A beat of silence. Then a dozen faces scrunched into the same expression — the universal, epic facepalm.
Everyone:
Flux. 🤦♂️🤦♂️ • Alicia. 🤦♀️🤦♀️ • 1. 🤦♂️🤦♂️ • Zygord. 🤦♂️🤦♂️ • Mike. 🤦♂️🤦♂️ • HIDORI. 🤦♂️🤦♂️
Ixia: 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The sound of palms slapping foreheads was almost musical. Even the pillars of the hall seemed to register the absurdity.
White held the manhwa under his arm and raised a hand, trying to look innocent. "H-hey — it's not what you think."
Zygord folded his arms, smirk sharpened into a barb. "Then what is it, Mr. Otaku Lord? Explain yourself."
White blinked, a faint flush on his cheeks. "We—uh—heard about Flux's daily life. I was… curious about this 'Tower of God' thing. I got a little excited." He tried to laugh it off, and it sounded like metal scraping glass.
Zygord scoffed. "You expect us to believe that?"
Legend 1 — ever the theatrical one — grinned and pointed a teasing finger. "So our White Pooki reads manhwa too, huh? Top tier otaku energy." The room burst into a mix of derision and laughter.
Ixia covered her mouth, muffling a giggle. She cleared her throat. "Hehe. Ahem. Okay, okay — not to derail things. We need to prepare."
---
— Flashback —
The scene shifted back a little. Alicia's voice was calm, gentle.
"Alicia: Are you finished, Flux?"
Flux wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yeah. Thanks for the meal."
Alicia's smile was soft but business-like. "No worries. But I need you to come with me for a bit."
Flux blinked. "Huh? Where?"
Alicia simply waved a hand. "Let's go."
---
Flux, Alicia, and Ixia arrived at the hollowed entrance where White, HIDORI, Mike, Zygord and Legend 1 were already gathered.
White rose from his seat when they approached. "So you arrived, finally."
Zygord's grin was predatory as ever. "So — this is the kid, right?"
Legend 1 gave a curt nod. "Yeah."
Zygord stepped forward with an exaggerated bow. "Hey, kiddo. I'll be frank — I'm Zygord."
Legend 1 smirked. "Nice to meet you. I'm Vantres."
White and HIDORI both waved a hand. "No need. He knows who we are." White's tone was cool; the introductions were just formality.
White checked his watchless wrist and sighed. "Right — I will need to go somewhere now."
Everyone chimed, curious. "Where?"
White's voice lowered. "Personal work."
They watched him go — the Lord of Purity with his secret little hobbies — and the air hummed with quiet tension.
---
— Present Again —
Back in the chamber, Zygord's impatience snapped him forward. "So, Otaku — what's the plan?"
White's expression darkened. "Please don't call me that. Say it again and I'll rip you apart before that… thing shows up."
Zygord blinked at the threat, voice careless: "Blah blah. Just tell us what to do."
White's tone turned businesslike. "First, Ixia."
Ixia straightened. "Yes, Lord?"
White: "Where is Fruxiya?"
Ixia's answer came with a relieved smile. "She's almost out — at the cultivator of the tower. The final stage."
White nodded. "Good. Teleport the tower here so she can introduce herself."
Ixia's face flitted with concentration. "I need a moment — the tower is far. I'll prepare the teleport."
She bowed and left with a whisper of robes.
White then addressed the gathered fighters. "First things first: we are not fighting him. Understand?"
Mike's brow knit. "But why? We need to help!"
White looked at him, tone gentle but unyielding. "Personal issues."
Mike insisted, "What personal issues?"
White's stare became sharp — a reminder of order. "Have you forgotten your place?"
Mike fluttered, flustered. "B-but we—!"
White softened a fraction. "Do not worry. We will not be the primary force. HIDORI, Ixia, and Fruxiya will take the lead."
The fighters exchanged looks: resolve mixed with curiosity, nerves braided with a brittle excitement.
---
— Ixia's Side —
Ixia took a deep breath and chanted quietly:
"Viom matir vale sectora shim Ken no shikara."
A blinding flash burst around her — bright enough to make eyes water — and when the light faded, a figure stood where the air had been rent.
Fruxiya walked forward, cloaked in scars and blood, but with a presence so vast it sucked air from the lungs. Ixia reached for her hand with a nod. "You arrived. Good work."
Fruxiya's voice was small, but steady: "I… I'm here."
Ixia squeezed her shoulder. "Lord White calls. Come; let's go."
Fruxiya inclined her head once, acceptance burning on her face like a vow.
---
— The Entrance Hole —
They arrived at the entrance hole — the place where worlds seemed to breathe. Ixia bowed slightly. "May I come in, Lord?"
White looked up; a rare smile grazed his face. "You came sooner than expected."
Ixia stepped forward and announced, "Here she is."
Fruxiya's steps were heavy with meaning. She peered into the hall with the war-wearied gold of someone who carried entire stories behind the eyes.
Fruxiya's voice, when it came, was tentative: "M-m-master…"
White's answer was proud and quiet: "Finally. You arrived. Well done."
Fruxiya's gaze swept over the gathered faces — then stopped on one small, stunned figure: Flux.
Time seemed to hiccup.
Their eyes met.
Flux's breath hitched. The word tumbled out like a sacred note: "Ruby eyes…"
Fruxiya's voice mirrored him, almost breathless: "White eyes…"
They both stared — noticing the sword-shaped mark that nowhere else bore relief. Both felt the same dizzying recognition: silvanus-white hair. Something ancestral hummed beneath their skins.
Ixia stepped between them, gentle but firm: "Flux — she's your sister. Remember."
At the same instant, White's voice cut in softly, a memory like an echo: "Fruxiya — he is your big brother. Remember."
It was a breath — two memories colliding — and for one stunned moment the room was a perfect, fragile harmony. Fruxiya and Flux moved without hesitation. They wrapped around each other in a tight embrace.
Flux cried, the adult confusion melting into a child's relief. "Are you really my sister?" he sobbed.
Fruxiya's tears fell freely now, her steel-tough composure cracking into a smile that was equal parts sorrow and joy. "Yes. Big brother."
For a single shining heartbeat, the battlefield and all its looming horrors drifted far away. Family, at last, had found itself.
---
— One Hikari Battleship —
Far beyond, Hikari looked at the sky and checked the hour with impatient fingers. "What time is it?"
A servant answered without looking up. "It's Eranthis now — just an hour left."
Hikari smirked, eyes gleaming. Now the time has come.
---
The halls were still echoing with Flux's quiet sobs when the next storm began to gather — fate tightening like a drawn bowstring.