward Arius and added coldly, like someone revealing a final card:
— "You can ask him yourself if you like… he knows the truth more than you can imagine."
Everyone turned toward Arius, all eyes locked onto him. The air in the hall grew heavier, and the moment carried an unbearable weight…
Yet Arius remained still, his gaze never shifting. A suffocating silence hung over the hall… as if entire worlds had stopped spinning the moment Arius spoke those words. Arlin's gaze was frozen, her mouth slightly agape, as if her mind refused to believe. Meanwhile, Wang lowered his head, unable to comprehend what he was hearing, and Raymos's hands trembled with involuntary anger.
Arlin took a step toward Arius, her voice shaking between fury and pleading:
— "Arius… what is the meaning of what we just heard? Please, tell me she is wrong… tell me everything she said is nothing but a lie."
Arius raised his gaze to them, his eyes as cold as ice, with no trace of emotion. Then he said in a low voice, yet as sharp as a sword:
— "No… what she said is entirely true."
A wicked smile spread across Nahira's face, and utter bewilderment washed over everyone. Raymos shouted passionately:
— "What nonsense is this?! You are Arius, the son of Alberto, commander of the Celestine army! You were born on the same day I was, and on the same planet! How can you say such a thing? What is this absurdity?!"
Arius answered him with absolute coldness:
— "The matter is complicated… and no one will understand it but me."
Arlin took another step forward, her face filled with anger and disappointment:
— "What is it that we don't understand, Arius? Your strange behavior lately? Or what we just heard now? Tell me! What on earth are you hiding from us?"
Arius said with sudden sharpness, averting his gaze from her:
— "Shut up right now!"
Silence reigned once more, and a faint energy began to vibrate around Arius, as if something inside him was boiling. Nahira laughed softly and said with gentle mockery:
— "Ooh… calm down, everyone. There's no need to get emotional."
She then looked at Arius with a cold eye completely familiar to him and said:
— "Arius, tell them who your true master is… who raised you from infancy, looked after you, and took care of all your needs?"
Arius closed his eyes for a moment, then lowered his head toward the ground. His voice was a mixture of anger, resentment, and bitter acknowledgment:
— "You… of course it is you, my Lady."
Nahira smiled a victorious smile, then stepped toward him with confident strides, speaking in a tone brimming with arrogance:
— "Well done. At least you do not deny the favor of your masters, no matter how much time passes or how worlds change."
At that, Raymos exploded with rage. He lunged toward Arius, grabbing him tightly by his collar and shouting:
— "Have you been deceiving us all this time? You naive brat! Was everything a lie?!"
Arius grabbed Raymos's wrist with one hand and squeezed so hard that the bones made a faint cracking sound from the sheer pain. He said with lethal coldness, his eyes gleaming with something mysterious:
— "I… have deceived no one."
Raymos cried out in pain and let go of his clothes, leaving Arius to continue in the same tone:
— "I have never deceived anyone…"
Nahira stepped slowly toward them and said in a commanding voice:
— "Tell them, Arius… tell them what happened before you came to the Sixth World."
Arius took a deep breath, then spoke in a heavy tone, each word coming out as if it were a confession weighing down his chest:
— "I… tried to rebel. I tried to betray my Lady. But in the end, because of my misdeeds, I fell into a cosmic rift that tore me to pieces… then threw me into the Sixth World as an infant, born anew. That is all that happened."
Arlin whispered in a faint voice, barely audible:
— "And what of it? What does this mean now?"
Nahira smiled and raised her hand slightly, saying:
— "What it means, my dear… is that I am taking back what belongs to me. I will return him to where he belongs… before the ruler of all things, and in accordance with the cosmic laws themselves."
Karma looked at her for a moment, then said in his deep voice:
— "Understood… I do not mind. But before that… I want to hear Arius's own opinion."
Arlin gasped in disbelief and said with clear anger:
— "My Lord, are you truly going to agree to such a thing? Arius is from the Sixth World! He lived here, fought for us, and sacrificed himself repeatedly! How can you allow such a claim?!"
But before Karma could answer, Arius cut through the silence with a low voice, yet as clear as a dagger's thrust:
— "There is no need for discussion… I agree to return… to where I belong."
Then he raised his head, his gaze firm and devoid of any hesitation, and said with lethal coldness:
— "I will return to my original world… for the sake of my Lady."
