Alex couldn't help but sigh at the sight of the ongoing battle, seeing it now in a completely different light than before. Having learned the truth behind the rise of the skaven, he knew they were nothing more than pawns, being used to further an evil plan.
In the past few months, their activity and boldness had only grown, and the loss of life on all sides had become immeasurable.
Alex knew the chaos in the realm would only worsen with time, and the carnage would stop only after an end was put to the schemes of the Third Hegemon, the True King.
And yet, he couldn't help but wonder if stopping him was even possible, and if it was, how many poor souls would be lost in the process?
A few moments passed before the battlefield dissolved once more into a blanket of calm darkness. Seeing it fade, Alex snapped back to his senses.
Alex looked back at the Inheritor, only for the other party to point at a chair that rose from the darkness.
"Young man, have a seat," the Inheritor said solemnly.
Alex nodded once and walked toward the chair, all the while repeating the introduction he had prepared beforehand.
He was a bit nervous, and rightfully so. He stood before one of the strongest individuals in the realm, having come here to ask to be trained by him.
He had many questions he wished to ask, but before any of that, he needed to confirm whether the Inheritor would even agree to train him.
Asher had made it clear he could secure Alex an audience, but whether the Hegemon accepted his request or not was entirely up to him.
Up until now, things had been going well.
The Inheritor spoke first. "I am Odaseues, a pure-blood dragon belonging to the House Drakaryx."
After a moment of silence, Alex took a breath, ready to introduce himself as well, but the Inheritor's voice cut across and silenced him.
"Young man, I am already familiar with you. You are a human who comes from a planet named Earth. You use soul anchoring through the help of an entity named Zero to enter the Ancient World, a place of magic."
"Your true name is not known. Your avatar name is Hidden One. You have been chosen as a Domain Ruler, and you also have two clones roaming the realm. One in the Magi army, the other, named Aeon, who is currently staying with the Starfall Sect."
A long breath of silence followed, the weight of the revelation making it clear that the Inheritor already knew every fine detail that was publicly available.
It was all but certain he had already learned of Alex's history in both the Ancient World and the Ancestral Realm.
Alex was startled but quickly regained his composure. The information revealed was all out there, and anyone who looked hard enough would eventually find it.
The silence stretched until the Inheritor finally smiled.
"Those were unnecessary details, as they mean nothing to me. The only quality about you that carries any value to me... is your physique." A smile broke across his otherwise emotionless face.
"The Dark Ancient physique we both share," he said. "You wish to grow stronger with my help for your upcoming Death duel, and I wish to gain more knowledge about the physique."
"We will both help each other to the best of our ability. I will require a few hours every few days to study your body, and I can promise you, no harm will come from my study."
"If you are fine with it, then say 'Yes' and our arrangement will become official."
'He's pretty straightforward,' Alex thought silently. 'Good for me, he added to himself.'
"Yes," Alex said, and, thinking his answer felt dull, added, "I am fine with this arrangement."
Still feeling he should show more respect, Alex stood and slightly bowed. "You have my gratitude for allowing me the privilege to be guided and trained by you."
"Young one, I can see sincerity in your words," the Inheritor replied. "But believe me, how you view me does not affect our relationship in the slightest."
Alex looked up, a bit taken aback, "You are just a subject of knowledge to me, and I should be the same to you, a means to an end."
"I will guide you for eleven months, and how much you can grow will solely depend on your ability."
"You should keep one thing clear: we are not master and student, we are trading things we need with one another, so your goal should be to get the most out of me. If you have to be unapologetic for your benefit, you should go for it."
It was true that their relationship was purely transactional. He wanted to grow stronger, while the Inheritor wished to study his physique to increase his own understanding.
Alex didn't mind his bluntness. In fact, the Inhetor's straightforward attitude suited him quite well, so long as the man did not hold back in his guidance.
Alex understood that if the knowledge from his physique could help the Inheritor understand his own physique better, then similarly, his knowledge could help him grow as well.
The whole idea of physiques having genome sequences/Shards was new to him, but he understood that awakening a new Shard meant gaining new abilities.
