Kei Xun inhaled a very deep breath through her nose as she opened her glowing eyes.
She was sitting in her sanctuary in peace.
A place that gave her the serenity she needed the most.
Not too long ago, she had attended the gathering with the other Scions.
It has been quite so ti since she last saw them, but she did not attend the gathering for them, but rather to see Rex go through the initiation ritual. And much to her expectation, Rex did not disappoint her at all.
Even in front of those entities, he was still dominating as always.
Like there was nothing that could bend his spine.
As for the test from the Highseat of Invincibility itself, she was too nervous to watch.
Even though there are quite a number of Scions asured through how close they were to the throne, there are countless more people who fall before they can begin ascending toward the throne. In her entire lifeti, she watched at least close to ten thousand highly talented individuals who fell before really beco a Scion.
Now, she found no aning in watching.
She took no pleasure in seeing people being butchered and failed the test.
However, she felt sothing happening.
The air inside the sanctuary was shaking, and her heart trembled with the sa rhythm.
It was a sign that put a smile on her face.
"He passed the test," Kei Xun smiled inwardly.
She realized that there was another mature Scion—being born, and it could only be Rex. It should co as a surprise, as the test was incredibly hard, brutal, and most certainly heartbreaking. But having to get to know Rex and watch over him sohow made her think this was natural.
Like he was ant for great things, and passing the test is a certainty.
Even though she was nervous, deep down, she knew that he had what it took to pass the test.
"Another challenger from the Anger Stratum. Things are going to get interesting."
Just then, Kei Xun snapped her gaze to the clouds.
She stood up and walked to the edge, looking up at the glowing sun as there was another distortion.
And it didn’t co from Rex.
"Celestial energy...?" She muttered inwardly with an evident frown forming on her face.
Simultaneously, a figure appeared at the center of the chamber behind her.
It was a massive figure that stood at least twelve feet tall with a dominating stature. A humanoid monster. Both of its arms are shaped like a massive sword, and on its head were two big horns that are as big as its torso, curving inward like two cobras that made a heart shape.
"He’s been acknowledged."
"Yes, I can feel his transformation even from here."
Kei Xun slowly turned her body sideways to look at this figure.
"But I doubt you ca here only to tell that.’
"I may not be from the Sadness Stratum, but I’ve been watching your moves."
"Let guess... You want to ask what I know about him.
"You are close to him—and you’ve seen his past. Tell what you know. I need certainty that he’s not going to disturb my plan. Another Scion of the Anger Stratum is not a good thing. Another Scion for the Anger Stratum is never a good thing."
"As expected, you’re getting quite predictable."
A small chuckle escaped Kei Xun’s lips, which evidently annoyed the figure.
Soone like her shouldn’t be talking down to him, but right now, he needed to show restraints.
She has the information he needed, after all.
"I wouldn’t worry about him." Kei Xun fully turned around, eting the figure’s gaze directly. "All he cared about was those around him. As long as you steer clear of his territory, you won’t need to see him as an enemy."
"Fair enough. A lion cub is, at the end of the day, still a lion."
Considering he has no intention of doing that, the figure wasn’t troubled by this.
He, too, never wanted anyone hostile to step into his territory.
"Are you going to support him? Your master wouldn’t take this lightly," the figure then shifted his gaze throughout the chamber, seeing subtle cracks here and there. "Especially after your master already sent her attack dog to reprimand you."
"Why would I worry about that? It’s your task to protect from being spied on," Kei Xun shrugged.
Hearing this, the figure didn’t answer.
All he did was nod his head, as if that was an appropriate answer, and then intended to leave.
He got what he ca for, and that’s more than enough.
But Kei Xun stopped him.
"Wait," She called, stepping down from the platform to get closer to the figure. "Can you help him?"
"Help him?" the figure raised his brow and then glanced skyward, realizing what Kei Xun was talking about. "He’s more than capable of defending himself. This isn’t like you to babysit him. Did he remind you of soone?"
Kei Xun’s expression tensed when the figure said that.
It was a sensitive topic.
Regardless—she recovered quickly, "That God is being shaful. How many tis had he ddled in the lower realms? I understand he hadn’t crossed the line, but he still couldn’t be this blatant. Soone has to show so resistance. If not through force, then at least through words."
A humorous chuckle escaped the figure’s mouth.
He understood what Kei Xun was saying.
Not even the upper-echelon of Scions had been bullied this ruthlessly from the start, forced to survive sches from Gods again and again—before becoming a Blank. And as she said, he has the ans to help. But those ans are still bound by rules.
"You know the rules, Divine Saintess," the figure said, placing a hand—on her shoulder. His smile was bright, dismissing her request, not taking it seriously. "The First God is off-limits. It’s not our prey, and that’s that. Let us speak of this no more."
"But cheer up," He turned away, preparing to leave. "He’s one tough nut to crack, I can tell you that."
