Dark clouds covered the Royal Capital.
Inside the king's chamber, complete silence remained.
The words of Archmage Valerian still echoed in everyone's minds.
"...or eliminated."
Saksham slowly clenched his fists.
"So... they want to kill me?"
Valerian sighed.
"The Holy Temple exists to protect the world from dangerous beings. If they believe the prophecy is a threat, they will not hesitate."
King Alexander slammed his hand onto the table.
"Nobody will touch my son!"
A powerful aura erupted from his body.
Even Valerian stepped back slightly.
"I understand, Your Majesty," the archmage said. "But the Temple's authority is recognized by every kingdom on the continent. Openly opposing them could start a war."
The king's expression darkened.
A war...
Just because of a prophecy.
Saksham lowered his head.
For the first time, he realized how much trouble his existence could bring to the people around him.
Then—
DING!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
New Side Quest
Prove Your Worth
Objective:
Pass the judgment of the Holy Temple.
Reward:
????
Failure:
Unknown.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Saksham looked at the screen and took a deep breath.
"I understand."
The king looked at him.
"Father... if I run away, the kingdom will suffer."
"Saksham..."
"I'll face them."
The room became silent.
Then, a small smile appeared on the king's face.
"You've grown."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Three Days Later
The entire Royal Capital was unusually quiet.
News had spread that a representative from the Holy Temple was arriving.
The citizens gathered near the main gate.
Knights stood in formation.
Even the nobles had come to witness the event.
Saksham stood beside the king and Captain Leon.
Suddenly—
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The sound of footsteps echoed.
A figure appeared at the end of the road.
A young man dressed in white robes.
Golden patterns were embroidered across his clothes.
A holy sword rested on his back.
His long silver hair moved gently in the wind.
And his eyes...
They were pure gold.
The crowd immediately became silent.
Archmage Valerian's expression turned serious.
"He's here."
The young man stopped before the gates.
Then he looked directly at Saksham.
An invisible pressure filled the area.
It felt as if those golden eyes could see through everything.
The young man finally spoke.
"I am Elias Solaris."
"Disciple of the Holy Temple."
"Bearer of the Holy Sword."
Every noble gasped.
The name alone was enough to shock everyone.
Even Captain Leon narrowed his eyes.
Elias Solaris.
The youngest Sword Saint candidate in history.
The greatest genius of the Holy Temple.
Elias slowly walked forward.
Then he stopped before Saksham.
For several seconds...
he simply stared at him.
Finally, he spoke.
"So..."
"You are the Child of Fate."
Saksham met his gaze.
"Yes."
The two young men looked at each other in silence.
One possessed mysterious Divine Eyes.
The other possessed eyes blessed by the Holy Temple.
Suddenly—
Golden light burst from Elias's body.
His aura exploded.
Many nobles instantly fell to their knees.
Even some knights struggled to breathe.
Saksham remained standing.
Elias's golden eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
He increased the pressure.
BOOM!
The ground cracked.
Still...
Saksham didn't move.
His Divine Eyes glowed faintly.
The pressure couldn't affect him.
A small smile appeared on Elias's face.
"You passed the first test."
Everyone was stunned.
A test?
Elias continued.
"The Temple feared that the Child of Fate would be weak."
"But you endured my Holy Pressure."
He turned toward the king.
"I will not eliminate him."
The king sighed in relief.
But then Elias continued.
"However..."
The atmosphere instantly became heavy again.
"I still need to determine whether he deserves to carry such a fate."
He looked back at Saksham.
"Fight me."
Everyone froze.
"What?!" Captain Leon shouted.
"A duel," Elias said calmly.
"If you can land even one hit on me, I will acknowledge you."
The nobles stared in disbelief.
A hit?
Against Elias Solaris?
That was impossible.
Even many veteran knights couldn't touch him.
The king frowned.
"Is this really necessary?"
Elias nodded.
"The future of the world may depend on him."
He looked at Saksham once again.
"So tell me, Child of Fate."
His golden eyes shined brightly.
"Do you have the courage to draw your sword?"
Silence.
Then...
Saksham slowly stepped forward.
A small smile appeared on his face.
He remembered his battle against Nocthar.
He remembered the fear.
The helplessness.
And the promise he made to himself.
To become stronger.
He looked directly into Elias's eyes.
Then—
he unsheathed his sword.
SHING!
"I accept."
For the first time...
Elias smiled.
"Good."
A powerful wind swept across the capital.
Two geniuses stood facing each other.
And high above the clouds...
a pair of crimson eyes watched everything.
The owner of those eyes slowly smiled.
"The pieces are gathering..."
To be continued...