Gara and Leif both followed after Locarius as he made his way down the long hallway. On the way to the underground arena, they came across a guard.
The man was clearly strong—B Rank or higher—his skin a deep blue rather than the black of Locarius, two white horns curling slightly back, black hair neatly tied.
He greeted the Crown Prince with a respectful smile, then nodded his head to Gara and Leif as well. It seemed they really were guests of the [Rashanz Emperor], for whatever reason that might be.
Locarius took a moment to instruct the guard, telling him to relay the message to his grandfather—that Gara and Leif would be sparring with him for a while before meeting him.
The guard nodded firmly and headed off to complete the order.
Locarius continued forward toward a door at the edge of the palace and gestured toward it. "This is where we train the guards when the air outside gets bad—which it does sometimes. I also use it myself whenever I've got spare time."
Gara's curiosity pricked at him.
He wanted to ask about the [Rashanz Emperor], because an X Ranker training inside an SS Ranked Fragment simply didn't make sense. Someone on that level couldn't even stretch without risking tearing the space apart.
But… asking about an X Ranker directly?
Yeah. No.
He swallowed the question before it even formed.
Instead, he went for something safer.
Gara asked who Locarius usually trained with, and the Crown Prince happily answered—guards around his level, sometimes noble kids, and only rarely someone stronger, like that guard they met earlier.
Gara nodded, saying training with stronger people was good, but testing yourself against equals mattered just as much.
That made Locarius brighten with a sudden thought.
"Say," he asked, eyes glinting, "do you two ever spar against each other?"
Leif spoke first—a rare thing for the silent shadow trailing behind Gara.
Honestly, walking beside someone dressed entirely in black, cloaked, making zero sound, and looking like he was gliding rather than stepping… yeah, it gave Gara the creeps sometimes.
Leif simply said, "No. We haven't sparred yet."
Gara nodded. "But we will for sure sometime in the future. And I'll prove once and for all that I'm cooler and stronger."
Leif gave him a slow side–eye… then grinned.
That grin alone was enough to ignite Gara's irritation, and he puffed up his cheeks, ready to bark something back—but Locarius cut in, too excited to wait.
He practically bounced as he asked about the [Training Grounds] Fragment, the legendary X Ranked Fragment where people sparred without risk of death or lasting injury.
Were they going to spar inside it?
Gara answered, "Yeah. Though it's costly for low Rankers like us, it's the best place to train and spar in."
Locarius practically burst with joy, hopping once as he said he couldn't wait to try it out.
Then he leaned in close, one of his four hands cupped beside his mouth in a conspiratorial whisper, eyes darting left and right to make sure no one else was listening.
He whispered that his grandfather had once sparred inside the [Training Grounds]—and that the fight had been leaked to him by… uhm, "sources."
"And my grandfather actually lo—"
The sound cut off.
Completely.
His mouth kept moving, but nothing came out.
Gara and Leif watched him struggle for another second before Locarius stopped, sighed, and threw up both hands in surrender.
"Just forget it. Let's go to the arena."
Gara blinked at him, still stunned by whatever just happened.
Leif, however, chuckled—quiet but noticeable.
Gara immediately snapped his gaze toward him. "What are you laughing at? What happened?!"
Leif spoke quietly—so quietly only Gara could hear. Locarius was already a few steps ahead, pushing open the heavy door at the end of the hall.
"…Back when…" Leif hesitated, his mood dipping sharply.
He let out a soft sigh before finishing, "Back when my older brother was still alive, he'd use certain abilities whenever I tried telling someone about one of his… failures. So it just reminded me of that."
Gara cracked a grin, understanding dawning instantly in his eyes.
He leaned in and whispered, "Do you think it was the… [Rashanz Emperor] who silenced him?"
Leif shrugged. "Could be. Or someone else."
He didn't say anything further—instead, he lifted his black Story System Interface, tapped something, and a moment later Gara's golden Interface chimed softly.
Gara opened the notification.
Don't mention important topics. They're listening in it seems.
Gara swallowed and gave the faintest nod.
When they looked up, Locarius had just swung open the door, revealing a stairway spiraling down into the underground arena.
He flashed them both a fierce, excited grin.
"Let's fight!"
...
At the end of the staircase, they stepped into a vast underground complex—dozens of massive arenas carved into the stone beneath the palace.
Many were already in use.
Blue-skinned Rashanz, some with four arms and others with only two, were sparring fiercely.
