In a deep crevice of the shattered Void Battlefield, a man laid beaten and broken. He continuously coughed up blood, but he found it very difficult even to move a single inch, let alone escape from this place.
He had fallen into a fold of reality, albeit on purpose. He knew that his only chance at surviving was to do this.From .
The regions between Domains were quite volatile, and with the destruction of the Void Battlefield, the only real stabilizing force, it became even worse.
These so-called folds of reality weren't just pockets of space, or else there was exactly zero chance that Leonel would have missed a chance to kill this man. That was because this man was none other than the Emperor of the Spirituals Race, Ridryn.
It had to be remembered that folds of reality were the substance used to protect lower level worlds, and they were also what were used to keep Third Dimensional and yet to mature worlds away from the devastation of the wider Dimensional Verse.
In doing so, the Dimensional Verse was able to keep things organized and separated, and the Regulator was able to maintain its control.
This wasn't a normal fold of reality, it was one found in the Void Battlefield. It was stronger than most and it was highly layered. Ridryn had allowed himself to fall through three, nestled within one another. Maybe if Leonel had been specifically looking for him, he would have found him. But Leonel's opinion of his father was far too high, in his mind, Ridryn could only be dead.
Of course, Leonel had been thinking too much. Velasco had been heavily injured and he had also only attacked with a single palm strike. In addition, Ridryn was most proficient in defense as he was a Metal Type Spiritual. If Velasco had used his spear, there would have only been one result, but he had to use it on the puppet of the Silver Emperor at the time.
Ridryn shook his head. He knew he stood no chance to get out on his own, and this kind of injury wasn't something that he could deal with easily.
Usually, he would just cast this body away and rebuild a new one. Of course, such a thing would take a ridiculous amount of resources, but he was an Emperor. Even if he didn't want to waste the resources, his people would never allow him to give up on himself like that.
The issue was that Velasco was truly sinister. Something about that palm strike had not only heavily injured him, it had likewise heavily injured his soul, while simultaneously binding him to this body. Right now, he was like any other human. If his body died now, he would die. He had no choice but to call for help.
Ridryn had no idea how long passed. It was impossible to tell the length of time while stuck in a fold of reality, but eventually a Spiritual did come. When he saw who it was, he couldn't help but relax. It was his pride and joy, the best of his children.
A young man stepped into the fold of reality, his body protected by a mysterious flickering chain around his neck. His expression changed when he saw the state of his father, but he didn't say much as he came forward, helping him up slowly.
If Leonel had been here, he would have recognized this young man with incredible ease. It was none other than the very same young man he had seen projected from the Bow Domain Tower.
It was only right for the young man to be shocked. He hadn't expected that his father could ever end up in such a state.
"Let's return, Rhangyl."
"Are you going to be alright, father?"
"Yes, I just need-"
Ridryn froze.
He looked down at his chest, only to find that an arm had gone through it. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He hadn't thought much about who he asked to come back, he trusted everyone in his race, his position had always been unshakeable. Although it was a bit weird that his son would come of all people, he didn't think twice about it, that was because even if he trusted everyone, how could he trust anyone more than his own flesh and blood.
But of all the outcomes, he had never expected this one.
"I don't know why you felt the need to lie to me, father," Rhangyl said lightly. "I can see through your state with a glance. Your soul has been fused to your body, you'll be a cripple for the rest of your life. You've served the Spirituals for long enough, it's time for you to rest."
"I..." Ridryn's consciousness began to quickly fade. "... didn't try to lie to you, I only wanted..."
Ridryn collapses, dead. He only wanted to tell his son that he hadn't tried to lie to him, he had just wanted to continue his front as a powerful father, unflappable and unmovable. But he didn't know that that image had already crumbled the instant Rhangyl had seen his state.
Ridryn looked down at his father's corpse. There was truly no better opportunity than this; it was as though a pie had fallen from the skies.
He looked away and at the object in his hands. With a flick of his finger, the flesh and blood vanished, leaving behind nothing but a gorgeous, golden Innate Node.
Rhangyl was the very same legendary genius that Wise Star Order had spoken about, the boy born with not just one, but nine Innate Nodes.
What others didn't know was that Rhangyl wasn't satisfied with this, that was because he was just a single Innate Node away from accomplishing something that would flip this world on its head. Not only did he need a tenth, but he needed this very Innate Node in his hand.
If he could have taken it from someone else, he would have... the trouble was that even though Innate Nodes were less rare amongst Spirituals, that was only for the base and lower elements. This variant Earth Type Innate Node was special and had only appeared once in their history.
And now, it was his.
"Don't worry father. The fact that you ended up in this state could only mean that your potential wasn't enough to stand atop of this world. If you can't even conquer this world, then how insignificant would you be in the next?
"Your son will carry on this burden for you."