The training chamber was hummed with ancient energy. Roots curled along the walls, pulsing with golden light. The air itself felt heavy, thick with centuries of power.
Ruo sat cross-legged on the stone floor, eyes closed, breathing slowly. Every few moments, a spark jumped from the roots to his skin. He flinched but didn't stop. His small frame trembled, yet he remained seated.
Kent watched from across the room. Sweat covered his muscular body, his chest rising and falling heavily. He had just finished his own exercises, lifting stones enchanted to weight a thousand times their size.The Omniranker sat between them, ancient eyes moving from one to the other, measuring, judging, waiting.
Ruo: opening his eyes, "Master Omniranker. You told us you serve something. An association beyond the court. What is its name?"
The Omniranker's eyes grew deeper, if that was possible.
Omniranker: proudly, "The Sovereign Omniverse."
Kent: frowning, "The Sovereign Omniverse?"
Omniranker: "Existence itself. The sum of all that was, is, and will ever do. I do not serve rulers or courts. I serve reality."
Ruo: "That's... beautiful."
Omniranker: "It is also terrifying. Because reality does not care about your feelings, your hopes, your fears. It simply is. And when it moves..." he shook his head, "...everything changes."
Ruo: "Does the Mysterious Person serve it too?"
Omniranker: "No one knows what he serves." A pause, heavy with meaning. "Not even his friends."
Ruo: "You said he's from Omnirank World Two. What rank is our world?"
The Omniranker hesitated. For the first time since they'd met him, he looked almost... uncomfortable.
Omniranker: "You really want to know?"
Ruo: "I really want to know."
Omniranker: "Seventeen."
Ruo: blanked, "Seventeen? Out of how many?"
Omniranker: "Infinite."
Silence settled over the chamber like fog.
Kent: quietly, "Seventeen out of infinite. That's... not bad, right?"
Omniranker: "It is respectable. But it is not the top. And when you face beings from worlds ranked higher..." he looked forward to the ancient door, "...you learn humility. Quickly."
Ruo: "The Mysterious Person's world is number two. And he still walks among us."
Omniranker: "Yes. And that should tell you everything about how little rankings actually matter."
Ruo: "Master, what is the power system in World Two? The Mysterious Person never talks about it."
The Omniranker was quiet for a moment.
When he spoke, his voice was heavy with the weight of what he was about to reveal.
Omniranker: "In the second-ranked world, power is not common. It's rare. Only one percent of humans have powers."
Kent: "One percent? That's..."
Omniranker: "That is what makes them the second-ranked world. Quality over quantity. The few who have power have it in abundance."
Ruo: "So the Mysterious Person is part of that one percent?"
The Omniranker's eyes flickered.
Omniranker: "He is part of something rarer still. But that... is not my story to tell."
Kent: "What about the first-ranked world?"
The Omniranker's face grew even more ancient, if that was possible.
Omniranker: "The first-ranked world is... different. They do not have powers. They are power. When their Ruler moves, the omniverse itself trembles. It screams."
Ruo: whispered, "Screams?"
Omniranker:"The fabric of reality cries out when he passes. That is the weight of World One."
Kent: "And if they cooperate? World One and World Two?"
Omniranker: "If the top ten worlds cooperate... if World One and World Two stand together... they can conquer the omniverse. They can reshape it. There is no force that can stop them."
Ruo: "Then why haven't they?"
Omniranker: "Because power that great does not need to conquer. It simply is. Conquest is for those who doubt their own existence."
The ancient door... the one that hadn't opened in a thousand years... swung inward.
The old man entered first, leaning heavily on his staff. His cloudy eyes swept the chamber, taking in everything at once... the roots, the light, the two young humans, his old acquaintance.
Behind him came the Ruler of Omnirank World Three. He was massive, not just in size but in presence. His skin was the color of aged bronze, and his eyes held the weight of worlds. Upon his head sat a crown of intertwined roots and stars, and when he breathed, the air itself seemed to bend toward him.
The Omniranker rose instantly.
Omniranker: "Master."
He bowed... not the deep bow of a student to a master, but the respectful nod of equals who had known each other for millennia.
The old man waved a thin hand.
Old Man: "Enough of that. We have work to do."
He moved toward the center of the chamber, his eyes fixed on Ruo and Kent. Despite his frail appearance, there was something in his gaze that made both boys straighten instinctively.
Old Man: "So. These are the ones."
Omniranker: "yes. Ruo Kotaro, who chose the path of sacrifice. Kent Long, who chose second awakening."
The old man studied them for a long, uncomfortable moment.
Old Man: "The weakest and the strongest."
He nodded slowly, as if confirming something he already suspected. "The Mysterious Person was right about you."
Kent: "You know him?"
The old man smiled... a thin, ancient smile that held centuries of memory.
Old Man: "Know him?" We are old friends. Nothing more, nothing less. We have simply existed alongside each other for longer than most worlds have existed."
Ruo: "How long?"
Old Man: "Long enough to know that when he moves, I should pay attention. And long enough to know that he carries a weight none of us fully understand."
The old man settled onto a root that curled up to meet him, forming a natural seat. His cloudy eyes grew clearer as he spoke... as if discussing power itself gave him focus.
Old Man: "Now. You need to understand what you've chosen. Not just the paths. The system behind them."
He held up his thin hand. A small spark of light appeared above his palm.
Old Man: "in this world, and in most worlds across the omniverse, power is measured in cores. A core is the source of all supernatural abilities... the engine, the heart, the foundation."
