The exit portal loomed before them—a shimmering oval of blue-white energy suspended within a reinforced archway. Garrison soldiers had established a perimeter a full kilometer away, their equipment clearly visible even from this distance. None dared approach closer.
Vaelor walked toward it unhurriedly, Kaelith still secured unconscious on his back, his golden eyes taking in the final stretches of the transformed landscape.
When they were approximately three hundred meters from the portal, Kaelith stirred.
"Mmm..." A soft sound of consciousness returning. Her fingers twitched against his shoulders.
"Welcome back," Vaelor said calmly, not breaking stride. "Try not to move too suddenly. Your body took significant damage."
Kaelith's ice-blue eyes opened slowly, confusion evident in their depths. Her last clear memory was of her Ice God Domain being consumed, of overwhelming defeat, of choosing unconsciousness over accepting the impossible...
She became aware of her position—being carried on someone's back, arms draped over broad shoulders, the pleasant scent of... wait.
Her face flushed crimson as full awareness returned. "Put me down!"
"Can you walk?" Vaelor asked reasonably.
"I—" Kaelith tried to circulate her qi and immediately winced. Her meridians felt raw, oversensitive from the healing but still tender. Her spiritual energy reserves were completely depleted. Even standing might be difficult.
"...Put me down gently," she amended, pride forcing the concession.
Vaelor carefully lowered her to the ground. Kaelith's legs trembled slightly but held. She immediately began examining her internal condition with mounting surprise.
My injuries... they're healed?
Her burst blood vessels had been completely repaired. The internal hemorrhaging had ceased and reversed. Most importantly, her burned meridians—which should have taken months to recover even with premium medicines—were regenerating properly.
She'd expected to wake up crippled or dead. Instead, she was functional if exhausted.
"You healed me," she stated, looking at Vaelor with complex emotions. "Using Light Intent?"
"Correct." He resumed walking toward the exit, and she fell into step beside him despite her unsteady gait. "Your injuries were severe enough to cause permanent damage or death. Leaving you in that condition seemed... wasteful."
"Wasteful," Kaelith repeated with a slight edge. Then, after a moment of internal struggle, she bowed her head slightly. "Thank you. Sincerely."
For someone with her pride—both as the Ice Empress and as a regressor who'd reached King-Tier—admitting genuine gratitude was difficult. But she wasn't so arrogant as to deny a life debt.
"You're welcome."
They walked in silence for perhaps thirty seconds before Vaelor spoke again, his tone remaining conversational.
"You're probably a regressor or reincarnator. Am I correct?"
Kaelith's foot caught on nothing, her step faltering. She recovered quickly, but the damage was done. Her ice-blue eyes snapped to his face, wide with shock and barely concealed panic.
How did he—?!
"Your combat techniques," Vaelor continued as if discussing weather, "demonstrate comprehension levels that require decades of experience. Your familiarity with the Abyssal Rift environment suggested prior exposure despite official first-entry status. Most tellingly, your psychological breakdown upon losing wasn't from simple defeat—it was existential crisis from having your regressor advantage proven insufficient."
His golden eyes met hers with calm certainty. "From my experience reading cultivation novels, that's the only explanation that makes sense for your capabilities."
Reading... cultivation novels? Despite her shock, part of Kaelith's mind registered the absurd statement. What kind of reasoning is that?!
But she said nothing, her face carefully neutral despite internal turmoil.
Vaelor shrugged at her silence. "Fine. Keep it to yourself. When you're ready, you can share. I'm not going to force a confession."
They walked another dozen steps before Kaelith found her voice. "Who are you?"
Her tone carried genuine confusion mixed with fear. "If you were already this powerful in my previous timeline, you wouldn't have died in the apocalypse. I would have remembered someone with your capabilities. Peak geniuses were tracked obsessively."
Her ice-blue eyes searched his face desperately. "So what are you? Another regressor? A transmigrator? Some entity that hijacked a human body?"
