Arthur took one slow step forward.

The warrior dropped like a rock, choking on air.

Arthur's Eyes of Sloth burned deep blue.

His voice?

Quiet.

Too quiet.

"What did you just say?"

The guy on the floor gasped, eyes darting everywhere like he was trying to find a way out.

"I, I"

Arthur crouched, elbows on his knees, staring him down. "Say it again."

The beastman shook like a leaf.

Arthur tilted his head, shadows curling lazily around his fingers. "Yeah. Thought so."

He smiled.

The pressure disappeared.

Everyone in the guild exhaled at once.

Arthur stood, brushed off his coat like nothing happened. "Anyway. That was kinda fun."

He turned back to Camila. "Can I fight now?"

Camila pinched the bridge of her nose. "No, Arthur."

He groaned. "But he insulted my mom."

"Still not a valid reason to kill someone on your first day."

Arthur pouted.

Camila pointed at the guy still curled up on the floor like a broken chair. "You already destroyed him."

Arthur sighed. "Fine. But if the next guy says anything about my mom, I'm lighting them up."

Camila rolled her eyes. "We'll see."

While they were finishing the paperwork, the guild slowly started functioning again.

The receptionist stared at Arthur like he was some walking catastrophe. Still pale.

"What… are you?"

Arthur grinned. "Just a newbie adventurer."

The receptionist gulped. "R-Right."

Meanwhile, outside.

Royal knights were rushing toward the guild with weapons drawn like a boss monster had just spawned.

Arthur yawned. "Anyway. Who's hungry?"

Amelia let out a breath. "You're insane."

Camila muttered something under hers.

And that day, the city of Ephemeral learned one very important thing:

They would never forget the moment Arthur showed up.

The streets were buzzing.

Word of a demon-level threat spread like fire dipped in oil.

People were freaking out, hiding, whispering about the Adventurer's Guild, where an overwhelming pressure had just crashed down like a falling god.

Arthur, Camila, and Amelia stepped out the front door.

Straight into a wall of knights.

Their silver armor gleamed under the twin suns.

Swords drawn.

Magical shields humming.

Tension so thick you could bite it.

And at the center.

Liam.

Captain of the Royal Knights.

Golden hair. Divine glow.

Eyes that burned brighter than daylight.

His aura radiated control. Power. Absolute authority.

Arthur tilted his head. "Huh."

Liam's voice was calm. "Which one of you unleashed that power?"

Silence.

Arthur grinned. "That'd be me."

And next to him, Amelia just smiled, her violet eyes glowing with something too smooth, too dangerous.

Arthur's Eyes of Sloth and Wrath blazed to life.

Deep blue and molten gold. Calm and fury.

Opposites that had no business being together.

Next to him, Amelia's violet gaze burned, her Eyes of Lust twisting the air around her.

Like reality couldn't quite decide what she looked like anymore.

Time stuttered.

Liam's eyes narrowed.

He moved.

Faster than light.

His sword lashed out, divine light trailing behind it.

Camila's eyes went wide. "WAIT"

CLANG.

The blade stopped.

Right in Arthur's hand.

Arthur's Eyes of Wrath glowed gold and red, fiery and still.

He didn't flinch.

Didn't even shift his weight.

He just stood there, gripping the blade like it was a stick he'd caught midair.

The ground beneath him cracked.

Liam stared.

So did every knight behind him.

No one had ever caught Liam's sword before.

No one should've been able to.

The thing carried divine force like a crashing meteor.

Arthur? Held it like it was nothing.

"Pretty quick," he said casually.

Then his Eyes of Sloth flickered, and his whole vibe turned even more relaxed, like the whole thing was barely worth his time.

He let go of the sword and stepped back.

"Your turn."

Boom.

Flames erupted around him.

Golden-red.

Violent.

Alive.

Everything roared.

Liam stepped back, not out of fear, but instinct.

The pressure rolling off Arthur felt like standing inside a collapsing sun.

Way too hot, way too much.

His golden aura flared up, pushing back against the chaos fire bleeding from Arthur.

