"Whoah! Why'd they stop fighting all of a sudden?"

Danos disregarded the conversation among the Aizenian peasants surrounding him, focusing instead on adjusting his thick scarf to ensure it still obscured most of his face. Despite being born into a proud Argonian lineage, his appearance easily allowed him to pass for someone from the magitechnocratic republic. This was a result of former Arkhanian high-borns defecting to the empire in the past and intermingling with imperial nobility, blending their features over time.

Even with his inherent advantage, exercising additional caution wouldn't hurt.

In fact, he would have liked to wear a cloak or a hood to hide his rugged features and his light brown hair, but he knew that doing so would only attract more attention. Only idiots wore heavy cloaks and masks when they wanted to lay low in enemy lines.

The most important skill in espionage was blending into one's surroundings. As such, he tried to wear what everyone else was wearing and do what everyone else was doing. He would become just one of many trees in this forest called the Aizen Kingdom.

'What amazing technology... Even Arkhan doesn't have something like this...'

He resisted the urge to grimace as he looked up, just like the hundreds of other ignoble commoners in the wide-open area the Aizenians called a "park". Right there in the sky was the scene of a young man having a stand-off with a menacing knight in full plate. The young man in question was apparently the second prince of Aizen, and this was some kind of exhibition match.

Danos cared little for it, but he inwardly noted how the young man's eyes had turned completely black. It was the same case for his opponent, it seemed.

'Dark attribute witchcraft. And I believe he used lightning earlier too... and ice. But mostly dark. How fitting for the prince of such an evil place.'

Somehow, the angle by which the "exhibition match" could be viewed didn't change even though Danos had roamed the park — which meant that the angle didn't matter. You would see the same image from literally anywhere. No matter how strange that seemed, Danos couldn't deny reality when it was shoving itself into his face like it was doing right now.

There was also something strange about how sound was conveyed; Danos could hear the battle as if his ears were magically transported to the stadium. What's even more strange was how he could only "hear" the sounds when he was looking at the scene projected in the sky. The moment he let his gaze wander somewhere else, his ears were brought back from wherever they flew to.

'And from what I understand... The events I am seeing are happening at this very moment.'

Danos clenched his teeth. The implications of this technology being freely used for public entertainment were horrifying to think about. This technology could be used as a means of propaganda against the empire when — not if — the kingdom took over imperial lands. And he didn't even want to mention the insurmountably massive chasm between the three nations in the continent when it came to long-distance communication.

Argonia was already screwed from a logistical standpoint with Aizen's wide use of trains and Sky Arcs. Then there was the disadvantage of having to defend a much wider span of land when Aizen only had a tiny peninsula to their name.

'I already knew this since they even had the leeway to let those trinkets they call holostones trickle into the republic, but...'

He hadn't expected them to have developed to this extent.

'And there are other applications too... I can't even imagine how devastating it would be if they used this sound transmission function on an enemy army...'

Ignorant as he may be, even Danos knew that people could be incapacitated by sound alone — as long as it was loud enough. Right now, the function seemed to have the condition of looking at the projected image in the sky to transmit sound but that couldn't possibly be the extent of its capabilities.

After all, what Danos was seeing was what Aizen allowed others to see. He knew not what lay beneath the surface.

'Monsters. All of them.'

Danos bit his lower lip and turned around. There was no need to watch the fight any longer. The worthless peasants around him were stupidly becoming excitable by what was most likely a staged fight designed to boost the royal family's prestige, but Danos was having none of it. He started walking back to his inn, wondering how the empire could respond to this news.

'Destroying it seems pointless, at least.'

Not only would they sacrifice men capable enough to penetrate Aizen's security to destroy — or even steal — the technology, it was useless since the empire didn't know how to make them. Some of the holostones that Aizen sprinkled outside of the kingdom had reached imperial hands already, and even after years of carefully examining them, none could pry out the secrets of its construction.

They simply didn't have the base material for whatever the holostones were made of.

The endeavor would also exhaust what little spies they had within the kingdom just finding out where the technology was. After all, though much smaller than the empire, the kingdom was large in its own right. Not only that, but most of its land was already occupied and the borders between cities were mostly unclear. It was to the extent that Aizen had now begun to expand downward, creating underground cities — which also just so happened to be where Danos' accommodations were.