Sword clashes rang out, spears whistled through the air, and in several arenas groups practiced coordinated team fights, projectiles flashing between them.
Whenever someone was struck down or injured, another Rashanz would rush over and uncork a small green vial.
The moment it touched the wounded fighter, their injuries vanished completely—no blood, no bruises, no trace they'd ever been hurt.
Healing Potions.
Of course they existed in the Story World, but they were rare and extremely expensive.
Energy Potions were cheaper, but still far from affordable, and they carried nasty drawbacks. Gara knew that better than most—taking more than two of them in one fight had cracked his Original Story.
The higher-grade potions, both Energy and Healing, were even more costly… and because they thought they wouldn't need them, he and Leif hadn't bothered to stock up before coming to the [Rashanz] Fragment.
Looking around now, watching those green vials restoring fighters like it was nothing, Gara couldn't help but think:
If they'd prepared properly, if they'd brought the right potions… Leif had more than enough to buy even the expensive ones.
He just hadn't known.
He sighed.
There was nothing he could do about it now—his Story was cracked.
He had to accept that.
At least there was still a chance… maybe [White Space] would know something, or Dante might.
There was still a thread of hope to hold onto.
But if he'd been like the countless others who cracked their Stories with no connections or anyone powerful to turn to…
He would've been done.
Forced to live with a broken Story for the rest of his life.
And being a Fragment Native, he didn't even have the luxury that Readers had.
Readers from the Reader World could shatter their Stories and simply create a new one, start over, rebuild.
Fragment Natives couldn't.
They got one shot. One Story. One path.
And his was [Root of All Things].
His one and only shot… now fractured.
Did he regret cracking it to save Leif's life?
He wasn't sure…
It wasn't like Leif was that close to him. They'd only known each other for days.
A week at best.
And yet… when he saw [Black Cover] about to kill him, something in him refused to let it happen. His body had moved before his mind could think.
He just—couldn't let Leif die there.
So did he regret it?
He… didn't know.
His thoughts tangled every time he tried to find an answer.
But he did know one thing: he couldn't be that reckless again.
He couldn't afford another close call like that.
It wasn't like he could just keep cracking his Story and restoring it over and over, even if restoration was possible.
Even if [White Space] or Dante or someone else had a method… there had to be a limit.
Stories weren't meant to be broken and fixed like tools.
Logically, if it were something repeatable, it would be too big of a loophole—too easy to abuse.
So he was sure of one thing:
There had to be a limit to how many times a Story could be restored before it cracked for real… before it broke in a way no one could ever put back together.
And he couldn't risk reaching that point.
He shook those thoughts away and forced himself to focus on the present instead.
No point spiraling right before a spar.
So he followed after Locarius' energetic form as the Crown Prince waved and greeted every nearby guard who was mid-spar inside the arenas, yelling encouragements like he owned the place—which he technically did.
Leif remained silent behind them, but his eyes weren't idle.
They kept flicking toward the small white boxes mounted near each arena—rectangular shapes etched with black markings, each with a tiny blue gem either slotted into the top or resting beside it.
It didn't take long to understand their purpose.
The boxes were controlling the barriers.
The arenas with gems installed were active, shimmering with faint blue walls that trapped the fighters inside.
The arenas where the gems sat beside the boxes had no such glow—those weren't in use.
Gara looked around before asking, "So which arena are we using?"
Locarius pointed ahead without slowing. "One that fits all three of us, obviously! Some are for one-on-one, but they've got bigger ones too—like those guys over there."
He gestured at a team fight happening in the distance, where Rashanz guards clashed in coordinated formation, spears clashing, projectiles flying, and barriers flaring to contain the chaos.
Gara nodded, already feeling his pulse quicken with anticipation.
Leif stayed quiet, his gaze sweeping the layout with the calm focus of someone already planning his first move.
Locarius stopped in front of a large, unused arena and turned to them with a grin. "This one! It fits perfectly for all three of us. Step inside."
Gara and Leif nodded and walked in, moving to the opposite side of the arena from the Crown Prince. As they did, Gara muttered, "Alright… any ideas on how we're gonna handle him?"
Leif glanced at him briefly, his voice calm but measured. "We figure out his tendencies first, then exploit any openings."
Locarius ignored them for a moment, crouching by the white box with black markings. With practiced precision, he inserted a small blue gem into the top of the box.
Instantly, the arena shimmered as blue walls of energy flared into existence, forming a dome that encased the entire space.
The barrier glowed faintly, humming with controlled power, just like all the other arenas around them.
