Chapter 260 — What Was Truly Engraved
Kharas's Palace was silent.
Not majestic. Not orderly.
Silent like a place where something waits to grow.
Yzareth leaned against a broken pillar. Arms crossed. Wings folded. Still a little vexed on principle.
The Nameless Ancient floated slightly above the ground, as if he had never truly touched reality.
At the center of the hall, Kharas sat. Calm. One leg crossed over the other.
His torso still bore the slash. Not closed. Not in a hurry to heal.
He was smiling.
— Well, said Yzareth.
— Are you going to explain, or are we supposed to applaud without understanding?
Kharas lifted his eyes. Amused.
— I love it when you pretend to be intelligent.
Yzareth growled.
— I'm listening.
The Nameless Ancient tilted his head slightly.
— The Creators sensed something.
— But not what they think.
Kharas nodded.
— Of course.
— Otherwise I'd already be erased.
— Or worse.
— Grounded by mother.
He chuckled to himself.
Then his gaze grew more serious. Not cold. Precise.
— I didn't want to win against Zarion.
— I couldn't.
— Not yet.
Yzareth frowned.
— Then why provoke a monster in his own palace?
Kharas raised a finger.
— Because the Infinite Palace… is not a place.
Silence.
— It's a system.
The Nameless Ancient froze.
— You mean…
— Yes, answered Kharas.
— An autonomous entity.
— A narrative mechanism.
— That recognizes,
— classifies,
— and authorizes.
He rose slowly.
— As long as I remained external, I did not exist for it.
He tapped the slash on his torso.
— This wound… it wasn't a defeat.
— It was a validation.
Yzareth felt something twist in his chest.
— Wait… you mean…
— I forced a real interaction.
— An accepted collision.
— An exchange of causality.
He smiled broadly.
— In simple language: the Palace recorded me.
A heavy silence fell.
— As a variable, murmured the Nameless Ancient.
— Not as an intruder.
Kharas snapped his fingers.
— Exactly.
Yzareth clenched his teeth.
— You're insane.
— Even the Creators wouldn't dare do that.
Kharas shrugged.
— They don't need to.
— I do.
He turned toward them.
— Next time I return there… the Palace will hesitate.
— Not for long, said the Ancient.
— A microsecond is enough, replied Kharas.
— Especially against Zarion.
He approached a balcony overlooking the Void.
— I didn't open a door.
— I left a trace.
Yzareth felt a cold shiver run through his wings.
— And now?
Kharas smiled. A slow, dangerous smile.
— Now… whatever he does… the Palace will remember me.
He raised his arms.
— And in a system as perfect as his…
He burst out laughing.
— …the slightest memory is a flaw.
Silence.
Then Yzareth exhaled.
— You're truly a problem.
Kharas turned back.
— Thank you.
— That was exactly the point.
Chapter 261 — What the Palace Cannot Forget
The Infinite Palace had repaired itself.
The destroyed layers had been replaced.
The fractured structures, realigned.
The rules, rewritten neatly.
In appearance.
Zarion was alone in the throne room.
Standing. Motionless.
The battle had been over for some time.
And yet…
Something lingered.
Not a wound.
Not a threat.
A sensation.
He slowly placed his hand on the armrest of the throne.
The Palace responded. As always.
But with a very slight delay.
Zarion frowned.
— …Interesting.
Behind him, the Primordial Attendants were present.
Aligned. Silent.
Nyx was the first to speak.
— You felt it too.
It was not a question.
Astra nodded.
— The Palace hesitated.
— Not for long.
— But it did.
Thalassa crossed her arms.
— A hesitation in a perfect system…
— does not exist.
Zarion closed his eyes for a moment.
He opened the palm of his hand again.
Where he had blocked the strike.
The skin was intact.
But…
— It is not a wound, he said calmly.
— It is a memory.
Silence fell.
Eberus clenched her fists.
— He left a trace.
— No, corrected Zarion.
— The Palace accepted that he exists here.
Nyx grimaced.
— That's worse.
Aethera stepped forward slightly.
— The system did not reject his existence.
— It integrated it as…
— a valid interaction.
Thalassa exhaled.
— As if he now belonged…
— to the realm of possibilities.
Zarion did not answer immediately.
He walked slowly through the hall.
Each step triggered a perfect reaction.
Too perfect.
— I do not yet understand what he did, he admitted.
— But I know one thing.
He stopped.
— Kharas did not come to win.
— He came to be recognized.
