“Mr. Wilsar, just as you said—the God King has abandoned the Dark Demon.” Bitterness welled first in Rangetsu’s chest, like cold tea steeped too long; the words came after, flat as frost. A century of working with Naretia wasn’t a knot you cut clean. It felt like a winter wind stripping the last leaves—being cast off by the friend who mattered most.

“Heh.” The young woman behind Wilsar giggled, sharp as icicles. “The gods of this world really are a flock of cowards.”

“Lixin, don’t say it like that.” The young man, Nakat, lifted a hand, palm steady as a quiet lake. “The one who warned that God King was an Origin Realm sovereign. Put yourself there. If you were warned by an Origin Realm being, what would you feel?”

If it had been him, he thought, he’d crumble like wet clay. He wouldn’t live through it.

“What else?” Lixin shrugged, cool as moonlight on steel. “I’d die to apologize. If the clan gets dragged in, that’s no joke.”

“So the God King dropping the Dark Demon isn’t surprising. Honestly, not killing President Rangetsu to vent is already mercy for old ties.”

“Fine, Nakat. I was being naive.”

“Good you know.”

“Uh…”

Rangetsu couldn’t hold it. Anxiety pressed like a storm cloud before rain. “Mr. Wilsar, does your world also have Origin Realm beings?”

“Of course.” Wilsar’s reply was clean as a blade. “Otherwise, knowing this world has an Origin Realm presence, why would we dare back your Dark Demon in toppling the Mizumi Clan?”

“So… your coming here was at the behest of your Origin Realm being?”

A prickle of dread rose like thorns under Rangetsu’s skin. This wasn’t simple. But he’d boarded the pirate ship; the sea wouldn’t let him off. Until the Mizumi Clan fell and the Central Continent—its lands and veins of resources—was freed, he wouldn’t rest. It was a vow hammered in his own furnace.

“More or less. Details aren’t right to share now. Another time.” Wilsar’s tone drifted like mist over a river. “Our Origin Realm has watched this world for a long while. We’ve gathered its bones and pulse in the shadows, much like your Dark Demon.”

He turned, the topic shifting like wind. “Do you know why the Dark Demon grew so fast? Six or seven centuries ago, with our Origin Realm’s aid, several of our strongest slipped into this world. They hid like seeds under snow, and patiently took root.”

Six or seven centuries ago—Xinuo slept then. No wonder they could cross.

“Years of work, and we became a powerful hidden force here.” Wilsar’s voice carried like a low drum. “We’ve quietly backed various mid-sized factions unhappy with the current balance. Among them, we’ve watched your Dark Demon the closest. Growing to this point wasn’t easy. After discussion, we chose to cooperate.”

He unfolded secrets Rangetsu had never heard, each one striking like thunder under a clear sky. Shock spread in him like ripples; he hadn’t imagined the Dark Demon was knotted to Wilsar’s people from its first stone.

Wilsar paced a few steps, then lifted both arms as if to embrace the air. Cold essence gathered like drifting snow. He closed his eyes, smiling, face bathed in a glacier’s quiet glow.

“This world is vast as an endless steppe. Its resources are a mountain after mountain, richer than ours by many folds. But growth is sluggish. Law Realm experts number under ten. Even among those who touch law, few reach the peak. Such fertile earth left fallow—it’s a waste.”

“Is it?” Lixin’s brow arched, voice cool as a spring fed from rock. “I’ve been here over a decade. ‘Sluggish’ feels kind. It’s more like dead water—stalled and stale.”

“Right.” Nakat agreed, tone flat as overcast noon. “Whether they chose stasis or were suppressed by the Mizumi Clan, the great powers don’t aim to grow. No vigor, only a heaviness like dusk.”

“It’s not only the Mizumi Clan’s pressure.” Rangetsu’s words thinned, breaking like reeds in wind. “Most of all, that existence intends to keep this ‘peaceful golden age’ intact, so…”

He left it there. The rest hung like a blade above the table.

