The air shifted first.
Not violently. Not dramatically.
Just enough that people stopped mid step without knowing why.
Dark emerged at the edge of the central hall, boots touching polished stone without a sound. No portal flare. No rupture. One moment the space was empty, the next it wasn't.
He stood there quietly.
His presence did not press outward.
It settled inward.
Leona was the first to turn.
She froze for half a second, eyes widening before she smiled without thinking. Relief came first, automatic, instinctive.
Leona: Dark—
She stopped herself from running.
Not because she didn't want to.
Because something about him told her not to rush.
Dark looked at her.
Really looked.
His expression softened just a little.
Dark: Hey.
The single word carried more weight than it should have.
Tier pushed his glasses up slowly, eyes narrowing as he scanned Dark from head to toe. Not wounds. Not posture. Not clothes.
Energy.
Tier: ...You're back early.
Dark: Six days.
Tier frowned.
Tier: That's not early. That's impossible.
Cron chuckled, arms crossed, but his eyes stayed sharp.
Cron: Hah. Figures. You vanish into hell and come back like it was a short walk.
Gilmuar stepped closer, brow furrowing.
Gilmuar: You look fine.
Dark: I am.
Gilmuar didn't look convinced.
Leona finally closed the distance, stopping just in front of him. She searched his face, then his shoulders, then his eyes.
Leona: You're hurt.
Dark: I was.
She reached out before thinking and rested a hand lightly against his chest.
She paused.
Her smile faltered.
Leona: ...You feel different.
Dark didn't answer immediately.
Tier noticed the pause.
Tier: Different how.
Leona swallowed.
Leona: He feels quieter.
Cron's smile faded a notch.
Cron: Quieter?
Leona nodded slowly.
Leona: Not weaker. Not calmer.
She met Dark's eyes again.
Leona: He feels... heavier. Like everything is packed tighter.
Tier exhaled through his nose.
Tier: Your energy efficiency is insane.
Dark blinked.
Dark: You can tell that already.
Tier: I don't need instruments for that. Your presence isn't leaking at all. It's... contained.
Gilmuar's jaw tightened.
Gilmuar: That's not normal growth.
Dark shrugged slightly.
Dark: I trained.
Cron laughed once.
Cron: Yeah. That's what they all say right before something terrible follows.
Leona frowned at Cron.
Leona: Not funny.
Cron raised both hands.
Cron: I'm not joking.
He looked back at Dark.
Cron: You don't come back like this without paying for it.
Dark didn't deny it.
Silence settled.
Not awkward.
Concerned.
Leona stepped closer and hugged him.
Carefully.
Not squeezing.
Just enough to feel that he was real.
Dark stiffened for half a second.
Then relaxed.
He rested his chin lightly against the top of her head.
Dark: I missed this.
Her grip tightened just a little.
Leona: Don't disappear like that again.
Dark: I can't promise that.
She pulled back and looked up at him.
Leona: At least come back alive.
Dark met her gaze.
Dark: I will.
Tier watched the exchange quietly, fingers tapping against his tablet without realizing it.
Tier: Whatever you did... it worked.
Dark glanced at him.
Dark: Depends how you define "worked."
Gilmuar crossed his arms.
Gilmuar: You're stronger.
Dark: Yes.
Gilmuar: And?
Dark paused.
Just briefly.
Dark: And I know what it costs now.
That answer shut everyone up.
Cron nodded slowly.
Cron: That's the kind of answer I don't like hearing.
Dark looked around at all of them.
Leona. Tier. Gilmuar. Cron.
The people who anchored him to something real.
Dark: I'm home.
Leona smiled again, softer this time.
Leona: Yeah.
Tier adjusted his glasses.
Tier: Welcome back, Emperor.
Dark grimaced.
Dark: Don't start.
Cron smirked.
Cron: Too late. You brought the aura with you.
A faint smile tugged at Dark's lips.
For just a moment, the weight lifted.
Just a little.
The doors at the far end of the hall swung open without ceremony.
