Leo leaned against the wooden railing of the bridge leading back into Mondstadt, his breath hitching as a sudden, sharp coldness washed over his chest.
It wasn't the Anemo chill of the mountains; it was the sensation of a thousand eyes watching him from a height he couldn't even fathom.
His HUD flickered violently, the neon green and magenta interface bleeding together into a static-filled gold for a split second before snapping back to normal.
[SYSTEM ERROR: TEMPORAL OVERWRITE DETECTED]
[RECOVERY COMPLETE]
[NEW ITEM DISCOVERED IN INVENTORY]
"Ugh... my head," Leo groaned, rubbing his temples.
"Leo? You're turning pale again," Lumine said, reaching out to steady him.
"Is it the 'Rider' power? Maybe using that magenta belt was too much."
"I'm fine, just... a weird dizzy spell," Leo lied.
He opened his digital inventory, expecting to see his remaining RP or the clutter of his new loot.
Instead, sitting right next to the Medajalibur, was an object that shouldn't be there.
It was a circular, bulky device, roughly the size of a hockey puck.
It was made of a matte black plastic with a grey, rotating faceplate.
But unlike the vibrant Progrise Keys or the ornate Decadriver cards, this thing was... empty.
No face, no color, just a blank, silver-mirrored surface where an icon should be.
[ITEM: BLANK RIDEWATCH]
[DESCRIPTION: A vessel for the power of a King. Currently dormant.]
[STATUS: ???]
Leo pulled it out into reality.
The weight of it was immense—not physically, but it felt like holding a concentrated pocket of gravity.
"What's that? A clock?" Paimon asked, flying in close to look at her own reflection in the silver surface.
"It doesn't have any hands. How are you supposed to tell if it's snack time?"
"It's not a clock, Paimon," Leo whispered, his skin crawling.
He felt a faint, rhythmic thump-thump coming from the device, perfectly synced with the beating of his own heart... or maybe the ticking of a much larger clock somewhere else.
As his fingers brushed the rotating rim, a message flashed in golden text across his vision—not in his usual system font, but in a regal, ancient script.
[I AM WATCHING, LITTLE MAN.]
Leo nearly dropped the watch.
The text vanished instantly, replaced by his standard HUD.
[RP BALANCE: 200]
[MISSION: REPORT TO THE ACTING GRAND MASTER]
"Did you guys see that?" Leo looked at Lumine and Venti.
Venti's eyes lingered on the blank watch, his playful smile faltering for a fraction of a second before he masked it with a wink.
"I didn't see anything ,but I certainly feel a 'heavy' history coming from that trinket You're quite the collector of dangerous things, aren't you?"
Leo shoved the Blank Ridewatch back into his inventory, his hand shaking. He know who "That King" was, but he knew one thing: the Decadriver had brought him more than just power. It had brought him onto the radar of something that made the Abyss and the Celestia ,look like a playground scrap.
"Let's just get to the tavern," Leo said, his voice Tight.
"I need a drink. And I need to see if this blue sword actually takes Mora, because I am officially out of Points'."
Back at the Angel's Share
The tavern was quiet, the fire crackling in the hearth.
Diluc stood behind the bar, eyeing the Medajalibur that Leo had leaned against a stool.
"That's a lot of metal for someone who claims to be a 'passing-through' traveler," Diluc remarked, sliding a glass of grape juice toward Leo.
Leo pulled out a single Mora coin and hovered it near the slot on the sword's guard.
"Let's find out if this thing is as greedy as Paimon."
He dropped the coin in.
CLINK.
The sword emitted a soft, electronic chime.
[CASH!]
The blue blade glowed with a faint light, and a digital counter on the hilt flickered: [0001 / 1000].
"It works," Leo stared in horror.
"But it's going to take a thousand Mora just to prime one swing? Being a hero is expensive."