Leon woke up in silence. His eyelids slowly parted open to reveal a strange darkness. It took a

moment for him to adjust to the dark before he let out a faint groan and sat up.

"Where am I?"

Leon looked around.

It didn't take long for him to recognize the room.

"Ah."

It was the infirmary.

He had been here before.

"Ukh."

And the pain that spread through every inch of his body served as perfect proof of this. "You're awake?"

A certain voice spoke, snapping him out of it. Leon turned his head to see a girl sitting on one of the wooden chairs on the opposite side of the bed. With purple locks cascading down the side of her shoulder, Evelyn brushed her hair behind her ear and put the book she was reading down.

"You've been out for almost two days."

"Ah...?"

Leon replied sluggishly. Two days...? How could it be? It felt as though he had just finished his match with Julien.

And if he was out for two days, what about the result?

"Who won?"

Last he remembered, the referee never announced the victor.

He assumed it ended in a draw because of that but it didn't seem to be the case.

"We don't know."

Evelyn replied truthfully, confusing Leon as he raised his head to look at her.

"Don't know?"

"Yes, the result hasn't been announced yet. It will apparently be done in the closing ceremony."

"Uh? Why...?"

"Well, the answer is obvious."

Evelyn put on a helpless expression as she brought her hand forward and pinched her thumb with her index and middle finger.

"Money."

Leon blinked, evidently not fully understanding.

Evelyn clarified better.

"The reason why the referee didn't announce your result is because he was injured. He's now fully healed and capable of answering that question but didn't. Why do you think?"

"...So that more people tune in to the closing ceremony?"

"Yes."

"Haha."

Leon found himself laughing. Falling back onto the bed, he blankly looked at the ceiling above him.

"They're using this chance to have more people tune in to the closing ceremony and make more money as the result will be announced there. Since people want to know the answer, there will be a lot of viewers...'

Leon massaged his head as he felt his head throb.

This felt like a ridiculous situation.

Usually, the closing ceremony was the one that had the least amount of viewers. This was mainly because once everyone knew who the winner was, there was no longer a point in following.

Especially since the ones they rooted for were already out.

... In this case, while both he and Julien were from the same Empire, everyone was still curious about who the winner was.

This would bring a massive influx of viewers to see the finals which would in turn bring a lot of money.

"There's no end to greed.."

"I've been told the prizes are really good this year. I'm sure you can let this one slide."

"I guess."

Leon chuckled, knowing full well that the reason the prizes were good was that both he and Julien were from the same Empire that hosted the Summit.

Would the prizes be as good otherwise?

"Ukh."

Massaging his neck which felt a little stiff, Leon kept his gaze locked onto the ceiling.

A strange silence took over the room as neither he nor Evelyn spoke. That was until Leon broke the silence once more.

"Between the two of us, who did you think won?"

"Hm?"

Evelyn appeared surprised by the question as her brow raised.

Then, as it sank in, she fell into silence.

"...."

Leon didn't push her for an answer.

He just remained lying on the bed, enjoying the silence that took over the room.

"....I don't know."

Eventually, Evelyn did answer. However, her answer wasn't clear.

"The referee stopped the two of you before you clashed. I honestly don't know."

"Hm."

Leon nodded.

This was an understandable answer.

However, what she didn't know was the fact that during the last moments, Leon had managed

to catch a glimpse of his sword slashing through the referee's defenses and almost slicing his

hand off.

This was unlike Julien who the referee managed to fully defend with his arm.

In that regard, Leon felt confident that he had won.

'Yes, I won.'

He'd like to believe he won.

And he liked the sound of him knowing that he won.

'Won...'

Yeah, this was good.

'Won...'

The more he said it, the more pleased he felt.

'Won...'

Fuck you, Julien.

***

Drip...! Drip!

The soft, rhythmic drip of water echoed through the small room as a robed figure sat on a red

sofa, his damp blonde hair slicked back from his forehead.

"So you've taken him in?"

His faint voice echoed quietly within the room as a figure knelt on the opposite side.

"...Yes."

It was none other than Atlas who kept his head lowered.

"I thought I told you to bring him to me."

"He's not ready yet."

"...And that is a decision you can make?"

11

Atlas felt his breath leave his body as his entire body stiffened. Though there was no change in

tone from the figure that stood opposite him, it almost felt as though he could perceive every

one of his emotions from just the atmosphere alone.

"You're nervous."

The man said, his eyes scanning Atlas as a small blue orb appeared in the middle of Atlas's

chest.

