For the next week, Leon never once drew either the Ebony Blade or the All-Black Necrosword.
Instead, he completely immersed himself in Sersi's gentle embrace, temporarily forgetting his grand plan of "lighting up the world."
Outside Sprite's bedroom door after she fell asleep.
At the bathroom door while Sersi was bathing.
On the sofa.
On the floor.
On the coffee table.
On the dining table.
By the apartment entrance.
On a park bench late at night.
In the nearby grove of trees.
Inside a mall fitting room.
Even on Sersi's office desk at the London Museum…
And once on the Moon.
Everywhere bore traces of where Leon and Sersi had been.
Those traces were the path they had taken together.
Until one day—
A routine sign-in produced an unexpected reward, finally reminding Leon that he still had serious matters to handle.
Reluctantly, he pulled himself free from Sersi's warmth.
[Chosen Opportunity]
After activation, you will gain the opportunity to be summoned into another world currently performing a summoning ritual.
Quality: One-time consumable.
Description:
"Fate, stay tonight."
"Leon… what's wrong?"
Sersi gently stroked Leon's hair as his head rested on her body, her fingers combing through it softly.
"Why are you so qui—"
"Darling… I have to go."
Leon lifted his head and brushed a light kiss across her lips.
Sersi fell silent for a moment.
Then she simply said:
"I'll wait for you."
After that, the two spent another entire day together without leaving the house.
Sersi showed an unprecedented level of initiative.
Combined with the Eternals' near-endless stamina, Leon nearly found himself overwhelmed.
Rooftop
Watching the golden meteor streak across the sky and vanish into the distance, Sersi stood silently as a cool breeze lifted a strand of her hair.
Sprite walked over and bumped shoulders with her.
"He's still human, no matter how strong he is. Unlike us, he won't live forever."
"So why don't you move in with him?"
"You should live together."
Sersi tucked the stray strand of hair behind her ear and smiled.
"But I already live with you."
"But…"
Sprite hesitated.
"Leon has so many women around him. What if he's like Ikaris… what if he leaves this time and never comes back?"
Despite the jealousy she sometimes felt toward Sersi for finding love so easily—especially with someone she admired herself—Sprite still genuinely wanted Sersi to be happy.
The smile on Sersi's face faded for a moment.
Then it returned.
Looking in the direction Leon had disappeared, her eyes overflowed with unmistakable affection.
"He's different."
Meanwhile
After flying far from Earth, Leon entered the Shadow Domain.
There was no distinction between sky or ground here.
Only endless darkness and chaotic gravity.
Black meteors floated everywhere—some so enormous they rivaled or even surpassed the size of the Sun.
The Ebony Blade, which Leon had thrown into the domain earlier, floated above an asteroid the size of a football field.
It was surrounded by countless shadow creatures, each with bizarre and grotesque forms reminiscent of cosmic horrors.
They knew it belonged to the Lord of Shadows.
So none dared approach.
They simply watched.
Waiting for the arrival of the new Shadow Lord.
The previous one had been ridiculously weak.
And unbelievably foolish.
Imagine obtaining the Necrosword and immediately charging into a temple of light, the greatest enemy of shadows, to challenge a god.
That wasn't bravery.
That was stupidity.
When Leon entered the Shadow Domain—
Countless eyes turned toward him simultaneously.
Curiosity.
Judgment.
Confusion.
Fear.
All these emotions mixed together before ultimately forming one single sentiment:
Loyalty.
As long as Leon remained the master of the All-Black Necrosword, the shadow creatures would offer him absolute loyalty.
Looking around, Leon estimated that anyone with weak mental resilience would probably lose their sanity here.
After all—
The shadow creatures around him looked absurdly terrifying.
"You."
"Come here."
Leon landed on the asteroid where the Ebony Blade floated and casually pointed in one direction.
Most of the creatures there were shadow chimeras—hybrid monsters combining traits of various animals.
Seeing his finger point—
They looked at each other.
Then collectively stepped back.
One unfortunate creature was pushed forward.
It looked like a cow-headed octopus.
"Yeah. You."
"Uh?"
The creature raised a tentacle and pointed at itself in confusion.
Looking around and realizing it had been shoved forward, its enormous lantern-like eyes widened.
You traitors!
The other shadow creatures responded through silent signals.
Go on.
Serving the lord is your honor.
Yes, yes—your honor.
Although their overall intelligence wasn't particularly high, instinct still guided them.
After all—
Every previous Shadow Lord had been terrifying in their own way.
Even the previous one.
Charging the enemy's base the moment he obtained power…
That kind of recklessness could only belong to a true madman.
With no way to resist Leon's command, the cow-headed octopus had no choice.
Its massive body—tens of meters tall—sprang forward with surprising agility, landing before Leon.
Leon rubbed his chin and looked up at the creature.
Then he snapped his fingers.
The Ebony Blade, floating nearby, shot forward like an arrow.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Countless sword flashes filled the air.
The creature's dozens of cargo-container-sized tentacles were instantly atomized.
Its bovine head slumped forward—
Only for Leon to kick the enormous body away.
The corpse crashed into a group of spectators, crushing numerous shadow creatures.
The brutal display instantly erased all doubts.
Every shadow creature dropped to the ground in fear.
The domain fell silent.
Only Leon's calm yet commanding voice echoed through the darkness:
"You're making me look up at you."
"How dare you?"
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