Gara stepped back slightly, eyes widening. "Well… that's official."
Locarius turned toward them, eyes bright with excitement. "Alright, I won't be fighting seriously, okay? I am, after all, as strong as a D Ranked Player, while you two just leveled up to E Rank. Plus,"—he glanced at Gara—"I know you're not going full strength, so I'll just defend with my four arms, maybe push you back a bit at most."
Gara and Leif exchanged a quick look, then both nodded.
Locarius grinned wider. "Good! Fight however you like. I just want to see how strong E Rankers really are in the Story World."
Both Gara and Leif nodded again in agreement.
Locarius stretched his four arms and his whole body, grinning as he said, "Take your time getting ready. Just tell me when you're set."
Gara thanked him, then spoke quietly to Leif for a few minutes.
Once they were done, the two of them turned back to the Crown Prince.
Gara nodded firmly. "We'll activate our Stories."
Locarius' eyes lit up, barely containing his excitement. "Perfect!"
Gara stepped forward first, and his E Ranked aura flared to life.
He hadn't unleashed its full force, but it was still impressive.
His Original Story, [Root of All Things], activated, and behind him, the aura condensed into an illusory root stretching wide.
Leif stepped forward next.
He began with his Inherited Story, [Lightning Dance], and lightning crackled around him, sharp E Ranked Aura radiating stronger than Gara's since he unleashed the full strength of his Story.
But he didn't stop there.
He activated his second Story, his Original one, [Masked Threat].
Blue lightning mixed with thick, dark shadows swirling around him.
Leif reached forward with his hand, and the shadows shaped into a sleek black mask.
Horns slowly materialized from it, the mask having no mouth or nose, only hollow black sockets.
He placed the mask over his face, completely covering it. In his hands, a black Odachi materialized.
Moments later, the shadows dissipated, the blue lightning vanished, and his presence—his threat—was completely masked.
Locarius watched in delight as their Stories activated.
He'd heard about them briefly from [White Space] before, but even though his grandfather and a few other Rashanz were Players too, they were far above his level.
Revealing their auras and Stories to him could actually be dangerous, so it rarely happened.
Seeing two E Ranked Stories—or three, since Leif owned two—was an incredible sight.
He couldn't help but laugh, clap, and praise them.
Leif felt a little embarrassed and muttered, "It's normal," turning away even though the mask covered his expression.
Gara, on the other hand, bragged, "If I unleashed my full strength, it'd be way cooler and stronger."
Locarius hesitated, tempted to ask him to do just that, but remembered Gara's earlier request not to push him about it.
He wasn't sure why, but Gara must have had a good reason.
Locarius grinned, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Alright then, come at me! Let's start!"
Gara chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "I'm excited too. I Finally get to see how I fare against a D Ranked Native. I barely got to test myself against [Black Cover] earlier—a Player D Ranker who… yeah, could've killed us if not for Mister [White Space]."
Leif interrupted, his tone flat but firm. "Gara, you're talking too much. Let's start the fight already."
Gara let out a small sigh, clearly annoyed, but raised his hands nonetheless.
Locarius blinked in surprise as wooden walls shot up from the ground, five of them forming a barrier between him and Gara and Leif, separating him from the two Players.
Locarius giggled, speaking out loud. "Are these part of the Wood Techniques you mentioned earlier, Gara?"
No reply came, and he laughed. "It's alright, I understand. If you talk, it reveals where you are. Just ignore my comments… I'll probably make a ton of them as we fight."
Suddenly, his expression shifted to surprise as he looked down at his legs and saw them slowly freezing.
He chuckled, breaking free in an instant. "Wow, that's a cool trick, Gara… though you'd need to be way stronger to actually trap me in ic—"
He was cut off as a blade shot toward his neck.
Instinctively, he trapped it between both hands and saw Leif in the air holding it.
Time seemed to freeze.
Locarius kicked, sending Leif crashing against the blue barrier; the black Odachi fell a few steps away.
Locarius laughed in excitement. "Wow! Even I couldn't sense Leif moving around! And combined with Gara distracting me, he actually sneaked up on me… that's crazy!"
While the fight had started inside their arena, the few other guards sparring in their own arenas stopped and turned to watch the Crown Prince's fight—not because it was too interesting or because of supernatural powers, but because it involved Players: two Stories… three, if you counted Leif's, fighting against their own kind, their Crown Prince.
Some even started cheering him on. "You can take them down in no time!"
