Walking through the corridors, Arius decided to head towards one of the medical rooms in the palace. He entered gently, followed by Lorinda with hesitant steps. The lights there were relatively dim, and the sterile scents mixed with the echoes of groans from injured servants; a male and a female doctor were busy arranging bandages and examining wounds. Upon seeing Arius, the doctor stopped his work, raising his face toward him with a question mixed with curiosity and respect:
"Have you come for treatment as well?"
Arius answered with cold simplicity:
"Yes… I feel a slight pain in my stomach."
He sat on the bed, and the examination was quick but thorough. The doctor was astonished by the solidity of his body—no prominent muscles revealed exaggerated strength, nor was there any trace showing what this young man's appearance concealed. The doctor said in an admiring, professional tone:
"Your body is firm… but let's do the routine tests."
At that moment, a massive shadow entered the room; a muscular body and a tense face bearing a tone of disdain. The servants stopped breathing for a moment. The female doctor greeted the man nervously:
"Welcome, Lord Hydra. How can we help you today?"
Hydra smiled a harsh smile, his eyes scanning the attendees with contempt:
"I came to get a foot massage from your beautiful hand, or do you only treat injuries here?"
When he turned slowly toward Arius, he remembered him with a mocking voice:
"Ah, you! My Lady Nahira's little animal… what is your name? Thalius? Salius? Zarius? Arius! Haha, I can't believe you're still alive… it's been about seventeen years since the last time I saw you. Come, let's play like old times."
Arius paid him no attention; he sat still, Hydra's angry movements scattering around him like flying sparks. Hydra approached with arrogant steps and suddenly placed his hand on Arius's head as if wanting to drag a prey into an old game. He whispered to him in a mocking voice:
"Come on, good dog, come play with me."
Arius stood up in complete silence, without a single word. Lorinda whispered his name in fear as he stepped behind Hydra into the corridor. Scorn and mockery poured from Hydra, but Arius showed nothing but a deadly coldness. They reached a large room—a cold cleaning room with no windows. Hydra closed the door behind them, laughing like someone who had finally reclaimed his prey.
Hydra said with escalating mockery:
"Where shall we start? I'm a little excited to break you just like I used to."
Arius raised his head slowly, looking at Hydra's leg with a steady gaze devoid of any emotion, then pointed with just one finger. In a fleeting moment before it could be comprehended, the air caught and Hydra cried out in sudden pain—his leg split and his chest bent under the impact. He fell to the ground, screaming from the intensity of the pain and astonishment.
The scene cut: Hydra on the ground, writhing, his eyes wide with a fear he had never known before. Arius stood before him calmly, his voice cold and bleak, as if he had read his words long ago:
"What did you see just now? Didn't we say we hadn't started yet? Didn't you say we were going to have fun?"
In another room, a wave of astonishment and whispers spread among the servants. Lorinda trembled; she understood nothing except that the man they were used to seeing surrounded by pity and groans was now standing rigid, harsh, and merciless. Hydra, who used to practice abduction and torture, suddenly found himself unable to move, his body broken, his strength stripped bare before the one he thought was merely an old prey.
With masterful coldness and an absence of any visible mercy, Arius left the room, leaving Hydra lying in majestic pain. With a single movement, he had reminded the whole world—that whoever underestimates him might discover, at the least expected moment, that he has returned to be something that can no longer be underestimated.
The screams of pain reached the edge of the corridor, mixing with the sound of cold footsteps.
Hydra was crawling on the ground, his face distorted by shock, screaming as he stared at Arius with trembling eyes:
> "What did you do to me…?! How… how did you do this, you rat?!"
>
Arius approached with steady steps, no trace of emotion on his features. He placed his foot over Hydra's mouth and pressed gently enough to prevent any word from escaping.
> "Weren't you the one who used to do this to me so I wouldn't scream?"
> He said it with deadly coldness, his voice low as if whispering to a corpse, not a human.
