(Yu An Xue's Perspective)

"Realm… Lord…?" I echoed, confused. "Creator…?"

The woman — Violet — sighed, for the third time in the past minute. "Perhaps, I should start from the beginning. But before I go any further… I am going to need you to agree to something."

"…?" I tilted my head, prompting her to continue.

"One second."

She turned to Sathona, a dark glare in her eyes, and spoke quietly.

"Do not move from this spot until I come back."

Then, she spun back to me and waved her arm. In an instant, the two of us were teleported elsewhere within the void… though the different wasn't much. In fact, the only reason I even knew we got teleported was the fact that Sathona wasn't here anymore.

"Now that we are alone… become my disciple. That is my request."

My eyes widened. "… What?!"

She turned away from me, staring out at the endless void.

"You are welcome to deny the offer, but… My time is running out. If I were to die, this realm would cease to exist, fading away along with me. Once that happens, the Ethereals would be left without anything."

"…" I fell silent, unsure if I should interrupt or not.

"Ever since they first came across me and this realm of mine, they've followed me. They've practiced the art of wielding the powers the void. For years, they trained. For generations, they studied. All so that one day, they could become the Ethereals you see today — skillful masters of the Void Element."

She smiled sadly. "Unfortunately… there is a problem. Their powers, Void Magic, draws strength from the Void Realm — in other words, this place. If this realm did not exist, Void Magic would not exist either. The very basis of the Ethereal's lives would be gone, leaving them powerless, meaningless, and lifeless."

"… You wish to prevent that," I concluded, murmuring quietly.

"Indeed. All lifeforms, apart from divine gods and immortal beings, have their expiration dates — mine is coming up soon. In a mere fifty years, this realm, along with myself, will fade away. So, before then, I have to find a disciple to take in — someone who can fill my spot, becoming the next sovereign of the Void Realm."

She spun around to face me, determination set in her eyes.

"Tell me, girl. Are you willing to take on that duty?"

"…" I fell into thought.

*A Realm Lord… this woman seemed extremely powerful. If I were to become one… would I also gain such strength…?

When that happens… would Xuan Kai acknowledge me more?*

I stared back at Violet. "Can I obtain power… by becoming a Realm Lord…?"

"That depends… what do you want this power for? If it is for destruction, I cannot hand this position over to you."

"I want the power… so that someone will acknowledge me."

She smiled faintly. "The boy you like, yes?"

My cheeks turned red as I averted my gaze. "… H-How did you know…?"

"You are in my realm right now. Do not forget. I govern everything here. I control everything here. I see everything here. As long as you are in this realm, you can hide nothing from me. The question I asked just now… it was merely to test your honesty."

She then laughed, seeing my astounded expression. "You have the talent and physique to become the Realm Lord of the Void Realm — but do you have the righteous yet cold personality needed for the position? Yes, you do. I verified that just now."

"… Don't read my thoughts without permission…" I muttered, pouting slightly. I felt so powerless in front of this character that my childish, immature side was slipping out.

She reminded me of An Yan. She reminded me of my mother. Her warm smile… it felt like family.

"Hehe," she giggled, then stepped closer and placed her hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look up at her.

"Yu An Xue. Are you ready?"

And for the first time in a long while, I smiled faintly.

"Yes… I am."

*****

"There's no going back on your word now," Violet laughed. "What I'm about to tell you is all classified information, for current and future Realm Lords only. You are forbidden from telling anyone else about anything that goes on here."

I bit my lip. "… Even *him*?"

Naturally, she knew who I was talking about.

"Hm…" she glanced at me. "Fine. I'll allow it this time, since I can guarantee he keeps his mouth shut. I know about his powers through reading your memories, after all… how interesting. When you tell him the information, just say if he tells anyone else about the info, I will personally see to it that everyone will find out about his Chaos magic and whatnot."

"… Got it," I murmured, though I wasn't exactly pleased with her threatening Xuan Kai.

"Now then… it is time I explain to you what Realms and Realm Lords truly are, yes?" she smiled. "Take a seat. This is going to take a while."

"But… the tournament outsi-"

"Ah, worry not. Time here passes differently than the outside. A month here is akin to an hour in Xenith. You will be fine."

"… I see…"

"Alright… it's about time to open up your eyes," Violet grinned as she sat down in front of me. "First off. The world you live in is not the only one. There are countless others, just like the Void Realm we are currently in."

