I gave him one last look, then lifted my hand toward the sky. The colossal palm of lightning obeyed my motion, drifting away from the city until it hovered just beyond the capital’s border.
Then, with a flick of my wrist, I let it fall.
BOOM!
A flash swallowed everything, the world turned white, then empty, like sound and color were ripped away all at once. The shockwave hit a few seconds later, a deep, rumbling echo that rolled across the plains.
When the haze cleared, a crater lay where the palm had struck. It was massive, deep enough that the bottom couldn’t be seen, its edges still glowing, the earth scorched black by lightning.
I turned back toward the capital one last time, then shot upward.
*****
I was back inside Dante’s ship as it sliced through the dark stretch of space. The hum of the engines filled the silence, steady and constant. With us, locked in containment cells, were the emperor of Sukra, his grandmasters, and the three captured Ferans.
Dante and I stood in the control room. Through the glass dome ahead, a massive red-gray planet drifted past, lifeless, dry, and cracked like old stone. Not a trace of blue anywhere.
Dante broke the silence first. "What was that back there, kid?" His voice was calm, but I could hear some worry in it.
"Nothing much," I said, leaning on the console. "I just wanted to finish the negotiation faster."
He let out a long exhale and shook his head. "I thought your power was starting to go to your head."
I frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Dante turned toward me, his usual smirk gone. "You pulled a stunt like that, threatening to crush an entire capital under your hand. You think you’re untouchable just because your Essence bends to your will? That’s how overconfidence kills people like us."
I looked away, but he continued, voice steady.
"You’ve gotten strong, Billion. I won’t deny that. Stronger than I’ve ever seen anyone rise this fast. But this universe is a massive place. There are beings out there who don’t even need to lift a hand to erase everything you are. Some don’t care about your laws or your talent, they just exist above it all."
He paused, tapping the control panel. "When you start believing no one can touch you, that’s when you stop learning. And when you stop learning, you die."
His words hung in the air. I didn’t answer right away. My reflection stared back at me from the glass.
"I know the method was a little extreme," I finally said. "But if I don’t make them fear me, they won’t listen. Unfortunately, they only understand strength."
"True," Dante said quietly. "But there’s a difference between showing strength and becoming reckless. You can be the sharpest blade in the world, but if you swing without aim, you’ll just cut yourself."
The stars ahead stretched into lines as the ship entered light-speed.
Dante glanced at me again. "Remember this, kid. The higher you go, the smaller your victories start to look. Somewhere out there, there’s always someone watching, stronger, older, waiting for you to slip."
I looked at the disguised man and gave a short nod.
My mind drifted back to what had happened earlier.
My own way of doing things had always been simple, grind, grow, and move forward.
I wasn’t the kind of person who enjoyed terrorizing innocent people. Watching the fear in the capital hadn’t given me satisfaction. But what did excite me... was the realization of what I could do.
That moment when I shaped the storm, when the sky obeyed and lightning bent at my command, that was something else entirely. Power like that, raw and unrestrained, had its own kind of thrill.
The technique I’d used wasn’t even complete.
It was a new skill I’d been building piece by piece, a product of my comprehension of the Law of Elemental Convergence.
It took almost seventy percent of my Essence to form, so every use had to count. I had merged my understanding of multiple elements, forced them to cooperate under a single will, and used my grasp over space to keep it hidden, even from Dante’s senses.
It wasn’t just a show of strength; it was a test of control.
The fusion of Essence, lightning, and space in a perfectly balanced construct, a storm that could crush a city yet exist silently until I willed it to move.
And I still hadn’t perfected it.
The thought made my pulse quicken. If this was what I could create while still experimenting, then what would happen once I truly mastered it or when I ranked up?
I exhaled slowly, eyes lingering on the starlight outside the viewport. The universe was vast, and there were beings stronger than me, as Dante said but that didn’t bother me. It only meant there was more to learn, more to conquer, more to build.
"So what’s the plan?" I asked, turning toward Dante as the stars streaked past the viewport.
"We drop these people off at Peanu for the Emperor to deal with," he said calmly, hands clasped behind his back. "Then we take the Ferans and head straight for the mark on the map."
I frowned slightly. "But that place is really far out. Can your ship even reach that sector?"
He smirked, a flicker of pride in his tone. "Of course it can. This ship has crossed worse regions than that. And since we have the Ferans, they can help us narrow down the exact coordinates. If the Genesis Rune truly exists there, we won’t even need their help, the signs will reveal themselves."
I leaned against the console, my thoughts racing. "When are the Ferans arriving?"
Dante’s expression shifted, the playfulness fading. He looked toward the dark expanse outside as if expecting something to appear at any moment.
"Anytime now," he said quietly. "If we trust the timeline they shared before the invasion, they should have already entered the vicinity of the system. But knowing Vaelix..." He paused, his voice lowering. "They could already be here."
"Good," I said finally. "Then we won’t have to wait long."
Dante gave me a side glance, his mouth twitching into a half-smile. "You really want to see that Rune, don’t you?"
I nodded. "Something that can shape what comes next... who wouldn’t?"
He chuckled under his breath.