At that moment…
Arius's words dropped upon the hall like a bomb. Arlin took a step back, her eyes glistening with tears, while Wang froze in his place, and Raymos looked at his old friend as if standing before a complete stranger. As for Nahira… she settled for a small smile, having triumphed twice—once over the Sixth World, and once over Arius's own heart.
Raymos stood staring at Arius with a gaze filled with anger and sorrow all at once. His voice trembled with intense emotion as he shouted:
— "You idiot! What do you mean by these words?! And what am I supposed to say to your mother? To your sister who waits for you every day at the door?! Do you think it's that easy? To just vanish suddenly and leave behind everyone who loved you?!"
Arius raised his head toward him slowly, his gaze stripped of any warmth or hesitation, and said with absolute coldness:
— "Tell them… that I have gone on a very long assignment."
He paused for a moment, then added in a harsher voice:
— "Or… tell them that I died in battle. Choose whatever you wish, for both amounts to the same thing."
Raymos's eyes widened from the sheer shock; he could never have imagined hearing such words from the person he had considered a brother his entire life. He shouted in a voice both broken and furious:
— "Arius… you piece of trash… traitor… bastard!"
He rushed toward him and struck him with a powerful punch to the face. But he was shocked to see that Arius didn't move… he didn't raise his hand to block or even step back. He took the blow fully and fell to the ground without resistance, as if he had accepted it on purpose.
Raymos stepped forward, his chest heaving with rage, shouting more out of pain than anger:
— "Is this truly you? Is this the Arius we knew?! Where did that person go who used to fight for us? Who used to defy the world for our sake?!"
But Arius did not answer. He remained on the ground, quietly raising his head to look at him with glassy, lifeless eyes, before saying in a very faint voice, as if emerging from the depths of a broken chest:
— "That person… died a long time ago."
Nahira stepped confidently toward them, lightly raising her hand to halt the tension that permeated the place. She said in a cold, victorious tone:
— "Very well, Lord Karma… thank you for your time, but I believe it is time for us to depart."
Karma looked at her for a long moment, then nodded calmly and said in a low but commanding voice:
— "Do as you wish, Lady Nahira."
Nahira smiled, then walked past Arius, who was still on the ground. She stopped beside him without looking at him and said in her usual commanding tone:
— "Come… stand up, this tragic scene is over. We have a long road ahead of us."
Arius raised his head slowly, then stood up without a single word. There was no resistance or anger in his features… only a heavy silence suggesting that his inside had completely burned out. Then he answered her very quietly, without looking at anyone:
— "Understood."
Nahira stepped back with firm strides, and Arius walked behind her, while everyone's eyes followed him in painful silence. Wang clenched his fist so tightly that blood trickled from his palm, and Arlin could not utter a word; her tears just fell continuously as she stared at his back, which was growing further and further away. As for Raymos, he remained standing in his place, broken inside, unable to scream anymore.
Nahira turned to those present before entering the portal that opened before her out of nowhere, and said with a cold smile dripping with arrogance:
— "Farewell, Sixth World… it was an honor knowing you, though you were nothing but a passing chapter in my story."
Then she closed her eyes and extended her hand toward Arius, who followed her without looking back. The three—Nahira, Arius, and her assistant—vanished into a vortex of black light.
The moment they disappeared… a suffocating silence reigned over the place, where nothing could be heard except the sound of ragged breaths and breaking hearts. Arlin walked slowly toward the spot where Arius had been standing moments before. She touched the ground with her hand and whispered in a hoarse, trembling voice:
— "Arius… why?"
The moments of silence that followed their disappearance from Karma's palace were heavy enough to choke one's breath. On the way back to the Sixth World, Arlin, Wang, and Raymos were surrounded by an aura of grief and shock; none of them uttered a single word. The atmosphere was stifling, and the void Arius left behind was like an open wound that would not heal. Each one of them was drowned in their thoughts, trying to process what had just unfolded before them, but to no avail… for what had happened was no ordinary betrayal, but rather the total collapse of an entire world of trust.
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the depths of deep space, the stars reflected off Arius's cold face as he floated inside a massive cosmic path making its way toward the First World. He looked out at the infinity stretching before him, his features devoid of life, as if trying to find among the starlight an answer to a question that had not yet been asked.
