(Author Pov)
"Let me ask you again. Who are-"
"Hey," Kaiser, or rather, Xavier for now, interrupted, his voice smooth, almost careless, cutting through the tension like a blade.
His upper body stood bare, lean and sculpted like a warrior carved from light. His abs flexed slightly with each breath, not bulky, but defined like a seasoned fighter who didn't need to show off, he just was.
His golden hair shimmered as if kissed by sunlight, tousled just enough to ride the line between noble and wild. A few strands framed his sharp golden eyes, which glinted with something ancient. The longer locks cascaded into a loose braid, brushing his shoulder like a golden ribbon caught in the wind. Each strand danced with an eerie fire.
This was no ordinary man. This was Xavier Solstice, the god of war.
"I have another question," he said, as if the presence of the bald, powerful man didn't matter at all.
"Now what?" the bald man replied, calm, but his voice cold, like a blade being unsheathed.
"If your body is to divide into pieces until nothing exists… can you regenerate?"
The bald man's eyes narrowed, icy blue cutting through the silence. He studied Xavier, trying to understand him.
"Divide into pieces until nothing exists? Unfortunately, that can't be done here," he said, his tone cool, his thoughts clouded with confusion.
Why was this boy asking so many questions? Why wasn't he afraid?
He was interesting. Too interesting.
Xavier tilted his head, rubbing his chin like he was deep in thought. "I see," he murmured.
"Hey, why don't we just talk? I actually have some- ARGH!"
Xavier's words shattered into a scream. His eyes went bloodshot. The world around him blackened. Pain tore through his entire being, his heart, forehead, lungs, every vital point stabbed, shredded like glass meeting flesh. Hundreds of phantom blades. No warning. No mercy.
Moments passed. The bloodied echoes faded, replaced by the sound of shallow breathing. Xavier regenerated slowly, his form knitting itself together piece by piece. He clutched his chest, sweat trickling down his brow.
"Ah damn it, I was close. Where did it go wrong?" he muttered like someone solving a puzzle, not someone who had just been torn apart.
"Don't you think you should give up?" the bald man asked, his voice softer now, almost pitiful. "You can't do anything here. Why not just answer?"
Xavier let out a weak laugh, lips trembling but still curved into a grin. "That's no fun… isn't it?"
The bald man's gaze darkened. This wasn't a prisoner. This wasn't even a fool. This was something else entirely.
"Hey, Baldie, if you tell me why you want Julian, then I will say who I am. Isn't this the fastest way? And if you want to torture me forever, then you are free to do that too," Xavier said, waving his hand with a grin like this was all some game.
"I don't have to worry about time. A mere second out there feels like hours in here… But since you're going to die anyway, guess I'll end it quicker." The bald man's voice dropped an octave.
"Oh~" Xavier hummed, amused.
The bald man sighed.
"Our objective is to claim Julian Solstice. But no worries, we won't kill him. We will evolve him. Evolve into something superior, something even demons can't oppose."
Xavier's golden eyes sharpened, suddenly burning like suns.
"And why exactly is that?"
"That... I can't answer," the bald man replied.
"Eeeh? I thought you were gonna end this the quick way?" Xavier teased, sounding disappointed, like a child whose toy had broken.
"It's because I don't know. We don't question the desires of our Liege."
Xavier tilted his head, arms crossed, his braid swaying gently. "Your Liege? I thought that man, Clyde, died?"
That name struck something.
The bald man's eyes widened. Then he laughed, deep, loud, surprised. "Oh! Ooooh! How did you know? Even most of our members didn't know his real name! How do you?"
This boy… how?
He stared now, truly puzzled. This teenager knew too much. He spoke of the Children of Hollow with such familiarity. And Clyde... he called him by name. No reverence. No fear.
"Am I supposed to answer that? I said I will say who I am, but not everything," Xavier replied, smirking.
"Well… It's true. Our previous Liege, Lord Clyde, died. But now we serve someone far more knowledgeable." The bald man lifted his arms like a prophet praising the sky.
