Brian knocked twice on the heavy wooden door of Klaus's study, the sound echoed softly through the quiet corridor.
A calm voice answered from inside. "You may enter."
Brian pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The study was exactly as it always was, orderly, restrained, and dense with the presence of its owner.
Tall shelves lined the walls, filled with manuals, old records, and sealed scrolls. At the center of the room, Klaus sat behind a broad wooden desk, his posture was straight and on his face was an unreadable expression while his hand moved steadily across a sheet of parchment.
The scratching of quill against paper was the only sound for a few moments.
"My lord," Brian said respectfully, stopping a few steps inside. "You called for me?"
Klaus did not look up immediately. His hand continued to move in a constant flow, each stroke was thought out and precise, as if the contents of the letter had already been refined in his mind long before ink ever touched the page.
"Have the payments to all involved parties been settled?" Klaus asked calmly. "The healers, the alchemists, and the intermediaries who procured the recovery items last week for William"
"Yes, my lord," Brian replied without hesitation. "All transactions have been completed. No loose ends."
"I hope they didn't pry into the purpose of all those supplies"
"yes my lord, they didn't" Brian assured Klaus
Klaus gave a small nod, acknowledging the report. Brian remained silent, though his eyes flicked briefly toward the parchment. He did not pry, but curiosity still lingered in his mind. It was rare for Klaus to personally write letters, rarer still for him to do so with such focus.
A few moments later, Klaus set the quill down. He rolled the scroll parchment neatly and placed it into a gold-plated mail tube. The surface of the container was engraved with the image of a cloud coiled around a dragon, the symbol was unmistakably mysterious but Brian identified it at a glance.
Klaus sealed it with a precise motion and then slid it across the desk.
"Take this letter," he said. "Deliver it to my master."
Brian froze.
For the first time in a long while, his composure cracked. "My lord…?" His breath caught. "You haven't contacted him in years. Not since… that disagreement."
Klaus leaned back slightly, releasing a quiet breath. The calm on his face remained, but something heavier sat behind his eyes.
"I did not wish to," Klaus said. "But for a reason the circumstances have changed."
Brian hesitated before asking, "Because of… a reason?"
Klaus's gaze sharpened. "Yes. Because of that boy."
Brian's mind immediately latched onto the image, blue hair, composed demeanor, and an unsettling calm that had not matched his supposed rank.
"William," Klaus continued. "He used the Tempest Sword Technique."
Brian's breath left him in a sharp gasp before he could stop himself.
"My lord, that's impossible," he said instinctively. "That technique is your master's inheritance. You are his only disciple. And Ethan is your only successor."
"I am aware," Klaus replied. His voice was firm, without doubt. "That is precisely why I investigated the aftermath of the incident myself."
Brian listened intently as Klaus continued.
"At the site of the destruction in the outer district, I examined the residual traces left behind by the swordsman. The mana had dissipated, but some traces remained. The pattern of destruction was unmistakable. It was the Tempest Sword that was used there at that night"
Brian's brows knit together. "But during the duel with Ethan, that boy used a different sword intent entirely. I felt it myself. It was not the Tempest Sword's intent."
A faint smile appeared on Klaus's face, brief and restrained. "That was my initial conclusion as well. But that is where the problem lies."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering. "The sword intent he used was something I have never encountered before. It was… superior."
Brian's eyes widened.
"Superior," Klaus repeated. "Even compared to the intent I forged through the Tempest Sword, which itself is a Saint-ranked technique."
Silence fell between them.
"That boy is hiding far more than we initially assumed," Klaus continued. "His strength does not align with his mana rank. And more importantly, he can use the tempest sword technique, that alone is alarming."
Brian swallowed. "Then… he might also know—"
"The message," Klaus interrupted. "Yes."
He stood and walked toward the window, looking out at the darkening sky.
"That message quoted my master directly," Klaus said. "Very few know of Storm Dragon's existence. no one out of them know of his relationship with me. Unless my master himself revealed it, there should have been no way."
Brian's expression darkened further.
The broken sword at his side stirred.
"He is not wrong, that boy's intent was unique and the whole temperament had changed when I saw him again after our first meeting, it felt like I was meeting him after countless years had passed" the broken sword's voice echoed quietly within Brian's mind.
Brian clenched his jaw. "My lord… this is dangerous."
Klaus nodded. "And there is more. You remember my visit to the emperor last week ?,
he told me that a divine physique holder has awakened in the empire, now the whole minister's lobby and the emperor are searching for that person, emperor has even moved the hounds"
Brian felt a chill creep down his spine. "The Hounds…?"
"Yes," Klaus confirmed. "They have been deployed."
A bead of sweat rolled down Brian's temple. The Hounds were not mere soldiers. They were Riverdale's most ruthless unit, specialists in hunting, assassinating and tracking, all of them were masters of their own. Even someone like Brian could not face them lightly.
"There is only one conclusion left," Klaus said slowly.
Brian looked at him. "Which is?"
"That a new power has emerged," Klaus replied, "one that has already entangled all of us without us realizing it. And that boy William stands at the center of it, he is our only clue to know whether the new power is our ally or our enemy?"
The weight of those words settled heavily in the room.
Far away, beneath a sky tinted violet and orange by the setting sun, Ethan continued his training. Sweat soaked his clothes as he swung his sword again and again, each movement was deliberate.
As dusk deepened, he paused and looked up at the stars beginning to appear.
"Sister Nancy," he murmured quietly. "I hope you are doing well in heaven, don't worry I will save everyone"
A flash of the past appeared in his mind, the moments when the bloodied figure of sister Nancy told him to protect everyone before leaving this world behind.
***
Prison of the fallen Gods.
Deep beneath the world, in a place untouched by sunlight, flames roared through a twisted forest.
Will stood amid the scorched remains, his breath steady but his senses were full alert.
Moments earlier, black vines had surged from the ground, moving with unnatural speed to attack him.
His response had been instinctive, stellar fire erupted outward and incinerated them before they could coil around him.
But the fire had not stopped.
The adrenaline rush from the sudden attack had disrupted his control.
The flames spread, consuming an entire section of the forest in seconds. Charred remains crackled underfoot, and the air filled with the thick scent of burning flesh, like he had burned a living being and not vines.
Will grimaced. "My control is still sloppy."
The heat faded, leaving behind a ruined landscape and a growing problem. The scent of the burnt remains was very strong and pungent, this would attract unwanted attention.
"Are you certain the SATD won't function here?" Will asked, scanning the darkness beyond the fog.
[Yes, host.] The system's response was immediate. [The mana composition in this region is highly corrosive. Until I can analyze and recalibrate the vehicle's structure, deploying it would result in catastrophic failure within minutes.]
Will exhaled slowly. "So I'm on foot."
[hopefully your primordial affinity responds soon]
He adjusted his stance and looked deeper into the forest, where shapes shifted behind the fog.
"There is a reason this place is called prison of fallen gods" will whispered to the system "it is not a place of hope".