"I can bet that Adam loves this fruit more than he loves Eve," Alexia said, wiping a bit of juice from her chin, looking at the half-eaten artifact like it was a slightly disappointing Granny Smith.

  (Writer's Note: Let's take a quick canonical detour up to Heaven to verify this claim, shall we?)

  The Garden of Eden: Adam's Realm

  Eve skipped through the celestial foliage, her heart light with anticipation. (Finally, it’s my birthday!) she thought, a radiant smile gracing her features. (I am so happy. I wonder what Adam has got for me. I bet he has planned something grand, as he loves me more than anything.).

  She found Adam lounging beneath the branches of the Tree of Knowledge, surrounded by a mountain of cores. "Hey Adam, my love," she chirped, leaning in. "Do you know what day it is today?".

  Adam didn't even glance up. He was busy cramming a dozen apples into his mouth at once, juice dripping down his chin like a messy toddler. "Oh, my lovely Eve, how can I forget? It's... Apples are the Best Day!" he mumbled through a mouthful of pulp.

  Eve’s smile faltered, replaced by a look of sheer, bone-deep disgust. "Yeah... but there is one more special thing today, and that is—".

  "Apples are Life day!" Adam interrupted, crunching aggressively into another one. "Nom. Nom. Truly these are the best. Wanna have some? But I will give you only one!".

  "Ahhh!" Eve shrieked, her patience finally snapping. "I'm sick of you, Adam! I'm leaving to celebrate by myself!".

  "Okay!" Adam replied cheerfully, waving a sticky hand. "But get some apples on your way back!".

  "Wagh! Who said he got wisdom from an apple?!" Eve stormed off, her angry footsteps echoing through the garden.

  The absolute second Eve disappeared past the horizon of the divine lilies, Adam’s entire demeanor shifted. He stopped chewing. He spat the remaining bit of apple into his hand and tossed it aside with the cold precision of a surgeon. The goofy, gluttonous mask vanished, revealing eyes that burned with the terrifying, ancient intelligence of the Progenitor of Mankind.

  He stood up, his posture shifting from a lazy slouch to a regal, commanding height.

  "Forgive the deception, my love," Adam murmured, his voice now a deep, melodic baritone that resonated with authority. "But a surprise requires the element of shadows."

  He raised his right hand, and the air around him began to vibrate with a power that hummed like the foundation of the world. He didn't just call; he commanded.

  "In the beginning was the Word," Adam whispered, referencing the ancient scripts, "and now, the Word summons the Blood."

  A massive, multi-colored rift tore open across the sky of Eden.

  "Come forth!" Adam roared. "To the children of my loins and the branches of the world-tree! I summon the ten-fold lineages of Xeria and beyond!"

  From the rift, the world’s hidden population began to descend. First came the Humans and the radiant High Humans, followed by the graceful Elves and the ethereal High Elves. The shadows coalesced into Dark Elves, while the earth groaned as the Dwarves marched out. From the high peaks, Low-Angels descended with shimmering wings, and from the deep wilds came the Beastkin, the Draconians, and a dozen other mythic humanoid races.

  Thousands of beings, from the lowliest smith to the highest celestial, knelt in a massive, perfect circle around the First Father.

  "My Lord Adam," a High Elf elder whispered, bowing low. "Why have you summoned the Host of Species?"

  Adam looked out over the sea of his descendants, his eyes sharp and calculating.

  "The Mother of the Living celebrates her birth," Adam declared, his voice carrying to every corner of the realm. "I want a celebration that will make the stars jealous. Elves, weave the light of the moon into silk. Dwarves, forge the jewelry of the deep earth. Draconians, guard the borders. Angels, sing the songs of the First Day."

  He looked toward the path Eve had taken, a small, profoundly intelligent smile playing on his lips.

  "She thinks I am a fool who loves apples," Adam chuckled softly. "Let us show her what it truly means to be the Father of Mankind. Move! We have exactly six hours before the Queen returns."

  (Writer's Note: And that is how you handle a birthday. No pressure, Ragna—but Adam just set the bar for 'Boyfriend of the Year' somewhere in the stratosphere.)

  Alexia swallowed her bite of the priceless fruit and finally looked away from the crying attendants. Her gaze swept across the room and landed squarely on me.

  Instantly, her deadpan, untouchable aura vanished.

  "Oh my god, Ragna!" Alexia gasped, her face lighting up with genuine, overwhelming joy. "Look how strong you've gotten!".

  I just stood there, completely clueless. I blinked once. Twice. I looked around to see if there was another Ragna standing behind me. Nope. Just me.

  "What?" Alexia asked, tilting her head, looking slightly offended. "You don't recognize me?".

