The profound silence that suddenly descended upon the vast, echoing colosseum was more deafening than any cheer.
Every person—from the highest noble seated in the VIP boxes to the commoners packed into the standing tiers—stood frozen, their collective breath stolen by Beatrice's revelation about Emperor Dominatrix.
Her declaration was simple, yet world-shattering.
The young, seemingly unremarkable Jai had awakened a power thought to have been lost to history—a power once possessed by Emperor Dominatrix herself.
The weight of the revelation seemed almost physical.
Cold sweat formed on countless foreheads, and a collective shiver passed through the enormous crowd.
For the first time in their lives, they were witnessing the dawn of a new era embodied in a single stunned boy.
Then the shock shattered into pure, chaotic joy.
The audience erupted—not with organized cheers, but with a tidal wave of awe and exhilaration.
Amid the glorious chaos, Jai's parents reacted with a far more personal intensity.
Mable, his mother, was immediately overwhelmed.
Her face, usually marked by subtle worry, was now covered in tears—not tears of sorrow, but of uncontrollable happiness and relief.
Her son was safe.
Her son had Awakened.
And he was powerful.
Edward, Jai's father, could not wipe the fierce pride from his face. His naturally arrogant demeanor now seemed almost justified by his son's extraordinary inheritance.
But to Jai, the outside world had already disappeared.
Within the strange, ethereal depths of his consciousness, the overwhelming presence of Emperor Dominatrix still stood before him.
Here, she did not feel like some distant legendary ruler.
She felt like a solemn mentor.
"Son, just because you possess my power does not mean you will be able to defeat the people you face in the future," her voice resonated, not through his ears but in the deepest part of his mind.
"The people you will face are nothing like those around you now.
"So once again...
"Be careful."
As she delivered her final warning, an incredibly pure golden-yellow light radiated from her body.
It was so brilliant and overwhelming that it seemed to confirm every ancient legend surrounding her existence.
For that brief moment, she appeared less like a human and more like a divine being.
Then, with a sudden flash, the light receded.
Emperor Dominatrix vanished.
Jai was left alone in a swirling void.
Immediately, a horrifying vision seized his mind.
A chill raced down his spine.
The world around him changed.
Jai found himself staring across a bleak and desolate landscape beneath a sky dyed a sinister blood-red.
In the distance stood a figure dressed in a black robe.
Surrounding him was a desperate crowd of wounded and terrified people.
They clawed through the dirt and reached desperately toward the dark figure.
"Please save me!"
"Please!"
"Help us!"
Their cries filled the crimson world.
The black-robed man remained silent.
Golden hair fell across his head like strands of silk.
Slowly, he drew a blue sword.
The blade hummed with a cold, unnatural light.
Then...
he began killing them.
Without hesitation.
The blue blade flashed again and again.
Screams were abruptly cut short, replaced by the horrifying sounds of flesh and bone giving way beneath the sword.
Jai could do nothing.
He could only watch.
Paralyzed.
One body after another collapsed.
Blood coated the ground.
Soon, the golden-haired man's face and robes were covered in the blood of those he had slaughtered.
He slowly raised his head.
Above him, the blood-red sky seemed to darken, almost as though the heavens themselves were reflecting the carnage below.
When the massacre finally ended, something moved near Jai.
A single broken survivor dragged himself through the blood-soaked ground.
The person's body was mangled beyond recognition.
One eye was missing.
Both legs had been severed.
Yet somehow, the wounded man continued crawling.
He finally reached Jai and placed a trembling, blood-covered hand against his leg.
"Sir..."
His voice barely escaped his throat.
"Please help me."
Jai recoiled in horror.
His mind desperately tried to process what he was witnessing.
Then a strange realization struck him.
How can I understand this language?
The people in this vision were speaking in a tongue he had never heard before.
Yet he understood every word.
Before he could think further, the golden-haired man turned toward him.
His blood-covered face locked onto Jai.
"Are you going to save him..."
The man's voice was cold and emotionless.
"...or are you going to abandon him?"
Then he turned fully toward Jai.
Light from the blue sword illuminated his face.
Jai's heart stopped.
His eyes widened.
The man's face...
was his own.
The vision shattered.
Jai was suddenly thrown back into the warmth of reality.
The colosseum.
Voices.
Light.
People.
He felt something soft beneath his cheek.
Blue fabric.
His head was resting on his mother's lap.
The familiar scent of Mable's dress surrounded him, filling him with an instinctive sense of safety.
Without thinking, Jai buried his head deeper against her.
Then he heard someone crying.
He slowly looked up.
Mable's face was streaked with tears.
