NOVPUBLate at night.
Viora was inside her assigned home cubicle, sitting on the sofa vacantly beside the fireplace, the thing she had been looking at for the last ten minutes. A lot of things were inside her mind, but the worst part was what happened with the Divine Saintess.
From the start, she knew the Scions were competing against each other.
But she never expected it to go this far.
She expected the Divine Saintess to maybe suppress Rex and show him his place, but she went as far as killing Crimoria and even almost killing Linthia. It could be for a statement, to get her point across, but Viora wasn't there, so she wasn't quite sure.
More importantly, she tried contacting the Divine Saintess, but got nothing in response.
"He thought that it's my fault for leading the Divine Saintess to him," Viora muttered—leaning forward and massaging her throbbing forehead. "But what's to say the Divine Saintess didn't already know about his presence from the start?"
Considering the Divine Saintess' unfathomable power, this was most likely the case.
No chance she didn't sense Rex entering the realm.
Nevertheless, Viora felt guilty inside, and she wanted to make up for it.
"I should at least guarantee what lies ahead for him," She stood up and went outside.
No windows in this unique place, so she has to go outside.
Upon stepping outside, she could instantly feel the chilling breeze of the night—along with the distant sound of people repairing the ruin. She inhaled deeply, as if inhaling enough would make everything in her mind go away, and reached out her hand.
Viora summoned a bird of light and whispered something to it.
A message for Great Elder Rosa, detailing everything that happened here in Mahkam Ruin.
Once she was done, the bird chirped and flew away.
"I also should look into the Nameless Dragon Arena, see if Princess Davina has a requirement," Viora thought aloud, determined to do that once she got back to the Noble House of Aurelius' mainland. "He should be coming out tomorrow, or at least, that's what the people who were with him said."
Considering that there were not many resources in the tower, Rex wouldn't stay for long.
One day outside equals ten years inside, and that's more than enough time for him.
"On the bright side, none of the heirs died, and that's good enough," She smiled weakly.
Nodding her head, she wiped the tear that trailed down her face and turned around to get back inside.
As she was about to take her first step, she sensed a familiar energy behind her.
Glancing over her shoulder, Viora saw a woman draped in the same clothes as her.
She appeared from around the corner.
One look is all it takes for Viora to recognize this woman, "High Priestess Alana…?"
Viora wouldn't mistake Alana.
Alana is the High Priestess who oversees her and a couple of other Priestesses of Purity—so there was no mistaking her. But something was off about her. Viora could see a few stains on her clothes that should be pristine and cline, she walked shakily, and her face depicted something close to devastation.
It was then that Viora realized that Alana wouldn't be here.
A High Priestess wasn't assigned to any noble house under the empire.
Most of the time, they were above the clouds, accompanying the Divine Saintess in her sanctuary.
So almost instantly, Viora knew that something had happened.
Readily, Viora approached Alana and caught her before she fell, "High Priestess, what happened?"
"The sanctuary," She whispered weakly, staring into Viora's eyes with pain—and despair, tears poured down endlessly. "The sanctuary is destroyed… Everything was melted down, and a lot of us died. The Divine Saintess… Sh-She changed!"
"What…?" Viora was stunned.
She looked into Alana's eyes, trying to see whether she was joking or not.
But she's not, she was being serious.
"Who…? How…?" Viora was at a complete loss for words.
It's not right, she couldn't believe what she was hearing right now.
Even the Spirit Emperor adored the High Cathedral of Noracci, treating it like a sacred place that was reserved and protected by the entire empire. Nothing should be able to reach it, much less destroy it, like Alana was saying right now.
Not only that, it also empowered the Golden Gate at Einoch Island.
A troubled island that hosted one of the strongest Voidal Monarchs, who was managed to be defeated and exiled there.
And the Golden Gate was the only thing stopping it from crossing over to the empire.
So, Viora found it incredibly hard to believe the Spirit Emperor would let the cathedral be destroyed.
"Another Scion," Alana sobbed as her legs gave out, bringing her down to the earth, a saddening sight considering her status. "No, a messenger from another Scion came and destroyed the cathedral. I don't know… I don't know why, but she destroyed everything!"
Realizing that it was real, Viora instantly felt nauseous.
Everything around her began to spin, making it hard for her to keep her balance.
'The High Cathedral of Noracci is destroyed…? How could this happen? It's not possible…'
Her mind spun with denial as she blinked her eyes to focus. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Even Alana, who was crying on the ground, began to blur from her vision.
It was surreal, but Alana was telling the truth, there was no way she was playing around with this.
And suddenly, Viora didn't know what to do anymore.
…
Meanwhile, inside the Forsaken Tower.
Bam!
Rex blocked a powerful punch by crossing his arms, forcing him to take a few steps backward.
As he peeked from behind his arms, he saw April in her stance, palms open and raised.
Giving no time for him to take a breath, she attacked again, closing the distance with expert footsteps and launched a series of attacks. Each punch and kick was backed with her entire weight, and she looked a lot more relaxed than before.
Not much gap between her attacks.
It was forceful, but also controlled.