Danos eventually made it to a relatively large building that the kingdom dwellers referred to as a "train station". In them were strange vehicles that ran on concepts too difficult for him to understand despite his noble upbringing.

Being the station in the heart of Aizen, it was understandably huge, with countless train tracks leading to who knew where. And there were even tunnels underground — though not deep enough to reach the undercities — that led to other places. The interior was rather simplistic, with the painted white walls that the kingdom seemed to like so much. There were also ticket booths and all sorts of other things set up on the side.

As for the trains themselves, each was very long. They seemed to be composed of numerous smaller vehicles attached to one another, forming a large metal serpent that extended far into the distance.

Through one of these vehicles, Danos could travel great distances in a manner of hours — and in some cases, minutes. Arkhan had trains too, so Danos knew about them as well, but travel was only possible between very large cities. Aizen also ran the entire enterprise to protect the technology, so Arkhan couldn't even build more of them if Aizen didn't approve.

Also, unlike in Aizen — where most places were accessible — Aizen's trains were faster, larger, and more comfortable to ride as well.

Again, Danos resisted the urge to click his tongue. He didn't want to give his watchers any more reason to apprehend him.

'They're not being very subtle about it either.'

From the corner of his vision, he could still see one of those "peacekeepers" crossing their arms while blatantly staring at him. Danos was also quite sure that there were three more following him since it was highly unlikely that they had just happened to have eaten at the same restaurant as him, rested at the same park as him, and were now going to the same train station as him.

Their uniforms made them hard to miss and Danos was an imperial spy, so he was obviously paying special attention to local law enforcement.

'They've confirmed nothing, though. That, I can tell.'

Otherwise, they would have already taken him in for questioning. That was how these barbarians did things. The peacekeepers didn't give anyone but the royal family and the knighthood a single ounce of face, taking anyone suspicious in for questioning. It was absolute tyranny.

Danos liked to think that the fact he could still walk around freely meant that he was still in the clear. Now, all he had to do was not give anything away by acting suspiciously — which wasn't too hard to do for someone of his caliber.

'And if I get found out anyway...'

Well, it would be a good day to die for the motherland. And while he was at it, he would take a few hundred of the peasants that the kingdom liked so much with him to the afterlife.

Danos bought a ticket to the next train that would take him to the city of Northgard. He would have to pass through another city called "Asuna" though, which — according to a very eager inn-keeper — was named after the first king of Aizen's "wives". The integrity of this information was highly suspect though, since Danos knew that the first king only had one wife and she was definitely not named Asuna, nor were they named Akeno, Albedo, or Shinobu, which were other cities named after the first king's supposed wives.

'What horrible luck... I have to sit with all these peasants.'

Though irked to no end, Danos had no choice. His current profile was a middle-class tourist from Arkhan. Which meant he couldn't afford most luxuries in Aizen what with the atrocious conversion rates between the two currencies. As such, he couldn't afford to purchase his own compartment, sitting with numerous other passengers in one train car. He had to admit, though, that the sitting arrangements were quite soft and the train barely shook despite its speed.

This already made them endlessly better than imperial horse-drawn carriages in his opinion.

Danos whiled away the next two hours by mentally arranging the information he'd obtained on this trip so he could more easily report it to his father afterward. After multiple stops in Asuna City along the way, a uniformed man who was apparently the train conductor finally announced that they'd arrived at the Northgard Platform number 004, which was Danos' stop.

'They're gone.'

The peacekeepers that had followed him seemed to have disappeared completely, which was a big relief. Danos tried to suppress the sigh that threatened to escape his lips though, since he still didn't know if someone was watching. He kept his face stoic for the most part, though also colored with a hint of fatigue from "sightseeing".

After getting out of the train station, Danos quickly made his way to another structure nearby. This one wasn't large or wide, since it merely housed a lift that would take him down to Northgard's underground — which seemed to be referred to as "Undergard" by the locals living there.