  "Lady," I said, keeping my tone carefully neutral because she had just caused a localized earthquake by landing on the roof. "I think I would remember a ceiling-smashing, fruit-munching deity. Have we met? Did I accidentally owe you money in a past life?"

  Alexia sighed, a fond, exasperated sound. "Wait.".

  The air around her shimmered. The space distorted, a magical ripple washing over her figure. The elegant blue gown, the midnight-blue hair, the mask, the terrifying celestial aura—it all dissolved into light.

  When the light faded, the woman standing there wasn't a mysterious, overpowered powerhouse.

  She had chestnut hair. She had eyes like molten gold. She was wearing a much simpler outfit, but the warm, brilliant smile was exactly the same.

  "Now you do, right?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

  My jaw hit the marble floor.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  It was Celestia. The receptionist from the Golden Griffin Inn. The girl who hadn't looked at me with disgust when I stumbled out of the Death Forest covered in mud and monster blood. The one who had fed me hot beef stew when I was a broken twelve-year-old, and who had eventually signed the paperwork to become my legal guardian so I wouldn't be classified as a nameless vagrant by the Academy.

  My on-paper, sweet, inn-keeping guardian was the literal Witch of Calamity? The same woman who had casually blocked my apocalyptic True Demon ultimate attack with one hand?!

  "Celestia?!" I choked out, my voice cracking entirely.

  I stared at her, my mouth opening and closing like a fish.

  "Holy Moly!" I blurted out, completely abandoning any pretense of dignity. "The heck! Celestia! You... are... freaking strong. Your aura... its—"

  "Soul Formation Stage 5," Alexia finished for me, her voice entirely casual as if she were discussing the weather.

  The collective gasp that rippled through the Hall of Supremes was deafening. The whispers started immediately, buzzing like a swarm of terrified bees.

  "The Witch of Calamity..." someone muttered from the back. "Why is she here? She rarely takes disciples.".

  "Currently, she only has one," another voice whispered back frantically. "I have heard he is very strong and has already reached Dharma Body Stage 2, and he's only 18 years old... no one knows anything about him, not even his name.".

  (Hold up. She has a secret 18-year-old disciple who is already at Dharma Body Stage 2? That's not just a prodigy; that's a walking cheat code. I need to get on her payroll immediately.) Alexia ignored the peanut gallery. She let the disguise wash back over her, her hair returning to midnight blue and the mask materializing back into place. She turned her gaze from me to the girl standing quietly by my side.

  "Hmm..." Alexia hummed, her shimmering blue eyes analyzing Alita. "That girl is strong too. Okay! You too, come with me.".

  She didn't wait for our response or for the Venerable masters to object. Alexia simply raised a hand and snapped her fingers.

  Snap. The grand, opulent Hall of Supremes vanished instantly. My stomach lurched as reality warped around us. When my vision cleared, the blinding white marble was gone.

  We were in a small room inside what looked like a rustic hut.

  And I was sitting on a bed. Actually, 'sitting' is a polite way to phrase it.

  "Hey! What the hell?" I yelled, struggling against my restraints. I was literally chained to the bedposts like a captured animal.

  Alita stood near Alexia, looking around the small hut, completely unbothered by my sudden imprisonment. Alexia turned to her and then raised her right hand toward me.

  With a sharp motion, invisible force tore the thick bandages off my right arm.

  I braced for the pain, but it didn't come. Instead, I stared at my own arm in pure, unfiltered horror.

  It wasn't melting. It was entirely gone.

  From the elbow down, my arm had been replaced by a heavy, sleek black metallic hand. It looked like something forged in a high-tech sci-fi lab, completely out of place in a world of swords and magic. And right in the middle of the dark metal palm, glowing with an eerie, unblinking light, was a single blue eye.

  (Did I just get an aggressive, unconsented cybernetic upgrade while I was unconscious?! And why does it have an eye?!) Before I could even start to panic about my new demonic prosthetic, Alexia spoke.

  "Good," she stated, admiring the creepy metal hand. "Now, Alita, slowly take off your upper clothing.".

  "What?!" Alita and I yelled at the exact same time.

  The eternally stoic, completely expressionless cosmic deity actually blushed, her face turning a bright, frantic red. I'm pretty sure my face was matching hers.

  "Just do it for Ragna's sake," Alexia said, her voice entirely flat and leaving absolutely zero room for argument.

  "But—" Alita started, crossing her arms protectively.

  "I said do it," Alexia commanded, the heavy, suffocating aura of a Soul Formation Stage 5 cultivator leaking into the room. "Your master commands you to. Go ahead.".

  Alita hesitated, her hands trembling slightly. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, her face still burning red. Very slowly, she started unfastening her clothing from the top down, her movements stiff and agonizingly slow.