Astra whispered:
— By the Palace itself…
Nyx clenched her teeth.
— He used your body as an anchor point.
Zarion nodded slowly.
— Yes.
— And that is why he left smiling.
A brief silence.
Then Eberus muttered, annoyed:
— Honestly, he could have left a card or an instruction manual.
Zarion allowed himself a faint smile.
Almost imperceptible.
— That would not be him.
He lifted his eyes toward the infinite heights of the Palace.
— The Palace has not forgotten him.
— But it does not know what it has recorded.
He slowly closed his fist.
— And neither do I.
The Attendants exchanged glances.
Nyx murmured:
— When a place like this doubts…
— it is never a good sign.
Zarion answered calmly:
— No.
— But it is also proof
— that this battle was only the beginning.
The Infinite Palace vibrated faintly.
As if it confirmed.
Or as if it tried to understand what it had just let in.
Chapter 262 — S‑Rank Portal, But Not Up to Par
Meanwhile, on Earth.
Inside an S‑Rank portal.
The air was heavy. Saturated with unstable mana.
The ground was cracked, covered with traces of recent battles and blackened blood.
Annabelle advanced.
Her two axes, linked by a chain, spun around her like uncontrollable satellites.
One step.
Then a sudden burst of speed.
She cut through a group of monsters.
Creatures bound together, misshapen, made of flesh fused with raw energy.
Their bodies seemed incomplete, as if reality had forgotten to finish them.
Multiple eyes.
Limbs too long.
Twisted horns.
They didn't even have time to understand.
The axes passed.
The bodies were sliced cleanly, sectioned before dissolving into unstable mana particles.
Annabelle smiled.
— Hmm… too easy.
She stowed her weapons across her back, crossed.
Then simply raised a finger.
A monster roared and charged at her.
— Bam.
A jet of condensed flames burst forth.
Not an explosion.
Not a burn.
The heat annihilated the monster's internal magical structure directly.
Its existence disintegrated at the source.
It was vaporized, as if it had never been there.
Annabelle vanished.
She reappeared before another monster, massive, covered in bony plates.
It swung its axe.
She ducked.
Kick.
The monster was hurled against a wall of the portal.
She reappeared behind it.
A ray of pure energy pierced its back.
The body disintegrated from within, mana surging into total overload before collapsing on itself.
— Seriously… she sighed.
— Always too easy.
A hand landed on her shoulder.
Annabelle didn't move.
Behind her, a humanoid monster trembled.
Its skin cracked under invisible pressure.
— W‑what is this…
— This amount of mana…
— She's human…?
Annabelle smiled.
— Bad idea.
It wasn't an attack.
It was her presence.
The natural mana barrier around her resonated with the monster's body.
Its magical cells desynchronized.
Its existence lost all coherence.
It slowly vaporized, erased by reality itself.
— Honestly, she said,
— these S‑Rank portals… just cheap junk.
She stomped the ground.
Spikes of earth shot out in all directions, impaling several monsters.
Magic circles appeared instantly, releasing beams of light that reduced them to nothing.
She kept walking.
Hands in her pockets.
Arrows flew from all sides.
They shattered against an invisible dimensional barrier.
— Oh?
— Archers?
She smiled.
— Surprise.
She vanished.
Reappeared before them.
— Not cool, attacking someone from behind.
Blades of light materialized.
An instant later, the archers were impaled.
She finally reached a great door.
Hands still in her pockets.
A gigantic silhouette rose before her.
Humanoid.
Massive horns.
Skin thick as stone.
The Minotaur.
He held a colossal mace.
He roared.
The roar made the entire portal tremble.
Annabelle smiled.
The mace came down.
Before the Minotaur even understood what was happening,
his two arms fell to the ground.
Annabelle had already sheathed her axes.
She vanished.
Reappeared inside the Minotaur's torso, suspended perpendicular to him, as if gravity no longer existed.
— Ciao.
She pointed her finger.
A jet of ultra‑condensed energy burst forth.
The upper body of the Minotaur was completely vaporized.
He collapsed.
Annabelle kept walking.
She reached the door.
— Oh?
— What's this…?
She kicked.
The door exploded.
The entire portal shook from the impact.
Before her:
A labyrinth.
Not a normal labyrinth.
A thousand floors.
A thousand dimensions.
Each floor with its own laws.
Each dimension greater than the last.
Each level opening onto an infinite universe, unbound by space or time.
Annabelle blinked.
— …Interesting.
