A few weeks ago.
Outside Paris, on one of the clouds, a dense golden Meditation Aura with light purple particles started to flicker as it condensed into the form of a vague human figure, as someone teleported onto the cloud.
The figure stood on the cloud as if he were standing on solid ground.
The figure possessed an aged body covered in wrinkles. His hair had long since turned white, and his beard—thick and flowing down to his chest—swayed gently with the wind.
His deep purple eyes seemed capable of seeing through all lies, deception, and falsehood.
They were calm.
Expressionless.
Yet terrifyingly profound.
He stood with a straight back and an elegant disposition that naturally gave others a sense of pressure. Even while doing nothing, he carried the dignity of someone who had stood above countless others for centuries.
His black-and-white robes fluttered softly with the wind as he silently gazed down upon Paris from afar.
The sun hung high in the sky, illuminating the city in brilliant golden light.
Below him, Paris remained lively as always.
People walked through the crowded streets, workers busied themselves with their daily tasks, tourists wandered through the city with excitement, and countless conversations overlapped into the familiar noise of civilization.
Yet with only a single glance—
Alexander saw everything.
Every street.
Every road.
Every building.
Every face.
The movements of the people throughout the city reflected clearly within his eyes, as though the entirety of Paris had been placed directly before him.
Nothing escaped his perception.
The internal structure of the city, the flow of movement within the streets, even the subtle changes occurring throughout different districts—
All of it was comprehended instantly.
At that moment, Paris no longer held any secrets from him.
The distance between him and the city was absurdly far, far beyond the limits of ordinary vision.
Yet Alexander still saw everything clearly.
If an ordinary Aura user were to witness him standing there, they would instinctively lower their heads before him, unable to withstand the overwhelming pressure he naturally emitted.
Because this man—
Was one of the two True Supernovas of the Aura Region.
A legend among legends from the previous generation.
Alexander Blackbell.
The current head of the Blackbell Family in name—
And the 107th Meditation Master of Lumenia.
He was not someone who could be taken lightly; he was an existence at the apex of the universe itself!
At this moment, Eric and Max had still not arrived there.
Alexander jumped from the cloud and started flying toward Paris.
But just when he was about to reach the periphery, an invisible golden dome appeared around Paris, blocking him.
Alexander quickly stopped when the dome appeared.
The dome was invisible to others, but he could see it clearly.
He glowed softly as he tried to touch the golden dome, but just when his hand made contact with it, golden and purple sparks appeared and attacked each other.
Alexander's hand was badly damaged as his bones cracked and his arm was nearly burned.
"As expected of 'it,' the higher the rank of the walker is, the more obstruction it will give."
Alexander was a True Supernova. Anything that could harm him to this extent was surely nothing ordinary.
He heaved a regretful sigh as he looked at his injured hand.
"These injuries will take a while to heal."
The injuries were not critical at the moment; even though they were quite troublesome, they were nothing he couldn't handle.
Alexander pulled some distance away from the golden dome as he started using all sorts of methods to probe it.
His attacks were small but terrifying, full of different variations and elegance. Some danced in the air like leaves falling from a tree or like a calm drizzle from the clouds.
His movements were exquisite, with every motion carrying intent behind it.
Every step of his attacks had a technique behind it that showed his immense talent and experience.
But the main part of his attacks was not their elegance or terror, but the fact that they were completely concealed, with not even a bit of Aura leaking from them.
The people of Paris had no idea that if they were hit by even one ten-thousandth of his attacks, the city and its people would cease to exist.
Even after probing for a while, Alexander was unable to cause even a scratch on the golden dome.
If anything, it only grew stronger.
Alexander wasn't tired in the least; he could continue for years like this, but he knew it was not worth it, and the results would not be what he wanted.
He decided to stop as he stood on another cloud, looking at the city.
His gaze suddenly fell upon Adrian's high school as Adrian appeared within his sight.
A gentle smile formed on his face as he looked at the boy who resembled him so much in his youth.
After observing Adrian for a while, Alexander heaved a sigh as he looked up at the blue sky, reminiscing.
"'It' has formed a dome around Paris; the stronger it becomes, the stronger it will repel the walker. At this level, only a Lysi Nova can barely enter."
"From what I have investigated, the dome will stabilize in a few days, and Hypernovas will be able to enter. That will be the time for the Paris operation to start."
"I should set my arrangements in advance, too."
His gaze shifted toward the blue sky and the boundless clouds that filled his vision. He fell into deep thought as he felt the cool breeze hit his face.