Energy crackled between them, lighting up the street.

Amelia didn't move, but her presence did.

Her Eyes of Lust burned bright, her power slipping into the cracks of reality like a soft whisper.

Liam shut that influence down fast with raw divine will.

His eyes stayed locked on Arthur.

"...Who are you?"

Arthur gave a lazy shrug. "Just a newbie adventurer."

Liam didn't buy it. "You're lying."

"Maybe."

Liam's grip on his sword tightened. "That power. It doesn't belong here."

Arthur stretched, his flames dying out. "Yeah. We're not from here."

Camila slid between them before anything exploded.

"We're not here to fight," she said. "We're not enemies."

Liam stared for a second.

Then he exhaled. His aura cooled.

"...Then why are you here?"

Amelia's voice was calm but carried weight.

"To prepare for a war."

Liam's eyes narrowed. Silence followed.

Then, slowly, he sheathed his sword.

Arthur grinned. "Aw. That's it? I was having fun."

Liam ignored him. Turned to his knights.

"Stand down."

They hesitated. Then obeyed.

Liam turned back to the group.

"I want answers. Follow me."

And with that, he walked away.

Arthur chuckled. "Man, I like this guy."

Camila shoved him forward. "Move."

The kingdom of Ephemeral looked like a divine fever dream.

The castle alone? Insane.

Floating sun overhead, towers that scraped the sky, walls humming with golden symbols.

It was like stepping into a storybook written by gods with an over-the-top streak.

Arthur walked beside Camila and Amelia, hands in his pockets, Eyes of Sloth lazy but focused.

He turned to Camila. "You know Liam's totally a Sin, right?"

Camila didn't blink. "Obviously."

Arthur tilted his head. "And you didn't think to mention that?"

"Figured you'd notice."

"Fair."

Liam was Pride.

No question.

That ridiculous divine presence, the way he moved, how he stared down chaos like it was beneath him.

This fight? Yeah. It was happening no matter what.

Before anyone could say more, a voice echoed down the hall.

"Liam!"

A woman was coming down the stairs, no, gliding.

It felt like she wasn't even walking.

Arthur turned to look, and immediately raised a brow.

She was gorgeous.

Not in a dainty, fragile way.

But in that unmistakable, regal, born-to-rule kind of way.

Golden hair like sunlight.

Eyes that shimmered like polished stars.

Robes embroidered with divine symbols, practically glowing.

And behind her? Six golden rings hovered in the air, rotating slowly like they were alive.

Camila let out a breath. "Princess Athena."

Arthur grinned. "Wait, Liam's royalty?"

Liam barely spared him a glance. "Does it matter?"

"Kinda."

Athena walked up to them, her gaze sharp, scanning every detail. She didn't waste time.

"You're the outsiders," she said. "The ones Liam felt."

Arthur was about to respond, probably with a quip.

But Liam cut in.

He stepped forward and drew his sword. No hesitation.

"We'll talk after. First, I need to check something."

Athena's eyes widened a little. "Liam, you've never challenged anyone before."

He didn't look back. "This is different."

Before anything could escalate, Camila looked to Amelia.

"Amelia."

Amelia didn't argue.

Just sighed, lifted her hand, and reality bent.

The world twisted like paper being folded.

Space itself cracked, reshaped, and suddenly they weren't in a castle anymore.

They were somewhere else entirely.

The sky was now an endless void filled with stars.

The ground was glowing marble laced with divine markings.

The air buzzed, alive with energy that could melt continents.

Camila stepped forward, her aura pulsing softly, layering the place in quiet protection.

Arthur rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck.

"Alright," he muttered. "Let's see what the King of Pride can actually do."

Liam raised his sword. "Let's see how strong you are."

They moved.

Liam disappeared.

One second he was there, the next, he wasn't.

His sword was already dropping toward Arthur's head like divine judgment.

BOOM.

The impact lit up the arena, marble shattering under Arthur's feet as he caught the blade with his bare hand again.

Silence.

Then the ground cracked wide open.