But she wasn't the only one.
His father, Edward, was crying as well.
Seeing tears on his father's face was so unusual that Jai stared at him in confusion.
"What happened?" Jai asked weakly. "Why are all of you crying?"
Mable immediately wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"Your heart..." she whispered.
Her voice trembled.
"Your heart stopped, Jai. We thought you were dead."
She pulled him even closer.
"It is God's grace that you're still alive."
Relief overwhelmed her once again, and she began to cry.
Jai remained silent.
The horror of the vision still lingered in his mind.
But at the same time, he felt the unexpected warmth of his family's love surrounding him.
Then he said something that made his mother's heart nearly burst with happiness.
"Mom..."
Mable froze.
"Please make me my favorite food. Suna rice and glimmerhoof meat curry."
Her eyes widened.
For the first time in his life, Jai had called her Mom.
His fear of disappointing her because he might remain un-Awakened had always caused him to keep an emotional distance.
But that fear was gone now.
Mable burst into another wave of happy tears.
"Yes!"
She hugged him again.
"Yes, I'll make it for my precious boy right now!"
Those surrounding the family sighed in relief.
The Emperor's chosen heir was alive.
Soon afterward, Jai, his parents, and the others left the grand colosseum and returned to their homes.
Later, Jai finally found a quiet moment to think.
Today was an important day for Mom too, he realized.
For years, the fear of failing to Awaken had haunted him.
He had believed that if he remained powerless, he would become a disappointment.
That fear had kept him from showing affection openly.
It had even prevented him from calling his own mother "Mom."
But now...
that fear was gone.
Later that evening, Mable brought him the meal he had requested.
Jai carried the food to a table near the garden and sat down.
As he began eating, he immediately noticed something strange.
The familiar sense of calm he usually associated with the garden was missing.
He glanced toward the flowers.
Maybe someone else replaced the flowers, he thought.
Something about the subtle change bothered him.
Then the horrifying vision returned to his mind.
Jai stopped with the spoon halfway to his mouth.
Why was I like that?
The blood.
The bodies.
The blue sword.
His own face.
Was that really me in the future?
His fingers tightened around the spoon.
Or was someone controlling my body and making me do those things?
He exhaled slowly.
There was no point trying to understand something he currently knew nothing about.
For now, he could only focus on himself.
I need to be careful.
I need to think before I act.
A sharp knock interrupted his thoughts.
Jai turned.
A maid dressed in crisp white clothing stood near the doorway.
"Madam Beatrice instructed me to give you this," she said, holding out a strange piece of parchment.
"It has a yellow tint. Almost like golden paper."
Jai accepted it, his curiosity immediately growing.
The maid bowed and quietly left.
He examined the strange object.
Faint words were written across the front.
Pour your blood.
Jai raised an eyebrow.
Then, following the instruction, he took the spoon he had been using and carefully nicked the tip of his finger.
A bead of golden blood emerged.
He allowed it to fall onto the paper.
The reaction was immediate.
Golden light exploded from the parchment.
Jai squeezed his eyes shut as the brilliant glow filled the room.
A few moments later, the light faded.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The parchment had unfolded itself.
Words now covered its surface.
Jai began reading.
After only the first few lines, he understood what he was holding.
It was a secret guide.
A complete advancement method for the power once possessed by Emperor Dominatrix.
And it described progression from...
Tier 10 to Tier 0.
Jai's heart jumped.
His breath caught in his throat.
"Tier 0?"
He stared at the words.
"What? A tier like this actually exists?"
Everything he had learned told him that Tier 1 represented the peak.
The highest known stage.
He had never once heard of Tier 0.
Jai forced himself to calm down and continued reading.
At the top of the parchment was the name of his newly awakened power.
Aureon, the Golden Scourge.
The word Aureon originated from aureus, the ancient word for gold, giving the name a regal and luminous meaning.
The title Golden Scourge represented the destructive and unavoidable nature of the power—a scourge capable of bringing widespread devastation.
Jai stared at the name for several seconds.
Now I understand why Emperor Dominatrix was so powerful.
He continued reading.
The advancement requirements for the first stage appeared next.
Advancement Requirement — Tier 10 to Tier 9
Summon the sword and fully master its current abilities.
Through continuous training, expand your slightly golden core until it becomes a fully developed golden core.
Jai quickly understood the principle.
His core currently possessed only a faint golden color.
Through training and mastery, the core would absorb more golden energy, deepen in color, and expand.
Once its capacity reached its limit, he would be ready to advance.
Then he read the description of his current level.
