Chapter 603: Soron’s Most Precious Treasure
(Planet Ixtal, Soron’s Castle, Leo’s POV)
Soron led Leo and Charles down the winding castle stairs to his personal treasure vault, a chamber he had likely not opened for over a millennium.
*Creek*
When the heavy doors creaked open, Leo’s eyes widened at the sight within, for this was no ordinary armory or storage, but a hall of wonders.
Gleaming divine dagger sets rested upon polished stands, unique blades forged from long-lost metals glittered faintly in the dim light, enchanted boots lay in rows beside rolled skill scrolls that pulsed with dormant power, while countless other relics were arranged meticulously across the shelves, each of them radiating a presence that marked them as treasures impossible to find anywhere else in the universe.
Yet among these artifacts of unimaginable value were items of a different nature, objects that carried no visible aura, but were personal items that Soron treasured the most.
On a shelf beside a few skill scrolls, was a small picture preserved in crystal of Soron with his father and Kaelith, while just beside it was a training dummy cut in half, that had rotted from the wood deteriorating over the centuries, but was still kept in this treasure chamber as if it were as valuable as the other objects in this room.
However, even with such abundance, Leo’s gaze was drawn to the farthest corner of the room, where a single casket sat apart from the glittering relics, small enough to be overlooked if not for the reverence with which Soron approached it.
The Great God’s frail hands trembled as he reached down, opening the lid with deliberate care, as from within he retrieved a tiny case that held two glass vials, each no larger than a finger and each containing a single drop of transparent liquid that shimmered faintly like captured starlight.
Soron cradled the vials in his palms as though they were the most precious objects in existence, his voice breaking as he began to speak.
“My father made this treasure for me and my brother, in case he ever met an unexpected demise,” he whispered, and even that simple sentence carried a weight that made Leo’s chest tighten.
“I found it after he passed away… he left us a will. In the letter he wrote that inside these vials lies a chance to see him one last time, to speak with him in a dream world if either me or Kaelith ever needed closure.
He said that if we were truly his sons, we would never take it, and we would find our own way through life.
But in case one of us ever felt too lonely, or too lost, or too consumed by despair, we could drink from this vial and he would grant us twenty minutes of his presence.”
Soron’s grip on the vials tightened as his throat caught with unspoken longing.
“I have saved mine for the day I take my last breath, as proof that I endured as he wished me to, and that I walked my own path without calling upon him.
As even though for the past two thousand years I have wanted to drink it everyday, I have still endured, like I’m sure he’d want me to.
But I reckon that Kaelith is no longer worthy of his gift after his betrayal, so I place it in your hands.
You may drink his share and meet my father, the peerless warrior they called the Timeless Assassin.”
Leo and Charles both leaned forward, their eyes wide, the weight of what had just been offered pressing down on them like the gravity of another world.
“I do not know if he will accept you,” Soron admitted, his voice fragile yet unwavering.
“This treasure was never intended for you, so perhaps nothing will happen. But if he does choose to acknowledge you, if he decides to speak with you, then I promise you….. that those twenty minutes will change your life forever.”
The silence that followed was profound, broken only by the faint clink of the glass vials as Soron set one of them back inside the casket, and opened another, which he offered to Leo to drink.
“All the best, son, and in-case he asks about me, just tell him…. That I—
No.
Don’t.
Don’t tell him anything about me, just say, I’ll tell him the story of my life myself someday.” Soron said, as he seemed to catch himself right before giving in to his temptations.
*Tremble*
With trembling hands, Leo grabbed the open vial, before drinking the liquid in one smooth gulp.
*Gulp*
The liquid felt like swallowing a fragment of starlight, cool and weightless as it slid down his throat, yet the moment it touched his stomach it spread like fire through his veins, searing without burning, filling every nerve with a strange clarity that was both exhilarating and terrifying.
His chest tightened as though his heart had been shackled by invisible chains, while his vision began to blur at the edges, dark stains creeping inward as if night itself were spilling across his eyes.
The chamber around him dissolved slowly, the walls of stone stretching like melted wax before collapsing into nothingness, as the weight of his body fell away and he was carried into a darkness that was neither suffocating nor empty, but something in between, a space that seemed to breathe faintly with life unseen.
*Thump…* *Thump…*
His pulse became the only sound he could hear, steady and loud, until even that too faded into silence, and in its place came the faint ripple of a world forming around him.
Colors bled into shape, muted at first before sharpening, as the dark gave way to the outline of soil beneath his feet, to the quiet shimmer of a sky that did not belong to any planet he knew, as if he had stepped into a dream that was never meant to be touched by mortals.
*Rustle*
A figure appeared before him, squatting low, elbows resting on his knees as sharp eyes studied him with suspicion, the man tilting his head slightly as if asking without words, ‘Who the hell is this boy?’
Leo’s breath caught in his throat, because even without introduction he knew. The face was younger than the frail crystal image, the posture alive with untamed sharpness, yet the resemblance was unmistakable.
It was the man from the picture he saw just moments ago.
Soron’s father.
The Timeless Assassin.