> "But the sound of your barking annoys me, so let's end this quickly."
>
Arius sat on the ground opposite him, his eyes shining with a cold, harsh light, and said with a devilish calmness that was not devoid of irony:
> "You know? I was counting the days to return to you what you did to me. Hundreds of blows broke me once… so what if we switch roles?"
> He raised his finger, pointing at him.
> "If you withstand just two blows, I will let you go… and maybe I'll forget the past. But I can't guarantee you'll remain alive after the first one."
>
Hydra's features froze between horror and anger, and he screamed as he crawled backward:
> "I will tear you apart! I will burn you alive, you scoundrel!"
>
But Arius did not move until his opponent finished his last sentence. He extended his hand, grabbed his jaw, and lifted him off the ground as if holding a doll, then hung him on the wall.
With every look from his eyes, the fear intensified in the room until the air itself almost suffocated.
Arius calmly began to break his fingers one by one.
Every sound of snapping was like a death bell ringing in Hydra's ear.
His screams pierced the walls, echoing in the corridor like a lost cry for help in a world where no one hears it.
Then, without hesitation, Arius pressed on his arms, and his fragile bones shattered with a sound like breaking glass in a deadly frost.
He leaned close to his ear and said calmly, devoid of mercy:
> "Only now are you beginning to approach what I used to feel."
>
With eyes empty of pity, he grabbed him by his waist, then Arius's gaze lowered to the bottom of his body, and he said with faint mockery:
> "Here is your beautiful treasure… let's see if it's worth all this vanity."
>
A single scream pierced the place, followed by a dead silence.
After a few minutes, the room door opened slowly. Arius walked out first, his features steady as if nothing had happened.
Behind him, Lorinda looked at him in astonishment and heavy silence, while none of the doctors dared to ask him anything.
And when they entered the room after his departure, shock struck them.
The walls were stained with blood, and the air carried a suffocating smell of death.
Hydra was hanging on the wall, his body completely shattered, his face devoid of any human features.
One of the nurses stepped back, putting her hand over her mouth and screaming, before she began to gag from the intensity of the sight.
The stunned doctor's voice came out in a low, raspy whisper:
> "What is this…? Was it a human… or a monster?"
>
In the distance, Arius's footsteps were fading down the corridor—steady, calm, carrying not a shred of regret.
It was as if what he had done was just a small lesson in cold justice.
After Arius left the place with calm steps, the blood that stained his hands had dried moments ago, as if it had never been there.
Lorinda followed him with hesitant steps, her voice trembling slightly as she said:
> "My lord… are you alright?"
>
Arius turned to her with a slight smile, carrying no warmth but a mysterious coldness:
> "I am fine, don't worry. Nothing harmed me… I just wanted to teach that man a simple lesson.
> But it seems I exaggerated a little… so I made him forget life entirely, haha."
>
His laugh was short, dry, closer to self-mockery.
They continued walking until they reached a spacious corridor filled with huge glass windows that revealed a wide courtyard outside.
Arius stood there for a moment, watching the soldiers training with iron discipline, and a distant, almost nostalgic look crept into his features.
He said in a low voice, as if talking to himself:
> "I remember this place… in my youth, I used to fight a group of monsters there."
>
Lorinda looked at him with slight astonishment:
> "Were you strong in your youth, my lord?"
>
He shook his head slowly, then answered her with a calm smile that carried an old bitterness in its depths:
> "No, I was never strong.
> In fact, I was among the weakest found here… even on my home planet, I was barely mentioned."
>
At that moment, one of the servants approached in a hurry, bowing submissively as he said:
> "Lord Arius, Lady Nahira has requested your presence immediately in the throne room. She learned that you have awakened, and it seems she is… a little angry."
>
Arius laughed softly and said:
> "Angry? Well, this will be interesting."
> Then he gestured with his hand:
> "Let's go."
>
Arius entered the wide room decorated with dark pillars and a throne topped by a halo of cold silver light.
