After the glorious chaos of the morning banquet, the world felt… strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
The three brothers lay sprawled across the unnaturally soft grass of the Empyrean courtyard, staring up at a sky that looked almost too perfect to be real. The air was crisp, sharp with high-altitude clarity, and from where they rested, the towering onyx statue of their father loomed above them.
The Zodiac Emperor.
A dark, unyielding figure that pierced the heavens like a divine spear.
It should have been peaceful.
It was also painfully boring.
"I saw black lightning today," Lexel said, his hands folded behind his head.
"I saw it too," Seleron replied flatly, not even bothering to move.
"Same," Myda added, propping himself up on his elbows. His gaze remained thoughtful. "It wasn't natural. A spatial anomaly. A tear in the fabric of the realm."
Lexel rolled his eyes.
"A tear, a snag, a distortion… you always make it sound boring," he muttered. "I call it what it actually is."
He grinned.
"A bad omen."
A pause.
"Or better yet… an adventure."
The three princes of Empyrean shared a look.
Untouchable. Unrivaled. Raised at the very peak of existence.
And currently trapped in a week-long celebration of suffocating formalities—the Emperor's Grand Wedding Anniversary.
Endless ceremonies.
Endless greetings.
Endless boredom.
They needed an excuse to leave.
And fate, it seemed, had just handed them one.
Without another word—
Seleron moved.
His Cultivation flared violently, erupting like a silent storm as he shot into the sky like a comet.
"Last one there is a rotten Hellboar!" Lexel shouted, already igniting his own aura, red-auburn flames bursting to life as he launched forward.
Myda followed without hesitation.
The sky split beneath them as the three tore through the cloud barrier, leaving the Empyrean behind as they descended toward the Mortal World.
Lexel's senses sharpened instantly.
There.
A distortion.
Subtle—but unmistakable.
Hovering above a vast, ancient forest.
They landed in a clearing moments later.
Quiet.
Still.
Too still.
In front of them stood a shallow cave carved into the hillside, its entrance dark and unwelcoming.
"Are you sure it's here?" Seleron asked, crossing his arms. "This looks like a bear's den."
Lexel opened his mouth—
BZZT—KRAK!
The world split.
Black lightning didn't strike.
It tore.
Reality itself ripped open in front of them, jagged and violent, crackling with a hollow, unnatural energy that felt fundamentally… wrong.
Not just different.
Offensive.
The tear widened.
Spun.
Collapsed inward into a swirling vortex of darkness.
The air thickened instantly, heavy with static, carrying the faint, acrid scent of cheap ozone.
Then—
a boot stepped through.
Dull steel.
Unremarkable.
Then came the rest.
A man clad in gray armor, devoid of runes, devoid of aura—devoid of life.
Behind him—
a staff-wielding mage
a dual-blade fighter
a towering brute dragging an axe
Their presence was… hollow.
Manufactured.
Wrong.
The gray-armored leader's eyes narrowed as he looked at the three teenagers in fine silk.
Invisible to the princes—
a glowing blue interface flared into existence before his vision.
[Scanning…]
[Lv: ??]
[Threat Rank: Unidentified]
His caution lasted only a second.
Then—
greed.
Unidentified meant rare.
Rare meant reward.
"Aww, man," Lexel sighed, shoulders slumping dramatically. "I was hoping for a Valkyrie. Or at least a fox-girl."
"Why do we even talk to [Exp Fodder]?" the dual-wielder sneered, his blades igniting with synthetic light. "Let's just farm them."
He vanished forward.
Blades aimed for Lexel's throat.
CLANG!
The forest trembled.
The sound of impact echoed like a bell of steel.
The attacker froze.
His blades… had stopped.
Not blocked.
Not deflected.
Stopped.
By a single finger.
Lexel hadn't even fully raised his arm.
The black claw-tip of his gauntlet held both blades in place effortlessly. The glowing energy coating them flickered—
then died.
Snuffed out the moment it touched him.
"...Heavy!" the man strained, veins bulging as he pushed with everything he had.
Lexel tilted his head.
The playful expression vanished.
Replaced by something colder.
Something… absolute.
"What is your problem?"
A flick.
The blades shattered.
Glass against stone.
The man stumbled backward, panic flooding his face.
Behind him, the gray knight's expression shifted.
"Ryla," he barked. "Use [Higher Scan]."
The mage raised her staff.
A thin beam of pale light swept across Lexel.
Her face drained instantly.
[Hp: ??] — FAIL
[Str: ??] — FAIL
[Skill(s): Unregistered — CAUTION]
"Leader…" her voice trembled. "They're… not readable. The System… can't measure them."
Lexel blinked.
"…What are you talking about?"
"Stats? Systems?" he frowned. "You people sound insane."
Seleron's hand rested on his sword.
"Mother warned me about people like this."
"Really?" Myda smirked.
Seleron nodded.
"She said—if someone tries to kill you…"
His figure vanished.
"…reason with them."
He reappeared mid-strike.
"…with your blade."
The world split.
The dual-wielder didn't even have time to scream.
The strike erased everything.
His defense.
His skill.
His life.
His body lifted off the ground and crashed lifelessly into the earth.
"Jalm!!" Ryla screamed. "[Greater Heal]!"
Light poured over the corpse.
[Target Invalid — Dead]
"Let me show you how we fight," Lexel growled.
The axe-warrior roared—
—and died just as quickly.
Beside him, Myda calmly traced a glowing circle.
Fluid.
Alive.
"Ragnarok Blast."
White flame erupted.
Not destructive—
annihilating.
The mage and brute vanished.
Gone.
Only the gray knight remained.
Trembling.
[Party Dead]
Lexel cracked his knuckles.
"Primitive."
Then—
the portal pulsed.
The air changed.
Not heavy.
Not sharp.
But oppressive.
A second figure stepped through.
Black armor.
Silent.
Terrifying.
The world itself seemed to choke around him.
His eyes scanned the battlefield—
then landed on the three brothers.
For the first time—
his expression faltered.
"…Their loot shall be mine alone."
"You sure about that?" Lexel smirked.
A bead of sweat slid down his neck.
"I alone am enough."
The sword rose.
"Gravity Root."
The world collapsed.
Lexel's knees slammed into the ground.
The air became iron.
Breathing became pain.
Even his bones screamed under the weight.
What is this—?!
Seleron.
Myda.
Both forced to one knee.
Their power—
crushed.
The Black Knight walked forward.
Unaffected.
Unstoppable.
His blade rose—
to end everything.
CLANG!
Lexel caught it.
Bare-handed.
Blood ran down his palms.
"Seleron… now!"
For a fraction of a second—
freedom.
Void split the world.
Flame followed.
The explosion consumed everything.
Silence.
"…Is that all?" Myda breathed.
The smoke parted.
The Black Knight stepped forward.
Untouched.
Regenerating.
"Is that all?"
Then—
he moved.
Too fast.
Too strong.
Myda vanished into the forest.
Seleron followed.
Lexel—
crushed.
The three princes collapsed together.
Broken.
Their power flickering.
Dying.
The Black Knight raised his blade.
"Giga Slash."
Light.
Absolute.
Then—
nothing.
Silence returned to the forest.
Lexel's fingers twitched once.
The forest was dead quiet—save for the crackle of fading energy and the soft step of the Black Knight's boots as he sheathed his blade.
"Futile," he said, turning his gaze toward the lingering portal. "Even miracles die when faced with levels beyond their reach."
Then another set of boots came in—a full party of four.