Knock.
Knock.
The sound was soft.
Polite.
Measured.
Null opened the door.
A familiar figure stood in the corridor, her white hair falling neatly over the white-and-gold vestments of the Divine Church. Her posture was immaculate, her expression composed—yet there was an unmistakable gravity behind her gaze.
Eyes calm, unreadable.
"Pardon,"
Sora said, inclining her head slightly.
"May I come in?"
Null blinked once.
"…Saintess Sora."
She smiled faintly.
Professional.
Careful.
"There is no need for formality," she replied.
"I am here on imperial business."
As she stepped aside, Null noticed another figure standing several meters away down the corridor. Leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed and expression relaxed to the point of arrogance, was Kouki.
His gaze flicked toward Null—
quick, sharp,
then away again.
"…Hmph."
Sora turned her attention back to Null.
"His Majesty, the Emperor of Atlantis, has requested an audience,"
she said.
"With me?" Null asked.
"With both summoned otherworlders," she clarified.
"Both?" Null echoed.
"Yes."
Her eyes lingered on him for half a breath longer than strictly necessary.
"Immediately," she added.
Null nodded.
"I understand."
Sora turned.
"Please follow me."
They stepped into the corridor.
The palace halls stretched long and white ahead of them, mana-lamps glowing softly along the walls.
Koukii pushed off the wall
and fell into step on Sora's other side.
"So," he said lightly, hands in his pockets,
"guess even failed summons get royal treatment, huh?"
Null glanced at him.
Sora spoke before he could reply.
"The Emperor does not summon without reason,"
she said evenly.
Kouki clicked his tongue.
"Yeah, sure. Still feels like a waste of time."
His eyes slid sideways.
Watching.
Measuring.
Sora continued forward,
unhurried, her steps quiet.
Null matched her pace without thinking.
"So,"
Null said after a moment,
"what does the Emperor want to ask us?"
"That," Sora replied, "will be explained by His Majesty himself."
She paused, just slightly.
"But know this—an imperial audience is not a judgment."
Kouki snorted softly.
"Easy for you to say."
His gaze lingered on Sora.
Then—.
shifted to Null.
Sharper this time.
Why is she talking to him like that?
They walked on.
The distance between Null and Sora shortened by accident—
or perhaps not.
Kouki noticed.
His jaw tightened.
"So you're really nothing special, right?"
Kouki said suddenly, eyes forward.
"No blessing. No skill."
Null shrugged.
"Seems that way."
Sora's expression did not change.
"But," Null added,
"that doesn't really bother me."
Kouki's step faltered—just a fraction.
"…Tch."
The imperial hall doors loomed ahead.
Tall.
Heavy.
Engraved with sigils of rule and judgment.
Sora stopped.
She turned to face them.
"From this point forward,"
she said quietly,
"speak only when addressed."
Her eyes met Null's.
Steady.
Searching.
Then she looked at Kouki.
Neutral.
"Follow my lead."
The doors began to open.
And somewhere deep within the palace,
power waited.
****
The doors parted in silence.
Not with a creak, nor with ceremony—but smoothly, as though the imperial hall itself had already decided they were expected.
Light spilled out first.
High, refracted beams from stained glass windows painted the marble floor in slow-moving colors. Blue. Gold. White. Each step forward felt heavier than the last, not because of gravity, but because of presence.
The Imperial Hall of Atlantis.
Null felt it immediately.
Not hostility.
Not pressure.
Authority.
At the far end of the hall, upon an elevated dais, sat the Reigning Emperor.
Emperor Thalassar von Atlantis—the Tide-Crowned Sovereign of Atlantis—rested one arm against the crystal armrest, his gaze now fully engaged.
Surrounding him were Imperial retainers—robed nobles and court magi—took their places in a loose semicircle before the dais.
At their center stood a man clad in silver-and-obsidian armor, his presence firm and unyielding.
