Caroline did not react right away.
Her expression stayed calm, almost neutral, but sothing behind her eyes stopped moving. The playful curiosity she carried earlier faded out completely, like soone had shut off a light behind glass.
She studied Zylus in silence, not blinking, not shifting, like she was waiting for sothing to contradict her own conclusion.
"He’s a fake."
The words didn’t echo. They didn’t shake the space or demand attention.
They didn’t need to.
Every Sovereign heard them clearly.
Zylus blinked once.
That was it. No sharp inhale. No sudden tension in his shoulders. He didn’t even look surprised. He let out a slow breath and tilted his head slightly, like he was hearing a strange rumor about soone else.
"A fake," he repeated. "That’s a new one."
The silence that followed wasn’t empty.
It was filled with movent. Small movents. Shifting weight. Glances passed between Sovereigns who had been relaxed monts earlier. One of them let out a short laugh under his breath, not loud enough to draw attention, but not quiet enough to hide his amusent.
Victor Kane raised an eyebrow, his posture straightening just a bit.
"You sure you didn’t want to start with that?" Victor said casually. "You’ve been staring at him since he showed up."
Caroline didn’t look at him.
She floated forward instead, slow and deliberate, her feet never touching anything solid. She stopped just short of Zylus, close enough that he could feel the pressure of her presence.
The air around her felt heavier now. Less forgiving.
"Nas are not aningless," she said. "They are records. They carry truth."
Zylus shifted slightly, testing his balance. His arms crossed as far as his restraints allowed, his expression calm, almost bored.
"So what," he said. "You want mine."
"Yes," Caroline replied. "Say it."
There was no command in her voice. No threat.
That sohow made it worse.
Zylus didn’t hesitate.
"Zylus Elwis."
The reaction hit before the echo of his voice faded.
Cassie’s eyes widened just a fraction, but her lips parted like she’d been caught mid-thought. Darold’s relaxed stance tightened, his shoulders pulling back as his hand twitched near his side.
A Sovereign who had been leaning against nothing straightened abruptly.
"Elwis," Cassie muttered.
Victor’s grin thinned. It didn’t vanish, but the humor drained out of it, replaced by sothing sharper. His gaze stayed locked on Zylus now.
Caroline closed her eyes.
Only for a mont.
When she opened them again, the doubt was gone.
"I knew it," she said.
Zylus watched every one of them. The way their expressions shifted. The way the mood in the space tilted slightly against him. His smirk remained, but it wasn’t as solid as before.
"Judging by your faces," he said, "that na didn’t co with good news."
"You were not ant to be here," Caroline said.
Zylus felt his jaw tighten.
"Then who was?"
The pause before her answer was small.
But it existed.
"Michael Elric."
The na struck deeper than he expected.
For a mont, the space around him blurred. Not physically, but ntally. A calm voice surfaced in his mory. Red eyes. A smile that never ant what it looked like it ant.
Zenos zino on his knees. Power cut off. Helpless.
Michael Elric.
Zylus’ chest tightened. Sothing hot burned behind his ribs, slow and steady.
"So that’s it," he said. "You were waiting for him, and I showed up instead."
"Yes," Caroline replied. "Michael Elric aligns with Fate. He was chosen."
"And I wasn’t."
Victor let out a soft chuckle.
"Looks that way."
Zylus laughed too. Short. Dry. Empty.
"So you dragged the wrong person into this," he said. "That’s not my problem."
"It is," Caroline said. "Your presence disrupts what is ant to happen."
Zylus lifted his head fully now, eting her eyes.
"If Michael Elric is your future Sovereign," he said, "then you should hope I never see him again."
Laughter broke out.
One Sovereign leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees like he was watching sothing entertaining.
"That’s bold," soone said. "You think you could kill him?"
Zylus didn’t blink.
"I know I can."
The laughter grew louder. Mocking claps followed, slow and deliberate. So of them looked amused. Others looked curious, like they were trying to decide if this was confidence or delusion.
Victor grinned.
"I really like this guy."
Caroline didn’t react.
"You speak like soone who does not understand Fate," she said.
"Fate hasn’t done anything for ," Zylus replied. "Why should I respect it?"
Her eyes darkened. The temperature in the space seed to drop, just slightly.
