Liam observed the two briefly, his mind mulling over several of his plans, then finally concluded everything was going in the right direction.
Choosing Hero had never been a guaranteed outcome. From the beginning, he was guessing Hero's fate, more like a gamble.
Is he a protagonist?
Or is he just a random talented man?
And time had proven his guess to be true.
Hero is a protagonist.
There were variables, risks, unknowns, but now, seeing how things had played out, he found the result… fitting.
"Well executed."
His gaze shifted, as if looking past the battlefield, settling on Hero's current state.
Exhausted.
Injured.
At his weakest.
The old man inside his body was about to take action to take the child away.
"Now…"
His voice softened.
"Let the whisper guide you."
There was a brief pause, and his smile deepened just a little.
"A man like that… won't accept being the weaker one."
"Welcome boy, welcome to my dungeon."
—
It was dark...
Completely dark...
What's the full word again?
Yes...
Darkness.
Not the kind that comes with night, but something else, stretching endlessly in all directions.
Perhaps tangible in this void-less form.
Hero's body trembled.
His brows were tightly furrowed, his breathing uneven as if he were caught between waking and dreaming.
He couldn't tell which it was, and the uncertainty only made it worse.
Everything felt wrong.
Would it be the same dream again? The same horror? The same pictures?
He doesn't know, but surely, he wished to end it soon.
Then, slowly, he opened his eyes.
Confusion settled in first.
Followed by a quiet sense of unease.
The darkness around him didn't shift, didn't respond.
It simply existed, swallowing everything beyond a short distance.
Even when he focused, extending his perception outward, he could barely make out the space within ten meters.
Grey and bluish ground, jagged corners, uneven terrain.
"…Where am I…"
His voice came out low, cautious.
No response.
He straightened slightly, instinct taking over as he activated an eye technique.
His gaze swept across the surroundings, careful.
Every step he took was measured, yet there was an edge to his movements, restless, almost impatient.
This strange turn of event was itching something at the back of his mind. He disliked this, very much.
Unlike Lucien.
Where Lucien had been controlled, Hero was more direct, more exposed in his reactions.
At one point, his hand even lifted, spiritual energy gathering faintly as if he might strike into the darkness itself, only stopping when the old man's voice cut in.
"Calm down, brat. Calm down."
Hero froze for a moment.
"You're not dead," the old man continued, tone assuring.
That alone made him pause.
His breathing slowed, though the tension in his body didn't fully fade.
Then.
Something appeared before him.
A panel.
Mysteriously hovering before his sight like a beacon of light in this expanse of darkness.
Hero's eyes narrowed as he stared at it, then instinctively looked down at his own body.
His injuries were gone.
Completely. Not even a trace remained. His internal injuries after overdrawing that secret technique were completely gone.
Clutching his chest, and touched his face for a moment, "Incredible... "
"But... That's... Strange"
That unsettled him more than the darkness.
"This isn't normal…"
He muttered quietly, his gaze returning to the panel.
What made it worse.
The old man couldn't see it, "What are you talking about boy? A strange blue paper? There's no such things."
That realization settled in slowly, a subtle weight pressing at the back of his mind.
Hero exhaled, forcing himself to stay composed as he focused on the information before him.
[Name] : Hero Veyl, the wandering inheritor
[Realm] : perfected layer of the Qi Refining Realm
[Lifespan] : 16 years/ 150 years
[Monster essences gathered] : 0
[Techniques] : basic movement technique [Expertise], layered body shifting art [Expertise], pulse burst control [Intermediate], elemental misdirection method [Intermediate], instinctive combat adaptation [Expertise], Heavenly Soul technique [Expertise][+]
[Items] : anguished jester card [Bound], low grade spirit stones [47], concealment talisman [2], recovery pill [3], fractured formation scroll [Incomplete][+]
Hero stared at it for a long moment, his expression gradually tightening as he tried to process everything.
"…Old man…"
His voice came slower this time, more deliberate.
"You really can't see this?"
"I really am unable to see whatever you are seeing, boy."
The old man's voice carried a hint of irritation this time. It wasn't the first time he said it, nor the second.
At this point, Hero had already asked him at least five times, and each answer came back the same.
Hero stood there, staring at the panel, then back into the darkness, his brows slowly knitting together.
It didn't make sense.
If only he could see it… then what exactly was this thing?
He hesitated for a moment before trying again, this time attempting to explain it piece by piece.
His hand lifted slightly as if pointing at something in front of him, his words coming out more carefully.
"There's a panel… floating right here. It has"
"What are you talking about, boy?"
The old man cut him off.
"Stop idling around and focus. We need to find a way out of this place."
Hero froze.
"…No way?"
He turned his head slightly, disbelief written clearly across his face.
From his perspective, he was describing everything as clearly as he could. Every word, every detail, he was certain he wasn't missing anything.
But to the old man.
None of it reached him.
Not a single word.
All he heard were disjointed sounds, meaningless noise that couldn't form a sentence.
Hero exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair as confusion settled deeper.
"This doesn't make any sense…"
The old man fell silent for a brief moment, observing him, not through sight, but through the subtle changes in his posture, the tension in his expression, the way his breathing shifted.
Then he sighed.
"No need to keep explaining," he said, tone easing slightly. "From the looks of it… whatever you're seeing is being concealed from me."
Hero turned back toward the panel instinctively.
"…Concealed?"
"It's likely some kind of law," the old man continued, voice thoughtful now.
"Something that prevents me from perceiving or understanding it."
"What?!"
Hero's eyes widened.
The idea sounded absurd, yet.
Nothing else explained it.
His gaze lingered on the panel again, the faint glow reflecting in his eyes. For the first time, he felt as if it wasn't just something he was looking at.
But something that was looking back at him.
Exposing him.
From top to bottom.
"…Just what the hell is going on…"
His voice dropped lower, more to himself than anyone else.
"I don't know," the old man replied, more calmly this time. "But don't panic. I already deducted that this place is filled with fortune for you"
Hero remained silent for a moment, letting those words settle.
Then he nodded faintly.
There wasn't much else he could do.
With a slow breath, he steadied himself and began to move, step by step, cautiously exploring the space around him, his senses stretched to their limit as he tried to understand this unfamiliar place piece by piece.