Ruler of Beyonders

"Commander! That boy showed up during the battlefield. What do we do? Kill him or keep him alive?"

The command room was dimly lit, full of whirring machines and flickering mana screens. An operator stood tense in front of a large glowing display. Across the screen, a name pulsed in red letters:

Ren Calder

A tall, broad-shouldered man stood with arms crossed. His face was scarred across the left side. Hair streaked with white. His eyes, once bright, now cold and calculating. He was no longer the man who once believed in training heroes.

Seroi.

He stared at the name for a while, then slowly turned toward the thin operator beside him.

"Don't track him."

The operator flinched. "Sir?"

Seroi's voice was quiet but firm.

"He's not a threat right now. He hasn't raised a single hand against us. He knows his limits. He doesn't have the power to challenge us yet. Just keep a watch on him. Nothing more."

The operator nodded quickly. "Understood, Commander Seroi."

★★★

A mysterious man who was in battlefield turned away, his coat flowing behind him. As he walked and turned to left the battlefield, his figure slowly broke apart into wisps of black mist.

He vanished.

The mist reformed in a hidden cave deep beneath a mountain range far from the battle lines. The cave shimmered with strange beauty. Fluorescent vials of liquid light lined the walls. Bioluminescent insects danced in the air. Pale flowers bloomed between stones, glowing faintly like stardust.

Mysterious man appeared on a smooth stone in the center of the cave and sat down, breathing quietly. The harshness from his face faded.

Behind him, a girl stepped forward.

She was young, maybe fifteen. Sharp silver hair fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were bright green and clear, like mountain springs. She wore a light robe of grey and deep blue, stitched with old runes.

"Master, are you alright?" she asked gently.

He didn't turn to look at her right away. He stared ahead at the soft glow of the cave. Then he sighed.

"Yeah... I'm fine. Don't worry. My power hasn't grown strong enough yet to be a real problem. It only covering the surrounded areas, not the whole world."

The girl stepped closer. Her expression didn't change, but her voice carried quiet strength.

"It's only the beginning. Slowly, you'll regain your full power. And then, as I promised… I'll tell you everything about your past."

The man finally turned to look at her. His eyes softened.

"I know, Nyxa. But sometimes... sometimes I think back. Those ten years… they changed me. I met people who meant something to me. I made mistakes. And now I don't know what happened to them."

He clenched his fists slowly.

"My family. Watson. Mira. My parents, Yue and Daniel. Where are they now? Are they safe? Or gone? It's all still a mystery."

Nyxa lowered her gaze.

"We'll find them, Master. I swear it."

He leaned back against the rock. His voice was lower now.

"I miss them. More than I can explain. Mira especially. She wasn't just a sister. She was my heart. The quiet strength that kept me grounded."

He paused.

"My mother, Yue Calder. Her soft voice, her warm hands. Always worried, always loving. And my father, Daniel... his deep voice, his stubbornness, his strength. And Watson… idiot Watson. He was more than a friend. He was my brother."

Nyxa stepped beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Then we won't stop until we find them. Whoever was behind what happened to them… they'll regret ever touching your family."

He didn't speak for a moment. He looked like sad. A tears were near to dropped but he holds it. Then, slowly, he nodded.

"Good. Because I've decided. Once I regain everything... I will erase them all. Not out of revenge. But to make sure no one ever suffers what I did."

Nyxa's eyes glowed faintly. Her voice was calm.

"Then let's begin again. From here. From this cave. The world doesn't know it yet… but their reckoning is already walking among them."

The light in the cave dimmed slightly.

And far above the ground, the war continued to rage.

But in the shadows, something else stirred.

A man not yet king.

A soul not yet whole.

And a truth waiting to rise from silence.

★★★

Somewhere we saw the chamber. It was vast, hollow, and carved from dark stone. No light entered from the outside. Only faint orbs floated across the ceiling, pulsing slowly like the heartbeat of the room itself. In the center stood a circular table, its surface smooth and cold. Around it sat twelve figures, robed in black and violet, faces hidden by translucent masks that shimmered like thin water.

Footsteps echoed.

Seroi entered.

He no longer wore the dark commander uniform. Instead, he was draped in a silver-lined cloak, torn at the edges, soaked slightly by the mist that clung to his boots. His face was drawn. A long scar now crossed the bridge of his nose. His eyes were tired, but they burned with clarity.

He bowed.

"Councilors. I bring my report."

The voice that answered was female, smooth and ancient.

"Speak, Commander Seroi. We have waited long."

He stepped forward, a black orb floating above his palm. With a flick, the orb expanded, displaying holographic images battlefields, shattered towers, strange beasts born from mana storms. And in the center of one frame stood a name. It all happened within a nano seconds. Humans eyes couldn't saw it.

Ren Calder.

"Ten years ago," Seroi began, "we thought the awakening of the Abyss-type magic was a threat. We were wrong. It was a shield. A chance to prepare. But our world was not ready."

He looked up, facing the council.

"Mana density across the planet has increased by 730 percent. The rift near the Crysaline Core collapsed into a permanent storm. Cities once safe are now ruins. Creatures from other realms cross over with ease."

He paused, letting the silence stretch.

"We did not betray Ren Calder out of malice. We did it because if he had awakened fully then with his core unstable he would have shattered the soul-weave of the planet. The collapse would not have been isolated. It would have triggered a chain reaction. The death of the world."

One of the councilors leaned forward.

"So you abandoned him. Lied to him. Killed his allies."

Seroi clenched his jaw.

"Yes."

A different voice spoke. Old. Bitter.

"And Yato?"

Seroi closed his eyes.

"Yato refused the order to contain Ren. He believed we could still reason with him. He... was loyal. To the end."

The orb changed.

An image of Yato appeared, bruised and bloodied, standing in front of a crumbled facility, arms raised in defiance.

"He bought Ren's escape with his life. We gave the kill order. I signed it."

Silence.

One councilor whispered, "Does Ren know?"

"No. Not yet. But he will. But we not killed any innocent persons. All were possessed by the unknown realms entities. So we had no any options left. We must had to killed them."

Then Seroi spoke in his mind...

"And in Yato's final moments he was said only one thing with his half consciousness "

His eyes were shown filled with tears but he not dropped it just hold it.

The woman who had first spoken now leaned forward.

"And what is he doing now?"

Seroi straightened.

"Searching. For his family. For Watson. For Mira. But mostly... for answers."

He took a deep breath.

The orb flashed again. Images of Ren standing at the edge of a valley, watching a battlefield burn.

"He has already erased entire platoons without raising his voice. He's testing his limits. Slowly. Carefully. He doesn't want revenge. Not yet. He wants understanding. But if he finds what happened…"

He looked at them.

"He will become unstoppable."

The lights dimmed. The orb vanished.

The council sat in silence.

Finally, one spoke.

"Then we watch. And we prepare. I think we have to release that girl."