Loneliness.
Who do I live for?
What do I live for?
I m-ivqbzcvn [error]
************
[The Orphanage, Apoillitus]
The midnight sky hungover, Apoillitus. The brilliant luminosity of the twin blazing suns that had dominated the day had long faded. A faint gush of cool wind brushed through the air, leaving the quiet flaps and fluttering of laundry left out to dry being easily discerned in the Orphanage grounds.
Most of the orphanage's children had been ushered to the dormitories, but a certain three: Wynn, Xavier, and Alyssa, sat at the table the silence hung heavy as each of them were occupied by their thoughts.
"Xavier."
The spectacled boy looked up at Wynn, his expression unreadable.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Has there ever been a case of a Secret Realm disappearing after someone entered it?"
The one to answer wasn't Xavier but Alyssa.
"No that would be impossible Wynn."
Her copper hair shined faintly under the dim light as she leaned forward, her chin resting on her hand."Not once in recorded history has a Secret Realm ever simply vanished after someone entered. It goes against every law of mana and space we understand."
She tied her hair back into a ponytail, her gaze unwavering. "From all that's been documented, the only thing that happens is the Heros either die... or the Horrors inside break free, spilling into our lands."
Wynn's pale brows furrowed, his milky eyes narrowing.
Am I worrying over nothing?
*************
[Outside The SS-Ranked Realm]
Marquis Raymond von Scit stepped forward, approaching the entrance of the secret realm. The portal was glowing right in front of him, towering before him at a height of nearly four meters.
The surface of the portal cast an ominous glow over the surroundings, with the texture of the surface taking on the form of swirling violet energy.
As Raymond took in the sight of the portal, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that kept crawling up his consciousness. The usual confidence within those powerful golden eyes wavered slightly as if speaking volumes of the Marquis's inner turmoil. He couldn't help but shake off the strange feeling that it would be a long time before he could see his wife, daughter, and that idiot son again.
"HAH" He sighed heavily.
I really should get that bastard engaged as soon as I get back
With renewed resolve, the Marquis stepped into the portal.
************
The moment Raymond crossed the threshold between planets, the air around him thickened. The atmosphere around him was thick, dense, and heavy. The sky above was a deep, impenetrable black, obscuring any sort of vision of the starry constellations above.
Oddly enough, twin moons which were seemed sickly pale hung overhead in the dark, casting a strange glow over the desolate violet terrain below.
Behind the Marquis, the members of his cohort which had gathered to assist him as support personnel entered in quick succession.
The first was a middle-aged woman named Lolaana Von Michells—Lola, her pale green hair tied back in a tight ponytail. She was a glaive user of the wind element, possessing a warrior core of the fifth rank.
The next to enter was Luminaire Kellan Jacobs, boasting a large frame that seemed to be the embodiment of imposing and stoic. With brown hair tied into a short knot at the top of his head, he carried a massive axe that no ordinary awakened could even dare to wield. Kellan like Lola too was a warrior of the fifth core rank.
The large man looked around with an alertness that betrayed his usual gruff demeanor.
"That's strange," he muttered as his gaze shifted from side to side. The grip on his axe tightened.
"Air pressure's dense, Kellan. The atmosphere is made up of a Strange composition."
The voice belonged to Thalassa, the cohort's tactician. Her platinum blonde hair shined faintly complimenting her piercing green eyes. Though not well-versed in combat, Thalassa was optimal in terms of providing buffs as a result of her unique support element.
"I don't like this," came another voice,
Ronan, the youngest, stood out with his boyish charm. His unruly black hair fell into his eyes. He had equipped his blackwood staff as he despite his childish appearance was a dark elemental mage of the fifth rank.
Raymond nodded acknowledging the cohort, his brilliant golden eyes scanning the horizon. "Stay alert."
It took the cohort a while to encounter their first few monsters.
What they encountered were stage four beasts that looked like hybrids between reptiles and hulking mass of flesh.
"Stage four," Thalessa said,
"Easy." Lola replied summoning her silver glaive.
Raymond watched as the beast charged, its screech splitting the silence. Without hesitation, Lola moved forward, her silver blade flashing in the moonlight as she decapitated the creature in a single, fluid motion. The beast's body crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud, its black blood pooling at her feet.
"Pathetic," Kellan muttered having swiftly dispatching of another stage four beast, wiping his axe clean. "It didn't even put up a fight."
