Beyond Heaven.
Beyond Hell.
Beyond the countless dimensions hidden amongst the stars.
There existed a lonely plain.
Golden grass stretched endlessly toward the horizon while countless white flowers swayed gently beneath an eternal breeze.
A crystal river flowed silently through the fields.
No birds sang.
No insects moved.
Even the wind itself seemed reluctant to disturb the tranquility.
It was peaceful.
Far too peaceful.
As though this place existed outside the concept of conflict itself.
At the center of the endless plain stood a simple wooden barn.
Old.
Weathered.
Yet untouched by time.
Sloth slowly pushed open the barn door.
The old wood creaked softly.
Inside, a woman with long white hair knelt beside a small garden of flowers.
She carefully tended to each plant with gentle hands.
A small smile appeared on Sloth's face.
"Was that enough, My Queen?"
The woman paused.
Then let out a quiet chuckle.
"What was enough, Sloth?"
The Demon King sighed.
Slowly taking a seat nearby.
"Oh please."
"It was you who wished for me to meet him."
The woman gently brushed dirt from one of the flowers.
"I never asked you anything."
Sloth rolled his eyes.
The same answer as always.
The woman continued calmly.
"Your choices have always belonged to you."
"Just as mine belong to me."
For a moment neither spoke.
The silence inside the barn felt ancient.
Then the woman's gaze slowly drifted toward the endless sky.
Toward something beyond the stars.
Beyond the dimensions hidden behind them.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Those two..."
"I wonder when our paths will finally meet."
Sloth followed her gaze.
His expression became unreadable.
Then he asked quietly,
"Who do you think will arrive first?"
The woman hummed softly.
A sound carried away by the wind.
"I wonder."
That was all she said.
Sloth sighed.
Of course.
He slowly stood up.
Making his way toward the door.
Before leaving, he glanced back one final time.
The woman remained exactly where she was.
Still gazing at the heavens.
Still waiting.
As though she had been waiting for a very long time.
And would continue waiting for much longer.
A small smirk appeared on Sloth's face.
"You do know, My Queen."
"You always have."
The woman said nothing.
The barn became silent once more.
In her hands rested a worn book.
Its cover showed signs of being read countless times.
Her fingers gently traced the title.
Arcane Odyssey: The Strongest Swordmaster
A faint chuckle escaped her lips.
"A novel, huh..."
The pages slowly turned.
And for the briefest moment—
something ancient flickered within her silver eyes.
Something that did not belong to this world.
Or perhaps any world.
Then she smiled.
And continued reading.
...
"No, that's incorrect."
"Straighten your left hand."
Clara frowned.
Then immediately adjusted Leo's posture herself.
"Ugh."
"Even a baby could manage this."
"So why can't you?"
Leo's eye twitched.
Currently, Clara Taylor and Leo were inside one of the academy's private training rooms.
Leo was standing in perhaps the most awkward pose imaginable.
One leg raised.
Both arms extended.
His back bent unnaturally.
It looked less like training and more like some strange dance ritual.
Veins appeared on his forehead.
What exactly was this crazy woman trying to teach him?
Meanwhile Clara stood behind him muttering to herself.
"Huh..."
"Was it not like this in the novel?"
"I'm pretty sure it was exactly like this..."
Leo finally couldn't take it anymore.
"President Clara, stop wasting my ti—"
The door suddenly opened.
Two people entered.
Leo's words died in his throat.
The first was a young man with black hair and cold blue eyes.
Silver Ryker.
The son of Alaric Ryker.
One of the greatest prodigies of Verilian.
Leo immediately straightened his back.
Then his eyes widened again.
The second person was even more famous.
Samuel Crimson.
The current Apex of the third year's.
The strongest student in the academy.
Even Silver was often compared to him.
The two stopped after entering.
Samuel blinked.
Then glanced at Clara.
"Hm?"
"What are you doing here?"
Clara immediately laughed awkwardly.
"Ah."
"I'm just helping one of my juniors."
Samuel nodded.
Then glanced at Leo's bizarre posture.
"...What kind of training is that?"
Clara froze.
"Uh..."
"It's..."
"A yoga style."
"Yes."
"Yoga."
Silver stared at her.
Samuel simply nodded.
"I see."
"Being Student Council President must be difficult."
Leo's lips twitched.
You didn't believe that for a second.
Meanwhile—
his attention shifted elsewhere.
Silver was staring toward the far end of the training room.
Leo followed his gaze.
Then froze.
Only now did he realize.
The training room was destroyed.
The walls were cracked.
The floor was shattered.
Sword marks covered every surface.
It looked as though a battlefield had erupted inside.
"W-Wait..."
Leo's eyes widened.
"I've been here for thirty minutes."
"How did I not notice any of this?"
At the center of the destruction—
a lone figure continued training.
His sword swung repeatedly.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Rio gritted his teeth.
Sweat dripped down his face.
His muscles screamed.
Yet he continued moving.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
A single thought echoed inside his head.
Stronger.
He needed to become stronger.
Suddenly—
a hand touched his shoulder.
Instinct took over.
His body vanished.
Before anyone could react—
Rio had already appeared behind the person.
His hand wrapped around their throat.
The atmosphere froze.
Everyone stared.
Rio's eyes widened.
It was Clara.
For a moment—
neither moved.
It had been over a year since they last met.
Clara herself looked completely stunned.