The building's insides were similar to the train station, one massive room smeared white with a few paintings hung along the walls. In the middle of the massive hall was a large circular hole that appeared to lead into a deep abyss for anyone looking at it for the first time. A shimmering layer of transparent something was covering the hole at the moment, potentially stopping any imbeciles that tried to jump to their demise.

'More witchcraft. It's as if it's part of the kingdom itself.'

Disgusting.

Soon enough, a platform with a few hundred people on it gradually raised itself from the darkness of the pit, stopping just as it snugly covered the hole. No gaps were left and if it weren't for the literal yellow line painted on the marble floor, one wouldn't be able to see the platform's outline with the naked eye.

Danos had grown used to these spectacles after staying in the city for the past five days though. After the previous passengers got out of the big yellow circle on the ground, Danos impassively got on the platform and waited for it to descend along with all the other patrons who wanted to descend. After what felt like an eternity of waiting for all the commoners to get on, they finally began to sink.

As they all gradually closed the distance between the ground a kilometer or two below the actual surface, Danos couldn't help but marvel at how Aizen managed to construct a literal city under another city like this. For all the resentment and disdain he felt toward them, they did some amazing things from time to time.

Danos would not want to live amongst them though. Honestly, these peasants didn't know how unlucky they were to live in chains from the moment they were born. Even the part of him that placed commoners far beneath him took pity on these hapless fools.

'They will understand though. Everything under the heavens belongs to the empire by right. One day, they will understand that being ruled by the imperial family is better for them.'

After only a minute or two, the platform finally rested softly on Undergard's surface. Danos casually made his way to his inn as he noted a heretic of Sormon giving out "Sun Baths" for people who had stayed underground for too long — which was apparently not a good thing and would cause all sorts of complications to ordinary people, according to them.

He didn't have any words for these traitors since he wasn't a pious man, but he was sure many people back home would have quite a few choice words to say to anyone who followed the Heretic Faction led by the false saint. No doubt, there would be all sorts of mud-slinging about how they dared to cut off their roots and abandon god.

Danos inwardly shook his head. It was none of his business who profaned who.

After only a few minutes of walking, he finally made it to his inn. He went inside and nodded to the innkeeper — a man with brown animal ears atop his head and human ones at the side. Warbeasts, they were called. And these demi-humans were common in the underground cities due to their nature of liking dirth, it seemed.

Despite how surprised he was at first, Danos pitied the demi-humans.

'The kingdom has probably forced them into all sorts of agreements...'

Danos shook his head and stopped just before entering his room. He spent a moment to let his psionic powers trickle inside, sensing if it came in contact with anything alive. Once he was sure someone wasn't waiting inside to apprehend him, he let a sigh escape his lips and opened the door.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Only for something to fly faster than he could perceive, piercing straight into his stomach.

"Urgh!" Danos groaned as his body tensed. He looked inside the room in horror, only to discover something that looked like a humanoid doll of some sort.

It lacked the detail to look like a human, but it was definitely modeled after one. The statuesque thing seemed to be mostly composed of gray sand that was held together by something unfathomable. Despite its short stature, just looking at it filled his heart with a primal fear.

Danos looked down at his stomach to see a steel spike skewering him to the wall. He tried to move it with his control over reality, but he found that his powers weren't working.

"Cool trick, huh?" The stone doll spoke. Or rather, its controller transmitted its words directly to his mind similar to how the second prince's exhibition match was broadcasted to the kingdom's populace. Despite this, the voice's languid voice made his fatigue apparent.

And from its tone alone, Danos knew that the voice's owner was confident he had won.

'The problem is, Aizenian knights very rarely let their guards down when in favorable situations. It was almost always a trap to lower the imperial forces' guard.'

Or so his senior used to say. As long as it was on the battlefield, a good knight was a dead knight — don't stop holding back until you're literally holding their head and the rest of their body is six leagues underground.

'So it seems today is the day I die...'

The unseen knight's provocations made it clear that the knight was very prepared for this ambush. Danos quickly called out to the esper within him in a desperate effort to deal as much damage as he could before he died for the homeland. Even if he perished, he would at least show these dogs that the empire wasn't just fooling around either.