Some of his strongest skills came from his physique, so if he could advance his physique, not only would there be a chance that he could gain better skills, but also certainly strengthen his existing skills as well, and that would provide a major boost to his overall capabilities.
"Okay," Alex said, and nodded.
"Good," Odeseus said, and added, "Now, start telling me about your physique. How did you awaken it? What were the first skills, their details, future growth, everything, in detail."
"Make sure you miss nothing," Odeseus said with a faint nod, his voice carrying the weight of command. Then he leaned forward slightly, his eyes like twin voids, unblinking.
Alex took a breath to collect his thoughts, having already prepared all the details related to his physique, thinking the Hegemon might be interested in them.
"I am not sure if I acquired my physique after obtaining the legacy of Erebus, the Titan of Darkness, or after I was chosen as the Domain Ruler, since those events happened one after another, and my body went through many changes," Alex began.
"To gain the legacy, I was stripped of all my previous gains, pushed back to being a normal human. Being chosen as the Ruler also gave me countless runes which are now etched into my skeleton."
"The physique began at the adolescent stage and gave me 200 stats...hmm, about twenty times a normal human's strength, since players like me were given 10 in each of the five major stats at the very beginning." Seeing that Odeseus seemed to understand these game terms, Alex continued without further explanation.
"The physique also gave me double the normal stats, 20 with each level up. Two hundred extra till the first Rank, and a thousand till the second Rank promotion, and so on until the fourth Rank."
"But coming back to the start," Alex said, "After awakening the physique, I gained the 'Eyes of the Ancient' as my first skill, which allowed me to perceive reality with clarity."
He went on, explaining how his physique had grown as his strength climbed to new heights, quickly reaching the point where he had consumed the Evolution Fruit, the second most significant gain he had received since becoming the Domain Ruler.
He described the changes brought by the fruit, how much of its energy he consumed, even mentioning the results of the previous Domain Ruler and any other details.
He then described the gains, noting that, alongside all his titles and skill upgrades, his physique also grew tremendously, granting him many new skills and additional benefits.
The skills were: Perfect Darkness Manipulation, Tenebrous Shard Enclave, Darkness Embrace, and Nihility Purge.
The physical changes were the awakening of the Bloodline of the Ancient, the birth of his second heart, Heart of the Ancient, and its related skills.
He also told about the title (?????? Child), which he acquired, whose benefit he had yet to understand.
"It was also at that time," Alex said, "I had a dream. I watched through the eyes of the Dark Ancient, who stood in the void of space."
"A rift appeared. From it emerged a figure, noble and imposing, with a finely chiseled face that bore the marks of ageless wisdom, carrying a small but enigmatic smile."
"He had long, flowing gray hair reaching his shoulders, and abyssal eyes filled with dots like shimmering stars. His gaze held a cosmic allure, and his presence radiated undeniable authority."
"Dark called him Cosmorian. They seemed to be friends, or at least Cosmorian implied as much, before he threatened Dark with death."
Alex's voice slowed as he recalled the dream.
"Moments later, rifts appeared around them, and from them poured creatures, alien, beast, humanoid. Hundreds of them, each one clad in incredible armor, wielding weapons that were of equally great quality, their very presence twisting the void."
"After what seemed to be a silent order, they moved in unison to attack Dark. He responded with 'Darkness Embrace', making the void come alive like a ravenous ocean of shadows, and when the emptiness finally returned, of the hundreds that arrived, few remained."
"Only sixteen individuals survived. A void serpent stretching vast as a world. A golden tree. A human. An oni. And most impressive of all, a towering hydra with eleven heads, each bearing a different face."
"However, none of them survived long, and all were butchered and erased within three minutes."
Odeseus had stayed silent the entire time, showing no reaction, his look uninterested, almost bored, but now, at last, the mask of coldness broke.
"HAHA!" Laughter rang out, his face twisting into an image of bliss, no anger, no surprise. His emotions were changing from what Alex could perceive.
Odeseus threw his head back and laughed.