Arthur grinned. "You're fast."

He twisted, his chaos fire igniting, golden-red flames howling into the sky, tearing through space like it was paper.

Liam didn't budge.

His aura exploded outward, light and force smashing into Arthur's fire, holding it back.

His armor shimmered with angelic glyphs, untouchable.

Then Liam raised his hand.

The elements answered.

Fire.

Water.

Earth.

Wind.

Light.

Darkness.

All six crashed together above his blade.

He swung.

A slash of pure destruction shot out, bending everything in front of it, warping space, screaming toward Arthur faster than light.

Arthur just laughed.

He let go.

And chaos answered.

Right as Liam's attack reached him.

Arthur changed.

Something older than time woke up inside him.

His whole body shifted, and suddenly the air around him stopped existing.

Liam's attack didn't explode. Didn't clash.

It just… vanished.

Gone. Like it had never been there at all.

Liam's eyes widened. "…What?"

Arthur's aura twisted, rippling outward in waves of nothingness laced with raw chaos.

"This," he said, voice low but weirdly cheerful, "is way more fun than I expected."

And then he moved.

the world broke.

Liam swung again, this time with the full weight of his divine power behind it.

And again, Arthur didn't dodge.

He blocked it with his bare hand.

The impact shattered the air, split the ground beneath them.

Chaos and divinity clashed in a storm of sparks and flame, roaring through the battlefield.

Arthur's fire didn't just burn, it consumed.

It ate at everything, even the rules of reality, chewing through Liam's light like it was paper.

But Liam wasn't backing down.

His aura flared again, golden and relentless.

His armor pulsed, mending damage instantly.

His sword moved faster, sharper.

His Absolute Swordsmanship kicked in.

His attacks became perfect.

Every slash was a checkmate.

Every movement, flawless.

But Arthur didn't care.

He just laughed louder.

His chaos shifted again, twisting around Liam's perfect cuts like it didn't care about logic or form.

Their battle shook the stars.

Time bent. Space screamed.

Two kings, crashing into each other with everything they had.

Pride and Chaos.

Neither one gave an inch.

The battlefield wasn't really a battlefield anymore.

It was a mess of broken reality, chunks of marble floating midair, stars flickering like candles, space itself glitching in and out of existence.

On one side: Arthur.

His Eyes of Sloth and Wrath both blazing.

Chaos radiating off him like a living storm.

On the other: Liam.

Glowing gold.

Armor cracked but holding.

Eyes locked. Sword ready.

And between them?

Just pressure. So much of it that time was starting to hesitate.

They vanished.

What came next wasn't even a fight.

It was a concept being rewritten in real time.

From the outside, it looked like nothing was happening.

No flashes. No screams. Just pressure building in the air.

But inside that pressure? Inside that space?

It was chaos.

Liam and Arthur weren't moving fast, they were moving beyond speed.

Past it.

Their bodies just flickered in and out of visibility like the universe couldn't keep up.

First exchange.

Liam's blade burned with divine judgment, swinging down to erase.

Arthur's chaos unraveled the strike before it even formed.

Second exchange:

Liam's wings spread wide. He blurred, no motion at all. One second he was in front of Arthur, the next behind.

A flash of gold.

Arthur tilted his head.

Barely.

The blade missed by a whisper.

BOOOOOOOM.

The air cracked, the ground cracked, everything cracked.

And neither of them looked winded.

Liam narrowed his eyes.

Arthur just grinned.

They were only warming up.

Liam exhaled.

Then raised his free hand.

His golden aura pulsed, then expanded like the sun flaring out.

"Blessing of Strength."

The whole battlefield shook. His muscles tensed. His presence doubled.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Neat."

"Blessing of Speed."

Liam vanished.

He reappeared behind Arthur, sword already mid-swing. Faster than sound. Faster than light.

Arthur barely tilted his head again. The blade missed.

"Close," he said.

Liam's eyes flashed.

"Blessing of Perception."

Everything slowed.

For a heartbeat, Arthur froze.

Liam's sword dropped.

And this time

It hit.