  "Is this much okay?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper, refusing to open her eyes.

  I was turning totally red. I was chained to a bed. I was absolutely terrified of my new master. But was I looking away?

  Absolutely not.

  "Close your eyes, you pervert!" Alita snapped, glaring daggers at me.

  She was dangerously close to crossing the PG-13 threshold when Alexia finally intervened, raising a hand to stop her.

  "Good, you are okay," Alexia said calmly. "You haven't lost control. Put it back on.".

  Alita frantically buttoned her clothes back up, her face radiating pure, unadulterated embarrassment.

  (Wait, that was a test? You made her do that just to check if my new demonic instincts would make me go feral? Master, that is a walking HR violation. Also, I was totally just looking respectfully.)

  I looked back down at my right arm. Taking a closer look, I realized it wasn't actually a cybernetic prosthetic. It was still flesh and bone, but the skin was pitch-black and felt as impossibly hard and dense as solid metal.

  "Now," Alexia continued, ignoring my internal crisis, "tell me what your third eye tells you.".

  I focused on the eerie blue eyeball embedded in my blackened palm. A voice spoke in my head, it was a soothing voice, like a lullaby. It was melodious enough to put anyone to sleep right away.

  "It... it says it can make opponents fall asleep, hear minds, create illusions, and even manipulate the minds of lower-level beings," I told them what the eye told me, genuinely shocked. "Oh, and the hand is also twenty times stronger than my normal hand.".

  Alexia nodded, looking immensely pleased. "So you've got the Eye of Hypnos, the son of the Greek Goddess of Night and Darkness, Nyx. Amazing.". She smiled, a predatory glint in her eyes. "I never had an Arch-demon as a disciple. It will be fun.".

  (Arch-demon? Excuse me? When did I level up from True Demon? Did the feral rage-quit in the arena officially change my species classification?)

  "Alita too is on the peak," Alexia mused, tapping her chin. "Maybe Kai can help her.".

  "Only if I get off tomorrow, master," a cold, flat male voice echoed from the corner of the hut.

  I jumped. I hadn't even sensed him there.

  "Kai!" Alexia beamed cheerfully. "Meet your classmates. She is Alita, and he is Ragna."

  A boy stepped out of the shadows. I had absolutely no idea who he was, but the sheer, suffocating weight of his aura hit me like a physical blow. He wore a dark, tactical outfit, and his striking silver hair fell over cold grey eyes that looked completely dead inside.

  He walked over and stopped beside my bed. He didn't say hello. He just stared at me, his gaze analyzing me fully, practically tearing my secrets apart.

  "So you are the one I am hearing about," Kai stated. He leaned down, his voice dropping to a harsh, chilling whisper that only I could hear. "Take good care of the Sovereigns. Don't let them go into the wrong hands. You have two. Find the other seven before Leonis or death finds you."

  My blood ran cold. (Two? I mean, yeah, I know exactly what the two pieces I have are, but how the hell does he know that?!) "Right," I managed to choke out, forcing my shocked face back into a neutral mask. "I won't disappoint you."

  (The heck! I don't know this guy from anywhere, but he gives me absolute chills, as if he is literally Death himself!) Apparently satisfied, Kai straightened up. He didn't offer a handshake or a 'welcome to the team'. He just turned around and started walking toward the door.

  "I want to go out with my... g-girlfriend," he announced, a sudden, very uncharacteristic stutter breaking his terrifying, edgy persona right before he exited the hut.

  Alexia watched him leave, letting out a long sigh. "Okay! Huh." She turned back to Alita and me, shrugging slightly. "Actually, I don't even know much about that girl. I have seen her twice and those two times are honestly the only times I have ever seen him act like a living being with actual emotions," Alexia continued, shaking her head. "I have only ever seen him smile on those two occasions. I don't really know much else about him, to be honest.".

  "But here is the crazy part that I do know: he doesn't have a core," she added.

  (Wait, what? Another core-less anomaly? Are we starting a club?)

  "And apparently, that girl doesn't have one either," Alexia stated. "His full name is Kai Schneider. The Schneider family is highly secretive; no one knows much about them, but they are legendary for being the absolute strongest of warriors.".

  She smiled softly. "He is a good person, though. And while I don't know his girlfriend's name, I can confirm she is really beautiful. He's lucky and incredibly strong. You both should learn from him.".

  "Alright, enough talking, let's take a rest now," Alexia said, clapping her hands together. "Your training starts tomorrow.".

  She paused, giving me a pointed look. "Also, he uses the most secretive and fastest cultivation technique in existence. If you can manage to learn it from him, it will be a huge benefit for you.".

  "Okay, bye!" she chirped cheerfully, and just like that, our terrifying new master dismissed us for the night.