Kayden slumped into his chair, exhaustion evident on his face. He pulled out the journals and placed them on the table.
Henry and Colton sat down as well, and Kayden's tired voice broke the silence.
"You read… I don't have the energy today."
A sly grin spread across Colton's face, the kind of smile a performer wore before stepping onto a stage. He grabbed the journal and opened it dramatically.
"The Great Colton—" But he never finished. He stopped when he caught Kayden's stare fixed on him, a silent warning, yet an extremely effective one.
Colton glanced at Henry, looking for support, but Henry was mimicking Kayden's expression with complete seriousness, as though it were some sort of game.
Rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, Colton muttered a few incomprehensible words before sighing. "Fine, fine…"
He began reading.
"February 4th, Year 665."
Henry quickly wrote down the information before murmuring to himself,
"He didn't write for an entire year."
"Maybe he entered a long period of seclusion," Kayden suggested as he connected the events, only to notice Colton staring at them with annoyance.
"Should I stop reading then?" Colton asked irritably.
Without waiting for an answer, he continued.
"I began telling Ron Feng everything I saw about the future. I was no longer afraid of anything. That year, I felt incredibly powerful.
I married Lady Enith's sister.
But I realized something important…
Humans can love again. They can marry again. But this time… I truly loved her.
I wanted to live… without troubles. Without wasting time.
Ron Feng witnessed my wedding. I was deeply grateful to him.
Many people attended the ceremony, but what I felt most was warmth…
Love filled everything. For the first time in my life.
I asked Ron Feng if we could stop time…
But he never answered. Perhaps he hadn't even considered it.
My wife's name was Renith.
She wasn't like Enith at all, and that helped me forget Enith… and genuinely fall in love with Renith.
As I write these words while looking at Renith, I know that I love her.
I want to live for her."
Colton scoffed. "Humans are truly ugly."
On the next page, Colton's eyes briefly lit up.
"Year 665.
My first child was born. This is the happiest moment of my life… even greater than advancing to a higher realm.
I feel as though I want to cry because of this.
All my friends knew, and so did Renith's friends…
My son radiated energy and strength, as though he had been born from a star rather than from humans.
I felt… that he was destined for greatness."
Colton paused, noticing that the entry ended there. He flipped to the next page and continued.
"October 27th, Year 665.
I went to visit Ron Feng, but I found him in a terrible condition.
He was collapsing to the ground, writhing in pain, calling out names… Strange names I had never heard before.
I tried to calm him down, but he looked like a man trapped within endless nightmares.
When he finally settled, he spoke in a weak voice.
'Do not become immortal for the sake of your child.'
Then he brought out countless gifts sweets and small toys.
He said that when the child grew up a year later, he could eat those sweets. He asked me to bring the boy to him after a year.
Before I left, Ron Feng looked like a defeated man…
Like a prophet who had lost his prophecy.
I asked him what had happened. He remained silent."
Kayden slowly raised his gaze toward Colton. "Continue."
Colton turned the page. For a moment, he stopped. Something flickered in his eyes.
It wasn't merely reflected light, but a fleeting emotion, as though a particular sentence had struck an ancient memory. Then he read in a lower voice, filled with surprise.
"August 8th, Year 666.
My son began running unusually early.
He moved with energy and momentum, as though he had never known fatigue.
He was special, different from other children.
He loved jumping, running, and playing everywhere. He wasn't like me in any of those things.
He was exactly like Renith. But I noticed something strange… My child radiated an enormous amount of spiritual energy. I realized that I was the primary reason.
I had never restrained my power whenever I was with Renith.
Then I discovered the second reason… The sweets my son had eaten the ones Ron Feng brought contained an Essence Catalyst.
A strange substance capable of accelerating the growth of an exceptionally powerful spiritual core.
Even I failed to notice its presence.
I felt sorry for him…He was powerful from the moment he was born.
How could he ever blend in with ordinary children?
