I exhaled slowly, trying to get control of my emotions again. I let out a cough awkwardly and scratched the back of my neck.
"Ah, sorry about that. I’m not sure what happened... I just suddenly got very angry."
Saturn coughed, blood leaking from his mouth. His whole body was covered in bruises, bones bent the wrong way, and the light that once shined around him was gone completely. He looked nothing like a grandmaster, nothing like the emperor of a world. He looked small, broken, human.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice weak.
I looked down at him, a faint smile tugging at my lips. "I told you, I’m from Vaythos. We’re enemies, aren’t we?"
He dropped his gaze, but I didn’t stop. I stepped closer, hands in my pockets, and let my shadow fall across his kneeling form. His breaths were short and heavy, each one sounding like it hurt.
"Anyway," I continued, tilting my head slightly, "I have a question for you."
I let the silence hang for a moment before speaking again.
"I heard there’s something called a world core. Can you share the details with me? You see, the emperor of Vaythos isn’t willing to tell me anything. But if you do... maybe I’ll let you go."
Saturn lifted his head slowly, his eyes dull but still trying to hold on to some strength. He stared at me, searching for something in my face.
I could see the gears turning in his head through his eyes.
He took his time before answering, each word dragging out of him like it cost him strength.
"A World Core is the heart of any world," he said at last. "It’s a semi-conscious thing, born from condensed Essence. Over time it develops instincts, and sometimes even the faint beginnings of a will... but all of it is tied to one purpose: defending and keeping the planet alive. Peanu is a weak world, so its core isn’t that strong. The protection it offers is limited at best."
I frowned at that. "Then why hide the details from everyone? I searched even in the Royal Library of Vaythos and found nothing."
Saturn’s eyes widened just a little before a chuckle escaped his bruised lips.
"So... you’re tied to the Rayleigh royal family after all. That explains it. They would never tell you. Bunch of madmen, the lot of them. They care too much about the World Core to let its secrets spread."
I leaned closer, curious despite myself. He coughed and kept going, his voice rough but finally steady.
"You see... a World Core is hungry by nature. Its instinct is always to grow. But it cannot pull in the free Essence drifting through the cosmos. That energy is too wild, too raw. Instead, it needs refined Essence — cultivated, shaped, or willingly given. That’s why civilizations build rituals, wars, or sacrifices around it. They feed their World Core however they can."
He gave a bitter smile.
"The Rayleighs are worse. When their grandmasters near the end of their lives, they don’t just fade away. They willingly walk into the Core, pour their Essence into it, and die in the process. That’s their family’s devotion."
"Wow," I muttered, shaking my head. "Didn’t expect that."
I let out a quiet breath, thinking it through. So a World Core was... what? A dead weight, in a sense. It couldn’t even absorb Essence on its own. To grow stronger it depended entirely on others.
I looked back at him, my tone sharper now.
"Then tell me this — what does a World Core actually give back? What makes people want to make it strong in the first place?"
He raised a trembling finger, as if to count them off.
"First... defense. A strong World Core shields a planet. It pushes back space storms, seals rifts, and blocks things from outside that you don’t want to enter."
He coughed, spit red into the dirt, then continued.
"Second... control. The Core is tied to the laws of its world. The stronger the Core, the stronger its bond to those laws. And the emperor or the strongest one it recognizes, gains some of that authority. That’s how rulers bend their world to their will. The throne isn’t just politics, it’s backed by the Core’s acknowledgment."
His voice lowered now, almost reluctant.
"And third... I don’t know if it’s truth or just legend. But they say if a World Core grows strong enough, far beyond what Peanu’s ever reached... it can grant talents. True talents. Gifts written into the bones of a bloodline, or abilities that defy the natural order. That’s why some families worship their Core. They see it as the only path to greatness."
That surprised me. The chance to grant talent and to shape a world’s laws, who wouldn’t want that kind of power?
"So where do I find the World Core?" I asked.
He spat between his teeth.
I let out a short, amused laugh.
"Old man, you don’t have much choice here. Either you tell me what I want to know, or I drag you with me and search your whole world until we find it."
"And then what, kill me?" he snapped.
"Nope." I kept my voice flat. "Someone asked me to keep you alive."
"Let me guess. It’s your emperor?" he said, eyes flicking to mine.
"Nope. Someone else." I watched him nod, as if that name mattered less than the truth.
"All right," he said after a long moment. "I can tell you. But I need you to let me heal first. Only then can I concentrate and connect to the Core."
I cocked my head. "Oh? Is that your plan to escape out of here?"
"Yeah, yeah. I knew what you were trying to do," I said with a chuckle. I pointed a finger at him and fired a thin beam of vitality. The light hit his chest and ran through him like warm water.
His wounds closed fast. Cuts sealed, bruises faded, limbs straightened. Within seconds he looked like himself again — steady breath, clear eyes, the weight back in his shoulders.
I had expected him to try to run. I only wanted to see what he would do. He was inside my absolute domain now. There was nothing he could do that I could not stop.