Not blasted open. Not announced.
Just... opened.
Dantero walked in first, hands in his pockets, boots loud against the floor like he owned the place. He looked exactly the same as always. Relaxed posture. Crooked grin. Zero respect for tension.
Dantero: Yo.
Nobody answered.
Dantero glanced around, eyes landing on Dark.
He froze.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Then the grin widened instead of fading.
Dantero: ...Damn. Look who crawled back from whatever nightmare dimension he calls "training."
Dark turned his head slightly.
Dark: You're loud.
Dantero laughed.
Dantero: And you're still alive. That's a win for both of us.
He stepped closer, stopping a few paces away. His smile stayed easy, but his eyes were sharper now. Measuring. Not power levels. Not aura.
Vibe.
Dantero: You feel different.
Dark: Everyone keeps saying that.
Dantero tilted his head.
Dantero: Yeah but they're saying it like scholars. I'm saying it like—
He snapped his fingers.
Dantero: —you walked back in smelling like something broke inside you and decided to behave.
Dark huffed once.
Leona glanced at Dantero.
Leona: That's... not reassuring.
Dantero shrugged.
Dantero: I'm great at reassurance. Just not honesty.
Behind him, Rykaou stopped at the threshold.
He didn't step in.
Didn't breathe.
Didn't blink.
His pupils were dilated. His shoulders were rigid. One hand hovered near his side like his body was deciding whether to run or kneel.
Cron noticed immediately.
Cron: ...You alright there?
Rykaou swallowed.
Slow.
Painfully.
Rykaou: He—
His voice came out hoarse.
Rykaou: He smells wrong.
The room went quiet again.
Dantero glanced back.
Dantero: Bro what.
Rykaou didn't take his eyes off Dark.
Rykaou: Not blood. Not magic. Not fire.
He took one cautious step back.
Rykaou: Pressure. Old pressure. Like something that learned how to stop leaking.
Dark turned fully toward him.
Rykaou flinched.
Actually flinched.
Rykaou: That scent wasn't there before.
Dark blinked.
Dark: Scent.
Rykaou nodded, jaw tight.
Rykaou: It's the kind predators have when they don't need to prove anything anymore.
Dantero let out a low whistle.
Dantero: ...Okay yeah that's worse when you say it like that.
Dark stared at Rykaou for a moment.
Then he exhaled.
Slow.
Deliberate.
The pressure in the room softened just enough that people could breathe easier.
Rykaou's shoulders dropped instantly.
Rykaou: ...Thank you.
Dark: I'm not hunting you.
Rykaou nodded quickly.
Rykaou: I know.
Beat.
Rykaou: That's why it's scary.
Dantero laughed again, louder this time, stepping between them and clapping a hand on Rykaou's shoulder.
Dantero: Relax. If Dark wanted you dead, you wouldn't have time to be poetic about it.
Rykaou didn't laugh.
Rykaou: That doesn't help.
Dantero turned back to Dark, grin back in full force.
Dantero: So. You gonna tell us what kind of hell gym you went to, or are we just gonna pretend you didn't come back feeling like a sealed disaster?
Dark looked around the room.
At Leona's worry.
Tier's quiet calculations.
Cron's guarded stance.
Rykaou's instinctive fear.
Dantero's forced humor.
Dark: Another day.
Dantero smirked.
Dantero: Knew it.
Cron nodded slowly.
Cron: Figures.
Leona stepped closer to Dark again.
Leona: Just... don't carry it alone, okay.
Dark hesitated.
Then nodded once.
Dark: I won't.
The air settled.
Not relaxed.
But stable.
Somewhere far beyond the walls of the empire, something shifted.
And Rykaou, still standing near the door, felt it.
He whispered under his breath.
Rykaou: ...He came back heavier.
Dantero glanced sideways.
Dantero: You saying that like it's a bad thing.
Rykaou didn't look away from Dark.
Rykaou: It depends on who the weight is meant for.
To be continued.
End of chapter 5.