Locarius laughed at the cheering and shouted back, "C'mon! At least cheer for the losing side, right?"
Gara's voice came from behind the wooden walls. "Hey! Too early to decide who's the losing side!"
While Locarius had been talking, Leif used that moment to stand up, grab his Odachi, and immediately release a burst of blue lightning at the Crown Prince of the Rashanz Species.
Locarius laughed and dodged aside—but Leif was already in front of him, blade slashing down in a clean arc.
Locarius stepped back instinctively, only to feel a wooden wall erupt behind him.
He chuckled, caught the black Odachi between two of his arms again, and began to lift his leg to kick—
—but Leif let go of the sword instantly, slipping away and vanishing behind the wooden walls separating him from Gara.
Before Locarius could even think about chasing him, he had to twist out of the way as two Ice Spears shot toward him.
They smashed into the wooden wall behind him, demolishing it in seconds.
He then leapt forward toward the wooden barriers, planting one palm against a wall—
Thunk… then...
POOF.
The whole thing exploded into dust.
He stepped through, grinning. "Oi, Gara! Hiding already? You two chickens in there or wha—"
An Ice Spear ripped past his face.
"—HAHA! Okay, that was close."
A crack of blue lightning tore toward his back.
Locarius twisted away, laughing—
"Nice try!"
—but Leif was already there, silent as a shadow, wooden sword slashing down from above.
Locarius caught the blade between two hands.
"You again! Persistent—"
A second presence crashed toward him.
Gara burst through the dust with a wooden sword, aura flaring.
Locarius barked out a laugh.
"Both at once? Good!"
He snapped a kick out.
Gara was launched backward, skidding across the ground.
Leif instantly let go of his sword and withdrew.
Locarius's four arms spread wide, still buzzing with adrenaline.
"COME ON! Don't run—keep it up!"
More walls slid into place around him.
Ice hissed from one side.
Lightning flashed from the other.
Shadows flickered. Footsteps vanished.
Locarius turned in every direction at once, grinning like a madman.
"YES! THIS is what I'm talking about!"
He threw his head back laughing, four arms raised.
"This teamwork is amazing! Do you two always fight like this?"
Gara flashed a cocky grin.
"Nope! Well—we did smack around a Cover Club guy earlier."
While Gara talked, Locarius felt something shift.
The wooden sword in his hand… twitched.
Roots burst from the hilt, trying to coil up his arm.
"Oh no you don't—"
He crushed the weapon with a sharp squeeze.
Crack—crumble.
He grinned wildly.
"Is this all you've got? Come at me!"
Gara barked a laugh and summoned another wooden sword, the roots spiraling into shape instantly.
He tossed it to Leif, who caught it without a word, mask tilted forward.
Gara stepped once.
Leif stepped once.
And then—
FWUMP.
Both shot forward at the exact same moment, blades crossing the air in twin slashes aimed straight at the Crown Prince.
...
Time dragged forward, and the arena finally fell still.
Gara and Leif lay sprawled on the ground, chests heaving, drenched in sweat.
Both of their auras had vanished — Stories deactivated.
Gara's wooden walls were nothing but shattered chunks scattered everywhere, and the ice he had conjured was already long melted into the dirt.
Leif's mask and black Odachi had vanished the moment [Masked Threat] dropped.
Locarius, meanwhile…
He was jumping around them like an overexcited kid.
"That was AMAZING!" he shouted, practically vibrating. "Your teamwork—your powers—everything balanced so well! You two are incredible!"
From the neighboring arenas, guards who had stopped their own spars leaned over the barriers.
"Hey! What are their names?"
"What Stories do they use?"
"Those kids are Players?!"
Leif ignored every voice, still lying flat on the ground, breathing quietly and staring at the ceiling.
Gara, on the other hand, forced out a cocky grin through ragged breaths.
"Hah… hah… Considering your Crown Prince is basically as strong as a D Ranker…" he wheezed, raising one shaky hand, "we did… pretty good… didn't we?"
Locarius laughed even harder. "You two really did great! I even feel a little tired."
Gara's eye twitched.
"A LITTLE tired??" he snapped, pushing himself up on shaking elbows. "You're jumping around like you just woke up from a nap! Are you sure you're only as strong as D Rankers and not secretly a C Ranker?! You barely fought back—BARELY—and we STILL couldn't land a single hit after getting THIS tired!"
Locarius only grinned wider, his four arms stretching lazily like he'd finished a morning warm-up.