Though the Marquis stayed silent. The whole situation felt… off. Stage five monsters were no challenge for any of the cohort members, let alone Stage four.
Wasn't this Realm meant to be SS-ranked?
*************
The next few hours were eerily similar. Stage four to five beasts—sluggish, weak, and barely putting up a fight—emerged from the landscape only to be quickly dispatched by one of the heroes. Kellan cleaved through a giant, horned beast with a single swing of his axe, its body splitting in half like a ripe melon. Lola killed with deadly precision, her glaive cutting through the creatures' necks before they even had a chance to strike. Ronan, every now and then would summon his circles, fluidly chanting away his spells and finishing off beasts that the duo missed out on.
"Something is wrong," Raymond muttered under his breath, watching as another Stage 5 Horror crumbled under Lola's swift blow.
SS-ranked realms weren't meant to be this easy. They were known for their dangers, the unpredictability of what awaited within. They were meant to formed as a result of a planets core and civilization dying, hence usually pertained a specific theme through and through.
But here? It was like they were walking through a playground.
"Your Majesty," Lola's slightly nervous voice broke through the marquis's.
"Something's off. It's like we're going in a loop."
Raymond turned to her, narrowing his eyes. She was right. He had begun suspecting so since a few minutes ago.
The landscape—they were currently passing through had passed the exact patch of cracked platform caused by Kellan swinging his axe. The jagged rocks, the lone tree barely clinging to life—this was the exact same place Ronan had used his spells.
"We've been walking in circles," Raymond muttered, his voice growing sharper. He raised his hand, signaling for the group to stop. They stood still, listening to the hollow silence.
"Do you hear that?" The Marquis asked, his voice quiet as he peered into the distance.
For a moment, he thought he heard a low faint hum, almost negligible, but nevertheless it was there.
It was coming from somewhere ahead.
"There," the Marquis said, pointing towards the horizon where a faint glow could be seen.
The moment his eyes locked on the source of the glow, they narrowed.
What he saw was another portal—a rift in space that looked almost identical to the one they had entered.
"That's…" Raymond's voice trailed off, a terrible realization that could lead to humanity rewriting all they understood about secret realms creeping over him.
That portal wasn't a part of this realm—it was out of place.
It was artificial
Before the other members of the cohort could comprehed the situation, a loud crack shattered the silence.
Raymond's eyes snapped toward the source. From the rift in the ground, something emerged. A figure. A man.
"YOU!"
Raymond's golden eyes flickered activating his overlord core, a surge of monstrous brilliant gold mana flooded the entire vicitnty of the planet, everything within the realm trembling under the sheer might of the Marquis.
Not even the cohort who had collapsed to their knees were spared.
"VARICLIUS!"
****************
[APOILLITUS, HELIOS]
The Duke of Helios was seated in his grand office in his estate.
He leaned over his desk, an antique quill in hand, scribbling his signature on a stack of decrees.
His expression was calm and detached, the two blazing orbs scanning the text in front of him as he worked with the precision of a man who had ruled for decades—which he did.
Knock knock knock
A sudden, urgent knock shattered the peaceful silence.
"Enter," the Duke commanded, his deep voice resonating through the room.
The door swung open, revealing his attendant, Larrison, a middle-aged man with graying hair and an ever-composed demeanor. But tonight, Larrison's face betrayed him. His eyes were wide, and his usually measured steps faltered as he approached the desk.
"My lord," Larrison began, his voice tight with barely concealed panic, "it's the secret realm—"
The Duke's quill paused mid-stroke, and he looked up sharply. "What about it?"
Larrison hesitated, his hands trembling as he gripped a rolled parchment. "It's gone, my lord. The secret realm... has vanished."
For a moment, the words didn't register.
The Duke's heterochromic eyes narrowed, his sharp mind already dissecting the implications. "Gone? That's impossible, unless that bastard of man cleared an SS-ranked realm in a mere day," he said, his tone low but laced with an edge.
"M—My L—Lord," Aldric continued, his voice now cracking. "The realm wasnt cleared it... it collapsed. And—" He swallowed hard. "The Marquis and the suppprt cohort were still inside."
BHAM
The Duke shot to his feet, the chair scraping against the polished floor. His imposing frame cast a shadow over the entire room. His heterochromic eyes burning with intensity.
"Gather the Helios Noble Cabinet." He said his stage six core flaring to life.
"And tell them all to get in my office within the next hour, unless they want their heads detached and hanged on display in their respective territories."