"Eeeeh…" Xavier rubbed his temples, visibly annoyed. "Why did you guys reappear like pests even though you died? Can't ya stay dead? Why revive an organization that already died?"
"It's not something like you to understand," the bald man said calmly.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Xavier said, brushing it off like dust.
"So?" The bald man's voice dropped again. "Now answer me, who… are… you?"
"Well, as I said before, I am the god," Xavier said, smiling proudly, eyes closed in mock divinity. "I am the god of this world, he who saves it from destruction."
The bald man's eyes narrowed dangerously. His patience was running out. "You said you will tell the truth."
"And I said. Didn't I?" Xavier replied with a shrug, completely unapologetic.
"Enough. I'll rip you apart until you give up."
A strange stillness fell over the white void. The tension was thick, but no one moved.
Then the bald man flinched.
His eyes darted to his hands. "W-what's happening?" he muttered.
Suddenly, the world tilted. He felt it, his waist severed, his body collapsing in two.
He regenerated fast. His clothes reappeared along with his body, but he sat now on the endless white ground, seething. Eyes twitching. Rage building.
Then came the footsteps.
Xavier was walking toward him.
But he had changed.
No longer shirtless, his form was cloaked in battle regalia. A black jacket lined with gold hugged his form, adorned with golden-layered shoulder guards. A silver emblem glinted on his chest. His gloves fit tightly. His trousers shimmered like shadowed steel. And behind him, a long black cape fluttered, embroidered with lion glyphs that shimmered with ethereal light.
The bald man felt it, true fear, for the first time in his life.
Those eyes. That golden mane. That overwhelming presence.
He didn't need anyone to say it.
He knew now. He didn't want to ask anymore. He already knew who stood before him.
But how? How was he doing this?
Xavier loomed over him. The bald man forced himself to rise, then fell again. His legs were gone, severed out of nowhere.
"What the-?"
Xavier smirked, not like a hero. Not like a savior. This was pure, calculated fury dressed as confidence.
"Wondering why this is happening?" he asked, casually.
"You're just a newbie to the Mind Eye artifact," he said, as a throne appeared behind him from nowhere. He sat down, legs crossed, leaning into his palm, his grin curling darker.
"Since you answered my questions, lemme explain it. Or I'll feel bad." His voice was soft, but the air around him thrummed with power.
The bald man tried again, attacking with his mind, but nothing landed. Nothing even reached him.
How can he outrun me… in my own domain…? he thought.
"First, thank you for ripping me apart," Xavier said, smiling like a madman. "I mean it." The worst is that it felt like that thankfulness came from deep in his heart.
"You… you're insane," the bald man muttered.
"Eh? Is that so?" Xavier tilted his head like he was actually curious.
"The tip to the mind eye is brainwave frequency. As the owner of this domain, it seems like it's doing all the things you think, right?" Xavier asked, but the bald man didn't answer.
"Well, that's not the case. In this mind domain, you think you are unstoppable since it is doing everything you want to do. But the truth is, it's your brainwave frequency. Every living creature has its own frequency when they are thinking. Since you become the master of the artifact, it adjusts to your brainwave frequency."
"What difference does that make?" the bald man snapped. He was sweating, metal skin or not.
"Well, mana doesn't exist here. I have to figure out what's your tip, behind slashing me down, right?" Xavier was smiling.
"And thanks to you slashing me down, I realized it. I was chasing your brainwave frequency. Remember when I asked if the body grows the head or the head grows the body? the truth is, even the head can grow a body, right? but that time I felt it that your mind is focusing on the body grows the head since it's faster."
The bald man shivers. what kind of monster is this?
"So, if I have to survive, the only way is for me to adjust my brainwaves according to yours. It's that simple, isn't it?"
"You… adjusted your frequency to match mine?" the bald man asked in disbelief.
"Simple, right?"
"It's impossible!" This time bald man finally lost his cool. He tries to stand up, only to get all four limbs severed. "That just doesn't make sense. no human can-"
"Hey," Xavier cut him off. "I used to control my mana even in deep sleep. What are you saying impossible?"