I began working hard…To nurture his mind.
To help him understand himself.
To teach him control."
"He's a genius," Henry said simply as he observed. "There's nothing that can be done about that. But in the end, he's still just a child…Colton, continue."
Colton flipped to the next page and was surprised to find that the writer had skipped another entire year.
"Lazy…" he muttered mockingly before continuing.
"May 5th, Year 667.
My son has become exceptionally intelligent.
At least he resembles me in that regard.
I took him to visit Ron Feng. Ron Feng looked somewhat pale, but he was playing with my son like a madman.
I wondered when Ron Feng would finally become sensible, but he never changed.
He possessed the spirit of a restless demon… and he was frightening.
After the child fell asleep, I asked him what had truly happened.
He answered, 'I want to hunt down Edmenial and seal him.'
Then he added, 'From the very beginning, he and I hated each other. But now… Edmenial must be eliminated. If he remains here, I will lose my mind.'
I asked him why.
Ron Feng spoke again, and he seemed terrifying.
This wasn't the Ron Feng I knew the one who smiled and ran everywhere. Perhaps he had simply been searching for refuge.
'That damned lunatic! I created armies of calamities, and I will gather my followers… I will spread chaos across the entire continent! I will make Edmenial wish for death a billion times over!'
At that moment, I remembered something.
Something I should never have remembered.
My memory stirred without warning. It tore a vague scene from the darkness and poured it into my mind.
Without realizing it, I whispered,
'But you are not the Lord of Chaos…'
I noticed Ron Feng freeze. Then he asked me how many immortals existed.
But I did not know. Then…
a woman appeared. Her light arrived before she did. Before her voice. Before the sound of her footsteps.
Even before the eyes could comprehend her presence.
It was as though the world itself had been waiting for her.
Ron Feng became unsettled. I had never seen him hesitate or fear anything.
He rose from his seat. 'Eleanor… what brings you here?'
He did not even greet her.
She was… the Great Lady.
A name I had always believed was merely a legend whispered among rumors.
Yet there she stood. Not as a symbol… but as reality. I wanted to leave. Every cell in my body screamed at me to run. But she looked at me with eyes unlike those of any human and ordered me to stay.
Her tone allowed no refusal. She approached my child. She blessed him, just as Ron Feng had done before.
Yet something was different. When she placed her hand upon his forehead, I saw a soft shadow of light flow from her fingers. Then she said,
'Ron Feng and I stand before you. Edmenial as well. And Matthew, the Lord of Fate, who will soon advance… We must stop him. He must never advance. He possesses a powerful follower named Jasper. There is also a young man from the Bryce family named Arthur. He serves Edmenial. Both of them must be stopped. They are currently at the Fusion Stage. Only Perfection remains before immortality. No member of the Bryce family must ever reach immortality. The one who should advance is another person… He calls himself Fantasy.'
'Fantasy? Is he one of your followers?' Ron Feng asked.
'Yes. Fortunately, Magnus, you have not yet met Edmenial.'
At that moment, Ron Feng's expression changed.
His features tightened. Darkness filled his eyes. 'He… has seen Edmenial.'
After that, Lady Eleanor began purifying me. But she found nothing.
It was as though she had been searching for a corruption that had not yet reached me.
Then she said, 'We will seal Edmenial.'
The two of them agreed.
And it was… terrifying."
Colton's voice suddenly trembled.
Before he realized it, anger erupted from him. "That damned Eleanor!"
He slammed his hand onto the table. "She should be killed! I should crush her skull with my own hands!"
Kayden slowly turned toward him. "What… are you talking about?"
But Colton needed no prompting. He immediately began explaining, his irritation overflowing as though a long-buried memory had been forcibly unearthed.
"For centuries, we've suffered because of her hatred for demons… Eleanor never loved us. That's what we were always told. And Edmenial chose to fight for us. But do you know the truly insane part? Edmenial himself resembles her more than anyone. He came to us. He was the one who stirred up chaos. He loved corruption and touched everything that was corrupted."