Parrying a straight punch, Rex reached out his hand to grab her neck.
Ready for the counter, she leaned back enough to be out of reach.
Smiling inside, Rex placed his foot right behind April's anchor leg, aiming to trip her as she leaned back to dodge his hand. It worked, he could see April's body was tilting too backward for her to remain on her feet.
You have to always be ready. Every limb of a warrior is a weapon.
Just as Rex was about to remind her of that lesson, his eyes widened when he sensed an incoming.
He managed to pull his hand back in the nick of time to block a flying roundhouse kick from the left.
Since he reached forward with his left hand and tripped April's leg with his right leg, there was nothing protecting his left side. April faked falling for his trick—and used her entire body to kick with her right leg that came from Rex's blind spot.
Bam!
Rex blocked the kick with a smile and watched as April did a back handspring.
She stayed on her feet and made a good space between them at the same time.
Unlike before the Forsaken Tower, her moves were now more fluid without a hint of recklessness, and her footwork was also more grounded. It was harder to take her down, which was her biggest weak point, considering she is a sword user.
Mainly, she was good at using her arms but bad at her footwork.
But now, that wasn't the case anymore.
She's gotten stronger. I bet she could easily overpower the other heirs in martial arts alone.
Knowing exactly what crossed Rex's mind, April smirked.
"I'm not falling for that double attack formula again," She quipped. "You'll have to do better."
Upon hearing this, Rex nodded proudly.
"I guess you're better now," He straightened his back and approached. "A lot better."
April lowered her hands, seeing that it was the end of the spar.
But then, out of nowhere, Rex launched forward like a bullet and threw a straight, lethal punch.
Due to how fast he was and the burst of speed, April was taken aback.
But the surprise didn't faze her at all.
Her body moved on its own regardless of the element of surprise, tilting enough to avoid the punch.
Rex, expecting her to dodge, quickly twisted his body and delivered a spinning elbow.
Despite being a tad bit too late, April was able to raise her arm fast enough to block the elbow perfectly.
However, the force behind it knocked her body sideways.
Giving no time for her to recover and adapt to the oppressive momentum, Rex twisted his waist—and sent a whipping kick that April was still able to block. Upon impact, the kick made a gunshot sound as April was thrown to the other side of the chamber and slammed against the wall.
April could feel the air in her lungs being forced out.
As she lifted her gaze, she closed her eyes shut when Rex's fist was already right in front of her.
Now, she has no chance of blocking this punch.
However, the punch never made contact.
Instead, she felt a large hand settle gently on top of her head, warm and steady like a silent reassurance.
April opened her eyes and saw that Rex was smiling genuinely.
"You've improved a lot," He complimented. "More than my expectations. Once you pay your own time in real battles and gain experience, you'll certainly reach my level. But even as you are right now, you could easily beat your siblings."
For a moment there, April tried her hardest not to smile.
Rex's compliments always hit differently, maybe because he's strong and also her tutor.
Then, he turned around and stretched.
Snapping out of her reverie, April pouted, "Does that mean I'm not good enough for your other form?"
"Nope, my senses and reaction are ten times stronger in that form. You'll not stand a chance. Besides, it's not necessary. You could make me go all-out—in this form," Rex answered, looking out at the night sky. "And that's already beyond good."
"Wow… If you're not strong, I'd call you arrogant," April chuckled.
Deciding to be grateful enough for her growth, she approached Rex and made him turn around.
Then, she threw her arms over his shoulders and tiptoed a little to be close to his face.
"Hi…" She whispered, smiling sweetly as she stole glances at Rex's lips.
Rex held her waist and returned the smile, "Hi..."
"Is there something troubling your mind, Your Majesty? You didn't give me my morning kiss earlier—and went straight to training. What's wrong? Do I need to be worried?" April asked, her eyes round with curiosity.
He smiled faintly and gave a small peck to her lips.
It was more like an assuring kiss than their normal, regular kiss.
"No, I'm fine," Rex answered.
Upon hearing this, April tapped on his forehead with her index finger lightly a couple of times, "I knew you well enough to know you're not fine. Come on, cough it out. Is it because tomorrow is the day we stay in the tower?"
As if he were an open book, April saw through him instantly.
Considering they have been living together for ten years, that's to be expected.
"Hmm," Rex put on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I thought it would last longer, you know, whatever you call this. Fantasy. But it's already ten years, and now, it's time for me to get back to reality. I guess I'd have you to blame for making it feel like a blur."
"Should I be flattered or offended? I don't know." April chuckled sweetly and hugged him tightly.
In the next minute, silence hung between the two of them.
Only the sound of their light breaths could be heard, relaxing and rejuvenating to hear.
Then, April asked, "Isn't it about time you tell me what you're doing after this?"
Rex has been avoiding that conversation, talking about what his problems were, and his purpose for coming to this realm. April never pushed, but now, since this was their last night in the tower, she ought to ask again.
Pausing for a second, Rex exhaled roughly from his nose.
It seemed he couldn't postpone this.
"I'm entering the Nameless Dragon Arena," He finally said. "That's what comes after."
