The grand council chamber of the Omniversal Castle was finally silent. The echoes of divine debates and celestial decrees still clung to the marble walls, like ghosts of pride and fear that refused to fade. The air was thick with remnants of authority — gods, dukes, and lords of countless realms had only moments ago argued over the fate of the monarchs.
Now, only three figures remained within that endless hall — the Omni King seated upon his elevated throne, Rowlan standing to the side like a shadow, and Loryn Ironvale standing before his father.
The golden light from the high windows framed the young boy's figure, his face calm yet uncertain. His small hands were clasped behind his back, his gaze locked on the floor. He could feel his father's piercing blue eyes studying him — weighing him, judging him.
"Loryn," the Omni King began, his deep voice echoing through the vast room. "The council is dismissed. Now tell me… why have you come here?"
Loryn took a breath. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, but his voice remained steady.
"I came because I want to learn your swordsmanship, Father."
The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut steel.
The Omni King leaned slightly forward. His expression did not change — it was calm, regal, but in his eyes flickered something Loryn couldn't read.
"My swordsmanship?" he repeated softly. "Do you even know what you're asking for?"
Loryn frowned. "I know I may not be strong yet… but I've trained. I've studied. I want to learn how you fight, Father."
Rowlan's dark eyes shifted slightly, his expression unreadable. He had seen countless warriors beg for the King's tutelage — and all had been turned away. But this was different. This was the King's own son.
The Omni King slowly rose from his throne. His robe flowed like liquid starlight as he descended the few steps between them. He stopped in front of Loryn — towering, godlike, yet with the weight of a father behind every word.
"You cannot," he said quietly. "You cannot learn my sword style."
Loryn blinked, confused. "Why?"
The Omni King's gaze hardened. "Because you cannot wield mana. You cannot channel spiritual essence, divine force, or even the elemental energies that make up the omniverse. You wield… something else."
"Something else?" Loryn's brows furrowed. "But I—I don't understand. I only know the light I see sometimes… that golden light that—"
The King's expression darkened slightly. "That golden light," he said, cutting him off, "is not light, my son. It is the trace of a power that no one should touch. A power beyond the gods. A power infinite in its hunger and boundless in its reach."
Loryn's heart skipped. "Then… what is it?"
The Omni King looked away for a brief moment, his eyes filled with something rare — hesitation. "You are not ready to know," he finally said.
Loryn's hands clenched at his sides. "Then how am I supposed to become stronger? How can I defend myself? How can I stand beside you one day if you won't even teach me?"
The words hung in the air like fire.
The Omni King turned his gaze back to him, the faintest sigh escaping his lips. "Loryn Ironvale," he said, his voice now colder — not from anger, but from disappointment. "You speak of standing beside me… yet you choose to hide from what you are."
Loryn froze.
"You wish to enter the Academy not as my son, not as a Prince of the Omniverse, but as a commoner?" the King continued. His tone grew heavier, his every word striking like thunder. "Do you understand what that means? To cast away your name, your heritage, your divine blood — all for what? To play among mortals who cannot comprehend who you are?"
Loryn's jaw tightened. He looked up, meeting his father's eyes. "I don't want to be treated differently," he said quietly. "I want to see the world through my own strength — not through a title."
For a heartbeat, the hall was utterly still.
Then the Omni King's laughter broke the silence — deep, low, and filled with something that wasn't joy. "Strength?" he repeated, shaking his head. "You speak of strength when you don't even understand the power sleeping within you."
Rowlan glanced between them, his hands clasped respectfully before him. He could feel the temperature in the room drop — not from cold, but from tension so dense it felt alive.
The King took another step closer, his shadow falling over Loryn. "You are my son. A child born of infinity itself. And yet you choose to hide, to play at being weak, to bury the name Ironvale beneath false modesty?"
Loryn bit his lip but said nothing.
The King's tone softened suddenly, though his words cut even deeper. "You think I don't understand your heart, Loryn? That I don't see the fear in you? You do not wish to be like me — because you fear what I am."
Loryn's eyes widened. "That's not true—"
"Then prove it," the Omni King said quietly. "Prove it not as a nameless child of the academy, but as Loryn Ironvale, Prince of the Omniverse. Carry your name with pride — or carry nothing at all."