'What...'

But even after several seconds passed, his call received no answers. He stared, wide-eyed as he gave the spear lodged deeply into his stomach another look. One attempt to awaken the esper inside him was all it took for him to realize that the reason he couldn't do so was because of whatever the spear was made of.

"Neat, huh?" The doll's controller laughed lazily as the doll started to crumble into countless grains of sand. "Without help from your espers, you are nothing. You don't need to know why or how your powers are gone, though. Die in ignorance, imperial mutt. And don't worry about your body; we are in Undergard — quite a ways underground. We are already in a massive hole even, so it roughly counts as burying you as long as we cover you with some shit, right? The innkeeper is a friend. He'll find a nice little corner for you to rot in. Give the earthworms a treat for all the hard work they do. What do you think? Good idea no? At least, it's a way for you to benefit a creature more useful to the world than yourself."

"Fuck... you..."

"Are you sure you want those to be your last words?" The doll tilted its head. "Come now. You can do better than that. Try a little harder. Go on. I'll listen."

Danos couldn't even afford the energy to bite his lip in frustration as the blood pooled under him. His consciousness began to fade as the doll completely lost its shape, becoming nothing but a heap of sand with a deformed face on it.

"If there is a next life, I hope you learn to know your place in the world, imperial mutt."

Leaving those words to be heard by nobody in particular, the face on the sand vanished. Then, as if carried by a strange wind, the sand slowly drifted through the air, exiting through the window.

----------------------------------------

Reivan's knees buckled as he fell on his ass, grimacing in pain when he felt the jagged rock underneath. He had more pressing matters to attend to though, so he stood up despite how hard it was to focus on anything else but maintaining the illusory world that the yellow-plumed knight was dreaming of right now.

'I've won... All that's left is the last hit.'

Gwendolyn the knight wasn't the only one who had a trump card that would carry him to victory once activated. Reivan had naturally developed one of his own, though he honestly wasn't depending on it too hard because of its difficult activation conditions.

He named his special aetherblade art << Glimpse >>, after his special ability because of the similarities of what it did — and since he wasn't very good at naming things when he was far too focused on more important matters, he realized. If had just a tiny bit less sense, Reivan would have just named it after one of his favorite anime characters' secret techniques and shrugged.

<< Glimpse >> really was a bit too difficult to pull off though, since the presence of essence — or even just mana — in the target lowered the chances of it working to near zero. That's why one of his initial plans in winning a one-against-many battle was draining them of all their mana and then simultaneously taking them all out by letting them fall into a sleep that they would never recover from until he felt too bothered to keep them that way — or if he got beaten up in the dream world, which, when it came down to it, would be the likeliest reason for having to end the technique.

That wasn't the only thing that made it hard for him. Reivan could barely even move his real body since he had to split his consciousness between the real world and the dream world he'd constructed. Needless to say, it wasn't easy.

The fact that the knight had inhaled a healthy dose of the cursed mist he'd expelled earlier helped make the process smooth, though. Luckily, the knight chose to power through inside his domain's obvious effects, unlike Blue, who quickly flew up to escape. She would have never expected that the smoky substance that stayed in her lungs had other uses than hindering her respiratory system.

'Luck is also a part of the battle. A perk for those brave enough to seek it.'

Reivan groaned as he stood up. Even though his stamina was topped up, his left arm was still in pain from his earlier release of volatile chaos energy. And the majority of his attention was spent on making sure the miniature dream world he'd constructed didn't fall apart. Once he died or at least got taken out in the dream world, his link to it would crumble and everything would be over for him.

If he slipped up, the scary knight would wake up to beat him up in the real world, just like how she did it in the dream world — where time passed a tiny bit quicker than the real one.

He raised his arm and conjured a pistol, pointing it directly at the knight's forehead. Reivan spent a second making sure he wouldn't miss like an idiot before firing. The bullet shot through the air and struck the knight's helmet right in the middle of where their brows were supposed to be.

The bullet had just bounced off though and Gwen's head jerked back a little. But that was all.

