Jean sat alone in a secluded corner of the Origin Realm atrium, the floating crystalline tomes orbiting him like curious students. After the Fracture King's dramatic but temporary retreat, he had insisted on some "private reflection time." What he actually needed was a crash course in not accidentally conquering more realms every time he coughed.
Okay, focus, he thought, staring at a glowing rune that hovered in front of him. Jan's body has power. I need to understand it before I turn another diplomatic meeting into a grape-based annexation. Step one: Don't panic. Step two: Don't giggle. Step three: Definitely don't cough on anything important.
He reached out tentatively. The rune responded instantly, flooding his mind with a surge of knowledge, combat instincts, tactical brilliance, and a deep, almost instinctive connection to the mantle itself. His hand moved without conscious thought, tracing a simple pattern in the air. A small barrier of crimson energy formed, stable and controlled.
For once, it felt… intentional.
A soft chuckle escaped him, not the nervous one, but a genuine, tired laugh of relief.
Of course, the universe had other plans.
Varak, who had "respectfully" stationed himself just outside the atrium, misinterpreted the chuckle as a breakthrough. "My Lord laughs in triumph! He masters the ancient arts in mere moments!"
Lirael appeared like a shadow with excellent timing. "I've prepared training dummies modeled after the King's forces. Your 'private reflection' will no doubt yield devastating new techniques."
Elara, who had followed despite his protests, crossed her arms and gave him a long look. "You're trying to figure out how the mantle works without blowing up half the camp. Admirable. Just… try not to look like you're plotting galactic domination while you do it."
Jean sighed and stood up. The simple motion made the orbiting tomes align perfectly around him like a crown of knowledge. He tried to wave them away casually. They interpreted it as a command and began projecting training illusions, shadowy duplication of the Fracture King's minions.
The misunderstanding engine roared to life.
One: Varak watched the illusions form and immediately drew his axe. "He summons training specters of the enemy! We shall spar alongside our lord!"
Two: Lirael's eyes gleamed. "Perfect. I'll record every movement for the archives. Future generations will study the Warmonger's technique."
Three: Jean tried to dismiss the illusions with a quick "No, wait—" gesture. His hand flared with uncontrolled mantle energy. The training dummies exploded into harmless light particles that rained down like celebratory sparks.
The entire group (and several scholars who had snuck closer) cheered.
"He dismantles the King's own shadows with a wave!"
"Truly, his power grows by the hour!"
Elara pinched the bridge of her nose. "You were trying to turn them off, weren't you?"
Jean nodded miserably. "I just wanted to understand the basics. Sword swinging. Maybe not coughing blood when stressed. Instead I'm accidentally running a combat seminar."
As the "training session" continued (mostly because no one would let him stop), more fragments of Jan's memories surfaced, controlled this time, not overwhelming visions. He saw flashes of Jan as a young guardian, training in secret to protect his family from early incursions. He felt the moment Jan made the pact with the mysterious entity, a vast, neutral force that existed beyond the known realms, something ancient that had chosen Jan's bloodline as an anchor.
The entity hadn't "summoned" Jean specifically. It had prepared the mantle for a worthy successor when Jan's body and soul began to break under the strain. Jean's death by Truck-kun had simply been Truck-kun acknowledging him as the only worthy candidate, a soul with no ties to this multiverse, capable of carrying the burden without being immediately corrupted by it.
The reason? Balance. The entity believed the multiverse was fraying toward total collapse. It needed someone who could wield the mantle's power without becoming a tyrant… or at least someone who would try.
Jean sat down hard as the knowledge settled. No grand villainous plot. Just a desperate cosmic insurance policy.
Unfortunately, his thoughtful silence and sudden seating looked incredibly profound to everyone else.
Varak knelt again. "He communes deeply with the mantle's origins. We are witnessing the birth of a new era."
Lirael was scribbling furiously. "I will compile the insights. Your meditation alone will inspire legions."
Elara crouched beside him, voice soft. "You saw something important, didn't you? About Jan… and maybe why all of this is happening."
Jean met her eyes carefully. "Yeah. He wasn't always the monster everyone remembers. And there's… something bigger behind the mantle. An entity that wanted balance. It's complicated."
She didn't push, but the curiosity in her gaze deepened. "Then keep figuring it out. Just try not to accidentally conquer more realms while you do."
As the training session wrapped up (with Jean's "final demonstration" being him successfully drinking a cup of water without coughing), a scout arrived with urgent but non-apocalyptic news: Several neutral realms were sending official envoys, inspired by the "training miracle" they had somehow heard about.
Jean sighed as the celebrations began again.
He was starting to understand Jan's abilities.
He was starting to understand the why behind his summoning.
But the multiverse was still determined to read every page as a declaration of war.
And somewhere out there, the Fracture King was watching… and waiting for the perfect moment to strike again.