Her finger slowly pointed toward the hand around her neck.
Rio immediately released her.
"...Sorry."
Clara quickly backed away.
The room fell silent.
Rio lowered his gaze.
His hand trembled slightly.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Ever since Sloth activated the Stigmatas—
something felt different.
His emotions were unstable.
Rage.
Pride.
Greed.
They lingered beneath the surface constantly.
Like whispers.
Like instincts that didn't belong to him.
Rio slowly clenched his fist.
"What the hell..."
...
Few minutes later—
I sat across from Clara inside a small restaurant near the academy.
Sunlight filtered through the glass windows while the distant chatter of students filled the air.
After nearly strangling her by accident earlier
I figured treating her to a meal was the least I could do.
Clara lazily stirred her drink before speaking.
"So I heard you're back for good?"
"Looks that way."
She nodded.
Then casually added,
"And yes, I'm the Student Council President now."
My eyebrow twitched slightly.
Student Council President...
That reminded me.
My thoughts drifted toward the blue-haired boy from earlier.
The one Clara had been training.
"Who was that guy?"
"Hm?"
Clara tilted her head.
"Oh."
"You mean Leo?"
"He's one of my juniors."
"I've been helping him train recently."
My eyes widened for the briefest moment.
Fortunately—
I quickly composed myself.
Leo Draven.
The person I had been searching for.
The future Dragon Emperor.
A hybrid.
Neither human.
Nor dragon.
Yet somehow both.
A monster hidden beneath a human appearance.
My gaze lingered on Clara for a moment.
Does she know?
No.
That wouldn't make sense.
At this point in the story—
nobody should know.
Clara suddenly narrowed her eyes.
"You're thinking about something weird again."
I coughed.
"Nothing important."
She clearly didn't believe me.
But thankfully—
she changed the subject.
"So."
"Why exactly did you disappear for an entire year?"
"You missed the whole second year."
I slowly leaned back into my chair.
Then let out a sigh.
"...It's a long story."
And so—
I told her everything.
Why I went to Astryx.
What my goal had been.
The truth about my identity.
My family.
The war.
The things I experienced.
The things I lost.
And the things I gained.
By the time I finished—
the food had already gone cold.
Silence filled the table.
"..."
"..."
I blinked.
Then glanced toward Clara.
Her expression looked strange.
Very strange.
"Hm?"
"What's with that reaction?"
Clara slowly looked up.
Her lips trembled.
"R-Repeat your name."
I frowned.
"My name?"
"Rio Valen."
"Why?"
The moment those words left my mouth—
Clara froze.
The cup slipped from her fingers.
Clink.
Her chair scraped against the floor as she slowly stood up.
Her breathing became uneven.
Heavy.
Almost panicked.
I immediately narrowed my eyes.
What the hell?
Why is she reacting like that?
---
A girl sat alone inside her room.
Her pink hair was tied lazily into a ponytail.
A pencil spun between her fingers.
"Hmm..."
Yungseo stared at the screen before her.
A frustrated sigh escaped her lips.
"How am I supposed to end this stupid novel?"
Behind her—
a small voice suddenly spoke.
"Are you about to finish it, Big Sis?"
Yungseo nearly jumped out of her chair.
"Huh?"
"Mia?"
"When did you get in here?"
The little girl tilted her head.
"I was always here."
"..."
"...Really?"
Yungseo wasn't entirely convinced.
But she shrugged anyway.
"Whatever."
"I'm finally done with this stupid thing."
"The only reason I kept writing it was because of that annoying reader."
Mia glanced toward the monitor.
A comment was displayed on the screen.
@Chicken_LL:
Please do better. The quality of your chapters keeps getting worse.
Yungseo's eye twitched.
"Tch."
"If he hates it so much, then why does he keep reading?"
Mia giggled softly.
"So how are you ending the story?"
Yungseo leaned back.
"Hmm."
"Maybe a Demon King kills everyone."
"Samuel dies."
"Everyone dies."
"The End."
Mia blinked.
"...That's a terrible ending."
Yungseo gasped.
"Traitor."
The little girl smiled.
A rare sight.
One that Yungseo almost missed.
Then her eyes drifted toward a sheet of paper Mia was trying desperately to hide.
Yungseo immediately smirked.
"Huh?"
"What's that?"
Mia quickly hid it behind her back.
"N-Nothing."
"Oh?"
"You wrote something?"
Mia lowered her head.
A faint blush appeared on her face.
"I..."
"I wanted to write my own story."
Yungseo's eyes widened.
For a moment—
she genuinely looked surprised.
Mia rarely showed interest in anything.
The girl barely spoke.
Years ago—
Their mother had found her alone inside an abandoned house and had decided to adopt her.
Since then—
she had always remained quiet.
Distant.
Like she existed somewhere else.
Yet now—
she wanted to write a story.
Yungseo suddenly felt curious.
"Oh?"
"You want to follow your amazing older sister?"
Mia rolled her eyes.
Yungseo immediately ignored that reaction.
"So."
"What's it called?"
Mia instantly shook her head.
"I'll tell you after I finish it."
"Huh?"
"That's not fair."
"At least tell me the main character's name."
For a brief moment—
Mia hesitated.
Then—
a small smile appeared on her face.
The kind of smile she almost never showed.
She spoke softly.
"Rio."
Yungseo blinked.
"Rio?"
Mia nodded.
Her smile widened.
"Rio Valen."