Reivan went bug-eyed as the realization dawned on him — he didn't have any magic power left. Using << Glimpse >> didn't consume a whole lot of essence, thankfully. The work needed to maintain it was a chore, but it was the most fuel-efficient trump card he'd created throughout the twenty years he'd spent in loneliness. But even then, he'd used all his magic power by now. He was completely, utterly... dry.

And worse, he didn't even have anyone to take mana from.

The realization that he hadn't truly won yet horrified Reivan and he rushed forward slowly, lest he fall flat on his face. Gwen was truly bringing down the pain on him in the dream world and he was feeling it in a compressed format, all while trying to concentrate on two different worlds that ran at two different times. None of the drugs he ever took induced anything close to what he was going through at this very moment.

He quickly morphed his gun into a sword as he stumbled into the knight, who had fallen asleep standing. Reivan raised his sword and brought it down on her head as hard as he could. But his qi-infused blade barely did anything, only eliciting a dull clang as it comically bounced off the knight's helmet.

'Fuck. God damned earth attribute...'

Figuring that he'd actually have to borrow physics this time, Reivan pushed the knight and watched as she toppled over like a statue, her back slamming into the ground. He then walked over to her, placing her torso between his feet, and brought his sword up once again.

Then he began repeatedly stabbing down with all his power and weight. His blade pierced through the "soul armor" easily enough, but was always stopped by the knight's flesh. The damage resistance that soul armor provided couldn't be whittled down like regular armor of any kind, and her [Soul Armament] inheriting her earth attribute improved her armor even more, but the flesh inside was a different matter.

As long as her damage resistance didn't nullify his attacks completely, he would get through and draw blood with enough hits. It being the head made things easier for him.

Eventually, he felt it. His blade barely met any resistance as it broke past skin. If the knight's body hadn't been teleported out in time, he would have gone further, but it seemed that this was enough to decide the victor in the Sword Star's eyes.

'Just in fucking time...'

Reivan let the breath he was holding escape his lips as the tension in his body left him. He accidentally relaxed his grip on his sword and it clattered to the ground, but it disappeared after a moment of time, returning to his soul where it belonged.

Had he been later than a dozen seconds, Reivan would have probably lost on account of Gwendolyn's surprisingly robust defenses — which he hadn't expected from someone who had two speed-related elemental attributes: light and lighting. She had just knocked him out in the dream world too, and he had few ways to compete with her in a melee with his resources mostly depleted — save from running around the stadium and waiting for her stamina to run out while his stamina was constantly restored.

'I won.'

Rather than feel joy or celebrate his hard-fought victory, Reivan only felt relief wash through him. This had been the outcome he was expecting — that he'd worked for — after all. His preparations were unimaginable from the perspective of ordinary people. His plans encompassed the sky and he had a possible answer to just about anything his opponents could throw at him. Of course, he wasn't sure if those answers were correct, but, he thought, at least he had answers at all."

'As long as they're within the realm of mortals... Plans can go to hell if they pit me against an actual Ascendant...'

Truly, he was just glad it was finally over. Still, even though victory was what he expected, he also knew that sometimes, things just didn't follow expectations. It was only for a moment too, but he'd somewhat accepted his defeat.

That's why he let the seed of a true smile bloom on his face. He deserved that much. That was what he thought, at least.

'Oh, right. I should wake her up more pleasantly...'

Once the dream world he'd constructed with << Glimpse >> broke, there was apparently a minor scene where everything shattered and his victims would float in a void for a few minutes — that only lasted less than a second in the real world — which might cause trauma to the faint of heart depending on how faint their hearts were. Reivan didn't think the knight was mentally frail, but there was no need to be a bad sport and let her experience something potentially horrible that she didn't have to.

He had practiced the move on Karuna and she complained about how he shouldn't try it on anyone he didn't want to hate him. Reivan still didn't know if what happened inside was as the fairy-like being in his head said it was. There were probably some more horrible things, but she didn't want to say anything — which was a shame since he would have liked to know how his enemies would suffer in the future. Interrogating the imaginary people he'd conjured in the fragment of eternity brought no results too, since << Glimpse >> only worked on real people with souls of their own for some reason.

'Meh. Her helping me out at all was good enough. I won't pry.'