"All these worlds are connected," she continued. "And collectively, they are called 'Realms'. Xenith is known as a Life Realm, which is slightly different from other realms."

"How so?"

"The difference is that there are many Life Realms across the Dimensional Multiverse — the place we all are in. While there is only one Void Realm, one Fire Realm, one Shadow Realm, et cetera, there are many different Life Realms. And quite fascinatingly, none of these Life Realms are connected to one another. In other words… a Life Realm is connected to all realms except another Life Realm."

Seeing my questioning face, she quickly added, "Don't ask me why this is, because I don't know either. You'll have to ask the creator of the Dimensional Multiverse for that one."

"…" I closed my eyes and patiently waited her to continue.

"Now then, where was I… ah, yes. Life Realms. These Realms, like their name suggests, sustain life."

"And no other realms do?" I asked.

"No, no. They do. It's just… the conditions are not great, and only certain people with talent and strength can actually survive within them. You caught my eye since you are a human who was not weakened at all, despite being dragged into the Void Realm against your own volition."

"I… have a Void Element affinity…"

"Ah, but that's different," Violet smiled. "You see, the Void Ethereals use and the Void any other race uses are not the same. Ethereals have comprehended the Law of Void since their race's beginning. Naturally, they wield a higher order of Void Law than mere humans — I call it 'True Void'. Yet you, somehow, despite having only awakened the element recently, were able to handle yourself just fine."

"So… back to the topic… realms are like different… worlds?"

Violet nodded. "Yes. Life Realms have the ability to draw power from these worlds, but these worlds cannot draw power from Life Realms or any other realm, for that matter. The main usage of most Realms apart from Life and Death ones are for drawing power from or cultivating in."

My eyes widened slightly. "You can… cultivate in these realms…?"

"Of course. The speed at which you can cultivate here is incredible compared to the outside. I know on Xenith, there are two ways to get stronger: combat, and cultivation — on top of actually gaining knowledge, of course."

She winked. "Cultivating in the Void Realm will be especially useful to you, as you possess a special affinity for this realm. There will also be no one to bother you — I can guarantee that, since you will be meditating in a Void above even the one Ethereals use. I call it… Ultimate Void. It's where we are right now."

My eyes sparkled. "And since… a whole month here… is only one hour on the outside…"

"Bingo~" she smiled. "You will be able to cultivate here, then return home with a month's worth of cultivation in a mere hour."

"…" I bit my lip, trying to contain my excitement. "C-Can I bring… others here too…?"

"Hm… as long as no one except that boy finds out about this Realm Lords and the like."

Saying this, she pulled out a stack of ten purple talismans from seemingly nowhere.

"Take these. They have infinite uses — pouring mana into them will bring you straight to the Ultimate Void. There's ten here, enough for the boy and all the girls around him… unless you want just one for the boy? That way, you get some alone time with him, y'know?" she teased. "The competition is fierce… what a lucky boy he is."

I quickly shook my head. "Give me all… ten. Please."

She smiled. "Whatever you say, my dear disciple. Just don't lose to the other girls, okay? Don't let Master down."

I nodded firmly. "Mm. I won't."

"By the way, you can just tell your friends that girl earlier… Sathona, was it? Yeah, tell them she gave these to you as a tribute to not kill her. It's believable, since she's an Ethereal. That way, they won't be able to see through your lie, given how neutral your expressions are."

"But… I didn't really beat… her…" I gripped the talismans in my hand tightly.

"If she had not pulled you into the Void Realm, you would have won," Violet said, patting my hand gently. It was a different kind of headpat from Xuan Kai's. Both made me feel warm and fuzzy, but this one was familial while Xuan Kai's was more romantic.

"Now. It's about time for you to head back, if you don't have any more questions," she said, standing up. "You can come back here to cultivate later on. I will also be visiting you in your dreams — that's when I will train you. Just be prepared for that."

"Won't I… lose sleep…?"

She sighed and wagged her finger. "Time duration difference, remember?"

"Oh…" I blinked, looking down, disappointed with myself. "Yes… sorry…"

"Hey," she suddenly said, causing me to raise my head and look into her eyes.

"Call me Master. I don't think you've done that yet, have you?"

My eyes lit up.

"Master… Master Violet."

She smiled.

"Out you go."

A shimmer of white and purple light enclosed me as I closed my eyes, ready to be transported back into the real world — the Life Realm of Xenith.