Kayden slowly nodded, as though he could finally see the picture taking shape piece by piece.
Colton looked at the twins differently now.
There was something in his gaze that resembled a warning. "There aren't many twins in this world.Choose carefully… Choose life."
Henry asked, "Did she… hurt you? Did Eleanor personally do anything to you?"
Colton fell silent for a moment before answering quietly.
"No. She never did anything to me personally. But she tortured many others…She bound everyone.We couldn't advance even a single step. I advanced only with tremendous difficulty."
Kayden asked with a mocking smile, "So, do you want to throw Lady Eleanor into the trash?"
Colton nodded calmly.
Kayden then looked up at the ceiling and muttered as though planning for the future.
"When I become strong… let's kick everyone. Though… I don't want to kick Ron Feng. He's my relative."
"Your relative?" Henry asked in disbelief.
"He's your relative too, because he's my relative."
Henry pointed at him. "What the hell does that even mean? you tried to kill yourself. If you had died, you would've become a catastrophic , so you could say we're connected because of that. But you're still alive. Stop talking."
After calming down, Henry suddenly pointed out something important. "Then… our father was incredibly famous, yet he never advanced?"
Colton slowly shook his head. "It's not that simple. Your father loved your mother. And your mother… Lady Isabel… was irreplaceable. The moment he fell in love with her, he fell… fully aware of what it would cost him."
"You and your siblings are connected to him. And sometimes, for a person to advance… they must abandon every human attachment."
He fell silent for a moment before continuing. "I don't think your father ever wanted to leave that paradise behind… for the sake of power."
The twins exchanged glances before Kayden asked hesitantly, "Then… who is the Lord of Chaos?"
Colton thought for a moment, visibly annoyed, before answering with frustration.
"I don't know… Maybe he never advanced."
"But advancement is extremely difficult. Even Jasper, Matthew's follower, never became immortal. Anyone who follows a Lord rarely dares to advance. They stop. It's as though their master's shadow prevents them from crossing the threshold. Some manage to advance only when their master permits it."
"We're… going to stop reading these journals for at least a week. We've read far too much today." Henry spoke quietly while pressing his fingers against his temple, as though trying to push a weight out of his mind.
"But the only thing that really matters here is that the man called Fantasy never advanced. Matthew was the one who advanced. That means Eleanor may have lost."
Kayden released a long sigh. He stretched lazily across the sofa like an exhausted cat before muttering, "Matthew won because they clearly wanted him, not Eleanor's follower. But I really wonder… what Adam's actual thoughts were. I don't mean the thoughts the writer recorded. I mean the ones that stayed inside his head while he was reading all of this."
He looked toward Colton and casually waved a hand.
"Find Adam's handwriting.I want to see it."
Henry immediately leaned his head back with an exasperated groan.
"But Adam's handwriting is unreadable. It looks like a nightmare.Still… Adam knows far too much. He must have figured out things we haven't."
Colton frowned slightly before carefully flipping through the remaining pages.
His fingers moved across the worn edges one after another.
"The number of pages is getting smaller. We're approaching the end. That's why it's becoming easier to recognize Adam's handwriting…"
He paused.
"There. Look."
The three of them leaned over the page. The handwriting was ugly, but surprisingly clear.
"You know… there's a theory I once heard. And it might actually be genius." Kayden paused for dramatic effect, making sure he had their attention before continuing."They say that people with truly terrible handwriting are actually… geniuses."
Henry looked doubtful, while Colton quickly realized the theory came from his master's world rather than their own. Yet Kayden continued confidently.
"Their thoughts move too quickly. Ideas race through their minds as if they're on fire. And the poor hand simply can't keep up. So the handwriting turns into chaos. But it's genius chaos, you know?"
He pointed at the page.
"Take Adam, for example. He might be terrifyingly intelligent…or insane in a way that circles all the way back to genius."