Reivan mentally nudged the knight awake. It was the equivalent of poking someone in the cheek. He surprisingly had to put a lot of effort into it though, since if he accidentally used [Formless Will] to bolster his intentions, the "gentle poke to the cheek" would have easily entered "kick them out of bed and dump a bucket of ice water on their heads" territory.

In any case, although he didn't know where she was at the moment, Reivan hoped she was alright.

With that over with, mental exhaustion threatened to sweep Reivan's feet from under him. He let his head fall back and he stared at the sky for a moment, watching the clouds listlessly float by. Then, with a gargantuan effort, finally turned to look at the tens of thousands of people staring at him in awe — or what even appeared to be fear.

'Hm. That's... not the reaction I was expecting.'

Still, he remembered the purpose of this entire affair. Victory in battle was a good thing. But he couldn't forget why he fought in the first place.

So, with a weary smile on his face, he raised his fist into the air and tried to play the role of a young man who couldn't contain his excitement about winning something.

"I won!" Reivan beamed as he scanned the crowd. He looked up to the VIP box and saw his father — whose brows were raised as high as they would go, seemingly still surprised at Reivan's performance. A smirk bloomed on his face as Reivan tapped his throat, gazing meaningfully at his father.

Rodin's brows descended only for one of them to raise curiously before nodding.

'Good.'

Reivan cleared his throat, testing the voice amplification effect that had been granted to him without him even noticing. Then he turned his attention back to the crowd with a regal smile on his face.

"Citizens of Aizen. You have borne witness to my resolve — the results of my hard work and passion toward my goal."

His words still seemed to get mixed reactions, but he kept on.

"This strength." Reivan clenched his fist beat his chest then looked at it for a moment before gazing into the crowd — gazing into the kingdom itself. "I shall wield it for you, the people. And only you."

You have used [Essence of Falsehood]

"Protecting the citizens of Aizen will always be my top priority."

You have used [Essence of Falsehood]

"As long as I draw breath, I shall strive to vanquish all those who may do you harm. This, I promise."

You have used [Essence of Falsehood]

"Hear me, people of Aizen, for I speak the truth! And only the truth!"

You have used [Essence of Falsehood]

'These things are annoying...'

After mentally dismissing the notifications that seemed to have taken the liberty to return on their own when the battle ended, Reivan spread his arms wide and spun slowly, his gaze gradually drinking in the crowd's scrutiny.

"I shall be your champion. Your needs will be above mine and even my family's!" he lied loudly as he looked around. "Where are your words, people of Aizen? I wish to hear your voice! This victory... I have won it for you!"

There was a strained moment of silence before the crowd finally erupted into cheers, their voices booming across the arena. Plenty of voices merely hollered unintelligibly but a lot of them also offered praise.

Reivan raised his fist into the air once again, taking it all in — or at least pretending to. He wasn't completely lying. Certainly, he intended to fight for the kingdom and its people.

But they weren't his top priority. This has been the case before he was even born into this world, and it has never changed.

To Reivan, his family was the most important.

If he had to weigh the lives of Aizen's citizens against his friends and family, Reivan would pick the latter before the choice was even presented to him. Even Stella's unborn child mattered more to him than all these faceless people.

It was a cold thought to have, even he knew, but that was simply how he felt.

Still, he did intend to do part of what he'd said. Aizen was his home because it was where he and his loved ones lived, but it was still a good place and he wouldn't want to lose it.

Reivan did lie though, and ironically, that made him much easier for the populace to believe. Even though he sounded like a crook trying to appeal to the people.

'Well, it's just a tiny white lie.'

Surely, it wouldn't hurt anyone.

Unlock Conditions Fulfilled

'Hm?'

Reivan raised a brow as a strange message filled his vision.

You have successfully deceived more than 10 Million Souls within a single minute.

[Essence of Falsehood] Sub-Skill #3 - [Reality Falsification] has been unlocked!

'Well, that sounds promising.'

Reivan waved it away for now though. There would be plenty of time to examine it later — when he wasn't tired out of his mind.

There was a nice soft bed in his room and he had been waiting for more than twenty years to pass out on it.