She placed her hand on the structure.
A pure physical pressure.
The labyrinth trembled.
Then she imagined Liora scolding her.
— …Fine.
— I'll warn the others.
Far away.
At the summit of the final floor.
Someone opened their eyes.
— Who dared to shake the labyrinth…
— that I stole by beating its boss?
Chapter 263 — The Labyrinth of a Thousand Laws
Annabelle left the dungeon without even looking back.
The portal closed behind her with a dull rumble, as if refusing to be ignored… but too late.
She rose into the air, crossing the city at a leisurely speed, hands in her pockets, looking almost bored.
The streets slid beneath her, lights, towers, entire districts reduced to simple moving lines.
A few seconds later, she landed in front of the headquarters of the Black Eclipse Guild.
The building seemed alive.
Black and silver glyphs ran across the walls like mana circuits, pulsing slowly.
The massive doors opened on their own with a deep breath, as if the HQ recognized her aura.
Inside, the dark crystal floor reflected silhouettes, while projections of missions, worlds, and portals floated in the air.
Annabelle entered without slowing down.
She climbed the floors, ignoring stairs and elevators, appearing directly before the elite's grand meeting hall.
The doors opened.
Inside, Valor sat perfectly still, absorbing mana from several worlds at once.
The space around him seemed slightly distorted, as if he swallowed reality out of habit.
Annabelle glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
This monster is way too talented…
If I had known he'd become this strong, I would've avoided teaching him my technique.
Lya gave her a smile.
— So? Dungeon closed?
Shadow, arms crossed beside her, remained silent, watching Annabelle with suspicion.
— Cleaned, Annabelle replied.
Then she added, with a sly smile:
— But I saw something… sensational.
Nova, buried in a book, barely lifted her eyes.
— "Sensational" coming from you already worries me. What was it?
Rynn leaned forward.
— Go on, tell us.
Annabelle conjured a projection in the air.
A colossal labyrinth unfolded before their eyes.
— A labyrinth of a thousand floors.
— A thousand dimensions.
— Each with its own laws.
— And each floor greater than the last.
The image zoomed in: each dimension opened onto a different universe, infinite, without edge, without temporal markers.
— No defined space.
— No fixed time.
Marie, beside Ethan, had eyes shining.
— Wow… that promises so much.
Ethan, arms crossed:
— Yeah. Way too much, even.
Arthur Pendragon, Excalibur on his back, sighed.
— Meh. I've got other things to deal with. Like being with my wife.
Beatrice clung to his arm.
— Exactly. Marital priority.
Naël grimaced.
— Do your stuff somewhere else.
Beatrice turned to him, offended.
— Who do you think you are? You won't stop me from embracing my darling.
Arthur smiled.
— Ignore him. He's just jealous.
— WHO's jealous here?! protested Naël.
— Stop, Naël, Zarion said calmly. Let them be.
On the side, Valen, Judgment Sword on his back, murmured to Elyonna, the spirit of the sword perched on his shoulder:
— Arthur is too pretentious.
— You're just jealous, Elyonna replied without hesitation.
— Nonsense…
Drake nodded.
— Still… this really does promise a lot.
Liora raised her hand.
— Enough. Annabelle, what you're saying is important.
How could something like this appear here?
Before Annabelle could answer, Lya spoke, already deep in thought.
— This labyrinth is not just a trial.
It's a tool.
All eyes turned to her.
— If its structure is stable, then it can adapt to humans.
— A thousand floors means controlled progression.
— A thousand dimensions means perfect diversification of skills.
She paused.
— But most of all… if the boss of the labyrinth agrees to write a fundamental rule…
Shadow looked at her, intrigued.
— …then anyone dying inside could be automatically resurrected outside.
Silence.
Even Valor seemed to absorb mana a little less quickly.
— No more useless deaths, Lya continued.
— Real training, without permanent loss.
— Accelerated evolution of our hunters.
Shadow stared inwardly.
Complete analysis in seconds…
Why have I never met her before?
Even if I hate the punk look he gave me…
Liora nodded slowly.
— It's an excellent idea.
— Safety, progression, collective strength.
Elyon smiled.
— Mom, this thing is extraordinary. It could propel us far beyond the other guilds.
At that moment, Valor finally opened his eyes.
A smile spread across his face.
— The great Valor is in the house.
Silence.
Then Annabelle sighed.
— Seriously… couldn't you enter normally just once in your life?
Valor shrugged.
— Where's the fun in that?