Chapter 838 – Yue Xianlong [Part 2]

Lux smiled like it was a compliment. Because in his world? It usually was.

The cavern air settled around them, the aftermath of sovereign-level violence fading into a strange, quiet stillness.

"Fine," she said at last. "You saved me. I will not let such a debt remain unaddressed. What do you want?"

Ah.

There it was.

Lux’s favorite word in existence.

Debt.

His lips curved slightly, but instead of answering immediately, he tilted his head.

"Before any of that... Please tell me one thing. How long were you bound by that demon?"

Yue’s expression shifted, not into anger, but something older. Something heavier.

"...Perhaps more than five hundred years."

Lux blinked once.

"...More than five hundred years?"

He felt the timeline slot into place inside his head like a puzzle piece snapping into alignment.

Five hundred years.

That was before Kaelmor ascended.

Before the late king fell.

Before the official consolidation of Hell’s throne.

His mind moved faster than his body currently could.

"That’s before Kaelmor took the crown," Lux muttered quietly.

His tone had lost its teasing edge.

Mira’s brows furrowed. "What does that mean?"

Lux didn’t look at her yet. He was staring at the ground slightly, eyes unfocused, not confused, just calculating.

"That means... before he officially became king... he was wandering."

His jaw tightened slightly.

"In the mortal realm."

The cavern air felt colder somehow.

Ely’s voice cut in softly, thoughtful as always. "Five hundred years ago... I think I’ve read about that period in ancient inscriptions. It was... chaotic. There were records of powerful mortals disappearing. Strong creatures fading from history. Whole bloodlines collapsing without clear cause."

Rava shifted her weight, arms crossing over her chest. "Ah. Yes. I’ve heard whispers of it too. The twin sea queens vanished during that time."

Naomi blinked. "Sea queens?"

Rava nodded slowly. "The last daughters of Poseidon. The originals. One bore the kraken lineage. The other, mermaid blood. They were the mightiest of the sea."

She paused.

"Then they disappeared."

Lux’s stomach twisted faintly.

He didn’t like coincidences.

He especially didn’t like five hundred year old patterns that matched sovereign-level siphoning.

"Kaelmor..." Lux murmured.

He finally looked up at Yue again.

"What I know about him is this... he wasn’t born into royal demon blood. Not formally. No direct succession line."

His eyes sharpened.

"And yet he surpassed the late king. Killed him."

Mira’s eyes widened slightly. "You mean..."

Lux nodded faintly.

"...He harvested power."

The word tasted metallic.

Mira inhaled sharply. "From mortals?"

"From powerful beings," Lux corrected quietly.

His chest felt tight... not from pain this time. From realization.

"That’s how you cheat ascension," he muttered.

Silence fell again.

Yue’s golden eyes darkened slightly.

"So... you suspect he bound many like me."

Lux’s expression didn’t soften.

"I don’t suspect."

He exhaled slowly.

"I calculate."

The system flickered faintly in his peripheral vision.

[This is what we call ’unethical career advancement.’]

Lux almost snorted.

Almost.

"That’s why," he began...

And then...

The world shifted.

It wasn’t dramatic.

It wasn’t explosive.

It was subtle.

Too subtle.

The air pressure dipped.

The light dimmed slightly, not because of shadow, but because distance warped.

Lux’s pupils contracted instantly.

The system flared violently.

[Warning: Sovereign-Level Spatial Manipulation Detected.]

[External Pocket Domain Initiation.]

[Authority Signature: High Probability Match (Kaelmor).]

Lux’s heart skipped once.

"Oh no you don’t," he muttered.

The pull intensified, not physical gravity, but conceptual displacement. Space around them began folding inward, reality bending as if someone was trying to scoop them into a private chessboard.

Mira staggered slightly.

Naomi grabbed her arm.

Rava cursed under her breath.

Yue’s golden eyes sharpened.

Lux felt it.

That familiar pressure.

Sovereign.

Trying to isolate them.

Trying to pull them into a domain where he held advantage.

The rage that rose in Lux’s chest was sharp and immediate.

Not fear.

Annoyance.

’You really can’t stand not controlling the board, can you?’

He glanced down at his hand.

At the ring.

Sovereign Event Horizon Ring.

His thumb brushed its surface.

He whispered one word.

"Alter."

The ring pulsed.

Silently.

Then reality around Lux rippled like water struck by a stone.

[Name: Sovereign Event Horizon Ring]

[Activation Confirmed.]

[Localized Spatial Law Override Initiated.]

Instead of being displaced...

The space around Lux bent.

Twisted.

Compressed inward.

The cavern did not vanish.

It tightened.

A subtle shimmer encased the area around him and the others, like invisible glass forming a boundary.

Not an alternate layer.

Not Limbo.

A sovereign bubble imposed directly over existing reality.

Time slowed slightly at the edges.

Distance distorted.

Pressure recalibrated.

The external pull hit the bubble...

And slid off.

Like rain hitting a dome.

Lux felt the resistance in his bones.

The two sovereign authorities grinding briefly against one another.

The external pull ceased.

Silence returned.

Heavy.

Charged.

Lux exhaled slowly.

His hand trembled faintly.

He lowered it casually.

His pulse was hammering.

’You absolute petty tyrant,’ he thought sharply toward the unseen king.

Trying to snatch him mid-conversation.

Trying to isolate him while he was injured.

Trying to assert dominance quietly.

He hated that.

Hated it deeply.

[Spatial Override Stable.]

[Energy Consumption: Significant.]

Lux remained standing.

Because he would not kneel twice in the same day.

Yue watched him carefully now.

Golden eyes narrowing not in suspicion...

In recognition.

"That ring..." she murmured.

"Older than the Seven," Lux replied lightly.

"You resisted him."

"Yes."

Her gaze sharpened.

"You defied a sovereign."

Lux’s lips curved faintly.

"He tried to inconvenience me."

Naomi let out a shaky breath behind him. "That was him, wasn’t it?"

Lux didn’t turn.

"Yes."

Mira’s voice was tight. "He tried to pull us?"

"Pocket dimension," Lux replied calmly. "Probably to have a chat."

Rava snorted darkly. "A chat?"

"With knives," Lux added dryly.

The system chimed softly.

[Seems like you are now officially on the King’s immediate problem list.]

Lux almost laughed.

Almost.

His internal reaction, however, was layered.

Fear? No.

Anticipation? Perhaps.

Anger? Definitely.

But underneath all that...

There was clarity.

Kaelmor had moved.

Which meant Lux’s theory had hit something real.

Yue’s eyes were fixed on him now.

"You know what this means," she said quietly.

Lux nodded once.

"He will not ignore you."

Lux’s smile sharpened slightly.

"He never does."