Nahira sat there with majestic stability, surrounded by a silent aura of awe.
Beside her stood Gelius, and behind them Commanders A and S, all staring at Arius with eyes full of tension.
Arius opened his arms slightly with a sarcastic smile, saying:
> "Oh… I see everyone is here. Is there a party I wasn't invited to?"
>
Nahira ignored his sarcasm and said in a strict, calm tone:
> "Step forward, Arius, I have been waiting for you."
>
He stepped forward with confident strides until he stood before her. Gelius was looking at him with clear resentment, his voice full of hatred as he said:
> "You bastard… you will pay the price for what you caused me!"
>
Arius smiled calmly as he replied:
> "Oh? And what exactly happened to you?"
>
But before he could answer, Nahira struck the ground with her staff, releasing a light wave of energy that made everyone fall silent.
She raised her head slowly, her eyes flashing with displeasure as she said:
> "Tell me, you two fools, what exactly were you doing?
> Have you lost your minds? You destroyed three entire universes and caused utter chaos on this planet!"
>
Everyone lowered their heads, and a heavy silence prevailed.
Arius raised his gaze to her and said in a calm tone, closer to a rational justification:
> "My lady… I did not intend to destroy. But things got out of control.
> However, I do not blame anyone for what—"
>
Gelius interrupted him, shouting:
> "Enough nonsense! You are the reason, you scum! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have lost control and destroyed those universes!"
>
Nahira sighed with clear annoyance, then shouted in a majestic tone that made the walls tremble slightly:
> "Silence, both of you, right now!"
>
Everything stopped. Even the air in the room seemed to contract out of respect for her authority.
Then she added in a low but sharp voice:
> "Fortunately, those universes were empty; life had not yet been created in them.
> But what you two did is unforgivable, and it is unbecoming of anyone who carries my name under their authority."
>
Arius lowered his head slightly out of respect, while Gelius trembled without daring to speak.
At that moment, Nahira's gaze was piercing them both—between anger, disappointment, and awe.
It was as if she saw in Arius something deeper than just a mistake… something changing inside him slowly, nearly slipping from her grasp.
Arius raised his head slowly, his eyes leading a conversation that others had never spoken before inside that hall. He spoke in a sober voice, with neither understatement nor arrogance, but rather a cold logic that killed any pretext:
"Excuse my bluntness, my lady... but the biggest mistake was not on us. It was on you."
The air compressed for a moment; the expressions of A, S, and Gelius distorted between astonishment and anger—they did not expect such boldness. The ancient walls whispered with faint resentment, while Nahira herself stopped speaking, her eyes revealing an unexpected shock.
She stared at him, and said with pure sarcasm:
"What do you mean by this?"
Arius smiled a calm smile that held no joy, but rather the taste of a precise execution of a clear argument:
"Really, were you not the one capable of stopping the fight from the beginning? Did you not issue your orders not to retreat? If the fight continued, it was by your will, and if it stopped, it was by your authority. We are merely fighters executing the decisions of those above us. Therefore, the responsibility lies on your shoulders before it lies on ours."
A moment of long silence halted the commotion, then Nahira's assistant stepped forward, his voice carrying a degree of resentment but realistic, not denying the facts:
"My lady... actually, his words are correct. You requested the continuation of the fight even though we could have stopped it. The decision was an administrative one—you were the one who gave it. There is no denying the truth."
Nahira sat down instantly, as if the words were a slap to her. The faces of those present bowed slightly before their impact; it was not a physical defeat but a defeat of narrative and deduction. She did not speak for a moment, then her voice rose at last, calm but carrying the strictness of a monarch:
"Very well. I cancel the punishment this time. Go now."
Arius smiled a faint, almost devilish smile, and said with complete coldness:
"As you command, my lady."
Gelius walked out with tense steps, while the assistant hummed as he turned toward the throne and whispered cautiously:
"My lady, Arius has cornered you with his words in front of everyone. He put us in a corner..."