Nahira approached him with quiet steps, her long robe swaying like a shadow of dark light. She stood beside him, her eyes sparkling with a gleam that carried passion and control, and said in a quiet voice saturated with the tone of an ancient hunger:
— "Finally… after all these years, we are alone, my dear. Do you know how long I have waited for this moment? How much I wished to see you standing beside me like this, without restrictions or prying eyes meddling with us?"
Arius did not turn to her. He kept staring into space before saying in a faint voice, yet as sharp as a knife:
— "Listen to me well, Nahira. What happened between us on that day… when I told you that I would return to the First World… it was not what you think."
Her eyebrows rose in slight surprise, while he inclined his head a little and said with clear seriousness:
— "That drama we put on before everyone… was nothing but acting on my part. I agreed to return only because I wanted to get away from the spotlight, nothing more. And when we reach the First World… I will go my way, and you will go yours. I will not be your servant anymore."
A short silence ensued, followed by a cold smile forming on Nahira's lips. She stepped slowly toward him, then raised her hand with apparent gentleness to place it on his shoulder. But in the next instant, she squeezed with terrifying force, until the sound of bones buckling under her grip could be heard.
A faint cry escaped from between Arius's teeth as he fell to his knees from the intense pain. The energy she channeled into his body was like whips of burning light flaying his being from within.
Nahira leaned down toward him, her face close to his ear, and whispered in a soft but venomous voice:
— "Listen to me well, my dear boy… if you think you can outsmart me, you are sorely mistaken. Everything that exists in the First World… is mine. Its land, its sky, and even the air you breathe. And that means you… are mine too."
Arius gasped, the pain choking his chest. His hand pressed against the ground as he tried to stand, but his strength failed him. He raised his gaze to her with eyes full of suppressed anger, and said in a strained voice:
— "Stop… please…"
She smiled faintly, then said without lifting her hand:
— "I will stop when you realize my true value. When you remember who you are… and who I am."
He had no choice but to surrender, his voice hoarse as he said:
— "I'm sorry… I will do whatever you want… just stop… please."
Only then did Nahira remove her hand from his shoulder. A sudden feeling of lightness spread through his body, as if a massive weight had been lifted off him. But in his eyes, it was clear that this lightness was not freedom… but a new submission.
Nahira smiled slowly as she turned her back, saying in an arrogant, soft voice:
— "Good, my dear… it seems you are starting to remember your true place."
She paused for a moment, then looked at the cosmic horizon before them and said:
— "When we arrive at the First World… there will be many changes. And I will show you what true submission looks like… to the one who made you from the very beginning."
Arius raised his head and looked at the space stretching before him. In his eyes was a faint spark, one that did not resemble fear… but rather a burning fire from within. Yet, he did not utter a word.
Nahira shouted in a voice mixed with anger and annoyance, blending the pride of a queen with the impatience of a woman accustomed to being obeyed:
> "How much time is left?! How long will we keep swimming in this barren void?!"
>
The assistant replied in a steady voice full of respect:
> "My Lady… Lord Karma's world is vast beyond easy comprehension. Even at my maximum speed, we will need three hours just to exit his domain... and another half-day to reach the First World."
>
Nahira's breath rose in her chest like a flame wanting to explode, and she said with sharp displeasure:
> "This is absurd! How can a single world swallow us up like this?!"
>
At that, Arius raised his head from his long silence, his features bearing the unsettling stillness that precedes a storm, and said in a faint voice that carried absolute certainty:
> "Allow me… to handle this."
>
Nahira cast a skeptical look at him but did not object. Meanwhile, the assistant paused and froze all movement in the vast space, causing the energy waves around them to dissipate and the lights to dim bit by bit until total silence prevailed. Arius took a step forward, standing in the heart of nothingness, slowly extending his palms as if opening a hidden veil between universes.
He said in a calm tone:
> "Imagine a place you have visited before… a place you remember in all its details… focus on its image in your minds."
>
Nahira closed her eyes, and a pale purple glow poured around her as she began to visualize her old planet—its temples suspended in the clouds, palaces gleaming like heavenly mirrors, and gardens floating in a sea of violet light. Arius extended his right hand and then opened his eyes, which held a vortex of pure Raizo energy, glittering like a miniature galaxy spinning in the depths of darkness.
