Two long months later, Skyler was finally satisfied with the results of his hard work.
Standing before the mirror, he looked over his reflection with a satisfied expression.
His shoulders were broader.
His waist was leaner.
And his arms and legs had gained defined, athletic muscle without becoming bulky. A very balanced and well-proportioned figure.
With his ash-brown hair and blue eyes, he had finally gone from handsome to striking.
Skyler hummed a pleasant tune as he walked over to the reclining chair, where 505 was lazily basking in the afternoon sunlight after stuffing itself with food.
Without a single word, he kicked the little dragon off the chair and calmly sat down.
505 cried out as it tumbled onto the floor.
"Host! How could you do this to me?!"
Skyler ignored it, and 505 had nowhere to vent its anger. It couldn't even kick Skyler back, knowing how powerful its host was.
It would just get a beating in return!
Arguing with Skyler was really pointless!
Suddenly, Skyler let out a quiet sigh.
"It's been two months..."
Seeing the faint sadness in his eyes, 505 was rendered speechless for a moment.
"Host, don't think I don't know you went to check on her just yesterday! If her soul had recovered, you would've kidnapped her and brought her back without any hesitation!"
Skyler rested his chin on his hand, his expression thoughtful.
"Should I go check on her again?"
505 replied, deadpan.
"She was the core of the Battle Royal, and then her soul fragmented. It won't be easy for those fragments to merge. Give Riruru time. Don't enter her space domain again and again. What if your presence disrupts the process and something goes wrong?"
Skyler sighed again.
"I know... but waiting is so hard."
The little dragon slowly flew over to him and patted his arm, wearing an unusually compassionate expression.
"I'm here, Host."
"You don't have to feel lonely."
Skyler's eyebrow twitched.
The next second, the little dragon was kicked away once again.
Watching 505 huff and puff on the floor, Skyler let out a quiet chuckle. He pulled on his shirt and glanced at the little dragon.
"Let's go to the higher realm."
505 immediately perked up. In the next instant, it flew over and landed on Skyler's shoulder, all grudges already forgotten.
"Really?!"
Its eyes lit up with excitement.
"Ah, I have always wanted to swallow the real Main System! Now I can finally do it!"
The little dragon's tail swished.
"Let's go, Host! Let's go!"
Skyler smiled. It was hard to believe this was the same system that would tremble and malfunction whenever he asked it to break the Main System's rules back when they first met. Honestly, 505 had changed more than he ever could have imagined.
With a shake of his head, Skyler stepped forward. The space before him instantly cracked apart, forming a passage through the void. Within just a few seconds, he and 505 had already arrived outside Heaven.
Skyler paid little attention to the powerful beings guarding its gates. Their presence, enough to intimidate even those at Divine rank, meant nothing to him now. Without slowing down, he bypassed them all and stepped into the familiar, ethereal realm.
His expression was indifferent as his gaze swept across the breathtaking landscape.
Beyond the gates stood the majestic city where the angels and immortals lived, its buildings glowing beneath the divine light.
At its center stood the golden palace, surrounded by a vast, tranquil garden.
Skyler disappeared, and in the next moment, he appeared inside the palace.
Without slowing down, he continued into the vast garden, where countless flowers glistened with morning dew and towering trees swayed in the wind. Their branches were laden with fist-sized fruits brimming with astonishing amounts of energy, each one precious enough to be considered a treasure by the people in the lower realms.
He paused for only a brief moment before stepping into the palace without hesitation. However, 505 immediately understood why he had paused, and with a wave of its claw, the system quickly took the entire garden and put everything inside a space pocket.
The guards around the palace were left dumbfounded when the massive garden suddenly disappeared without a trace. By the time they all reacted to what had just happened, the culprit had long vanished.
Inside the palace, 505 noticed Skyler's expression suddenly darken. And it was because he sensed a familiar presence.
Knowing its host was about to go crazy, 505 tactfully slipped away, giving him the space he needed to vent before returning.
In the meantime, the little dragon decided to go find and hoard some valuable things from the palace. After living with Skyler for so long and eventually obtaining a dragon body, 505 had inherited his habit of liking and hoarding anything shiny and valuable.
***
Ignoring the grand passageways and the chaos that had erupted in the palace after the garden surrounding it vanished, Skyler quietly walked through the crowd of angels rushing outside to investigate. No one saw him, let alone tried to stop him, as he made his way toward the hall at the heart of the palace. The moment Skyler stepped inside, the man standing before a golden throne at the top of the stairs at the other end of the hall instinctively snapped his head around.
"Who is there?"
Skyler closed the door behind him. The moment it shut, the power of the Void spread outward, sealing the place and cutting it off from the outside world. He stepped out of the shadows, deliberately revealing his presence. A smile played across his lips as his eyes met the wary gaze of the man standing opposite him.
Seeing the familiar ethereal figure, there was only one thought in Skyler's mind.
Ah, he's alive.
He took a slow step forward. The space around him shook as a blade formed from pure darkness materialized in his hand.
Then, with a cold smile, he whispered.
"Your retribution."
The Head of Angels unleashed his power, but his eyes dilated when the human who had suddenly appeared before him easily destroyed it. Even the power of the throne he possessed didn't work. Moments later, screams reverberated throughout the hall, followed by blood spreading across the floor, staining the pristine color crimson.
Outside the grand hall, 505 hissed as it wondered how tragic the Head of Angels' death would be while waiting for its host. It also roamed through the palace, checking whether any of Skyler's other enemies were still alive in Heaven. The little dark dragon clicked its tongue when it discovered that Sebastian had died during the Divine War.
"A pity. He got lucky."
But when 505 sensed the presence of the Main System, which had taken the form of a blue bird that everyone called a phoenix, 505 rubbed its hands together with an evil grin. The phoenix had been resting atop a massive tree in a luxurious room specially prepared for it by the Angels when it was suddenly captured. It was shocked when it discovered that it couldn't break free, even after using all its power. Before long, 505 dragged the struggling Main System away.
The little dragon even covered its mouth.
When the little dragon finally emerged again, a feather from the phoenix it had dragged away was stuck to its head. It licked its fingers with satisfaction.
"That was a tasty meal."