The word 'fear' was written beneath the orb.

Sithrus raised his finger faintly and the orb within Atlas's body expanded.

It became larger.

"Наа... Нааа..."

As a result, Atlas's breathing grew heavier. His face grew paler, and his entire body started to

shake.

Atlas could only suffer in silence as his anxiety grew.

It ate away at his mind, and yet, all he could do was helplessly stay on the ground without

looking up.

The sensation only stopped once Sithrus had enough.

Pausing his hand, the orb stopped growing. Then, clenching his hand, it disappeared entirely.

Atlas immediately felt all the anxiety wash away as his mind cooled and his body stopped

shaking.

"You're not an Emotive Mage, how do you plan on teaching him in that aspect?"

"...There's a lot he needs to improve in that aspect. A basic teacher would be enough."

"Hmm, I guess so."

Sithrus leaned back against the sofa, his eyes turning unfocused as he brought his own hand

before his face.

He stared at it for a good minute before cracks started to appear.

"It's starting to break down again..."

Blood began to seep from the cracks, tracing faint lines that webbed across his entire arm.

Sithrus watched all of this with indifference as Atlas hurriedly reached out for his pocket to

take out a vial, only to be stopped by a cold voice.

"There's no need."

"...But!"

"This isn't even my real body. There's no point in wasting his blood for a trivial body such as

this."

"Understood."

Atlas lowered his head once more.

"It's a pity. If not for the fact that this lacking body, I would've had an easier time locating the

sword. Especially since..."

A smile graced his lips as he stopped talking.

Atlas was curious about what Sithrus was going to say, but he never asked, fearing it might

provoke his anger. All he could do was kneel in silence as Sithrus slowly rose, his long dark

robes billowing behind him. He turned toward the window, gazing down at the city streets

below.

The cobblestone streets were filled with people, walking happily as their discussions entered

his ears.

'Who do you think won the match?'

'I don't know... They said they'll announce it at the ending ceremony.'

'Ah, I can't wait.'

He could hear...

Everything.

From the sound of their breathing to all the discussions that were happening. But in

particular, he could see the numerous orbs that floated inside the bodies of each and every

single person that walked the streets.

Some were a mix between red and blue while others were a mix of green and orange. There

were a lot of combinations, each bigger and smaller than some.

"It's a colorful world out there." Sithrus mumbled, raising his hand forward.

Flexing his hand, he prepared to close it into a fist but just barely managed to stop himself.

"...But as beautiful as it is, it's all but too fragile."

A simple squeeze was all it would take for him to drive everyone mad. Raising his hand

slightly, one of the blue orbs within one of the people walking expanded rapidly as they stopped moving. Tears started to stream down their eyes as they clenched their chest in pain.

He looked like he was struggling to breathe, and nobody paid attention to him. It was as if

nobody cared.

....And that was because they didn't.

With his other hand, Sithrus restrained the orbs of all those passing by.

All they felt was indifference toward the crying man.

"So simple..."

The world was.

Everyone felt like a marionette he could simply control as he wished.

It was neither boring nor entertaining.

Just a means to achieve his goal...

"Invert the Sky."

Sithrus muttered faintly, his eyes shaking as they were fixed on the bright yellow sun and blue

sky.

"...I need to Invert the Sky."

***

Two days later.

Hosted at the Megrail Royal Palace, a grand ceremony was held for the closing ceremony.

Every one of the participants was invited to the event, winner or loser.

A red carpet draped down the flights of stairs that lead to the grand palace.

"...I feel a bit stiff."

I fiddled with the tie that hung around my neck.

Though I was used to wearing formal clothes, this new suit I was wearing felt a little stiff. But

maybe it was because it was new.

'In any case, I feel like I'm at the zoo.'

Only that...

I was the attraction.

Keeping a straight face, I walked up the flight of stairs as all eyes fell on me. Some even parted

ways for me, almost as if they feared me.

The sight was weird, but at the same time, it wasn't much different from my time at Haven.

People too treated me the same way.

But the stares were a little different from back then. The gazes back then were filled with

scorn and fear.

This time...

It was just fear.

I was no longer the weakest black star.

I was now the strongest.

Maybe not the strongest since I didn't think I was stronger than Delilah was back then, but I

was at least the strongest in the current generation.

...And that felt pleasing to know.

"Hm?"

Just as I stepped into the main hall where everyone stood, I felt a small hand tug at my

clothes. Lowering my head, a pair of deep black eyes stared back at me.

I blinked slowly before hastily covering my mouth,

"Grem-"