Nahira looked at him with a tone of half-surprise and half-respect, like someone recognizing a bright mind that sometimes surpassed her own cunning:
"Yes, he bested me this time," she whispered. "But he returned to my world. And that is what matters most."
She added in a strict voice concealing her anxiety:
"Watch him closely. I want no escape attempts or unannounced movements. The arrows of surveillance must always remain upon him."
The assistant bowed firmly:
"By your command, my lady."
As the hall greeted a light storm of political whims, everyone exited one by one, each holding a new card of calculations and equations. Arius walked out with a smile that knew it was a notice for other beginnings—a silent deal between a professional genius and a lady who did not smile much, but who now realized that the match was not over, and that her stakes were no longer as guaranteed as they used to be.
Gelius stopped Arius at the threshold of the gate, his eyes as black as embers, drawing close until his voice almost exploded from him like the breath of a pent-up volcano:
"Listen to me well, you scum, I will not forget what you did to me. You will pay the price. I will return that blow that shattered my chest, and I will make them cast you out of here like a renegade dog. Do you understand?"
Arius smiled a cold smile that was not devoid of disdain, and raised his head with indifference:
"Do as you wish."
He paused for a moment and then turned slowly, his eyes gleaming with faint mockery as he replied in a deadly calm, and then Arius said:
"Oh, right… isn't my victory over you proof that I am stronger than you? Doesn't that mean the big heads might prefer me over you? Do you really think anyone will abandon me for your sake? Don't deceive yourself."
Gelius stammered for a reason he couldn't comprehend, and when he found no reply, Arius added in a mocking tone completely free of pleading:
"I recall you were on the verge of a punishment that almost finished you; I was the one who saved you. Instead of thanks, you insist on attacking? Get away from me, little one. I do not like to be annoyed by those who think their noses are taller than their statures."
Arius's words vanished into the air as he continued on his way, leaving Gelius standing there, harboring malice and swearing between tooth and claw that he would make Arius pay the price for his words—while Arius laughed mockingly without looking back, stepping away like someone who knew that the game of influence had just begun.
In the sixth world, both Wang and Raymos arrived on planet Earth. Raymos said to Wang, "Believe me, I don't know what I will say to them." Wang looked at him and said, "Just tell them the truth, and that's it."
In the tranquility of the home garden, where sunlight scattered over flower leaves and breezes flowed lightly, Raymos and Wang entered the place, their steps cautious, their hearts heavy with what was churning inside them.
Only moments passed before they spotted Lina sitting among the flowers, studying the documents before her with concentration, her eyes shining with the preoccupation of work, but she raised her head gently when she saw the guests:
"Oh, Raymos, Wang… you've come!"
The two advanced cautiously, as if walking on a thin bridge between honesty and embarrassment, while words flowed in their minds without finding the right path out.
Wang smiled slowly and said:
"Hello, Lina… how are you today?"
Lina replied in an understanding and interested tone, but she did not refrain from drawing attention to what her eyes saw:
"Fine… but, guys, you have been gone for four days. Did you finish the mission the Grand Master gave you?"
Raymos stood for a moment, as if the words were stuck in his throat, his eyes searching for refuge in Wang's eyes, like someone asking for a courage that wasn't there. Then he dared to ask her:
"Ah… Lina… where is my aunt Yuna?"
Lina smiled gently, soothing the troubled souls of the two:
"She's at the market… she wanted to buy some new clothes for my brother, but she will be back soon."
They sat at the table together, a silence filling the moment—a silence adorned with a sense of confusion, as if every word might break the delicate balance they were trying to maintain.
Hours passed, the breeze touching their faces, until Lina said in a calm voice that touched their depths:
"Guys… you don't seem like yourselves today. Did something happen?"
The two exchanged timid glances, then Raymos dared to answer, trying to ease the tension:
"Something? No… nothing happened… it's just that the weather is very beautiful today… isn't it, Wang?"
