"Confidence..." The old man’s lips curled into sothing between approval and disdain. "Or arrogance. Tell , boy, which is it today?"
The younger man’s molten irises flared hotter, his tone steady. "Neither. It is necessity. It is ti you step into the trial world, father. It is not prudent to stay in the dark any longer."
"Hmmm?" The old man raised a brow. "You are ordering , now?"
The garden seed to still at the words, as though the very air was holding its breath. The old man’s voice hadn’t risen, yet each syllable pressed like the weight of the ocean on the younger man’s chest.
The golden-eyed son did not flinch. His jaw tightened, but his posture remained unbowed. "Not an order," he said, his voice low and firm. "A warning. The world is shifting faster than even you predicted. If you wait too long, others will seize what should belong to us."
For the first ti, the old man’s gaze sharpened, the golden pinpricks expanding like miniature suns. His aura spilled outward in a sudden pulse, bending the grass flat and making the entire mansion groan as if its foundations were straining. "Careful, boy. Think carefully about what you want to say next."
The son clenched his fists at his side, molten fire roiling in his eyes, but he bowed his head a fraction, voice respectful. "Please grant the right to lead our descent into the trial world. Even though it is only a pest that is bothering us, I would still like to be ticulous and make sure everything is under control."
The old man remained silent. "A grave error has been recently committed because of which our forces have taken a small hit. I would personally like to see that sothing like this never happens again. Please, father. Grant your blessing."
The son dropped to one knee, his molten eyes never leaving the ground before him. "Because no one else will be as relentless as . Others will hesitate. Others will underestimate. I will not. Give this chance, Father, and I will ensure that the Blood God’s rise ends before it begins. Let wipe clean the sha of our mistake."
The old man’s aura pressed harder for a long, suffocating mont. "Very well," he said finally, his voice thundering. "You may descend. But hear , boy. Fail, and you will not crawl back to for shelter. I will not recognize a son who fails ."
The kneeling man’s lips curved into a sharp, hungry smile. "I will not fail, Father. I will eradicate that pest and reclaim everything that is ours."
The old man closed his eyes once more, returning to his ditative pose. The son bowed deeply before rising with the sure steps of a predator unleashed and took his leave. As soon as he stepped out of the garden, many n imdiately arrived at his command.
"Bring everyone from the main team here. We will be teleporting to the trial world starting tomorrow. I will not tolerate any mistakes."
"As you command, young lord," one of them said, bowing until his forehead nearly touched the marble floor. The rest echoed the sa words.
The next day, the teleportation array blazed with golden fire, spilling light across the marble courtyard of the Blazing Sun Temple. Pilgrims and players alike stopped in their tracks, shielding their eyes as the air shimred with heat. Out of the radiant circle stepped a group of figures.
All of them were wearing newbie clothes, and yet they were all radiating powerful auras that shouldn’t belong to a newbie. The temple guards stiffened, gripping their halberds tighter, while the Sunfire priests glanced at each other nervously.
The leader of the group, a young man with molten-gold eyes and a golden mask, looked up at the towering effigy of the Sunfire God that lood over the temple gates. His lips curved into a faint smile, sharp and cold. "So this is the strongest empire of the light continent?"
The gathered players murmured and whispered. They didn’t know who this group was, but one thing was clear. Sothing catastrophic had just stepped into the heart of the Sunfire Empire.
But it looked like the shock wasn’t over just yet. A few minutes after the first group arrived, yet another group arrived at the sa spot.
The only difference was that this ti, the group’s leader was a young woman who wore a different kind of mask. It was a simpler mask with only half her face covered, but even that was enough to display her unmistakable beauty. However, no one was paying attention to her beauty. This was because of the intense murderous aura that was spilling out of her.
The golden-masked man turned his head toward her, molten irises flickering faintly behind his mask. "So, Viola... you couldn’t resist descending either?"
"Hmph. Why should I sit back on the sidelines like an idiot when sothing so interesting is unfolding in front of ?" Viola’s eyes glead from behind her half-mask.
The golden-masked man chuckled. "Interesting indeed. But I must warn you. Don’t expect to be polite if our paths cross."
Viola snorted. "Michael. I should be the one saying that. Those of us from the south don’t have the habit of backing down from a fight, no matter what."
Just as the two of them were talking, another group promptly arrived. This ti, however, the person in the lead did not bother wearing any mask. "Oi Oi, look who we have here, the princess of the south and the prince of the north. What are you guys doing out of your small castles?"
Both Viola and Michael glared at the man who was dressed flamboyantly, despite him being a newbie as well. There was an option during the first login to select and purchase a different set of clothes, but no one typically opted for this, as it was a gold drain and just for vanity without any real use.
However, this person clearly did not care about such things. He did pay for the vanity set and even flaunted it so freely in front of everyone.
***
Mass release sponsored by Syphatrol
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