"Please, don't look at me like that. People will believe I am giving you a bad codename," Kaden said with twitching lips as he noticed the dead stare of Rocky.

He still didn't know its name. Not even if it had one. So he called him Rocky.

They were sitting at a table made of stone. But you wouldn't guess it at first glance, as the design was intricate, smoothed like polished wood, with trees carved delicately into its surface.

Each of them had a cup of steaming tea before them, the fragrant scent of jasmine filling the air, warming the atmosphere, wrapping them in deceptive peace.

"How can you say cluster of rocks is not a bad name?" Rocky groaned. He now looked like a tall, bulky man with brown skin laced with red tattoos, a shaved head, and glowing red eyes.

He was weirdly handsome. But it wasn't surprising, Kaden had never met an ugly awakened, let alone an ugly grandmaster.

"Aren't you a cluster of rocks?" Kaden asked in return, tilting his head in genuine puzzlement.

"I believe it's quite descriptive, goodman."

"That's not the point, little boy. I need a codename that would be worthy of a myth," Rocky shot back.

"Like the Undefeated Slave? Was it a name master chose for himself or given by The Will?"

"Little boy," Rocky said again, pressing on the word with weight, "who would call himself Slave?"

Kaden shrugged, took a sip of his tea. "The worlds are filled with questionable people. I wouldn't be surprised if someone called himself the Smart One even though he was the most foolish bastard to ever grace this earth."

"That was uncalled for," Rocky muttered.

"I know," Kaden snickered.

"But I have a question that's been gnawing at my mind since I succeeded my quest. The Will said something like 'The Hero is watching you.'"

Subtly, almost imperceptibly, Rocky twitched at the mention of The Hero.

"Do you know anything about that Hero?" Kaden finally asked.

Rocky was silent for a long moment, then spoke.

"You must by now be aware of the Seven Wonders." His tone was strangely serious. "I do not know all seven, but I know three. At least, I know their titles."

Then he smiled, showing yellow teeth that gleamed strangely bright, almost golden under the light, beautiful despite what one might expect.

"And you must already know, a title is half the essence of the one who carries it."

Kaden nodded, his crimson eyes gleaming with interest. His master had told him to learn anything he could, and he intended to obey.

So with eagerness dripping from his voice, "Tell me. Who are they? What are their titles?"

Reditha appeared behind him, her arms wrapping around his neck as always, her chin pressed against his shoulder as if she would accept no other place but this one.

Rocky spoke:

"The first is someone you already know. The Undefeated Slave. His title already says much. A slave that was undefeated. But as you can see… the truth goes deeper than that."

"Sometimes a title doesn't do justice to who we really are," he said with sudden melancholy, then quickly masked it and went on.

Kaden nodded again, signaling him to continue. Reditha mirrored him, nodding in exaggerated mimicry.

"The second is someone — or something — I don't know much about. Pandora."

Kaden's brows furrowed. The name rang like a distant bell in his memory.

He had never been a fan of mythology back on Earth, but Pandora's box was a story etched into history itself.

His interest sharpened. If this was the same Pandora, then things were far more dangerous and interesting than he thought.

'Pandora's box… a vessel said to contain all the evils and hardships of the world. Could it be true here as well? Or was it something different?'

But in that moment, he made a mistake.

"You seem to know something about Pandora," Rocky observed, his red eyes narrowing as he caught the flicker of expression on Kaden's face.

Kaden had grown careless, his body betraying the thought that crossed his mind. He realized it too late.

But instead of retreating, instead of feigning ignorance, he smiled faintly and leaned forward.

"Oh yes, something did come to mind when you said Pandora. I met a woman once, in a small village to the northwest, who called herself Dora. The name just amused me." His voice was steady, his breathing even, his gaze clear — the picture of honesty.

He took a sip of his tea.

Of course, he had met no Dora. He didn't even know why his thoughts ran there. But it didn't matter.

Rocky seemed to accept it, brushing the remark aside as he continued.

"As I said, Pandora is a mysterious one. But the third… the third is no less mysterious." His eyes dropped to the tea, which remained steaming hot, untouched by time.

"Who?" Kaden pressed.

Rocky didn't answer immediately. The air grew tense, heavy, as though the very world leaned in to hear his words.

Finally, he looked up, his voice sharp.

"The one The Will told you of. The one watching you." He fixed his eyes directly on Kaden. "The Hero with a Thousand Faces."

At once, Kaden felt a crushing weight press against his chest. His heartbeat spiked wildly before the pressure vanished as quickly as it came.

He exhaled sharply, steadying himself, his mind racing.

'What the fuck was that?'

He raised his gaze, crimson eyes locking onto Rocky. "Who is he?"

Rocky only shrugged. "A hero. With a thousand faces."

Kaden frowned, unease twisting in his chest. "He's a hero, right? He must be a good person then." His voice carried a note of doubt he couldn't bury.

At that, Rocky's smile curved like a shadow.

"A hero… is a good person? That kind of idealism blinds men, little boy."

"What do you mean?"

"It depends on where you stand. On what you choose to see." Rocky's voice was calm, almost cold. "To some, a hero is salvation. To others, he is ruin. A hero is also a villain, and a villain can be a hero. Perspective decides the mask."

He leaned back, smirking.

"So when you say a hero is good… I say it depends on what you dare to call 'good.'"

His smile sharpened, his tone like steel.

"I can be a savior in your eyes and in another's…the greatest monster that ever walked the earth."

The words sank deep. Kaden's chest tightened, the weight of this unseen Hero growing darker, heavier, far more dangerous than he wanted to admit.

What unsettled him most was the thought: if his master was already immortal, the one who could not be defeated…

…then what was the Hero?

What made him special?

And what did those thousand faces in his title truly mean?

Kaden cursed inwardly. 'Why the hell is that guy even watching me? Look somewhere else, damn it. I'm not that interesting.'

Grumbling inwardly, he decided to end the talk of Wonders.

They might be special, yes, but he was no lesser. He was the man who could not stay dead, who grew stronger with every kill, every mouthful of blood, every soul devoured. He would not bow his head to anyone.

His master had told him himself. He carried more than just a Will. So, he would become more than what he was.

More than a Wonder.

For now though…

"I've decided your codename," Kaden said suddenly, his crimson eyes narrowing. "You seem knowledgeable about history, about myth, even about gods. Even though it seems you cannot talk about them. Because of your tattoos, I assume."

Rocky simply nodded.

"Well then," Kaden's lips curved into a sharp smile, "from now on you are The Anthropologist of the Crimson Veil."

The words rang like a decree.

"Now, to conclude this, I will need your blood, Anthropologist."

His crimson eyes gleamed.

"You can bleed, right? If not, don't worry. I'll teach you how to bleed."

—End of Chapter 242—

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