The air in the mansion turned into a graveyard. Rutherford—the giant who had just been acting like he owned the reality—felt a cold shiver run down his massive, muscular spine. He hadn't even bothered to scan the little girl in the red and white dress earlier; he had been too busy looking for "worthy" warriors.
"Who do you think you are?"
Rutherford roared, his voice trembling with a mix of ego and sudden panic. "How do you know my name, brat?! Speak!"
Aeterna didn't even blink. A small, chilling smile played on her lips as she looked up at the titan. "Who am I? You're asking the person who wrote your soul code who she is?"
She slowly raised her small, pale hand into the air, her fingers spread wide. Then, with a sudden, sharp motion, she clenched her fist and jerked it downward.
CRACK!
The floor beneath Rutherford didn't just break; it vanished into a swirling Black Void. Before the giant could swing his gold-cuffed fists, thick, jagged Void Chains erupted from the darkness. They weren't like his gold chains; these were made of pure, absolute nothingness.
They lashed around his neck, his massive arms, and his trunk-like legs, slamming him face-first into the ground. The "Aurum Monarch" was pinned to the floor like an insect under a boot.
Rutherford roared, his gold chains clashing against the floor as he struggled against the Void. "No one... NO ONE can control me!"
Aeterna tilted her head, her gaze chillingly calm. "I know," she whispered.
"I designed you that way—a wild, uncontrollable force. But you're confused, Rutherford. I'm not controlling you. I own you."
Suddenly, the air in the training hall began to distort and tear. Aeterna's small, child-like form flickered and expanded. Within seconds, the little girl was gone. In her place stood a tall, imposing figure clad in sleek, jet-black armor that seemed to absorb the very light of the room. Her presence was cold, sharp, and utterly badass—the true form of the Origin Queen.
Rutherford's massive body began to tremble. His eyes widened in pure terror as he looked up from the floor. "The... The Queen? My Queen... it's you?"
Aeterna let out a cold, dark laugh as she looked down at the pinned Monarch.
"Yes, it's me. A weapon spirit has only one job once summoned: state your conditions. You get to offer, you get to negotiate, or you get to decline. You never get to choose who your master is. That choice was made the moment you were compiled."
She leaned in closer, the shadows of her armor dancing like flames.
"And that human you called 'weak'? He is my Owner. Which makes him the owner of your master... and the owner of you."
Rutherford's mind was spinning. He looked toward Haruto, who still appeared physically unremarkable.
"But Queen... his mana... it feels so thin. So weak. How can he be the source?"
Aeterna's armored hand reached out, tapping the side of her helmet.
"You are obsessed with Quantity, Rutherford. You're looking at the size of the pool while ignoring the quality of the water. Do you think I chose him because of some numbers on a screen? I didn't care about his mana levels. I set my conditions, he accepted them, and the contract was sealed."
She looked back at Haruto with a sense of pride that even the armor couldn't hide. "He didn't need to impress me with power. He had the quality to hold the Void. And if he can hold me, he can certainly hold a loud-mouthed giant like you."
"I summoned you specifically for this boy," Aeterna said, pointing a sharp armored finger at Toya.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she turned back toward Haruto. In a flash of dark mist, her towering armored form vanished, and she shrunk back into her small, "cute" self. The heavy Void chains and the swirling darkness disappeared instantly, leaving the training hall looking normal again—except for the terrified giant.
Rutherford stood up slowly, his legs still a bit shaky. Aeterna walked over to Haruto, grabbing his hand and looking up with big, innocent eyes. "I explained the situation to him, Papa! He'll be a good boy now."
The word "Papa" hit Rutherford like a physical blow. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He looked at Haruto—this "weak" human—and then at the Origin Queen who was currently clinging to his arm like a toddler. His face twisted into a confused, horrified expression.
"This guy... is her FATHER?!"
Aeterna caught his look and her eyes narrowed into red slits.
"Don't make that face, Rutherford. If you look at me like that one more time, I'm going to have to kill you."
Toya, seeing the tension, stepped in nervously.
"Wait, Aeterna! We can't just kill him! If he dies, I won't get another spirit, right? I'll be stuck with zero powers!"
Rutherford snapped his head toward Toya, his pride flared up for a second.
"Shut up! If the Queen wants me dead, I die! Who are you to—"
"I told you to set your conditions, didn't I?" Aeterna interrupted, her voice dropping an octave.
"So keep your mouth shut and just set them. No more talking, no more judging."
But Rutherford wasn't a fool. Even after the Queen's terrifying display, a part of his pride as a Monarch refused to believe that a human who looked so "ordinary" could truly be the Owner of the Void. He needed to see it for himself. He needed to know if Haruto was a genuine predator or just a lucky kid hiding behind a powerful daughter.
