Scene shifts to South Ryehem
The tranquil night blanketed South Ryehem in silence. Moonlight spilled gently over the royal mansion, casting silver patterns upon the floor of a young boy's room.
Kazuki lay on his bed, his breathing calm, his eyes shut.
And then — darkness.
In a blink, Kazuki found himself standing upon a floating platform made of clouded marble, surrounded by towering ethereal pillars that reached into a sky filled with endless constellations. Wisps of light drifted around him, and a gentle, ancient hum filled the air.
A familiar presence stood before him.
Julius, the God of South Ryehem, clad in a robe shimmering with the hues of dawn and dusk, gazed down at the boy with an unreadable expression.
Kazuki blinked once, then tilted his head.
"Am I… still dreaming?" he asked casually, his tone void of awe or fear.
Julius' lips curved in the faintest of smirks."No, child. I summoned you here."
Kazuki's shoulders lifted in a tiny shrug. "Ohh."
That reaction — so unshaken, so utterly detached — confirmed what Julius had long suspected. This child was anything but a mere child.
'He's far too composed. Not even Arthur held his nerve like this the first time we met.'
Julius narrowed his gaze."Won't you ask why I summoned you?"
Kazuki's attention wandered instead to the beauty of the realm around him — the clouds, the light, the towering pillars. His eyes lingered on the dancing fragments of starlight, the ancient symbols inscribed in the marble beneath his feet.
"This place is nice," Kazuki remarked offhandedly, as though commenting on a garden.
Julius let out a low breath, part frustrated, part intrigued.
"Do you not realize what this is?" Julius asked, his voice laced with disbelief."Very few mortals… perhaps one in every thousand years… ever stand in this place. It is a realm of the divine, one reserved only for those I deem worthy."
Kazuki turned to face him, his expression calm."Including my father… my brother Arthur… and my sister Shristi."
Julius blinked, caught off guard."Exactly." He folded his arms, watching Kazuki carefully now."They earned the right to stand here. And now, so have you. Because I see the same worthiness in you."
Kazuki offered a small, knowing smile — the kind far too seasoned for an eight-year-old's face.
"Then… thank you, Lord Julius."
And for the first time, Julius wasn't sure who was playing whose game.
He could feel it now — the subtle pressure behind those innocent words. This boy was no fool. There was a mind ancient and calculating behind those eyes. A heart tempered by things Julius had yet to uncover.
But one thing was certain.
This boy's future… remained a mystery even to a god.