Chapter Twenty-Five: Hazaril and Kandili

The masked man stood still, staring at the black box lying on the forest floor. He was skeptical… yet drawn to it.

For centuries, there had been no lead on how to find one. The only person who had come close was Amy.

But something felt wrong.

The forest had fallen silent. The wind that had just been howling moments ago cut off mid-breath.

He went on high alert. For some reason, dread coiled in his gut. Something was approaching—yet when he scanned the area, he saw nothing. He sensed nothing.

His gaze returned to the box. At first, it lay dormant.

Then slowly… it began to glow. The runes etched into its surface shifted, sliding around like living symbols. The box was no bigger than a watermelon, yet the moment it began to shine, fear seized him.

He didn’t know why.

Then came the footsteps.

Slow. Measured. Drawing closer. But no matter how far he extended his senses, he found no one.

He wanted to run. Yet something deep in his soul told him that turning his back would be worse. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. His knees began to shake. The footsteps grew louder.

A hand touched his shoulder.

At the moment of contact, his legs gave way.

He turned.

A young man with dark skin stood before him. His eye sockets were nothing but pits of black—voids. He had no aura. His strange pants were unlike anything Hazaril had ever seen.

Every instinct in Hazaril’s body screamed danger.

After a long moment of silence, the man smiled.“Didn’t expect to meet anyone. Seems you have blessings. No wonder you found this.”

He walked past Hazaril and reached for the black box. The runes froze. With a single touch, the box dissolved into a beam of light and sank into his chest.

The man inhaled deeply, then exhaled with satisfaction.

He turned back, his smile widening. “Now… I wonder what I should do with you, Hazaril.”

Hazaril froze. The stranger knew his name.

His mind raced—dark skin, black eyes… his features hinted at descent from Tenma. But there was no time to dwell.

Hazaril’s body suddenly locked in place. No matter how he struggled, he could not move. Could not speak.

The man placed a hand on his head.

In an instant, every memory, every battle, every moment of Hazaril’s life flashed before his eyes.

“Hmm… interesting,” the stranger said with a faint smirk. “So this is what you’ve been doing.”

He withdrew his hand. Hazaril stumbled back, gasping for air.

“Don’t worry about formalities,” the man continued. “You have a reason for looking for this box.”

He fell silent, eyes distant in thought. He would reveal nothing for now. From Hazaril’s memories, it was clear these people followed the Fallen Deity—but whether they were worth his time remained to be seen. He would watch. Test their strength. If the wretched Epochs or their gods discovered him, he might be erased for good.

Patience was the key.

His gaze shifted back to Hazaril. “I’m guessing you lost to a giant.”

Hazaril frowned. Was he being followed? He hadn’t sensed a thing.

“No,” the stranger said, reading the thought. “I wasn’t following you. You entered my sensing radius. From that moment, I knew your every movement.”

He glanced toward the direction of Elnor.“From what I saw, there’s a god’s artifact in this province. You want to take it, don’t you?”

Hazaril’s patience snapped. “Who are you?”

Despite the fear gnawing at him, he believed he could hold his own—at least long enough for the Darkone to arrive.

The man smiled. “I am Kandili. An apostle of the Fallen Deity.”

Hazaril’s heart skipped a beat. They had searched for centuries for an Apostle. The closest they had ever found was the Darkone.

But anyone could claim the title. He needed proof.

Kandili smirked. “You don’t believe me. Since I know of your castle, I’ll take you there myself.”

Teleportation magic was possible at Calamity Class, but even then, the farther the distance, the more mana it consumed. To teleport without using mana was something only a few could do—dragons, Amy, and… now perhaps this man.

“What’s there to think about?” Kandili asked casually.

He raised his hand and sliced the air. Space cracked open.

Hazaril stared. He had never seen such magic before. Cautiously, he stepped through the rift—and emerged inside his own castle.

It was dim, lit only by the occasional torch.

“Oh? You have taste,” Kandili said lightly, strolling toward the throne at the center of the hall. Moonlight fell across his face as he peered through a high window at the guards outside.

This was the Demon Continent, Nior, southeast of Loir—the central continent. They had crossed a distance spanning the breadth of three kingdoms in an instant.

Hazaril’s doubts evaporated. The mana required for such travel was beyond even most divine-class beings.

Kandili turned. “So, what’s your plan for destroying Elnor?”

Hazaril’s laughter echoed through the hall. With a click of his fingers, a table appeared, lanterns flickering upon it. He unrolled a map.

“The only reason I haven’t moved yet,” he said, “is because of the World Tree Barrier.”

The hall fell quiet. Kandili smirked. “What do you take me for? That’s a simple task.”

Hazaril’s eyes widened. “Then I’ll need a few months to prepare.”

He bowed and left Kandili alone in the hall.

Kandili’s smile faded.“I’ll use this time to learn about this world,” he murmured. “It seems much has changed. And earlier… in that forest… I sensed the presence of an Epoch. They couldn’t descend before. Did another convergence happen while I was asleep?”

Gilly rested for several weeks, her body still needing time to return to its normal size before she was allowed to do much.

Since that strange dream, she found she could practice mana control—though when Ephini observed her, she discovered Gilly could only manifest aura aligned with fire.

When Ephini explained this, Gilly stared back with her usual obliviousness. In the end, Ephini dropped the topic; pushing further wouldn’t help. Gilly had been working miracles since she arrived—given time, Ephini was sure she’d figure it out herself.

Once she recovered, Gilly began to feel like a burden. She’d been taken care of for so long that she offered to help however she could.

Valmor agreed, and for two hours each day she assisted him with paperwork. This gave her the chance to learn more about the world. Valmor would occasionally explain things as they worked, and over the course of a month, between her training and her duties, Gilly began to feel as though she was finally blending into this new world.

The months passed.The Adventurers’ Exam was fast approaching.