He counted on his fingers.
Old Man: "Cores have five levels. Ordinary. Master. Grandmaster. Great Grandmaster. Supreme Grandmaster."
Each word carried weight. Each level felt higher than the last.
Ruo: Quietly, "That's five levels?"
Old Man: "Five levels. But each level has four stages." He held four fingers. "Initial. Middle. Upper. Peak."
He let the information settle, watching their faces.
Old Man: "Think of it like climbing a mountain. The level is how high you've climbed. The stage is how far along that particular height you've traveled. Someone at the peak of Ordinary is far stronger than someone at the Initial Ordinary... but both are still on the same mountain."
Kent: "where am I now?"
Old Man: "you are Ordinary... Peak stage. Close to breaking through to the Master." He paused, "You have been close for a long time. That is why second awakening chose you."
Kent: "I've been stuck?"
Old Man: "Not stuck. Ready. There is a difference." He leaned forward. "Second awakening is not about gaining more power. It is about creating space for more power. Your body can only hold one core. After the second awakening, it can hold multiple. Each core can be at a different level, a different stage."
Ruo: "So Kent could have multiple powers?"
Old Man: "Multiple cores. Multiple sources. Multiple selves, in a way." He looked at Kent with something like a warning. "That is the danger. Too many cores, too many voices, too many hungers... they can tear you apart from inside. You must remain detached. You must not let them own you."
Kent nodded slowly, absorbing the weight of the warning.
The Old Man turned to Ruo.
Old Man: "Your path is different. Sacrifice. You will not have cores like others. You will have... something else."
Ruo: "What?"
Old Man: "I do not know. No one knows. The path of sacrifice is different for everyone who walks it." His eyes grew distant, seeing something far away. "The Mysterious Person walked it. Look at what he became."
Ruo: Quietly. "Will I become like him?"
Old Man: "No one becomes like him. He is unique." He smiled... a gentle smile, surprisingly warm. "But you will become like yourself. A version of you that chose sacrifice over safety. That is enough."
Ruo: "The omniranker told us about World Two. Only one percent have powers there."
The Old Man's cloudy eyes sharpened.
Old Man: "He told you that?"
Ruo: "Yes."
Old Man: "Then you understand a little of what makes him rare. One percent. And he awakened at six. Do you know what that means?"
Kent: "That he's special?"
Old Man: "That he is beyond special. In a world where power is already rare, he is the rarest of the rare. And yet he chose to hide. He chose to be seen as nothing."
Ruo: "Why?"
Old Man: "That is his story to tell. But you know this... when World One and World Two cooperate, when the top ten stand together, the omniverse reshapes itself to their will. And the mysterious Person... he could stand among them. He chooses not to."
The ancient door cracked.
Everyone turned.
Old Man: quietly, "Remember this about him. Whatever you hear, whatever you see... he chose his path. The path did not choose him. Fate itself bows before his choices. Nothing and no one interferes in his way. Not destiny. not the omniverse. Only his own will. In a world of one percent, he is the one percent of the one percent."
The floating palace.
Silver Goddess's chamber.
The Silver Goddess paced before a window of crystallized light, her silver form flickering with barely contained rage.
The Golden God sat on his throne of solidified dawn, watching with ancient, calculating eyes.
A shadow rippled at the edge of the room.
Silver Goddess: without turning, "Report."
The shadow-being emerged from darkness.
Its form was steady... steadier than before. No one noticed the difference. No one ever noticed shadow.
Shadow: "I followed him, my Goddess. Into the void."
Silver Goddess: "And?"
Shadow: "He knew I was there."
Silver Goddess: She turned sharply, her silver light flaring. "He saw you?"
Shadow: "Yes, Goddess. He sees everything."
Golden God: "That's impossible. You are nothing. You are less than nothing. You are..."
Shadow: its voice hollow, empty, perfectly loyal, "He said the same thing. He said: Nothing cannot know nothing."
The Silver Goddess and Golden God exchanged a glance.
Silver Goddess: "What else did he say?"
Shadow: "He said if you want to know him, you should come by yourself. Or send someone who is something. Or everything."
Silver Goddess: "That's all?"
Shadow: "That is all I remember, my Goddess. After he spoke, I was lost. In the void. I could not find him. I could not find anything. When I recovered, he was gone."
The Silver Goddess stared at it for a long, suspicious moment.
Silver Goddess: "You saw nothing else?"
Shadow: "Nothing, my Goddess. I am nothing. I saw nothing. That is all I am."
She waved her hand dismissively.
Silver Goddess: "Leave. Continue watching. Report everything."
Shadow: "Yes, my Goddess."
The shadow-being bowed and retreated into darkness.
But as it vanished, something flickered in its form... just briefly, just enough.
A pulse of loyalty.
Not to her.
To him.
The Silver Goddess turned to the Golden God, her silver light pulsing with barely contained fury.
Silver Goddess: "This cannot continue. He makes fools of us. He takes our spies. He walks where he pleases. He must be stopped."
Golden God: "Stopped? By whom? You saw what the Second General said. You heard the First General's warning. No one can interfere with him."
Silver Goddess: "Then we find someone who can. Someone who doesn't know enough to be afraid. Someone desperate enough to try."
She moved toward the window, gazing out at the endless expanse of the omniverse.
Silver Goddess: "The Judgement Board."
Golden God: "You would put a bounty on him? We don't even know his name."
Silver Goddess: "The Board doesn't need a name. It needs a target. It knows."