“No wonder.” Wilsar nodded, eyes narrowing like a falcon’s. “If an Origin Realm being deliberately damps development to hold the world’s pattern in place, no force can oppose it. Everyone accepts the leash. With time, that first wildfire—to become number one—burns out like embers in rain. A dead atmosphere follows naturally.”

Yet the thought gnawed at him. By wisdom alone, an Origin Realm shouldn’t push against the grain of nature. Unless… it wanted a dictatorship.

“No way…”

Even Wilsar startled himself. The Mizumi Clan felt like a crown worn by one hand. Still, their ‘peaceful golden age’ had cut war down to a quiet winter. The common folk could finally live with warm hearths and full bowls.

Was that worth stunting the world’s growth? No one could weigh it cleanly.

For civilians, the Mizumi Clan was a good roof—it kept the rain off and the pot boiling. For major powers, it was a locked gate—until the Mizumi Clan fell, they couldn’t take a single true step forward.

“Mr. Wilsar, you’re right.” Fire surged in Rangetsu’s eyes, a banner snapping in storm wind. “Because the Mizumi Clan exists, the world’s overall strength keeps sinking. To restore the old age of a hundred schools flourishing, we must overthrow the Mizumi Clan.”

“To topple the Mizumi Clan… and behind them stands that Origin Realm existence.” Lixin’s doubt was a cool blade. “In other words, toppling the Mizumi Clan equals toppling that Origin Realm being. Do your Dark Demon have that kind of strength?”

“Uh… no.” Embarrassment pricked Rangetsu’s face like nettles. “That’s why people mock us as clowns. No one takes us seriously. That’s why I chose to partner with you, even though our rapid rise was pushed by your hand.”

“Well said.” Wilsar’s glance carried a spark, like flint drawn over steel. “We can’t interfere with an Origin Realm, nor do we have the right. Luckily, our world’s Origin Realm agreed to restrain this world’s Origin Realm. That means we can grow freely without alarming the masses. It’s a chance like a comet crossing the night.”

“Really?!”

Joy leapt in Rangetsu like fire over dry grass. He didn’t know Wilsar’s roots well, only that they were people from another world—outsiders crossing stars. But for the dream stamped deepest in him, he didn’t care where allies came from, so long as their hands lifted his.

This time, it wasn’t just help. Even their Origin Realm would move. The thought reached for deeper waters, and fear rose like black tide, stopping him from staring into the abyss.

Enough. Overthinking was a maze. If they had darker plans, he lacked the weight to stop them. His rise and his goal both rested on their bridge. He’d keep his eyes open later, that would have to do. He crushed stray thoughts like grit under heel and asked, “How far has your force here grown? If it’s convenient, could you share?”

“In scale, about the same as your Dark Demon.” Wilsar’s tone was casual, like snow falling on pine. “We control small factions across the world, enough to stand. Also—soon, we’re planning a big move. President Rangetsu, are you interested?”

A wild light flashed in Wilsar’s eyes, like a storm tearing open the night, and it made Rangetsu’s heart jolt.

“What kind of move?”

Curiosity stirred in him like koi under ice. He leaned in.

“Recently, on the Northern Abyss Continent, the Basiloth Empire’s Emperor suffered a relapse of a grave illness. Add that his most gifted son was killed, by unknown hands. For a failing emperor, that’s snow on snow. We can seize this opening and take the Basiloth Empire in one strike.”

“I’m in.” Rangetsu answered without pause, voice ringing like a war gong. “With Mr. Wilsar’s Law Realm strength, the Basiloth Empire wouldn’t stand—even at its peak, let alone now.”

“Don’t be too optimistic.”

Wilsar shook his head, the motion precise as a metronome. “Our world and this one run on different rules. I can use at most sixty percent of my power. If I force a law-burst to full strength, there may be backlash, scars that linger. And you broke into the so-called Lord God tier by consuming the ‘Heart of Condensed Law’ we provided. Your power isn’t steady yet.”

“In short, this needs careful planning. Until that existence gives clear orders, every move we make must be cautious, like crossing ice.”

“You’re right. I know roughly what to do.”