Vaelor smiled—the expression pleasant, friendly, and containing absolutely zero useful information.
"I'm a human genius," he said with perfect sincerity. "Probably you aren't in the same timeline as your previous one. This timeline is likely the original, I think."
The lie flowed smoothly from his lips. I certainly can't tell her about Unlimited Amplification or the Absolute Insight. Who knows what her true intentions are—regressor knowledge doesn't guarantee trustworthy character.
Kaelith stared at him, her enhanced perception as a former King-Tier warrior—even in her current weakened state—screaming that he was lying through his teeth.
He's absolutely lying. But about what specifically?
"A human genius," she repeated flatly, her tone making clear she didn't believe a single word.
"That's right."
"No amount of genius," Kaelith said with absolute conviction born from a lifetime of experience, "could possibly achieve Tier 8 combat power while technically still Tier 1. Genius has levels—classifications that separate the possible from the impossible."
Her voice took on a lecturing quality, drawing on knowledge accumulated across two lifetimes.
"There are realms of genius that most people never comprehend:
Ordinary Genius – Talented and bright, yet bound by the limits of effort and time. These are your academy prodigies who awaken A-Rank talents and enter Combat Universities. Common enough to find dozens in any major city.
Once-in-a-Million Genius – A rare spark that shines once in generations, capable of shaking a kingdom. S-Rank awakeners who become nationally recognized figures. Perhaps one per continent per decade.
Planetary Genius – A mind so vast it defines an era, shaping the destiny of an entire world. SS-Rank level. These individuals become legends whose names echo through centuries.
Monster Genius – A being whose brilliance defies logic; their existence alone rewrites the rules of talent. SSS-Rank or multiple S-Rank talents. Perhaps one per planet per century. They break through to King-Tier before age thirty.
Devil Genius – A terrifying prodigy who turns genius into madness; creation and destruction walk hand in hand. These individuals advance so rapidly they destabilize entire power structures. Often assassinated by threatened factions.
Heaven-Defying Genius – The kind the heavens themselves seem to reject, for their rise threatens the balance of fate. Demigod-tier before age fifty. Reality itself appears to oppose their advancement through escalating tribulations.
Transcendent Genius – Beyond mortal comprehension; their thoughts touch the divine, their will begins bending reality. These exist in myths and legends. Whether any truly existed is debatable."
She paused, her ice-blue eyes boring into Vaelor's golden gaze.
"And then there's the final category. The most terrifying kind of all.
Silent Genius – He walks unseen, makes no noise, hides his brilliance beneath mediocrity. While others burn bright and fade, he cultivates quietly—for ages if he must—until the end of time itself. When he finally steps forward, the world realizes too late that a true monster has been among them all along."
Kaelith's expression turned grave. "In my previous life, I was classified as a Monster Genius. I reached King-Tier at age twenty-seven—youngest in three hundred years. I knew every major genius across the planet."
"And I'm telling you with absolute certainty: no classification I listed would produce what you demonstrated. Not even Silent Genius, because you're not hiding—you're actively displaying impossible power."
"So I'll ask again." Her voice dropped to barely above whisper. "What. Are. You?"
Vaelor's smile didn't waver. "A human genius who got lucky with his awakening. Nothing more mystical than that."
Kaelith wanted to scream. The deflection was so obvious, so blatant, yet she had no leverage to force truth from him.
He saved my life. He could have killed me easily during our battle but showed mercy. He healed my injuries when leaving me would have been simpler.
Antagonizing him now would be supremely stupid.
She took a deep breath, forcing her emotions under control. "Fine. You want to maintain mysteries. I can respect that."
Her posture relaxed slightly—not submission, but tactical retreat. "Since you already know I'm a regressor, there's no point maintaining that particular secret."
They continued walking as she organized her thoughts. "In my previous timeline, the world ended three years from now—specifically, Year 300 of the Cataclysm Era."