A sharp light flickered in his eyes as memories surfaced in his mind.
"Ethan… we have lived through both glory and pain, yet neither of us was ever destined to become the protagonist of this Era. I wonder… which one of them truly will."
"Haha, it seems the saying, 'One remembers their past the closer to death they are,' was true after all. I let myself drift into the past time and time again."
He looked in the direction of Moscow as Max and Eric appeared within his sight.
"The second and third ones have still not reached Paris. I will help them once they are guided here by 'Him.'"
Alexander took out a charm and wrote some instructions to a subordinate under him in Lumenia.
...
The bar sat at the edge of a small village outside Lumenia, the kind of place that existed in the thousands scattered around the nine main cities—unremarkable, a little worn, full of people with nowhere more important to be that evening.
Mr. Clown was putting on a show.
Across the table from him sat Daniel, a Nova rank walker of the Weapon Pathway who had the build of someone who had spent most of his life using it as a threat. He was enormous. The kind of man who took up more than his share of a room without trying. He had spotted Mr. Clown twenty minutes ago and made the kind of calculation that men like Daniel were always making—a thin stranger, a Deceiver Pathway walker, probably in need of money—and proposed an arm wrestle for five Aura Stones.
Mr. Clown had agreed with every appearance of delight.
The spectators weren't impressed by this. They had seen Daniel do it before.
"Targeting a Deceiver walker when he's short on gambling money," someone muttered. "Predictable."
"I almost feel sorry for the other one."
"Shameless as always."
Nobody in the room was giving Mr. Clown good odds.
Mr. Clown, for his part, looked completely unbothered. He sat across from Daniel with the relaxed posture of a man who had sat down to enjoy a drink, not compete for anything. The contrast between them was almost funny—Daniel's forearm on the table looked like a slab of stone, while Mr. Clown's looked thin and almost decorative beside it.
Daniel placed his hand down and grinned.
"No Aura. Agreed?"
"Of course," Mr. Clown said pleasantly.
They gripped hands. Daniel squeezed immediately, before the referee had even raised his arm, the kind of petty early pressure that had become habit by now. The wooden table creaked. Veins rose across Daniel's forearm like roots, and the muscle in his shoulder pushed against his shirt. A few spectators whistled.
The referee dropped his hand.
"Begin!"
Daniel slammed down with everything he had.
Mr. Clown's arm didn't move.
Not an inch.
Not a tremor.
Daniel's grin stayed on his face for a moment purely through muscle memory, then faded as his brain caught up. He pushed harder. The table groaned, and a crack spread slowly across its surface. Mr. Clown's posture didn't change. His expression didn't change. He tilted his head slightly, with what looked like genuine curiosity.
"Is that everything?" he asked, not unkindly.
Something shifted in Daniel's face.
Then he noticed his hand.
Cold.
Not the chill of the evening air—something deeper, spreading upward from the point of contact. His fingers were going numb. He tried to pull back, a reflex more than a decision, and found that he couldn't. Mr. Clown's grip hadn't tightened much.
Just enough.
The spectators had gone quiet.
Daniel's breathing became heavier, sweat tracking down his temple.
"What did you do?"
Mr. Clown blinked.
"Nothing."
CRACK.
Daniel's wrist hit the table.
The room was completely silent. Daniel sat there staring at his own arm as though it belonged to someone else, unable to fully process the sequence of events that had led to this moment. Then Mr. Clown released his hand, and Daniel lurched backward on his chair, grabbing his wrist and clutching it against his chest.
Mr. Clown reached across the table, collected the five Aura Stones one by one, and smiled warmly.
"Thank you for your generosity."
"H-how!?" Everyone was shocked.
Mr. Clown turned around, giving a small smile as he was about to explain how he defeated Daniel.
But right at that moment, a charm with a small purple human-like will secretly entered his body.
"WHAT!?" Mr. Clown was immensely shocked.
This was a request from the Meditation Master of Lumenia himself!
Mr. Clown's body froze as his head became covered in sweat, and his clown makeup even started to wear off because of the sheer pressure.
He quickly left the bar and entered a narrow alley, leaving the crowd inside confused.
"I have been summoned."
The information within the charm contained only a few words telling him to come.
Mr. Clown looked at the will that had come to him. He gulped before letting the will envelop him in the golden Meditation Aura entrusted to it by Alexander.
In just a second, Mr. Clown teleported to a cliff.
On the edge of the cliff stood Alexander, looking into the horizon in complete silence.