"What?" the bald man asked with a fearful smile. "Heck, are you saying? that's just...impossible. This… can't be…"
"Yeah, for others. but not for me. I am a genius after all," Xavier said with full confidence, proud of himself.
"In this domain where mana doesn't exist, where we can do whatever we want just by thinking, isn't it fascinating? but sadly, you use it to satisfy your sadistic nature," said Xavier.
"I just have to think about blocking your attack and counterattacking you, and think that you won't be able to block my counterattack at the same time. And then there you got it."
"You are no hero. you-you are a monster!" said the bald man, shivering, smiling with fearful eyes. what kind of monster did he tangle with?
"Eeeeeeh? that's rude, ya know?"
The bald man plumed the third eye, the artifact on his forehead, trying to cancel it, but nothing worked.
"Why! Why can't I cancel this?! why this damn artifact!" bald man yelled clutching his eye on his forehead. Xavier looked at him with pitiful eyes. "I just said, right? it's because I counterattack. Don't forget that, to this domain now, you and I... are one person. how stupid can you be? I mean, how did you even join Howles or whatever?"
silence~
"Well," Xavier stood, brushing his coat. "Let's end this now. I'm bored."
"What? W-What are you going to do?" The bald man crawled back. As far as he can.
"I should pay you for what you did to my younger brother, shouldn't I? You guys gave him quite a feast. And, for what am I going to do...," He said, stepping slowly as if he had all the time in the world, "Remember what I asked about dividing into nothing?"
He stepped forward slowly.
"So what?! What about it? Even if you are a monster, no way you can do that!" said the bald man, laughing abruptly about it. "You fail there. you can torture me however you want, but in the end, I will kill that kid body of yours. I have the final call, you idiot!"
"Oh~" Xavier interrupted, smile unchanged.
"Neh, you still don't get it. inside this mind domain, what we see as our body is actually our soul. So, what will happen if your soul shatters into pieces until nothing exists? Your body simply dies because there is no soul to return."
"And I am saying, that's not possible!" said the bald man, smiling as if he had won the game.
"Are you…" Xavier leaned in, his grin growing wider. "…Sure?"
"I mean, you are already starting to disintegrate. Haven't you realized?"
He wasn't lying. The bald man's body was slowly dividing into tiny pieces that the normal human eye can't follow.
"The heck? The heck is this?! how?! how?! how?!!!!!" he screamed and screamed, shivering with fear. Fear of death.
Xavier stood over the bald man. The air crackled with energy as Xavier's thoughts twisted the very fabric of the bald man's existence.
"As you can see," Xavier began, his voice calm but piercing, "if you want to truly erase someone, you can't just break the body. You have to break the foundation of it."
He got close to the bald man, stood against him, looking down as if he were stepping on someone. His golden eyes glowed with a predator's glare.
"When you divide the body into nothingness, you start with the smallest unit: the cells. But that's not enough. You have to break the cells down to their atoms, all the way to their core. When even the atoms cease to exist, you've reached true nothingness."
The bald man's body began to disintegrate slowly, flesh, bone, and all, crumbling into the void.
"You have to do this to every single cell, every tissue, every organ. Once all of it fades down to the atomic level... there's nothing left. No foundation. No essence to regenerate. Nothing."
The bald man shivered with fear. It's too late for him to realize that he messed with someone he should not have.
Xavier stood silently for a moment, his gaze unwavering. "And that's how you truly erase someone."
The bald man felt the pain. The pain that his cells are destroying, his tissues, organs, every inch of his body, dividing into nothingness. Xavier's eyes never left him. He watched until the man fully vanished into the void. And for the last time, the moment before he is forever gone, the moment where his consciousness forever falls, Xavier calls him out.
"And I will give you the answer to your second question because you already know who I am. I know about children of hollow because..."
He closed his eyes and exhaled.
"I was the one who plunged it into the ground."