Swish—!
...
Rex reached out his hand into the light, intending to take control of his body once more—but this ti, it would be for good. But instead of the blinding light, darkness swept from behind and swallowed him whole.
Once he adjusted to the darkness, it started to morph into sothing.
It didn’t take long before Rex realized where he was.
He was inside a familiar living room.
A house, one that was still fresh in his mories, as it had only been yesterday since he was here.
Everything remained the sa, exactly as he rembered.
A small dining table that was only big enough for four people maximum. A modest interior that made the inside feel comforting. And an open kitchen facing the dining table, where a tantalizing aroma usually cos from.
Rex rembered it all.
The house that started everything.
Sensing another presence inside the room, Rex looked over his shoulder and saw a kid.
It was him from years ago, standing by the door, shrouded in darkness.
But at this mont, this kid is not really him—but the Invincible Apparition instead.
Rex smiled inwardly, only now realizing what this was.
"A Werewolf has an Inner Fang granted by the Great Luna inside them, warning them whenever they’re close to going berserk, whenever the full moon is close." Rex pivoted around in a slow manner, facing the Invincible Apparition with a kind smile on his face. "But I only got you."
He took a step closer, slow—showing that he has no bad intentions.
On the contrary, right now, he has nothing but adoration for this nacing kid in the shadows.
"For quite so ti, I’ve been wondering... what is your real purpose? I was perplexed. Is it to give motivation to seek vengeance harder? To prove that I’ve never truly moved on? To show clearly that the scar will haunt forever? Or maybe to create a sense of urgency—to make grow stronger faster. But now, I understand..."
Thud...
Rex stopped right before the Invincible Apparition, eting its blazing gaze with a tender one.
Anyone else would have fled—the kid radiated pure danger.
But Rex didn’t see danger; he didn’t think like that at all, as now he saw the Invincible Apparition—for what he truly was. He bent forward, hands on his knees, bringing himself eye to eye with the searing presence.
"You’re not here to break . Not to haunt . Not even to push ," His voice lowered, certain. "You are here because you want to accept you, isn’t that right?"
From the mont he got his vengeance by killing Ruston, he lost his main driver.
He found another reason to keep growing stronger as enemies were attacking him from all sides, aiming at those around him without rcy. For so ti, he moved on from the past and looked into the future, one that can be realized.
Nobody needed to suffer the way he did, and he’s going to make that a reality.
But on the other hand, he was also trying to forget how he was in the past.
It was really felt when he was forced to confront it to repair his soul with the help of Elder Tilrith.
Rex was unconsciously trying to forget his past and act like it never happened.
From the start, the Invincible Apparition might surface to push him harder for vengeance.
So, how co it appeared once again? Is it only because he was being chosen as a Scion? No, that’s not the only reason. In fact, the reason was far deeper than that. His mind subconsciously retaliated, bringing the Invincible Apparition back.
Not accepting the past and even trying to forget it would only destroy him in the future.
It would beco a weakness, and on a subconscious level, he knew that.
And thus, the Invincible Apparition appeared again.
Rex already learned to accept his werewolf side as a part of him, even starting to not sha devouring flesh and blood, like what a werewolf naturally does. So, there was no reason for him not to accept what happened in the past.
"In reality, all you wanted was not to be forgotten, isn’t it?" Rex reached his hand and placed it on the Invincible Apparition’s head. "All that talk of bringing down, you’re doing it to make understand that you are also a part of . A part of that is also strong."
Upon hearing this, the Invincible Apparition’s nacing gaze softened.
It was an unnatural sight as Rex never thought it could do that.
But this also confird to him that he was right.
"I hope this is the last ti I’ll be seeing you," the Invincible Apparition finally spoke.
And for the first ti, his lips curled into a smile.
One that was shed away from the darkness of the world. A display of how innocent he once was.
"Don’t forget ." He added.
"Yes," Rex nodded, watching the Invincible Apparition’s body dissolve into the darkness. And from his core, the reddish glow seeped into Rex’s body—like it was passing the control over for good. "I will never forget your anger again. This heat... I’ll use it to reach for a brighter future."
"I’ll be happy to see that," the Invincible Apparition’s voice drifted. "For now, I’ll keep them company. Don’t die until your task is finished."
"The longer I live, the more stories I’ll have for them. So, I’m not planning to die soon."
...
Back to the Tomb of Heroes.
Stelios and even the Silverstar Pack watched the spectacle with widened eyes.
Inside the torrent of light, a sun beam that disintegrated everything that it touched, as seen from how the ground was evaporating little by little, a silhouette stood strong. And its reddish aura started to drown the sun beam.
Rex blinked his eyes and ca back to his senses.
"Now that I accepted this anger, there’s no stopping anymore..."
He tilted his glowing eyes to look at Stelios, "You lose."
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