Tier 10: Mortal Initiate
Weapon State: Simple Hilt / Faint Golden State
Power:
The weapon passively emits a faint, warm light. When attacking a target with clear malevolent intent, the light flickers and grants the user a small, momentary increase in speed or accuracy.
Technique: Aura Chamber
The user can temporarily trap another person's consciousness within a yellow chamber for approximately one second.
Caution:
Activating Aura Chamber consumes the user's entire available core energy, resulting in immediate collapse from complete energy depletion.
Jai's expression became serious.
So I can't use Aura Chamber carelessly.
It was powerful.
But the cost was enormous.
This has to be my final trump card.
He continued reading.
The next section explained the structure of his energy system.
The body contains two cores.
The Main Core represents the energy currently available for activating powers and techniques.
The Advancing Core represents the accumulated energy required to progress toward the next tier.
Jai immediately connected the explanation to what he had experienced during training.
The golden light he had seen gathering around his body had not been meaningless.
His Advancing Core had been absorbing that energy.
The more golden light it accumulated, the closer he would move toward advancement.
At the bottom of the parchment was one final warning.
Only after successfully advancing will the attributes, techniques, and advancement requirements of the next tier become visible.
Jai slowly lowered the parchment.
His path had become clear.
He needed to train.
He needed to master his current abilities.
And he needed to completely fill his Advancing Core with golden energy.
His gaze hardened.
I have to learn everything I can about Aureon.
The Golden Scourge had awakened.
And now the world would eventually discover which direction its blade would swing.
Earth — 10:00 PM
While Jai marveled at a golden parchment in a kingdom of stone and magic, the True Heir was finishing a business deal powerful enough to shift the economy of an entire continent.
A sleek obsidian-black limousine rolled through the gates of a private estate overlooking the city.
The vehicle stopped.
Rayn stepped out.
His black hair shifted slightly in the night breeze, while his red eyes reflected the neon glow of the skyscrapers towering in the distance.
Many of those buildings belonged to him.
At only twenty years old, Rayn was already a multibillionaire.
A near-ghost in the financial world.
A man whose name alone could make CEOs reconsider decisions worth billions.
Rayn entered the mansion.
But instead of heading toward an office or some extravagant private chamber...
he walked straight into the kitchen.
"You're late for dinner again."
Rayn stopped.
The teasing voice belonged to his younger brother, Ken.
Ken sat at a high-tech kitchen island, casually playing on a tablet that had not even been released to the public yet.
Nearby stood their mother, elegantly dressed as she supervised a team of world-class chefs.
Despite the billions sitting in their accounts, she still insisted on seasoning the chicken herself.
"The board meeting in Tokyo ran longer than expected, Mom," Rayn said.
His voice was usually smooth and commanding, but it softened as he approached her and kissed her cheek.
"I've told you before. You don't have to stay awake waiting for me."
His mother smiled without even looking impressed.
"And I've told you before—I don't care how many companies you buy."
She pointed toward the dining table.
"You still need to eat a proper home-cooked meal."
Rayn gave a faint smile.
He sat down beside Ken and immediately pulled his younger brother into a playful headlock.
"Hey!" Ken protested.
For the rest of the world, Rayn was cold.
Untouchable.
A billionaire capable of moving markets with a single message.
But here...
inside his home...
he was simply a son.
A brother.
Family.
After a while, Rayn's gaze drifted toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The city stretched beneath him.
Lights.
Buildings.
Cars.
Businesses.
Power.
He possessed nearly everything an ordinary human could desire.
Money.
Influence.
Luxury.
And most importantly...
a family he genuinely loved.
Yet as Rayn watched a distant star flicker against the night sky, a strange emptiness echoed inside his chest.
Something was missing.
He couldn't explain it.
Rayn slowly tightened his grip on the edge of the table.
Sometimes, Earth felt too small.
His wealth...
his cars...
his skyscrapers...
his companies...
They increasingly felt like toys.
Distractions.
As though some distant destiny were screaming his name from beyond the void.
"Rayn?"
Ken's voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"Are you okay?"
Rayn looked down.
Only then did he realize how tightly his fingers were gripping the table.
He released it.
"I'm fine, Ken."
His red eyes returned to the food in front of him.
"Just a bit of a headache."
Ken stared at him for another moment before shrugging.
Rayn didn't know that somewhere beyond Earth, in another world, a boy named Jai had just discovered the existence of Tier 0.
He didn't know that the billions he had accumulated would mean absolutely nothing in the place destiny was preparing to send him.
On Earth...
Rayn was a king of wealth.
But in Aetheleon...
the God-Slayer was still waiting to be born.