On a remote island with a scarce amount of mana, Star-Lord, or, more accurately, Vincent, appeared wearing dark robes with a hood covering his head.
He approached a tree that seemed just like any other tree on this island and pressed his hand on it. The next moment, the star watch on his wrist shimmered, and the tree suddenly trembled before a myriad of runes appeared on its surface, and a runic circle appeared under Vincent!
The next moment, Vincent's figure vanished without a trace, and the tree returned to its normal state as if nothing had happened.
Thereafter, Vincent was teleported into a dark space where the only source of light was a white goblet ignited with blue flames.
'Where is this place?' Vincent's eyes narrowed, and an uneasy feeling gripped his heart because he hadn't been in this place before, and the atmosphere didn't sit too well with him either.
However, he didn't have the option to not come in this because the person who summoned him wasn't someone he could just refuse or even question his decision.
He was no longer the master of his own because he recently discovered a scary truth about the ATLAS, and that was, the Star Hackers weren't the core of ATLAS; instead, they were just ATLAS's branch, and this discovery shocked Vincent to his very core!
Vincent still might've been ignorant about this fact if he hadn't started the chaos in the Siren Hymn Temple. Truth be told, this discovery hit him harder than anything in his life, and he almost lost his purpose in life, but when he thought about it more carefully, a sudden realization hit him!
Since even the Star Hackers were a mere branch of this organization that nobody was aware of, what if he could join their ranks and then reach the top? Wasn't it far better?
However, he also knew that it wouldn't be easy since they were far more careful. He didn't even know about them despite being the Star Lord of the Star Hackers for so many years. He knew joining their ranks would be too difficult, and with his lifespan approaching its end, he didn't have time to play the long game.
So, he decided to be obedient, at least until he entered the middle plains, became a fable legendary rank being, and increased his lifespan. He was sure that a Fable Legendary Rank wouldn't be ignored, and he might have a chance to join the actual organization's rank.
He even thought this might be the chance he had been waiting for. If only he knew just how ignorant he was and that this was just a pipe dream…
At this moment, a static voice rang from the goblet of fire, "Star Lord, or should I say, Vincent N. Elliot of Lightning Elves, it's our first time speaking to each other."
Vincent's eyes narrowed as he looked at the blazing blue flames and bowed his head submissively, "I was also quite curious about the 'Lord'; I'm honored to have an audience with you finally." His tone was respectful, or he was making it that way.
"Heh, you didn't sound like someone who discovered he isn't the top 'boss' of the ATLAS. But that's the thing I liked about you, Vincent. You are the most competent Star Lord of the Star Hackers I've ever seen in the Unique Plains, and that's the only reason I'm willing to give you another chance to admit your sin!" The voice suddenly turned icy as a mountainous pressure suddenly enveloped Vincent out of nowhere!
Vincent's expression paled, and he instantly fell on his knees without even putting any resistance. It was like he was a helpless common rank in front of a unique rank being. The gap in power was simply too great.
'How is this possible! I'm an Initial Stage Quasi Legend Rank, damn it!'
Vincent was completely horrified, and any thought of resisting this 'lord' dashed instantaneously.
"I…S-sin? But I've already made amends and even handed over the ancient forbidden formula for my mistake! B-but, i-if it's not enough, please tell me how I should make up for my ignorant mistake?" Vincent spoke while clenching his teeth, as he was finding it hard to breathe properly.
He still thinks this was all happening because of the chaos he caused in the Siren Hymn Temple, and the compensation he handed over still wasn't enough to make amends.
He was already holding on to something else just in case things went south, and it seemed he had to use it now. Although it was his biggest secret, as long as he could live, he didn't care what he had to sacrifice!
"Hmm?" The voice sounded startled and fell into silence, but the pressure didn't decrease a little bit. After an eerie wait, the voice spoke again, "Why do I get this feeling that you have no idea what you just did?"
"I-I… only followed the decree I received from the Anarchy that day. If I made a mistake, please give me another chance to make it right! If that ancient forbidden formation isn't enough to make up for my mistake, I'm willing to hand over something else!" Vincent quickly replied.
"We are not on the same page, are we?" The voice muttered before it spoke in a cold tone, "Didn't you rigid with the forbidden formation scroll in the hope you might be able to kill 'me' with it?"
Vincent was flabbergasted when he heard that absurd accusation and quickly shook his head, "NO! I won't dare; I know my limit! Please think about it. Why would I risk doing anything to you when I'm not even sure if you are the 'leader' of ATLAS? For all I know, you could be just a proxy for the real leader.
"Furthermore, I won't get anything out of it because I'm not even part of the real ATLAS and have no clue about its real purpose or its whereabouts. Not to mention, even if I had such thoughts, I would never dare to do something so foolish and then show my face. This is clearly a huge misunderstanding!" He tried to explain the best he could because he sensed something had gone wrong with the 'delivery.'
"Hmmm… now that you said it out loud, it is indeed quite peculiar, and I know how astute you are…" The voice seemed convinced, but the pressure on Vincent still didn't decrease even a little.
"Very well, I'll give you a chance to prove your innocence. If you really have nothing to do with this, then I want you to find the true culprit. Since it was your men who made the delivery, the responsibility to find the truth is also yours.
"Prove your innocence first and then your competence; if you fail to do any one of them, prepare to suffer the consequences, for there is no place for incompetent people in ATLAS!" the voice coldly declared.
Vincent was really at a loss this time around. He didn't even know what he was being accused of when he had done nothing.
But the other party didn't give him any chance to explain, and at this moment, some kind of mechanism suddenly triggered, and the floor in front of Vincent suddenly slid open.
The next moment, a white pillar with multicolor runic lines started to rise from the open floor. Vincent's eyes widened in disbelief when he thought about the origin of this pillar and even thought he was hallucinating because this pillar should only exist in one place!
At this moment, the voice spoke again with a hint of playfulness as if he had guessed what Vincent was thinking.
"Vincent, prove your innocence by going through the trial of Truth Pillar!"