The nearby guards burst out laughing—some teasing Gara, others clapping and praising him for lasting so long against the prince.
"C'mon kid, you did great!"
"He's the Crown Prince—don't beat yourself up!"
"Honestly impressive you kept up that long!"
Gara kept ranting, pointing a shaky, accusing finger at the still-energetic Locarius, who just scratched his cheek and laughed.
Leif, still lying on his back, turned his head and stared at the prince for a long moment.
Then, quietly:
"You're not just D Rank… you're at the peak of it. I've seen D Rankers fight. You're a cut above them."
Locarius blinked—then chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with one of his upper arms.
"Ah—thanks! That means a lot actually."
Leif didn't answer.
He simply looked away, expression unreadable behind his calm demeanor.
Gara, meanwhile, shot upright like he'd been stabbed.
"LEIF!? AFTER EVERYTHING—THIS is what you say!?" He pointed dramatically at the prince. "Praising the enemy after we LOST so MISERABLY?! You TRAITOR! A dagger straight to my HEART!"
The guards exploded into laughter.
"Cold, blond kid!"
"Poor Gara's been abandoned!"
Locarius laughed loudest, clapping all four hands.
Leif simply grinned and pretended not to hear a word, which only threw gasoline on Gara's meltdown as he flailed in heartbreak on the arena floor.
...
As time passed, Locarius finally stretched his arms and said, "Alright, we should go meet my grandpa now."
The guards around them immediately reacted.
"Good spar, Prince!"
"See you two around!"
One of them waved at Gara and Leif. "We'll be watching your adventures in the Story World!"
Gara, still catching his breath but absolutely refusing to act tired, pointed at himself dramatically.
"Make sure you look up [Root of All Things], alright?! Just wait — I'm gonna be the strongest in the Story World!"
The guards burst into laughter.
"Haha! We'll be sure to do that!"
"Yeah, don't forget us when you're famous!"
Gara grinned wide, basking in all the attention, while Leif simply nodded politely and kept walking.
As the three of them ascended the stairs back aboveground, the noise of the underground arenas faded behind them.
With each step, Gara felt his excitement bleeding into something colder, heavier.
Locarius walked ahead with energetic confidence, humming softly, unaware of Gara's stare.
The red-haired young man swallowed. "...Hey, uh… we're really going to meet him now?"
Locarius glanced back with a bright smile. "Yep! Grandpa's waiting."
Gara nodded stiffly and fell quiet.
He was about to meet an X Ranker.
The Emperor of an entire species.
The [Rashanz Emperor].
And no matter how many times he told himself not to think about it… he couldn't stop the fear curling in his stomach.
He couldn't even fathom the idea, honestly.
Other than the [First One Out] and the [Kid Who Never Grew Up], whom he had only briefly met as a child and didn't even know their true Ranks, the only figure remotely close in power he had spoken to was [White Space], whom he had just met yesterday.
And [White Space] was only an SS Ranker.
This was far above that level — an X Ranker, not just any, but the leader of an entire species: the [Rashanz Emperor].
Leif didn't seem shaken, but then again, he wasn't the type to show much emotion.
For all Gara knew, Leif could have been going crazy inside his thoughts just like him, but it was impossible to tell.
Unlike Gara though, Leif had grown up in a clan that included SS Rankers and even some SSS Rankers — in fact, his late father had been of that level.
So meeting someone of such immense power might not have seemed insane to him.
The same, of course, couldn't be said for Gara.
The red-haired young man felt a mix of excitement and terror, but above all, curiosity.
He had watched countless records about X Rankers on the Blue Trade Records, yet this was the first one he would meet in person.
He couldn't wait to see what it truly felt like to stand before someone of that power.
—End of Chapter.
-------
X Rankers again!!!
Gara: Didn't we just talk about this last chapter?
Leif: We did.
Gara: Hmmm, we need more characters in these ending segments, especially because a certain someone is basically a puppet.
Leif: I'm not a puppet. I've talked more than enough.
Gara: Haha, look at just how much I've said in this one compared to you?
Leif: Not my problem that you tend to you tend to talk a lot.
Gara: Fine fine, I won't replace you... For now.
Leif: So kind of you.
Gara: I know I know, but actually, I'm thinking... If it's this bad with you, how bad will it be when Marcus is introduced back into the story???
Leif: Thanks.
Leif left the chat.
Gara: Ayyy! Come back, I was just joking!!! I'm sorryyyyyy!!!!!!!