A solemn expression rested on Vlad's face as he stood at the highest level of the Xaos Tower. Around him stood the highest echelon of the Xaos Kingdom—the True Depravitas, along with Grand Marshal Anglius and Chief Counselor Alonz.
The last two had grown remarkably in recent years.
Anglius had ascended beyond the limitations of flesh and become a Nightmare Knight, a being whose essence partially merged with that of the Depravita Race. Thanks to the battles and pressure he faced during Graecia's Civil War, he now wielded the strength of a High Legend, his aura carrying the faint distortion brought by the power of the Laws.
Alonz, meanwhile, had walked a different path. Though he too had reached the Legendary Realm, his was a power not of blade or blood but of thought. His mind operated like a divine machine—precise, cold, and endlessly calculating. In all of Xaos, only Overlord, the A.I. Chip Clone, surpassed him in raw intellect and wisdom.
