Brand POV:

“Any last words?”

Zane stood there, unable to do anything. My lips curved into a content smirk at the circumstance I had created: the result of my years of planning. He couldn’t even use his famed Pantheon Style to break free from his restraints; he was completely at my mercy.

And it felt damn good.

“Step back.”

An ominous voice left his parted lips, making my hairs stand on edge.

“?”

My head throbbed. I gazed down at the slight tremble in my hands before looking back at Zane. He had somehow widened the distance between us, despite being chained in place.

I glanced at Hilda laying on the white ground motionless. I turned to Sho, covered in blood, who had also yet to recover from creating a Territory.

“Some people say that rules are meant to be broken, but it is only the strong who can truly get away with it.”

I watched Zane nonchalantly rip the chains out of the ground while staring at me. Sho buckled forward, clearly unable to contain the monster known as Zane Pantheon.

‘So he let himself get caught...’

He folded his arms, prompting me to crack a wry smile at the turn of events.

“I thought you were going to fight seriously?”

A small chuckle escaped my mouth as I mocked his claim. I had already noticed the golden brown light leave his eyes once he pulled out that stick. Fight seriously? It was a bluff to hide his own limit.

Inside here, I didn’t need to concern myself with his Magi status. Inside here, I could prove my superiority with ease.

“There’s a difference between fighting you seriously and going all out. The latter would lead to your instant death.”

The veins on my forehead popped, and my confident smile faded. The only way to strip away that arrogance was to inflict pain beyond his imagination.

“...You really think I’m that below you?”

My Ki exploded all around me as I shifted my feet into a stance. I was originally a close-range fighter who never worked on Elemental Ki or other long-range attacks, but after my first loss to Zane…. the first loss in my life; I had no choice but to re-evaluate myself.

“Brand, what do you think time is?”

I ignored his question; my fist arriving in front of his jaw half a second later. It tore through the air, hitting the space where his body should have been.

‘He can still use the powers his epithet granted him?’

I examined the shadow-like body left behind that appeared to be re-enacting some kind of action. A small burst of Ki left its body, pushing my fist back as a result.

I spun around and saw Zane crouched down beside Hilda. He opened the palm of his hand; the water danced from his call, forming a large sphere before wrapping around her body and healing her wounds.

“Are you happy with what you’ve achieved in the last 8 years? Running off to Enigma and begging them to make you stronger by taking shortcuts. You haven’t truly achieved Boukyaku, Brand.”

The audible grinding of my teeth echoed across the white space. Zane reappeared in the same position as the shadow when my fist shot forward.

He cocked his head to the side, forcing it to whistle past its intended target. His rich brown eyes rested on me, and I jumped back.

I didn’t care whether he was taking a wild guess or whether he had kept tabs on me. What I cared about is why... Why was he always looking down on me?!

It irritated me beyond any form of rationality!

In my youth, I had achieved Enryo with Hilda trailing behind me by one year and Sho by two. The heavens above had blessed me with such talent, yet I still lost to a child 5 years younger than me in a battle that lasted for multiple days.

After Zane left, I... I plateaued.

I questioned whether the talent I had been blessed with had already been consumed. I reached upper Enryo, but a giant wall stood in front of me. I failed to jump over it, failed to go around it, and failed to go through it. It stood firm, looming over me, and I hated it.

“So what? I don’t need your approval, nor have I ever wanted it. So just die for me, Zane.”

That’s all that matters.

As long as I kill Zane with my own hands, everything will become mine. I flickered forward and threw a flurry of strikes. He walked through them, unfazed by my attempts to touch the sky.

‘...I thought those old heads were lying about the strength of those who acquired an epithet... But it seems there’s some truth to their words after all.’

I watched him bend down and heal Sho as I chased after him again. My fists that forced him to raise his guard in the past could no longer reach him in the present.

“Ha...”

‘Why am I so tired?...’

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Sweat poured down my face. I dropped to my knees; my glare never leaving Zane. He folded his arms and peered down at me.

I was about to lash out when I realized something else was strange. I put my hand over my face and recalled everything that had happened up until this point.

If Zane was manipulating the shadows, why didn’t he just instantly appear behind Sho or Hilda? Why did he constantly leave behind some sort of shadow figure while moving to a different location? Taking into account Zane’s personality, he obviously wasn’t trying to hurt the others, but what about me? Why was I left alone?

‘!’

My eyes popped as I shifted my gaze back to Zane. In all the times I fought him, there was one thing I had never stopped to consider, and that was his ability. I was so used to seeing him use the Pantheon Style and Elemental Ki that I mistakenly thought that was all he had going for him.

“Do you understand now? From the moment this battle started, I treated you just the same as Sho and Hilda.”

I stared at him, unable to say anything. He had left me alone deliberately in order for me to take a step back and observe the situation. He made excessive movements on purpose in order to guide me.

“When you look at the problem at hand from multiple angles, a solution will eventually present itself. So tell me, what did you learn?”

My head flopped forward; strength left my body like a fleeting thought. The shadow figure re-enacting an action was the key to solving the puzzle laid out in front of me.

“Time... You can manipulate time itself...”

The words that came out of my mouth made me feel even more helpless. It was the same as always. He would make me look back and evaluate things, challenging me to think from a different viewpoint.

For a Ki practitioner to create an ability related to time manipulation, they couldn’t be any lower than a genius. It was clear as day that Zane Pantheon eclipsed what was known as ‘genius.’

“Brand, you couldn’t breakthrough to Boukyaku because of your mind, not your talent. This time, I can’t let it go.”

