Dimensional Descent

Aina's fragrance lingered in the air. Even when Leonel couldn't seem to hear or see anything else, this scent alone was imprinted onto his mind and engraved into his very being.

He remembered this scent well. A cross of apple and just the slightest hint of cinnamon. The only way to get the perfect profile of this smell was to use the Force Herbs he had planted so many of in the Segmented Cube. But, the Segmented Cube had obviously been with him this entire time, so the only way this would have worked was if she took it with her.

Leonel hadn't been to that garden since Aina left. For all he knew all those Force Herbs had died, or maybe there wasn't any of them left at all.

Scent was probably the sense most capable of triggering memories, and not only that, but it was intertwined with emotion so deeply that they couldn't be divorced from one another. What Leonel did know was that this smell had most definitely not been on Aina that day, or else even with all the foolish rage in the world, he might not have been able to speak those words.

What Leonel didn't know was that Aina had only taken a single flower with her, feeling too guilty to justify any more. She had kept it with her all this time and managed to convince herself to finally use it over a year later for this very moment.

Leonel's gaze slowly regained its focus, looking down at the Amethyst Token in his hand. His heart didn't feel the heaviness at all. In fact, even though his hand felt as though it might fall through the earth at any moment, his heart felt as light as a feather and his gaze was as calm as a lake's surface.

Aina handed him this Token, what did it mean? Leonel felt that it was quite clear.

She spoke of leading the Sector but the momentum in her gaze was far deeper and vaster than that.

She gave Leonel this Token, telling him that he needed it more than she did, because she knew of his goal. How could the future King of the Dimensional Verse be subservient to another? Even in his first step toward glory, he should always be at the front, his back in full view of everyone else.

Leonel's foot trembled slightly and he seemed to vanish. In an upswell of wind, he landed on the arena just as Aina made it to the seating arrangements of the people of Earth.

She smiled gracefully, even bowing her head slightly. Too many were too speechless to say a thing, but Roesia didn't seem to miss a beat.

"Sweet child, come sit next to grandma."

Roesia brought Aina to her side before she could protest, wrapping her arms around hers.

…

Miel watched this scene with a dark expression, but there was already nothing else he could do about it. It seemed that his daughter had made her decision, and as furious as he was, he was helpless.

Leonel seemed to sense a dense murderous intent that wasn't coming from Myghell at all. His gaze shifted from the Amethyst Token, sifting through the crowd until it landed on a familiar man, the very man who had almost blown his head to bits with a single punch.

His expression didn't change much, nor was there any rage in it. He didn't seem to be angry with Miel at all. In fact, maybe he was a bit thankful. Who know what else he might have said had he not been snapped out of that state.

With a flip of his palm, the Amethyst Token vanished and a light breath left Leonel's lips. Something about his disposition shifted and the stone beneath his bare feet creaked and whined almost as though his weight had increase tenfold.

When he finally looked up to meet Myghell's gaze, the latter was looking back, unmoved. Even after being forcefully teleported to the stage and even after learning of who Leonel's mother was, the needle hadn't budged for him.

His expression was even more indifferent than Leonel's own. In fact, there was no coldness either, just a blank wall anything could be painted on.

Even after all this time, Leonel couldn't quite get a read on Myghell, at least not as easily as he could seem to grasp others. He was a man of few words and he didn't display any outward emotions. He was about as difficult to read as Leonel would say he was.

However, Leonel felt he knew enough.

This was a young man who sought nothing more than power. He was decisive and unfeeling. He did things at his greatest convenience and didn't care about what harm he caused otherwise. He didn't feel shame not because he couldn't, but rather because he felt he had never done anything shameful. The words and opinions of others were meaningless to him, all that mattered was his own…

Leonel knew quite a bit, enough that it was odd that he would say that he still didn't quite have a read on Myghell. But, he had his own reasons for saying so.

There was a silent lull that took place, a gentle gliding wind riding the silence at an unhurried pace.

Orinik didn't dare to start an event that Alienor had proposed so he sat in silence, feeling that if this was the case, the battle could be considered to have already started. As for the Amethyst Token in Leonel's hand, he chose not to say a single word about it.

Suddenly, the two vanished. The sound of stone meeting stone and metal crashing against metal resounded through the skies three times, three sonic booms and wild outflows of wind jetting forth in their wake.

A moment later, Leonel and Myghell appeared where they had always been, the only difference being the turbulent wind around them.

Myghell was entirely unmoved by an almost blinding streak of scarlet that fell from the corner of Leonel's lips.

"You are weak." Myghell said plainly.