Yudris met Lace's frantic gaze with a look of utter indifference. The centuries had changed his face and his heart, but to her, he was merely a footnote she had already read. She was unconcerned with his evolution; to an architect, even the greatest thief is just a tenant in a house they built.
Leon, however, watched the exchange with a new clarity. He had always known Yudris was formidable—her own Soul Palace was proof enough of that—but he realized now he had never truly peered behind the curtain of her service.
"Yudris," Leon said, his voice echoing through the vast white void of the Writer's Domain. He didn't look at her; his eyes remained fixed on the broken man trembling before his throne. "You have the power to grant any wish, don't you?"
Yudris bowed her head slightly, her long gown shimmering like starlight. "Mostly, Young Lord. But even I am not omnipotent."
Leon was silent for a moment, the golden sand of the hourglass dripping with a heavy, rhythmic thud.
"I believe you know who I truly am," he said, finally turning to her. "And for reasons of your own, you aren't allowed to tell me." He looked away, a shadow of his former hesitation passing over his face before being replaced by iron resolve. "I do not want to know anymore. I am done running from myself. From now on, I will simply be. No pretending. No hiding. And you, Yudris... you will show me how."
A subtle, proud smile touched Yudris's lips. She nodded in silent agreement and vanished into the white mist, leaving Leon alone with his captive.
Leon leaned back into his throne of clouds, resting his cheek against the back of his hand. He looked down at Lace Freeman, who was still muttering to himself, his mind fractured by the revelation of the Architect's presence.
"I see it now," Leon said, cutting through Lace's frantic whispers. "You desire power so much that you would sacrifice your very soul to hold it, right?"
"Yeah..." Lace spat, his voice regaining a jagged edge of defiance. "Power is the only truth. The strong decide fate. Their word is law. Power is what keeps me breathing, boy. And even if you kill me now, know this: I'll find a way back. I'll return stronger than ever. I always do."
"Unfortunately for you," Leon mused, his expression shifting into a calm, terrifyingly serene smile, "I still have no desire to get my hands dirty with your blood. But I believe I have found a much better solution."
That smile sent a primal chill down Lace's spine. The sight of a being who could rewrite reality smiling with such sinister intent was more horrifying than any threat.
"You monster..." Lace screamed, his voice cracking with pure terror. "You're a monster!"
"Then let it be written," Leon commanded, his voice resonating with the absolute authority of the Writer. "From this moment forth, you lose your skills. Your stats, your stolen lives, your very essence—all of it is erased. You will never be able to attain power again. Not through training, not through time manipulation, not through the warping of reality. You are forbidden from the light of strength."
The Realm of the Writer obeyed.
Lace let out a guttural howl as he felt the vacuum open inside him. The Theft skill, the centuries of accumulated power, the divinity he had snatched from others—it all dissolved into nothingness. He was being hollowed out, his legendary status stripped away until he was less than a novice.
"No... NO!" he shrieked, clutching his chest. "You can't do this to me! Give it back!"
"I already did," Leon said, his tone as cold and emotionless as a winter dawn. "And now, you find yourself at the very bottom of the food chain."
"I swear, you'll pay! You'll pay for this!" Lace's screams echoed as Leon snapped his fingers.
Lace Freeman was cast out, sent back to the ruins of his dark castle—not as a king, but as a frail, powerless old man. The top predator had become the prey, left to rot in a world full of the very monsters he had helped create.
In the profound silence of the Writer's Domain, the white void shimmered as Yudris materialized once more. Her presence was a ripple in the stillness.
"Young Lord," she murmured, her voice carrying the weight of the outside world. "Your sister has breached the perimeter of the academy. She is searching for you. The time has come for the truth to be spoken."
Leon stood by his cloud-woven throne, gazing into the vast nothingness of his own creation. He remained quiet for a long time, the only sound being the rhythmic drip of the cosmic hourglass.
"No," he finally said, his voice hollow. "I'm not going back. The mask is gone, Yudris. They've seen the gods; they've felt the shadow of the Anomaly. And Claire..." He closed his eyes, his expression tightening. "I still don't know how to look her in the eye."
"She is of your blood," Yudris reminded him gently. "She would forgive you eventually."
"I know she would," Leon replied, turning back to his guardian. "But I'm done with the half-truths. I won't hide anymore, but I'm not ready to stand in the light of the world just yet. If I stay, I'm a monster they fear. If I stay, I'm a target that puts everyone I love in the path of the next Lace Freeman."
He forced a small, fragile smile—one that didn't quite reach his eyes. "From this moment on, it's just you and me. I need to focus on my own growth. I need to become the master of this power before it accidentally consumes the people I'm trying to protect."
Leon stretched his hand into the void. A single, pristine page tore itself from the giant book behind him and hovered in the air. With a thought, his will etched a message into the paper in ink that glowed with a fading silver light. He reached for his academy uniform jacket, folding it with a slow, deliberate reverence. He tucked the letter inside the fabric and, with a final surge of mana, sent it drifting through the dimensions, targeting the exact spot where he knew she would arrive.
Claire roared onto the school grounds, a sonic boom trailing behind her. The journey that usually required five days of hard riding on the finest horses had taken her a mere thirty minutes. She was a hurricane of desperation, her lungs burning and her spirit on fire.
But when she crossed the threshold of the gates, she was met with a terrifying silence.
The academy was a ghost town. In their blind panic, the students and faculty had fled for their lives, abandoning their belongings, their studies, and the very ground they stood on. The arena was a scorched ruin; the classrooms were empty shells.
"Leon!" she screamed, her voice echoing off the stone walls. "Leon, where are you?!"
She searched the courtyard, her heart sinking lower with every empty corridor she passed. Then, her eyes caught something—a flash of familiar navy blue lying neatly on the cobblestones near the fountain.
She ran to it, her knees nearly giving out. It was a uniform jacket. She picked it up, her fingers tracing the name tag stitched into the collar: Leon von Vinci. As she lifted the fabric to her chest, a small piece of paper fluttered out, dancing in the wind before landing at her feet.
Claire knew instinctively what it was. Her hands trembled so violently she could barely grasp the edges of the parchment. Taking a jagged, deep breath to steady her soul, she began to read. The words were simple, yet they shattered the world she had fought so hard to protect.
"To my dearest sister, Claire..."
"By the time you read this, I will be far beyond the reach of the kingdom. I saw the look in your eyes back in the realm, and it hurt more than any wound Lace could have dealt me. You were right to feel betrayed. I was a coward who chose to hide behind a mask rather than trust the person I loved most."
"But the boy you knew—the B-rank student who needed your protection—was only a fragment of the truth. The power I carry is a storm I haven't yet learned to calm. If I stay, the world will hunt me, and you will be caught in the crossfire. I cannot let you be the shield for a monster anymore."
"I am going away to find the person I was meant to be. Do not look for me. Do not blame yourself. Tell Father I am sorry for the shame I may have brought to our name. Live your life, Claire. Be the legend the world expects you to be."
"I will always be watching from the shadows. I love you."
— The Real Leon.