Raizel kept staring toward the sky, holding his hand upward, trying to feel the presence of the sky.
"I'm the ruler—a king who rules over countless worlds, universes, and fragments. I'm a being who governs something that countless mortals can't even dream of doing," Raizel spoke to himself, calm and slow.
"Then why can they smile but I can't? What is it that I lack? What's the difference between me and them? They're ruthless to save someone they care about. Then why can't I be like them? Why can't I be selfish like them? Why can't I think only for myself? Why?" he added, a bit louder.
Someone was standing a bit away, listening to Raizel's muttering, it was a girl.
She was wearing a long dark gown and floating in the sky a bit behind Raizel. She had dark hair and was smiling softly.
"I knew it. You still want to know the answer," she spoke gently.
Raizel was surprised by the sudden voice. He looked toward his back, but as soon as he looked, the person disappeared instantly.
"Who?" Raizel shouted, now alert.
"I know you'll find the answer soon enough. The curse in your heart will disappear while you're traveling through the story, the worlds, and among the endless storm of wars and destruction. You'll find the hidden concept," she added.
Right after that, the voice completely disappeared—without even a trace.
Raizel kept staring toward the left, the side from where the voice had come.
"What was that?" Raizel thought to himself.
He kept thinking for a few seconds, deeply.
"Maybe I saw wrong," he suddenly said aloud.
He stood up and started walking toward the exit, which seemed to be placed to the left.
As soon as he got out, he saw a familiar face at the gate.
It was Aizis, standing there in a long white coat.
"Aizis? You? When did you get here?" Raizel asked curiously.
"Much earlier. I was waiting for you," Aizis replied.
"I felt like I shouldn't go inside and disturb you, so I just waited here instead," he added.
"It would've been fine. I was just resting. Why are you looking for me?"
"Something interesting is going on. Maybe it's time for us to make a move," Aizis said.
"So they've started. Took them long enough. Spending twenty thousand years just to prepare for a mere supreme ruler—they're actually cowards," Raizel replied.
"It's hilarious that they're preparing for eternity to battle the weakest supreme ruler," Aizis said, with a sarcastic smile and tone.
"If they're actually planning to take me and my Sacred Palace out, then it just proves they are completely ignorant of my decision and position," Raizel thought to himself.
"But wait... if they think I've reclaimed my throne and started living in the Sacred Palace again, then why would they send Jarid to the lower world?" he added.
"I see. I guess I have to think a bit more. It's not like I can decide this with a single thought like I always do.
After all, the sacred spirits have planned to kill supreme rulers for thousands of years, with endless complexity and layers. Just how long do I need to anticipate their entire plan? Should I just ask Aizis to do it?"
Raizel kept thinking, countless questions running through his mind.
Then, he decided to do something—something hidden.
"I just wonder how hilarious it is that they decided to kill the current weakest supreme ruler—and took a thousand years to do it. Considering their capabilities, they could've just wiped me out instantly. I just can't understand the way they think, the way they believe in their own understanding of themselves and others," Raizel suddenly said aloud.
"There is a matter of guts and desperation," Aizis replied.
"While some of us believe that our life's goal is to do something, destroy something, or create something—regarding our position and future—even if it means death for us, we just don't care. We jump into a dark and endless road without a conclusion. And so, either we win or lose," he added, taking a breath.
"However, what the sacred spirits value is their own life—and they care for nothing else but their own lives and their loved ones," Aizis concluded.
"Could be. It could be that our thoughts are just too different—and so, we don't understand their way, nor do they understand ours," Raizel said, taking a long breath.
"Aizis said the weakest? Aren't you supposed to be the strongest supreme ruler?" Marco asked curiously.
"Well, I was, but I'm no longer the strongest," Raizel replied.
"Why?"
"It's simple. The power of the sacred spirits and supreme rulers grows constantly without limitation. Since my soul was frozen due to my death, I could no longer grow along with the other supreme rulers," Raizel explained.
"As a result, Raizel has become the weakest now," Aizis concluded.
"You might be wondering how I managed to surpass every other Supreme Ruler and become the strongest, even though Supreme Rulers are supposed to grow within an equal system, right?" Raizel said.
"It's because of his magic energy absorption ability.
Every Supreme Ruler is capable of absorbing magic power from others, but absorbing the magic of a Sacred Spirit? That's not something a normal Supreme Ruler can do," Aizis added, completing Raizel's unspoken thought.
"They've been powerful since birth. They exist with two entirely separate mana core systems. They are both divine beings who control the stories—yet they are poison to each other's roots."
"They're strong, deeply rooted deities. You can't just become a Supreme Ruler or a Sacred Spirit. If you're meant to be one, you're born as one," Aizis concluded.
He took a breath and smiled slightly at Marco.
"However, Raizel was never a Supreme Ruler from the beginning. He didn't inherit the position—he earned it through sheer confidence and a ruthless nature."
Aizis sighed.
"Sometimes, I feel like being ruthless is fine—especially when you're someone without a flaw. If I could be like that, I'd gladly lose myself in a sea of ruthlessness… a sea where I could run without hesitation, without a reason to turn back," he thought to himself.
"It wasn't hard for Raizel or me to understand how inheritance of a Supreme Ruler or Sacred Spirit works," Aizis continued calmly.
"The soul of a deity is what grants them the right to remain one. If you take over that soul and fuse it with your own, it becomes your time to ascend—and that's exactly what Raizel did."
"Since his origin wasn't that of a Supreme Ruler, absorbing the magic power of a Sacred Spirit was never a conflict for him—and that became his trump card."
"Nothing less from an unstoppable being. What a twist," Marco thought to himself.
"He truly is unstoppable, yet he's lost countless times, endured endless torture, and still continues to rise again and again," Aizis said, casually.
Marco stared at Aizis, shocked by his words.
Aizis smiled softly in return.
Suddenly, a magic circle enveloped them—invisible to everyone except Aizis, who had created it.
It was a dimensional separation circle—a spell that isolates specific individuals from the flow of normal time. Depending on the caster's choice, the spell separates their mental existence from the regular timeline, placing them within a hidden dimension.
While everything proceeds normally in the visible world, those chosen exist in both the real and hidden realms simultaneously. In the hidden dimension, only the chosen ones can move or speak—unless someone else is strong enough to resist the spell itself.