Loryn's throat tightened. He wanted to shout, to argue, to make his father understand. But no words came. The Omni King turned away, walking back toward his throne.
"Until the day you understand your power," he said, his back to Loryn, "I will not teach you. I will not even draw my sword in your presence. Leave."
The words hit harder than any blade could.
Loryn stood frozen for a moment, his fists trembling. He opened his mouth but stopped — because in his father's tone, he didn't hear cruelty. He heard sorrow.
Rowlan finally stepped forward and placed a hand gently on the boy's shoulder. "Come, young master," he said softly. "Your father has spoken."
But as Loryn turned to leave, the Omni King's voice came one last time — calm, yet echoing with a strange finality.
"Loryn Ironvale," he said, his tone quieter now. "You seek to walk your own path. Then do so. But remember — the path of a monarch is not walked by those who fear what they are."
Loryn paused at the door but didn't look back. His voice was low, almost trembling.
"I will walk it, Father… and one day, you'll see that I can stand without your name."
The doors closed behind him, the sound reverberating through the endless hall like the toll of fate.
Rowlan lingered a moment longer, then turned his gaze toward the Omni King. "Your Majesty," he said quietly, "was that truly necessary?"
The Omni King did not reply at once. He looked down at his hand, as if remembering something long forgotten — a time when his power hadn't felt like a burden.
"He must break before he can rise," he murmured at last. "Only then will infinity choose him."
Rowlan bowed deeply and left the chamber, leaving the ruler of the Omniverse alone — seated in silence, beneath the weight of eternity.
---
Outside, Loryn walked through the vast marble corridors of the castle. His footsteps echoed faintly, swallowed by the stillness of the place. The golden banners and celestial sigils carved into the walls felt heavy now — each one a reminder of the name he carried, the name he wished he didn't.
He clenched his fists as he walked.
Why can't he understand? he thought bitterly. Why does everything have to be about titles, power, bloodlines…
He stopped near one of the great windows, looking out at the shimmering sky of the Omniverse — layers upon layers of realms, stars, and energy flowing like rivers of light. Somewhere within all that vastness, millions lived and died without ever knowing the weight of a divine name.
"I don't want to be a king," he whispered. "I just want to be… me."
But as soon as the words left his lips, he felt something — faint, warm, flickering deep inside his chest. A pulse of that same golden radiance he had seen since birth, glowing faintly beneath his skin.
It faded as quickly as it came, leaving him breathless.
That light again…
He pressed his hand over his heart, frowning. Is this what Father meant? Infinite energy…?
He didn't understand it — not yet. But something in his father's eyes earlier, that moment of hesitation, told him this "infinite power" was both a blessing and a curse.
"Someday," he muttered to himself, straightening his back. "I'll master it… even if it kills me."
Rowlan approached quietly from behind, his footsteps as soft as whispers. "You shouldn't take your father's words so harshly, young master."
Loryn turned slightly, his eyes still distant. "He doesn't see me for who I am. Only for what I'm supposed to be."
Rowlan smiled faintly — a rare, almost sad smile. "That is what all fathers do. Even kings."
Loryn glanced at him, and for a moment, the boy's stubborn pride softened. "You knew about… the power inside me, didn't you?"
Rowlan's dark eyes met his, calm as the void itself. "I know enough to fear it," he admitted quietly. "And enough to believe that if anyone can master it… it would be you, young master."
Loryn looked away, his gaze turning back to the skies. The rivers of light danced above the infinite horizon.
"I'll prove it," he whispered. "Not to him… but to myself."
Rowlan said nothing more. He only watched the boy, knowing that a path had begun — one no destiny could unwrite.
As they reached the end of the corridor, a soft, melodic voice broke the silence.
"Loryn."
Both turned.
There, standing beneath the archway of radiant gold, was the Omni Queen. Her long golden hair shimmered like threads of sunlight, her sapphire eyes filled with warmth — and worry.
"Mother…" Loryn whispered, his anger and defiance faltering all at once.
She smiled gently. "Come with me, my son."
The tension in his chest eased for just a heartbeat, and he followed her down the hall — unaware that behind her tender gaze, she already knew what his father had seen:
The spark of infinity awakening once again.