Before she could respond, sothing shifted behind them.
Not violently. Not dramatically.
It bent.
Like the space itself was being pressed inward by sothing that didn’t belong there.
Victor turned first.
"Hold on."
The distortion widened.
A figure stepped through.
Black hair. Red eyes. Calm posture.
Michael Elric.
He didn’t rush. He didn’t tense. He stepped forward like he had all the ti in the world, his gaze drifting across the Sovereigns as if he were taking inventory.
"So this is where it led," he said calmly.
Zylus’ heart slamd against his ribs.
Everything slowed.
Not because ti actually changed, but because his focus collapsed inward. The sound of breathing. The distance between his feet and the floor. The way Michael’s eyes moved.
"You," Zylus said.
Michael’s gaze settled on him. Recognition sparked, faint but real.
"...Zylus."
Sothing inside him broke.
Zylus moved.
His restraints snapped under the pressure as his legs responded fully for the first ti. Power surged violently through every fiber of his body, and his heart thundered like a war drum. The air around him seed to compress, the light dimming slightly as if reacting to the intensity radiating from him. Ti didn’t actually slow, but Zylus felt it bend under his focus. Every heartbeat stretched, every breath felt heavier, as the single thought of Michael Elric consud him.
[Demonic Kin Activated]
The transformation hit like a shockwave. His body shimred, energy spilling over him in chaotic waves. A jagged demonic shard erupted along the right side of his face, black with a faint pink glow creeping across the edges. It wasn’t just a mask; it was a mark of wrath, hunger, and power fused into one. His red eyes flared brighter, the pink glint making them burn like coals set alight. The veins along his neck and forearms pulsed faintly, each one a ribbon of raw energy.
He had deliberately turned it on and chosen to attack without any more restraint. He felt it, blood oozing throughout his body, ready to erupt at any second. And he wasn’t the sa Zylus anymore. No, he was a Sovereign. The Transcendent Soverign.
Power detonated inside Zylus.
It didn’t settle. It didn’t align. It tore through him violently, flooding his limbs, his spine, his senses.
1000 to every stat.
The Sovereigns reacted instantly. Several stepped back. One raised a hand instinctively. Another swore under their breath.
Michael’s calm cracked.
"Wait—"
Zylus moved.
His restraints snapped under the pressure as his legs responded fully for the first ti. The distance between them collapsed instantly, the floor barely registering beneath his feet.
Power surged into his arm as he pulled it back. His vision locked on Michael’s chest.
He could see it clearly. Too clearly.
His hand reached forward.
Then everything vanished.
No impact.
No resistance.
Zylus was gone.
The space snapped back to stillness.
Michael staggered backward, breathing hard, his eyes wide as he looked around.
"What just happened?" he demanded.
Caroline stared at the space.
"...He wasn’t erased," she said. "He was moved."
Victor’s smile returned, slow and deliberate.
"That’s unfortunate."
Zylus gasped as air rushed into his lungs.
He slamd onto sothing solid and rolled instinctively, coughing as he pushed himself upright. His head spun, but the dizziness faded faster than it should have.
He looked around.
Stars stretched endlessly in every direction. No ground. No horizon.
And in front of him stood a house.
A normal house.
White walls. Warm lights glowing through the windows. A porch floating where no ground should exist.
Zylus stared.
"...You’ve got to be kidding ."
The door opened.
A woman stepped out, dressed neatly in a maid’s uniform. Calm. Polite. Completely unbothered.
"Oh," she said. "You’re awake."
Zylus rubbed his face.
"Where am I?"
She smiled gently.
"Please don’t panic."
"That’s not happening."
The door opened again.
Footsteps followed.
Victor Kane stepped out, hands in his pockets, dressed neatly like this was his living room and not the middle of space.
"You broke the eting," Victor said.
Zylus clenched his fists.
"You did this."
Victor shook his head.
"No. But I made sure you didn’t end up sowhere useless."
The maid glanced between them.
Victor’s smile widened.
"I don’t like wasting interesting things," he said. "And you are very interesting."
Zylus t his gaze, power still humming.
"Welco," Victor said, gesturing toward the house, "to my place."
The lights inside glowed warmly.
"And now," Victor added, stepping aside, "we’re going to talk."
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