I opened the palms of my hand that rested on the floor. I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood as Zane approached me. He had looked past my actions many, many times, but today, I had finally crossed the line. Even in that moment, he still treated me like a friend...

“...I understand.”

His hand covered my face, darkening the world around me. There was nothing more that needed to be said. There was nothing more that I could do but accept it.

“Go back and think about it once more.”

Blood spewed out of my nose, and the darkness in front of me fragmented like glass. My mind shattered into tiny pieces while I fell forward, and then…

It began.

***

Zane POV:

I removed my hand from his face, revealing the whites of Brand’s eyes as Sho’s territory split apart. He would relive all of it in an endless loop until he could accept it.

“Z-Zane... I’m so sorry!!”

Hilda bolted into my arms. She squeezed me as hard as she could; her sobs containing all the pain she had endured from being taken advantage of. I rubbed her back and shifted my gaze to Sho.

He fell to his knees, staring at his own two bloodied hands in disbelief.

“This... I...”

Sho gripped his short hair, and his eyes bulged. He let out a scream while tears seeped into the heavy burn marks on his neck. Brand’s ability had influenced him, but it was also partly his own desire that led to this result.

“Sho, stop it.”

“Zane... I really tried... To hurt you...”

Sho’s eyes shook. It was true; he had attacked me with the intention to kill, but that was in the past. Time moved on and so would I. After all, I understood Sho’s heart well.

“Take Brand to the outskirts of Zita. After that, head to Efros. You two can stay with me if you want to.”

I felt Hilda’s reluctance to part ways with me as she took a step back. Her gaze rested firmly on the marred earth; her eyelashes fluttered, accompanied with a dark shade of red that spread across the bridge of her nose.

“Then... Um... Are you... Still with her?...”

“...It’s hard to say.”

Sho and Hilda looked at each other before staring at me in shock. It was extremely rare, almost unheard of, for me to say something without certainty.

“Get going.”

They both nodded their heads, deciding not to pry any further. They vanished out of sight with Brand, and I was left alone in the destroyed desert canyon.

The dark clouds in the sky dissipated at a slow rate. I folded my arms and let out a small sigh. I didn’t like destroying nature, so I tried to limit the destruction while also giving them pointers. In the end, this was the result, and I wasn’t too pleased with it.

“Why the long face?”

A tall woman wearing a white dress stood a few metres away from me. A light tan covered her skin, and dark leggings accentuated the form of her legs. The frills at the end of her dress complimented her luscious, curly hair that reached down to her curvy waist.

“Wouldn’t anyone feel a bit down after ruining the environment to such an extent?”

“Unsurprisingly, many wouldn’t, but I like that side of you.”

My lips curved into a soft smile at her response. It had been a very long time since I last saw her.

“What brings you here, Valentina?”

She placed a hand on her hip and parted her lips.

“I’m here to congratulate you on receiving an epithet. A part of me wishes you never obtained one; you don’t need anymore enemies targeting you.”

“Thank you. You didn’t need to come all this way, but I’m grateful. You’re still as caring as before.”

The solemn expression on her face melted away, replaced by a wide grin. Valentina closed the gap between us, and her hand rested against my cheek.

“You too. Most people on your level would have killed those three instantly, yet you still spent your precious time on them.”

I observed her grey eyes, that contained a hint of purple, shimmer. Time was valuable, but so were the bonds that people formed with one another. Valentina wasn’t wrong; the world was a vast place filled with powerful people who each had their own agendas.

Behind that wide grin of hers was worry and concern. She had left Xera, placing herself at risk, in order to make sure I was still alive. Even as a Pantheon, I couldn’t be careless.

I was still lacking.

“Zane, you can’t move carelessly, okay? Lots of people will have their eyes on you. They want to find out just what the heir to the Pantheon family, The Shadow King, can do. I know you want to handle Enigma, but please let it be for a while.”

Her thumb caressed my cheek; the seriousness in her eyes multiplied as I remained silent. Not only wasn’t Brand bluffing about Enigma wanting me out of the picture, but it seemed like they had forged connections with threats greater than I expected.

“Promise me.”

Her other hand gripped my shoulder. I saw her lip quiver as we stared into each other’s eyes. It was true that I wanted to do something about it, but like Valentina said, now wasn’t the right time.

“I promise.”

A sigh of relief escaped her lips, taking away the seriousness in her expression with it. She took a step back; a bright grin forming as she gave me the thumbs up.

“Oh yeah, you’ll never believe this! My disciple is also in Outer Astril at the moment!”

“Really? Why?”

I raised an eyebrow at the strange turn of events. Valentina was from the continent of Xera, so what was her disciple doing in Idora?

“Hmm... We were travelling together, and she got really upset about Outer Astril’s condition, so I told her to do something about it and left her there.”

“She resembles you.”

A solemn look graced her face. She stood by my side and stared into the distance.

“...I wonder. I met that child in a small war-torn country that I saved. However, her parents asked me to take her away and to treat her like my own daughter, since they wouldn’t survive with the injuries they had received, protecting her from the violence.”

I closed my eyes while Valentina continued her story.

“In the end, I gave in to their constant request and took the child with me. They had been so busy running and hiding that they never had the chance to give her a proper name, so they asked for my blessing. The two of them died shortly after, and the child refused to leave their grave for a whole week.

And so, I took her to the mountains the very next day and told her plainly: you need to be strong. I only permit you to cry once you’ve gained the strength to protect those you care for.

That’s why I named the child... Lissandra.”