The Commander of the Imperial Guard.
His cape fell straight down his back, bearing the sigil of Atlantis engraved in steel thread.
Sora stepped forward first, stopping at the prescribed distance. She lowered herself into a deep, flawless bow.
"Your Majesty," she said clearly. "I have brought the summoned otherworlders as requested."
"Step forward," he said.
Kouki did not hesitate.
He moved with confidence, boots striking marble with a rhythm that drew attention. He stopped at the center of the hall and knelt, one fist pressed to his chest.
The retainers murmured softly.
"Magnificent mana density," one whispered.
"So young, yet already harmonized," said another.
"A sacred resonance… unmistakable."
The Commander of the Guard, Vaelor Rynd, narrowed his eyes slightly—not in suspicion, but appraisal.
"Rise," he said.
Kouki stood.
The Emperor's gaze swept over him, lingering on the faint shimmer that clung to Kouki's presence—like light remembered rather than seen.
"A sacred blessing of this calibre has not manifested since the the founding of the Empire," the Emperor said.
"The First Emperor," one said reverently.
"Chosen by the World itself," another added.
The emperor nodded slowly.
"In times of calamity," he continued, "the world responds. Not with mercy—but with necessity."
His eyes met Kouki's.
"You bear a gift meant to stand at the center of history."
Kouki's chest swelled. He lowered his head, a smile tugging at his lips.
"I will not disappoint," he said. "I swear it."
"Well spoken."
The retainers muttered in unison.
Vaelor Rynd nodded in approval.
The Emperor's gaze shifted.
The temperature of the hall changed—not sharply, but perceptibly, like a tide pulling back.
"And you," Emperor Thalassar said, voice calm once more, "step forward as well."
Null did.
"So," he said, eyes never leaving Null, "you are the one without a blessing."
The words echoed.
Kouki smirked.
Null met the Emperor's gaze and nodded once. "Seems so."
A murmur rippled faintly through the hall—courtiers and attendants too disciplined to react openly, yet unable to suppress the shift entirely.
No shimmer.
No resonance.
One of the retainers frowned.
"…Nothing?"
"Is the reading correct?"
"Impossible."
The Emperor raised a hand. The whispers died instantly.
He studied Null with the same intensity he had given Kouki—longer this time.
"You were summoned".
"You were acknowledged."
Null nodded. "That's what they told me."
"And yet," the Emperor continued, "the world granted you nothing."
"In Atlantis," the Emperor said, "we revere power—but we fear deviation."
His eyes returned to Kouki briefly.
"A Hero is hope made manifest."
Then back to Null.
"But an unanswered summon…"
The sentence was left unfinished.
Sora felt it.
The shift.
Praise had ended.
Judgment had begun.
.....
—Within Null's mind—
…Wow.
Null kept his face neutral, posture relaxed, even as the weight of the Imperial Hall pressed down on him from every direction.
…Hey.
The voice answered immediately.
Not loud.
Not soft.
Simply there.
[Yes, Master.]
A response came immediately, smooth and unhurried, layered with that faint, unreadable amusement.
Fantasy Omniscience. Quick question.
[Query acknowledged.]
Out of curiosity, he thought, how strong is he?
There was a pause.
Not hesitation.
Calculation.
[Evaluating target: Emperor Thalassar von Atlantis.]
[Cross-referencing local power frameworks…]
[Applying Adventurer's Guild equivalency.]
Then—
[Result: SS-Rank.]
Null's eyebrow twitched—barely.
SS?
That's… high, right?
[Correct.]
[SS-Rank denotes individuals capable of single-handedly altering national-scale conflicts.]
[Probability of successful engagement by subject against multiple S-Rank entities: High.]
Intersting. He thought. Let's try that thing.
[Clarify: "that thing."]
The sub-function.
Existential Perception.
First trial run.
Activate sub-function, he ordered silently.
»Existential Perception«
The world… peeled.
Not visually.
