The vast throne room of the Silver Palace remained completely still.
Massive silver pillars stretched toward a ceiling hidden by clouds of glowing mist. Ancient symbols covered the floor beneath the throne, pulsing faintly as though they possessed a life of their own.
Upon that throne sat the Silver-Haired Prince.
His silver eyes stared at the floating screen before him.
He had been staring for several minutes.
Without blinking.
Without moving.
Without speaking.
Because the words displayed before him made no sense.
═══════════════
Name: Anita Xandra Deshmuck
Race: Unknown
Potential: SSS
Mana Capacity: 0
Status:
Sealed Origin
Hidden Authority
Unknown Bloodline
Silver Pendant Resonance
═══════════════
The prince slowly stood.
For the first time in years.
Not because of the race.
Not because of the potential.
Not because of the bloodline.
Not even because of the impossible mana capacity.
No.
His attention remained fixed on one word.
Xandra.
A name he had not seen in centuries.
A name that should not be seen just anymore.
A name buried by history.
Forgotten by kingdoms.
Erased from records.
The prince's hand unconsciously tightened.
Crack.
The armrest of his throne shattered.
His eyes narrowed.
"Impossible."
The word echoed throughout the empty hall.
The pendant hanging around his neck suddenly emitted a silver glow.
Synchronization Rate: 4%
The prince barely noticed.
His thoughts had already traveled far into the past.
A past covered by blood.
A past even he preferred not to remember.
Xandra.
Why would that name appear now?
Why would it belong to her?
The girl from the mortal realm.
The same girl whose pendant had reacted when Ezerus found her.
The same girl whose awakening had disturbed both realms.
The same girl who somehow carried mysteries even Duckan refused to explain.
The prince immediately raised his hand.
Silver runes formed around him.
Space distorted.
A summoning circle appeared.
Far away.
Between worlds.
Inside a hidden laboratory.
A masked woman froze.
Lorette Xandra Deshmuck slowly turned toward the silver circle.
The moment she recognized the summoning spell, she sighed.
The prince.
Of course.
She already knew why.
The synchronization had begun.
There was no avoiding it anymore.
The circle expanded.
Without another word, she stepped forward.
Light engulfed her body.
Moments later she appeared inside the Silver Palace.
She immediately knelt.
"Your Highness."
The prince stared at her.
Long.
Silent.
Cold.
Lorette felt uncomfortable.
Which was extremely rare.
Then he finally spoke.
"Xandra?"
Her body froze.
For only a fraction of a second.
But the prince noticed.
His eyes sharpened.
There it was.
A reaction.
The woman slowly raised her head.
Behind her mask, her expression remained unreadable.
"What do you mean?"
The prince's gaze darkened.
A screen appeared before her.
The System information.
The first line glowed brightly.
Anita Xandra Deshmuck.
Silence.
Lorette stopped moving.
The room itself seemed to freeze.
Several seconds passed.
Then several more.
The prince watched carefully.
The woman who rarely lost composure.
The woman who always had answers.
The woman who never showed fear.
For the first time...
She looked disturbed.
"Interesting."
The prince's voice echoed softly.
"You didn't expect that."
Lorette remained silent.
The prince took a step forward.
"Answer me."
Nothing.
Another step.
" Xandra?"
Still nothing.
Then a new presence entered the room.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Darkness gathered.
Shadows twisted unnaturally.
A figure emerged from the void.
A silhouette.
Its face remained hidden behind moving darkness.
Duckan.
The Master of the Dark.
The ruler of shadows.
The man who seemed to know everything.
The moment he arrived, silence dominated the hall once more.
Lorette lowered her head.
The prince turned toward him.
Perfect.
Now both of them were here.
Perhaps he would finally get answers.
"What is Xandra?"
The question echoed throughout the palace.
Duckan remained silent.
Several moments passed.
Then his deep voice finally emerged.
"A name."
The prince stared.
Then laughed.
As if i don't know.
A genuine laugh.
"You're joking."