The moment Mr. Clown teleported, he lowered his body and kneeled on the ground; his head touched the ground, and even his body shook immensely.
He had joined the Blackbell Family after his entire team was wiped out during a dangerous mission. He had been the only survivor, and he had never thought that there would come a day in his life when he would even get to see the head of the Blackbell Family.
This change was too fast and abrupt!
Mr. Clown would rather have believed that he was dreaming than accept this reality, but the truth stood right in front of him.
If Alexander deactivated his veiling technique, Mr. Clown would immediately lose control and die.
The weight of the matter was something Mr. Clown's mind was unable to comprehend.
At that moment, Alexander slowly turned around as he gazed at Mr. Clown. It lasted for less than a second, but it made Mr. Clown's body shake even more fiercely.
"I have a mission to bestow upon you," Alexander spoke straightforwardly; he was not like those old men in legends who spoke in riddles.
Alexander had always been first at everything since he was young; he had never needed to be subtle about things. This trait had now become ingrained in his bones.
"I want you to be one of the delegates sent to the Paris operation. Your main focus shall be on meeting and cooperating with the third and second ones. Also, approach the first one and become his bodyguard and teacher."
He didn't ask for Mr. Clown's permission or whether he was willing to do it, displaying his naturally domineering aura.
Immediately, a huge amount of information was sent into Mr. Clown's mind as his expression changed from shock to worry and finally to fear.
"This mission is too dangerous."
Mr. Clown was only a Nova rank walker of the Deceiver Pathway, whereas the other great bodies of the Aura Region would be sending experts at least of the Lysi Nova rank. Compared to them, he was like an ant.
He wondered why he had been chosen as a delegate for the Paris operation. He was weak; his aptitude was high, but his talent was worse than average.
But in front of this universal-level existence, Mr. Clown didn't dare raise any objections.
"Stand up," Alexander calmly said to Mr. Clown.
Mr. Clown didn't object; his body stood up subconsciously.
Mr. Clown didn't dare meet Alexander's gaze. He looked downward as sweat covered his entire body.
At that moment, Alexander slowly began to speak.
"You are currently too weak. I know that you are ready to advance to the Auri Nova rank. I am providing you with the ingredients you require. Use them to concoct a potion and advance. I am here to protect you."
"After you advance, I will hand you a small portion of a Lysi Nova major inheritance of the Blackbell Family that we obtained from a great Deceiver Pathway expert long ago. Use it and grow your strength."
"I have high expectations for you. If you perform well in this mission, I will have my family fund you and help you reach the Lysi Nova rank or even higher."
Mr. Clown's body was still shaking, but this time, it was not from fear but excitement.
"It looks like I won't be able to recover from the luck I lost after obtaining this fortuitous encounter for centuries!"
"This is a huge opportunity. I must grasp it fully and advance to a higher rank with the help of these giants."
Mr. Clown was an ambitious person; he had his own goals and ambitions, but he had never held much hope for them because of his lack of backing and talent.
But now, it was as if gold were raining down upon him!
Obviously, if he didn't make good use of this opportunity, he would regret it forever. He also had to make sure he wasn't crushed beneath these gold coins.
He was still in shock and felt like he was simply dreaming.
Alexander simply observed Mr. Clown's reactions and immediately understood his thoughts, worries, and intentions.
With a wave of his will, a set of ingredients flew toward Mr. Clown.
Mad Wraith's Soul, Deceiving Chipmunk's Eyebrows, Wicked Fingers, Clever Carp's Essence, Ghost Root Planks, Surreptitious Silt, Unscrupulous Merchant's Fingers, Old Wood Illusory Phoenix's Feathers...
All sorts of Deceiver Pathway materials flew toward Mr. Clown as he became completely shocked by their quality.
"I've saved a huge amount!" Mr. Clown was naturally delighted.
Normally, the materials required for a Nova to advance to the Auri Nova rank could cost anywhere between 400 and 600 Aura Stones.
This was an enormous amount for a Nova rank walker like him. It made his heart burn with motivation to work harder, obtain more materials, and advance even further.
"He is already within my grasp now. With him, my grandson won't have to worry about lacking an interesting home tutor."
With Alexander's help, Mr. Clown quickly advanced to the Auri Nova rank and obtained a small portion of that inheritance.
He was immensely happy as he bowed deeply and shouted in joy.
"Long live Lord Meditation Master!"
Hearing those words, Alexander felt a slight tug in his heart.
How ironic it was.