An alert went off for the countless military officers of the Solar Federation Empire, the ones in charge of Neo-Britannia's capital. Dozens of them rushed in the same direction.

Since the alert had come from a member of New Arcadia's group, the high-ranking officers from that empire—who were present for the tournament—were also notified and moved out together.

When they reached the large building, the door opened automatically, allowing the group to enter. Inside, nearly twenty people found Darian in the Divine Meditation Hall, standing beside the four members of his group—completely unconscious.

"Darian! What happened?" one of the high-ranking officers from his own empire asked urgently.

Darian took a deep breath and looked at everyone in the room.

"Good question. I found them collapsed—barely alive. I stabilized them, but it cost me a bunch of artifacts…"

Everyone rushed to check on the four, and their faces sank. This had never happened before. When arriving, everyone was told they couldn't stay more than one hour in the hall—or they'd risk injury.

Of course, there'd been a few idiots who tried to push it. But even then, after a minute past the limit, they'd suffer a minor soul wound and be automatically forced out. Sure, it would mess with their tournament chances, but nothing that couldn't be healed over time.

Now these four... had soul wounds way deeper than anything they'd ever seen—especially one of them, whose condition looked awful. How the hell did it get this bad without them being kicked out?

The high-ranking officer looked at Darian, clearly tense. People had high expectations for his group in this tournament… and now…

He turned to the Solar Federation's officers. "We demand an explanation. Bring up the recordings. Now."

Everyone went serious. Something was clearly off, and they had to investigate ASAP. One of the officers didn't waste time—he activated an emergency badge and sent a message.

It only took a minute for nearly twenty more people to arrive and hurry into the building.

"See for yourself," one of the officers said, tossing a pale crystal to the high-ranking man.

He caught it and crushed it in his hand. A distortion rippled through the air, and a glow formed, projecting images. They were the recordings from the last few hours in the hall. Everyone focused on the footage.

The recording showed the four of them entering the hall and activating the artifact connected to it.

…

Nothing happened, so the playback speed was cranked up.

An hour went by—none of them had moved. The footage kept fast-forwarding.

Two hours later, three of them dropped out of the artifact, passed out and pale.

One hour after that, Silas dropped too—but in his case, it was probably because his soul was so damaged he couldn't stay in the mental world any longer.

The recordings didn't just show visuals. The high-ranking officer waved his hand and opened a report, showing energy fluctuations and all kinds of internal readings. And still… nothing unusual. Not in them, not in the hall.

Once inside the mental world, anyone could leave with just a thought. So how did this happen?

These kids weren't dumb enough to force themselves to stay while taking serious soul damage.

"As you can see, nothing went wrong," a new voice spoke up calmly as someone stepped into the hall.

Everyone turned to look. It was a tall man with a long white beard. The Solar Federation officers all gave him a respectful nod.

This was the most powerful and respected figure in the strongest empire on Earth. He was the one in charge of the entire military and the Emperor's right-hand man. There wasn't even an official title for his position—but he was basically the vice-emperor.

"Thomas, this isn't right," the New Arcadia officer said firmly. "It could be something with the hall's artifact. There's no way this happened on its own."

Thomas snorted and waved his hand, pulling out a small yellow artifact. In that moment, a massive glowing orb descended from the ceiling. It was the core of the near-supreme artifact.

Everyone moved in to inspect it, using their senses and powers to analyze it carefully.

Meanwhile…

Darian was the only one who stayed still, just watching everything with a cold stare. Niara, sitting on his head, was giving everyone a sharp look. But Darian… he was focused only on Thomas.

To him, Thomas looked like a demonic entity, radiating a thick, dark flame — intense enough to rival even a Risen Chief.

Trying to pull off something that filthy and think he wouldn't notice? Yeah, right. In your dreams.

That attack had been the same as a murder attempt—and even if it failed, it still left a karmic mark. That's why Darian's vision suddenly shifted...

His connection to all of this had started just under five months ago. Thomas had received a sudden message through a crystal, and the moment he read it, his eyes widened.

Without hesitation, he got into a private aircraft and flew over the Pacific Ocean.

Not long after... a secluded island came into view. It was only a few kilometers wide, surrounded by a dense little forest. In the center, there was a building—not that tall, but radiating a heavy, oppressive presence.

"The Wube family..." he muttered, taking a deep breath.

Darian watched it all, surprised. Even for someone as important as that man, the family his father had once belonged to clearly stood way above.

Thomas landed, and no one came to greet him. He moved silently, full of respect, approaching the massive building in the center.

He waited patiently for several minutes near the entrance, until finally a servant opened the door and waved him in. He walked slowly—no rush, no arrogance.

He was led into a brightly lit room. Inside… only one woman waited, staring at him with a cold expression.

"Lady Mallory, it's an honor to meet you," he said, bowing politely.

She scoffed, and got straight to the point.

Darian was the target. But he couldn't be attacked directly, or the protection around him would trigger a serious investigation. There were too many ways for him to trace what had happened, even if, from the high-ranking officer's perspective, everything had gone off perfectly.

So... the target would be the people close to him. They'd leave a clear message: they'd start by killing his tournament group. And if he didn't surrender, things would just get worse.

"I've already sent word to your Emperor. He'll pretend nothing happened. I'm counting on you," Mallory finished coldly.

He nodded and bowed quickly.

Then, on his way back, he used one of the empire's supreme artifacts inside the hall where Darian's group would be staying.

Darian saw the whole setup, and realized that artifact could be configured with terrifying precision. Even if he had entered the hall with the others, it would only affect them—not him.

And the worst part... once it was triggered, the artifact's power would completely vanish without leaving a trace. It was a terrifying, supreme-level tool—able to mess with reality itself and alter things flawlessly.

Darian's eyes returned to the present.

Not even a full minute had passed. Everyone was still busy inspecting the hall's artifact.

His eyes narrowed. He'd hoped that by seeing the past, he'd find some kind of flaw, some sign of tampering. Something he could point to and expose, make a scene.

But... nothing's ever that easy.

There was no proof. It really had vanished like it never existed. He could only swallow it in silence... because he was weak, and now the target of powerful people.

The rage in him felt like it was about to boil over. They'd dared to hurt the ones who mattered most to him... and yet, he couldn't do a damn thing right now.

At least now, he understood a little more about the reality he was in. The Wube family could manipulate emperors if they wanted to... but even they still had to act carefully. As for the Solar Federation Empire... they weren't number one on Earth for nothing. Their ties to that family were obviously strong.

Sensing Niara's growing restlessness, Darian muttered mentally:

'It's alright. They failed, and now I'll be watching. We'll strike back one day — and it'll be a thousand times worse.'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.