Duckan said nothing.
The prince rubbed his forehead.
"Of course it's a name."
His voice became colder.
Neither answered.
The prince's patience slowly vanished.
"Anita Xandra Deshmuck."
The name echoed again.
Lorette lowered her gaze.
Duckan remained motionless.
The prince noticed both reactions.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
That meant the mystery wasn't Anita.
It wasn't Deshmuck.
It was Xandra.
The middle name.
The forgotten name.
The dangerous name.
Finally, Lorette spoke.
"Some things should remain buried."
The prince's eyes narrowed.
"There it is."
Lorette remained silent.
The prince continued.
"So Xandra is real."
No response.
"Important."
Silence.
"Dangerous."
Still silence.
The prince smiled.
That was enough.
Sometimes silence answered more questions than words.
Duckan suddenly spoke.
"The girl is not ready."
The prince immediately turned toward him.
"Ready for what?"
No answer.
"What is she?"
Silence.
The prince frowned.
Again.
Always the same.
Questions.
Never answers.
He looked toward Lorette.
"You gave her the pendant."
Lorette nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Her masked face tilted slightly.
Then she answered.
"If I hadn't..."
She paused.
"...she would already be dead."
The throne room became silent.
The prince's eyes narrowed.
That statement alone created dozens of new mysteries.
Dead?
From what?
From whom?
Ezerus?
Something else?
The prince immediately asked.
"The pendant protected her?"
Lorette hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Partly."
"Partly?"
"Yes."
The prince folded his arms.
"What does that mean?"
Lorette remained quiet.
Then answered.
"The pendant was never meant to protect her."
The prince froze.
"What?"
"It was meant to find her."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even Duckan turned slightly.
The prince stared at her.
Find her?
Not protect her?
Find her?
Then why had it reacted when Ezerus entered her room?
Why synchronize with him?
Why awaken a System?
None of it made sense.
Lorette slowly looked toward the floating screen.
For the first time, her voice softened.
Almost unconsciously.
"Anita..."
The prince immediately noticed.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Not the girl.
Not the child.
Anita.
As though the name meant something to her.
As though she had used it before.
Then she realized her mistake.
Her expression hardened once more.
The prince smiled slightly.
He had learned enough for today.
Not answers.
But clues.
And sometimes clues were more valuable.
Meanwhile.
Inside the mortal realm.
Anny sat on her bed.
Her room remained illuminated by moonlight.
The floating System screen hovered before her.
She had spent almost two hours examining every menu.
And she was beginning to hate it.
Inventory.
Locked.
Bloodline.
Locked.
Authority.
Locked.
Origin.
Locked.
Everything important seemed locked.
Anny crossed her arms.
"What exactly am I supposed to do with this thing?"
No answer came.
Naturally.
The System was remarkably good at appearing only when it wanted something.
As though hearing her thoughts—
DING.
A notification appeared.
═══════════════
New Quest Available
Learn Basic Swordsmanship
Reward:
Swordsmanship Lv.1
═══════════════
Anny blinked.
"Swordsmanship?"
She looked around her room.
There was no sword.
No training area.
Nothing.
"What kind of quest is this?"
DING.
Quest Accepted.
Anny almost fell off the bed.
"I DIDN'T ACCEPT IT!"
The System ignored her completely.
Anny glared at the screen.
The screen didn't care.
She sighed.
Then her gaze slowly drifted toward another part of the interface.
Her name.
Anita Xandra Deshmuck.
Her chest tightened.
That name again.
Every time she looked at it, something felt strange.
Familiar.
Yet distant.
As though she had heard it somewhere before.
Long ago.
Somewhere she couldn't remember.
She stared at the middle name.
Xandra.
The moment she focused on it—
A sharp pain shot through her head.
"Ah!"
Anny grabbed her forehead.
Images flashed before her eyes.
A silver throne.
A burning sky.
Countless figures kneeling.
A woman smiling.
Silver eyes.
Beautiful.
Gentle.