He narrowed his glowing eyes, focusing every ounce of his sensory perception on Haruto. He didn't just scan the surface; he dived deep into the frequency of Haruto's soul.
Suddenly, the training hall vanished. Rutherford felt his consciousness being pulled into a realm that defied every law of the Abyss. He wasn't standing in a room anymore; he was floating in the center of The Great Cycle.
All around him, universes were being born in flashes of blinding light, and in the very same breath, they were collapsing into silent nothingness. He saw stars ignite and then fade into grey ash. He saw the "Everything" and the "Nothing" dancing together in a perfect, terrifying loop.
The Creation: Mana was being birthed from a single point of infinite density.
The Deletion: That same mana was being pulled back into a hungry, living Void.
Rutherford's breath hitched in his massive chest. This wasn't just a "pool" of mana; it was a Living System. Haruto's mana wasn't static; it was breathing, evolving, and consuming itself. It was the source code of reality made flesh.
Rutherford's soul felt like it was being crushed by the sheer weight of what he was witnessing. He realized that Haruto didn't have "stats" because you can't put a number on the Concept of Existence. Comparing a normal human's mana—or even a Goddess's mana—to Haruto's was like comparing a single gold coin to the entire wealth of every galaxy.
The vision snapped shut.
Rutherford found himself back in the training hall, his massive knees trembling. He looked at Haruto, who was still standing there looking bored, and for the first time, Rutherford didn't see a "weak human." He saw the Administrator of Life and Death.
Aeterna shook her head, a playful yet dangerous glint in her eyes as she looked at the frozen giant.
"Hello? Rutherford? Did you actually die?"
Toya, on the other hand, looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Oi! Don't tell me he's broken already! I haven't even swung the chain yet!"
Rutherford snapped back to reality, his massive frame shuddering.
"I... I'm sorry. My apologies," he rumbled, his voice shaking. Aeterna smirked; she knew exactly what he had seen. He had witnessed the raw, unfiltered source code of Haruto's existence, the same infinite void that had humbled her.
Rutherford turned toward Toya, his expression shifting from terror to a stern, king-like seriousness. "Listen, Human. I have three conditions before we proceed. Pay attention."
The Sovereignty of the Abyss: "First, I am not some evolved spirit that climbed the ranks. I am a Pure SSS+ Rank entity. You do not get to tell me when to be summoned or when to leave. I manifest when I deem it necessary."
The room went silent. Everyone realized he was mirroring Aeterna's own rules. Even Aeterna giggled, "Copycat! But... you'll still listen to me, right?"
Rutherford bowed slightly, "To you, Queen? Always. But to him? He has to earn it."
The Caliber of Respect: "Second, I will not respect you. I only bow to those stronger than me. I will not call you 'Master,' and I will not follow your orders until you prove you are worthy of my caliber. Even if the Queen assisted in my birth, you are currently beneath my notice."
The Goddesses whispered in shock. He was being just as arrogant as Aeterna was at the start, challenging Toya's very right to lead.
The Contract of Growth: "Third, I will only intervene in matters of Life and Death. Until you become strong enough to handle my full weight, I will not be your servant. However... If you ever reach a level where you can truly control me, I will become your loyal slave and only consume 5% of your mana as payment."
This third rule was different from Aeterna's. While Aeterna took a flat 50% because she was "The Origin," Rutherford was setting a goal. He was challenging Toya to grow, offering a massive discount on his power if Toya could prove he wasn't just a "weak vessel."
Toya stood there, staring at the translucent screen displaying the three rules Rutherford had laid out. He read them over and over, his brain working overtime to process the weight of the contract. Usually, playing by strict rules and complex mechanics wasn't his style; he was the type to jump into the fray and figure it out later. Analyzing "The meta" was something Haruto or Ivory did.
Feeling the pressure, Toya looked around the room, his eyes searching for a lifeline. He looked at Ivory, hoping she would step in and negotiate a better deal for him.
"Don't look at me," Ivory said firmly, crossing her arms.
"This is your life, Toya. This is a decision only you can make. Do you realize what's standing in front of you? An SSS+ Rank Spirit is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even I, a Goddess, don't possess a spirit of that caliber. I can't help you here—this is between you and your Monarch."
Toya turned his gaze toward Haruto. Haruto gave a slow, supportive nod, his expression signaling that this was the "level up" Toya had been waiting for. Even Rutherford looked down at him, his massive golden eyes waiting to see if this hu
man had the guts to accept a deal where he started at the bottom.