Conceptually.
The Emperor remained seated on his throne.
But layered over reality—information unfolded.
Not text in the air.
Not numbers floating.
But understanding impressed directly into Null's awareness.
[Existential Perception — Target: Emperor Thalassar von Atlantis.
Existence Classification:
• Sovereign-Type Entity
Designation: Human
Threat Index: ★★★★★★☆
(High—Conditional)
Vital Status:
• Age: 94 (Biological Equivalent: Late 40s)
• Lifespan Remaining: Indeterminate (External Reinforcement Detected)
Core Attributes:
• Strength: A+
• Defence: S
• Agility: A
• Stamina: SS
• Intelligence: A
• Mana Capacity: SS
Unique Abilities :
1. Tide-Crowned Dominion
→ Passive Authority-Type Ability
→ Within Atlantis territory, Emperor Thalassar's mana efficiency, command authority, and perception are amplified.
→ Subordinates receive morale and resistance boosts proportional to loyalty.
2. Sovereign's Edict
→ Active / Conditional
→ Spoken commands, when backed by will and mana, gain conceptual enforcement.
→ Weaker entities may find refusal… difficult.
Learned Skills (Partial List):
• Imperial Mana Manipulation (Mastery)
• High-Speed Chantless Casting
• Royal Aura Suppression
• Battlefield Clairvoyance
• Anti-Demonic Resistance
• Mental Interference Nullification
• Ancient Water-Arts (Lost School)
• Strategic Precognition (Low-Probability)
• Soul Anchor Reinforcement]
The flow of information stopped.
Null exhaled.
Slowly.
…Wow.
That was his honest reaction.
He's not just strong, Null thought. He's… built to rule.
[Correct.]
Fantasy Omniscience's presence felt steady.
Unconcerned.
[He is optimized for sovereignty, not conquest.]
You really don't sugarcoat things, huh.
[I do not possess a sweetening subroutine.]
Figures.
Outwardly—
Nothing changed.
Null still stood calmly before the throne.
Still looked like a boy with nothing special.
The hall waited.
Eyes on him.
Judgment suspended in the space between breaths.
Null exhaled quietly.
Then he spoke.
"Your Majesty," he said, voice even, unraised.
The sound carried farther than he expected.
No tremor.
No defiance.
Just fact.
"I am aware of my position."
The Emperor did not interrupt.
Null continued.
"I was summoned, yet unblessed. A deviation, as you called it."
A faint stir rippled through the retainers.
Kouki's smile sharpened.
"I hold no sacred gift," Null said.
"No authority granted by this world."
He lifted his gaze—steady, direct.
"As such, I request permission to return to my home world."
Silence.
Pure.
Absolute.
Even Sora's breath caught.
The Emperor regarded him for a long moment.
Then—
A slow shake of the head.
"Impossible," Emperor Thalassar said calmly.
The word fell like a verdict.
"To reopen a dimensional boundary," he continued, "requires an astronomical convergence of mana, Spatial cordinates retrace relics, and numerous space mages."
One of the court magi inclined his head in grim agreement.
"Even a one-way return," the Emperor went on, "would drain the Empire's reserves."
His gaze hardened—not cruel, but distant.
"Five years," he said.
"At minimum."
A pause.
Then, plainly—
"You are not worth that cost."
No insult.
No scorn.
Just arithmetic.
Kouki let out a quiet breath of amusement.
Null listened.
Absorbed it.
Then nodded.
"I see."
"I expected as much," he said simply.
The lack of bitterness caught the hall off guard.
"Thank you for the clarification."
He did not argue.
Did not plead.
Did not protest the measure of his worth.
He simply stepped back half a pace.
Request withdrawn.
Matter closed.
The Emperor studied him anew.
Not as an anomaly.
Not as a burden.
But as something… harder to place.
Sora felt it.
That subtle unease.
The kind born not from defiance—
But from acceptance.