And in a fleeting moment… the entire space shuddered. A faint sound resembling the beat of a cosmic wing echoed, followed by the tearing of light around them, as if they had crossed between the very threads of existence.
Not a second passed before they found themselves standing on solid ground, the air around them redolent with a familiar scent—the First World. The sky was a silver-tinted blue, and the sun was half-submerged in the horizon, casting a gentle light that draped the ancient palaces with a touch of nostalgia and awe.
Nahira was so astonished that the words froze on her tongue. She blinked twice, then looked at Arius with a gaze that was half admiration and half genuine shock:
> "How did you do this? How did you cross this entire expanse in an instant?!"
>
Arius replied with a coldness resembling the clarity of ice, without even turning to her:
> "This is nothing."
>
His words were simple, but they carried a weight that made the assistant lower his head in respect.
The three descended slowly onto the planet's soil. Arius was the first to set foot on the ground, and the ancient breezes brushed against his face as if the spirits of the past were greeting him. He looked around… every corner of this place carried a buried memory—here his blood had spilled, and there his first dream was buried. It was the very spot where he had promised himself never to return, and now he stood upon it again, but with a different face and a heavy heart.
He looked toward the distant horizon where the radiant mountains stretched, and whispered to himself in a voice barely audible:
> "This place… how much it hurts to see it again."
>
Everything around him was familiar, yet it felt as strange as a version of an old dream. Even the earth seemed to breathe beneath his feet, welcoming him and rebuking him at the same time.
At that moment, Nahira's footsteps slowed behind him, her gaze never leaving him. In her eyes was an inexplicable gleam—a mixture of a desire for control and a hidden longing for a past she had not yet understood.
While Arius remained silent, carrying a silent storm in his heart, the earth itself could feel it. Arius moved forward with steady, silent steps, trying to suppress the wave of memories rushing through his head with every step he took toward the gate of the massive palace. The gate itself was towering, carved with ancient symbolic shapes that shimmered under the faint sunlight, as if guarding every moment of his past. Upon his arrival, he paused for a moment, his eyes wandering over the area, catching the details of every corner: the smooth stones, the intricate engravings, and the strange feeling of nostalgia and dread gripping him simultaneously.
Nahira was walking beside him, each of her steps echoing in the grand hallway, as if telling the whole world: "This is my property, and this is the one I brought back." When Arius noticed the stares of all the servants and soldiers, a deep look of bewilderment appeared on his face, and he asked in a low voice:
> "Why are they staring at me like that?"
>
Nahira smiled wickedly, as if keen to make him feel both uncomfortable and astonished at the same time, and said:
> "It is only natural for them to see you this way, Arius. To them, you have been dead since the day you fled… everything that preceded you was nothing more than an illusion."
>
Nahira gestured to her assistant and gave him quick instructions:
> "Go, summon the senior commanders, and ready the armies… I will deliver an important speech before everyone."
>
The assistant set off without hesitation, while Nahira and Arius entered the palace, where the servants bowed to them in reverence, their faces bearing a mixture of fear, astonishment, and respect. With every step Arius took in the long corridor, he felt the weight of the past accompanying him, as if the walls themselves remembered every moment he had spent here.
During their walk, Arius paused for a moment by one of the servants who had bowed to her with deep respect, then continued his walk down the luxurious corridor, surrounded by ancient paintings and decorations that had not changed, as if time had never set foot on these walls. He said to himself quietly:
> "The place is exactly as it was… nothing has changed."
>
Nahira smiled and said:
> "True… I kept everything exactly as it was, so I wouldn't feel any change. Every moment here was etched in my memory, and I wanted to keep it just the way it was."
>
Finally, after walking for some time, they reached the massive throne room. The room was majestic, its ceiling high and adorned with intertwined golden engravings. The walls were decorated with historical paintings of its previous rulers, and a faint light filtered through the high windows, draping the room in an aura of sanctity and awe.
Nahira sat upon her luxurious purple throne, stepping forward with the grandeur of a true queen. Her seating appeared as though she had achieved her greatest victory, her eyes contemplating Arius with that look that held everything: power, desire, and triumph over time itself.
Arius stood in his place, silent, looking at her intently—every detail of her face, every movement of her hand, every thread of light reflected on the throne, and everything around her made him feel both awe and strangeness at the same time. The moment was frozen in time, as if time itself had stopped to witness Nahira reclaiming what was once her own domain.