Sad.
The woman slowly reached forward.
"Anita..."
Anny's eyes widened.
The vision vanished instantly.
The room returned.
The pain disappeared.
Anny sat there breathing heavily.
"What was that?"
No answer came.
Her hands trembled slightly.
That wasn't imagination.
It had felt real.
Far too real.
A knock suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
"Anny?"
Abby's voice.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Abby entered carrying food.
Everything seemed normal.
At first.
Then her eyes landed on the pendant.
Immediately.
The smile on her face weakened.
Only slightly.
But Anny noticed.
"Abby."
The woman looked up.
"Yes?"
"What's wrong?"
Abby blinked.
"Nothing."
Anny narrowed her eyes.
That answer sounded suspicious.
Again.
Abby walked closer.
Her gaze remained fixed on the pendant.
The pendant that now glowed faintly.
Silver light pulsed across its surface.
Abby's fingers tightened around the tray.
Fear.
Just for a moment.
Anny saw fear.
Then it disappeared.
"What is it?"
Abby remained silent.
Several moments passed.
Then she finally spoke.
"You should be careful."
Anny frowned.
"About what?"
Abby's gaze remained fixed on the pendant.
"The things that awaken."
Anny froze.
"What does that mean?"
Abby looked away.
Immediately.
Too quickly.
As though she had said more than intended.
"Nothing."
There it was again.
That word.
Nothing.
Everyone kept saying it.
Duckan.
Deshmuck.
Abby.
Nobody ever answered anything.
Anny felt frustration rising.
Before she could continue, Abby placed the tray down and walked toward the door.
Then she stopped.
Without turning around.
She spoke softly.
"So it finally started."
Anny's eyes widened.
"What started?"
Abby left.
The door closed.
No answer came.
Only silence remained.
And more questions.
Far away.
In a place where light itself feared to enter.
A man stood among ruins.
Silver hair.
Scarred face.
Glowing crimson eyes.
Ezerus.
He stared toward the sky.
Toward the mortal realm.
Toward a specific village.
Toward a specific girl.
A faint smile appeared.
"Six percent."
His voice echoed softly.
The darkness around him trembled.
Thousands of distorted creatures immediately lowered their heads.
Fear.
Respect.
Worship.
Nobody knew.
Nobody understood.
But Ezerus knew.
The synchronization had begun.
The sleeping pieces were moving again.
And once they reached each other...
Everything would change.
His smile widened.
"Wake up."
The words drifted into the darkness.
"Wake up, Anita."
Back in the mortal realm.
Anny stared at the floating percentage.
Synchronization Rate: 5%
The number suddenly flickered.
Then changed.
Synchronization Rate: 6%
DING.
Synchronization Milestone Reached.
New Function Unlocked.
Dream Connection.
Anny blinked.
"What?"
Before she could react—
The room vanished.
The walls disappeared.
The bed disappeared.
The entire world dissolved into silver light.
Her body felt weightless.
Space twisted.
Reality bent.
Then—
She landed.
Anny slowly opened her eyes.
Her breath caught instantly.
A massive silver hall stretched before her.
Towering crystal pillars reached toward the heavens.
Ancient symbols glowed beneath her feet.
An overwhelming aura filled the air.
And at the far end...
A throne.
Upon that throne sat a familiar figure.
Silver hair.
Silver eyes.
Calm expression.
The prince.
Not a vision.
Not a memory.
Not a dream.
Him.
He was already looking at her.
As though he had been waiting.
As though he expected her arrival.
Slowly.
The prince stood.
Neither spoke.
Neither moved.
Several seconds passed.
Then he took one step forward.
His silver eyes locked onto hers.
His expression became complicated.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Recognition.
Questions.
Far too many questions.
Finally—
He spoke.
"Anita Xandra Deshmuck."
Anny froze.
The prince stared directly into her eyes.
Then his next words echoed throughout the silver hall.
Words that instantly shattered her understanding of everything.
"How did you awaken it".
.......