Wang smiled, trying to hide what was in his heart behind his usual calmness:
"Yes… the weather is beautiful. Not hot, not cold… I like this kind of atmosphere."
And a moment of deep silence passed between them, as if the whole garden was holding its breath, waiting for the true feelings to unfold behind the simple words, and as if nature itself was witnessing the honesty, the confusion, and the drama of hearts that cannot be spoken in words.
The sun filtered through the branches of the trees, and the breeze touched their faces gently, when the driver arrived driving Yuna, who was carrying bags in her hand.
"Shall I help you, my lady?" the driver asked her.
Yuna smiled calmly and said:
"Thank you, my son, I will carry them myself."
Yuna entered the garden to find everyone sitting around the table. Stillness covered the place, but she did not hide her natural question:
"Oh, guys… you're back! How was your mission?"
Raymos stood hesitantly, as if every word in his mouth was heavy, and said:
"Auntie, there is something we would like to tell you… so come and sit here to rest."
Yuna smiled gently and said:
"Take it easy, Raymos… I am going to fall."
Raymos sat her down on the chair, looked at her seriously, and said:
"Auntie, there is an important matter Wang and I want to tell you both… but we don't know where to start."
Yuna sighed and said calmly:
"And what is it?"
Lina cast a timid glance, noticing the absolute silence since their arrival, and said to herself:
"I haven't understood anything yet…"
Yuna asked him affectionately:
"What is it, my son, Raymos? And where is Arius? Why didn't he come with you? I bought him some new clothes…"
Raymos trembled slightly, heavy words shuffling in his mouth before breaking free:
"That's… that's the problem… Arius…"
Lina stared at him in astonishment:
"What's wrong with Arius? Did something happen to him?"
Raymos answered her, his words heavy on his heart:
"No… nothing happened to him… he is completely fine…"
Lina breathed a sigh of relief, but she felt that something had not ended, and her silent heart cried out waiting for the truth. Raymos completed in a voice filled with sadness, as if every letter weighed down his chest:
"In fact… Arius abandoned us… and left forever."
Time stopped for a moment in the garden, as if the sun had frozen, the breeze retreated, and a deep shock swept over Lina and Yuna. They stared at Raymos as if they had heard a heavy joke that couldn't possibly be true. The absolute silence around the table was loud enough to hear every heartbeat, and every breath frozen from shock.
Lina and Yuna sat stunned, their faces a mixture of shock and bewilderment. Lina asked in a trembling voice, "What do you mean, Raymos? That he abandoned us? What kind of joke are you talking about?" Then she laughed, as if trying to make the situation less impactful, and said in a semi-mocking tone, "Since when did you become good at joking and telling jokes?"
Raymos looked at them with a serious face, his eyes carrying the weight of truth: "This is not a joke… it is the truth."
Yuna stepped toward them, her shock clear in her eyes: "What do you mean? That it's the truth?"
Wang spoke quietly but heavily: "Just as you heard, my lady… Arius is no longer present in the sixth world. He has left, returning to his true homeland of his own free will."
Yuna's heart leaped from its place, and her hand trembled as she cried out: "Impossible! That's not true… impossible!" Then her cries turned into pleas filled with pain: "No, my son… it's impossible that he would abandon us… impossible!"
Lina, unable to control her emotions, began to weep bitterly and followed her mother Yuna into the house, her tears watering the place with the pain of loss.
Raymos and Wang stood outside in silence, feeling the weight of this suffering—the pain of children over what they had lost, and the unbearable pain of bereavement. Raymos whispered to himself: "Did we do the right thing?"
Wang looked at him with heavy eyes: "I don't know… let's just leave them now, and hope they calm down with time."
Then, in a swift movement, Wang flew into the sky, piercing the horizon with a speed invisible to the eye, leaving Raymos standing alone, his eyes fixed on the sky, his whispers echoing: "What have you done, Arius .