Later that day, in the prince's office, there stood the leader of his royal guards. It was a man who appeared to be in his forties, he wore a red armor and had a long saber sheathed on his waist.

"What of the last one?"

Isadore calmly asked his guard while looking outside of the window, admiring the night view. The man bowed and spoke with an apologetic tone

"I am sorry, your highness. Despite being heavily injured, he still managed to escape."

The prince listened to this but wasn't particularly angry, he waved his hand while saying

"Well, it matters not. I doubt he'll do anything or even show himself in Green-Leaf."

The person they were talking about was Vyncent, who was attacked and severely injured. Only through pure luck did the young man escape from the capital, which is a miracle considering his weak cultivation and the strength of his pursuers.

Though they were faster than him, his secret technique allowed him to melt into the ground and escape their senses thus buying him sometime to change directions. If Isadore wanted to, he can send countless people to chase after Vyncent but he deemed the later unworthy of spending so much resources.

A fair distance away from the capital, a bloodied young man appeared from the ground. He had a grievous wound on his chest and his face couldn't be paler. He held his chest as he kneeled on the ground and coughed some blood. Despite the pain and fatigue he was feeling, he stared at the sky with clear and resolute eyes that shone with unknown luster. He gripped his fist and took a deep breathe before melting into the ground.

It was from that day that Vyncent disappeared from Green-Leaf, heading toward an unknown place, seeking power and discovering the secrets of the world. Where his feet will lead him is a mystery to everyone, including himself, however, he shan't give up, after all, his tale has not ended yet.

******

"Huff Huff"

The Water Empress panted heavily as she killed another dozen beasts which were incredibly grotesque. Upon a closer look, they seemed to strongly resemble the White Spawns Arthur faced but they were much stronger and bigger.

The region ruler was injured but thanks to her magic, she repeatedly healed herself. She didn't dare to bring anyone with her to this perilous place as it was indeed as dangerous as she predicted.

This was actually a small world, filled with light, there's no sign of darkness, even shadows didn't exist in this place. Her goal in coming here was to get a certain book which may give her more clues about what happened before the Hour of Creation.

It took her three years to get out of the death region's graveyard. Without Jack's guide, it was much more difficult to navigate that foggy place. She spent another six months investigating the whereabouts of a book written by a very ancient human.

Very little was known about this human, however, he had one particular title, The Prophecy Holder.

This world of light was weird and made her feel very uncomfortable. The abundance of light was harmful and weakened her, which made the fight taxing on her body.

Fortunately, after two whole months venturing in this world and killing the ugly monsters, she stumbled upon a gigantic boss-like creature.

He was over four meters tall, he was incredibly handsome, his facial features were flawless, to say the least. He had a long blond hair and two beautiful wings. This 'man' held a golden lance as he looked at the Water Empress with an expressionless face.

"What brings you to this place?"

The Water Empress readied herself to fight only to stop when she heard him talk.

"I'm looking for a book."

The man thought for a moment before retrieving a normal-looking book, it was very thick and dusty.

"I believe it is this one. However, my master specifically told me to only hand it to a worthy person."

"And what are the requirements of a worthy person?"

The Empress's question was answered almost immediately.

"A strong person, a person capable of defeating me."

'Hmpf! Thought so!'-Empress

Without wasting any more time, she started attacking this man.

…

The battle lasted for five continuous days, the victor was apparent from the start yet the losing party remained ferocious and used every last bit of their strength.

Obviously, despite her strength, the Empress was no match for the man who was named Innocence. He would repeatedly get injured by her only to heal himself in a few seconds, recovering to his peak state.

Moreover, he never got tired which left the woman helpless, nevertheless, she still managed to hold on for five long days.

As she laid on the ground, heavily injured and breathing heavily, Innocence walked up to her and stared right into her eyes while saying

"'Twas a pleasure fighting you. It's been so long since I've had some action. Now then, it's time for goodbye, I have completed my mission."

Confused, the Water Empress tried to raise her head and talk to him but the exhaustion left her motionless, unable to even move her lips.

Innocence faintly smiled as and pointed his finger at her, which caused a bright white light to envelop her and instantly heal her.

Surprised by this turn of events, the woman was about to ask only to hear him the answer

"I lied to you. Although my master told me to hand it to a worthy person, he didn't mean a strong person but a descendant of certain families. Only those who carry a special bloodline are allowed entry to this world. I made it difficult for you only to confirm that you're who you appear to be. Since the moment you entered this place, you became eligible to obtain the book."

The book appeared from thin air and floated toward the Empress, who caught it and carefully inspected it.

"Now then, it's time to go. You'll be transported out of this place in a few moments."

Just like Innocence said, the Empress found herself in a valley somewhere in the Wind Region. This valley was the entrance of that world, which existed no more.

Unable to contain her curiosity, she impatiently opened the old book only to see several pictures and thorough details about them.

The monsters in the book were ugly, they had four to eight arms, grotesque faces and burly builds. They looked savage and brought chills down her spine.

Each paragraph described the picture next to it, from the name, origin, abilities and weakness. Moreover, it stated several ways to kill them. Dumbfounded, she flipped one page after another yet the book was only filled with countless types of such monsters.

At the end of this thick book, there were three lines, written in ancient language. Fortunately, the Empress was able to translate it albeit with a bit of difficulty.

'One card to turn the tables

One sword to slay the heavens

One strike to end his brethren.'

The woman tilted her head in confusion, she read those lines multiple times but couldn't understand their meaning. She didn't linger in that place for too long. She soon went back to her region and started thoroughly investigating the contents of the book, especially the three lines at the end.

***********

In a place of absolute darkness, where you can only see the far away stars and planets, there stood two silhouettes. One was the Joker and the other was the Nameless Knight.

They've been waiting for a very long time yet none of them moved or voiced a complaint. In this chaotic place where even an Overgod wouldn't survive a second, the two of them stared at a certain direction.

An unbelievable heat was being emitted from a crack far away. Not only was there suffocating heat, an evil aura was slowly creeping out to them, trying to corrupt their minds and consume their souls, however, they were completely immune to such absurdity.

"It's starting."

The Joker's nonchalant expression disappeared, he gazed at the slowly yet surely expanding crack a long distance away and uttered those words.

Loud and unpleasant monstrous sounds were coming from within that crack.

"It's still a bit early."

As he, too, was staring at the crack while holding a beautiful green pendant in his hand, the knight's gaze turned melancholic.

The Joker shifted his gaze to the Nameless Knight and stretched his hand to the other's shoulder while saying

"You're my brother, you know that, right?"

The Nameless Knight smiled and copied the Joke, holding the latter's shoulder while answering

"Foolish and misguided as you are, you are not without a charm, brother."

As he heard that, the Joker laughed and patted the young man's shoulders before getting up.

"You know… there's always a phrase he repeatedly told me. 'Grass grows, birds fly, sun shines, and brother, I hurt people.' Since then, I knew that his path would be the most tragic out of the three of us."

"Why don't you go help him then?"

The Joker frowned upon hearing the knight's retort. He shook his head and stated:

"Do you really think he would accept my help? Or yours? We, who lost everything, cannot understand the feelings of a desperate man. Unlike us, he still has a chance."

The Nameless Knight decided to keep his silence as he stared at the starry sky with an absent-minded look.