Chapter 79: The Broken Immortal

Dimensional plane,

Zane sat leisurely on a sleek black chair, legs crossed, inside the endless white expanse of his dimensional space.

Just a few steps in front of him, Eirenyssa sat trembling on the cold white floor, her eyes glued downwards, refusing to meet his gaze.

His deep purple eyes studied her with calm intensity before he finally spoke.

“So… tell me. Where did you come from? Which dimension was it? Or was it some pocket world? Perhaps just some broken shard of space?”

Eirenyssa’s head shot up in disbelief, her lips parting.

“Y-You… y-you know about… different planes of existence??”

For a moment, silence hung between them.

Zane’s narrowed eyes gleamed faintly, his face betraying neither warmth nor cruelty, just quiet annoyance. Inwardly, though, he couldn’t help thinking—

How in the hell is she even an immortal being?

Still trembling like this, still thinking I’m that idiot Zayne, and shocked I know about other dimensions?

The urge to pinch his nose or shake his head nearly overcame him, but he just kept watching her instead, expression unreadable.

Zane leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees, his gaze sharp.

“Answer my question.”

Eirenyssa flinched, her whole body trembling as if every syllable carried a blade.

“I-I-I a-am from… E-Everion…”

Zane’s eyes narrowed, his tone calm but carrying weight.

“Everion, huh…” He tapped a finger on the armrest of the chair, thoughtful. “And what’s it like there? What was your purpose coming here?”

Her lips quivered, eyes darting away as if afraid the truth itself would get her killed.

“I… I was sent to… search. To search for something…”

Zane tilted his head, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“You mean the system, right?”

Her eyes shot wide, disbelief written all over her face.

“Y-You… y-you know about it too…?”

Zane just sat back in his chair, his deep purple eyes glinting as if the entire world was playing right into his hands.

Eirenyssa’s breath came uneven, but she forced herself to continue, words spilling out as if confessing to a judge.

“E-Everion… is not like this world. It’s… it’s a higher dimension within the universe. A place only those who cross a certain threshold of strength can reach… Those beings… they are called the Highs.”

Her fingers clenched the hem of her robes tightly, knuckles white, as her voice wavered.

“Everion itself… was built and is governed by them. By those same people who ascended before me.”

Zane’s expression remained unreadable, though his eyes glimmered with interest. He simply nodded once, encouraging her to continue.

She swallowed hard, trembling. “I… I was a mortal too, once. But I… ascended. I became one of them. But… I am still new. A mere fledgling compared to the others…”

She hesitated before adding, “And… time flows differently in Everion. One year there is ten thousand years here. For me… it’s only been three years since I ascended… but here…”

Her lips quivered as she looked at him, sadness weighing in her eyes.

“Here, thirty… thirty thousand years have already passed.”

Eirenyssa’s voice cracked as she kept talking, trembling but still forcing it out.

“And why I hate mortals… it’s because…” She swallowed hard, eyes wet but her tone venomous.

“Before I ascended… my best friend and I—we did everything together. Fighting, eating, laughing, dreaming… she was like a sister to me. We promised to ascend together. But… only I did.”

Her jaw clenched, trembling with a mixture of grief and fury.

“She… she fell in love with some mortal man. Left me behind. Chose him over me. Started a family. Refused to follow when I offered her the chance to come with me… She grew old. And died. Thirty thousand years passed here… while for me, only three in Everion.”

Her hands shook as her voice rose, bitter.

“She was supposed to ascend with me! But like all mortals—she was weak. Pathetic. And according to her, dying with her family was better than living eternally with me. That… that was her excuse!”

Her breath shuddered as her words dissolved into spite.

“She was no different from the rest of these disgusting mortals. Weak… fragile… pitiful.”

—

Zane sat back in his chair, one eyebrow twitching, eyes narrowing slightly as her words sank in.

Wow.

His lips curled into the faintest smirk as his thoughts rolled in sharp and merciless.

So she’s dumb naturally from the start. That might be the weirdest, lamest reason I’ve ever heard to hate mortals. Blaming your best friend because she wanted to die surrounded by the family she loved? That’s not tragic—it’s pathetic.

He almost snorted but held it back, eyes still locked on her trembling figure.

Couldn’t she at least be like that mortal hating guy from that show—what was it—Magic Squares Super or whatever? But No. All she’s doing is whining and complaining. Maybe that’s exactly why her best friend chose her family over her—because she realized her so-called best friend was just a whining bitch.

His smirk widened slightly, though he said nothing yet.

Zane leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees, eyes glinting with that calm sharpness that always made people feel like their very soul was being dissected.

“Alright, enough about your sob story. Let’s talk about something that actually matters.” His voice lowered, smooth but firm.

“That system. The one tied to the boy, Arin Blake. What exactly were you searching for in it?”

Eirenyssa froze, her lips trembling as she looked away. Her shoulders shook as if just the thought terrified her.

“I… I can’t say.”

Zane narrowed his eyes, studying her reaction carefully. For a moment, silence filled the white space.

“Hm. Alright.” His tone remained calm, almost indifferent, though his mind was already analyzing her every twitch.

“If you can’t tell me what, then maybe you can tell me who.” He tilted his head, his purple eyes gleaming faintly.

“Who created this system?”

Her hands tightened on her lap, her whole body trembling now.

“I… I can’t tell you! Please…!” Her voice cracked, desperation bleeding through her tone.

Zane leaned back, exhaling slowly, his gaze unreadable. He wasn’t surprised. If she could spill, she would have already.

“Mm. I see. So that’s how it is.”

He let it go for now, shifting the conversation with deceptive ease.

“Then let’s talk about something else.”

Eirenyssa hesitated, her chest rising and falling quickly as she tried to calm herself. She risked a glance at him.

And for the first time since waking up, her trembling eased just slightly. Her voice was weak, but more certain.

“…You… really aren’t that guy, are you? The one who… who beat me half to death.”

Her eyes flickered up toward his, glassy but searching.

“You… you’re different. Even though you both… look the same… you aren’t him.”

Zane closed his eyes, his posture utterly relaxed. “Indeed,” he said calmly, his tone carrying that faint amusement of someone enjoying a private joke. “I am not him.”

When his eyes opened again, a smirk curved across his lips.

“Instead… I’m his boss.”

Eirenyssa’s head snapped up, her expression twisting into disbelief. Her swollen, glassy eyes widened.

“Y-You’re… h-his boss?”

“Mm.” Zane leaned back slightly, smirk deepening. “In fact, he’s nothing more than my clone.”

Her jaw slackened. Her pupils shrank, her breath caught in her throat. She could only stammer, her voice breaking—

“T-That s-strong guy… is just a clone?!”

Her mind reeled, memories of their battle flashing violently before her eyes—every bone-crushing blow, every time her body had been smashed into the ground, every ounce of her humiliation.

And that wasn’t even his true self.

That was just… a clone?!

Her hands trembled as the thought screamed in her skull.

No… no no no, he’s lying… that can’t be… a clone can’t behave like that, can’t feel so real—it was like fighting a living person!

Zane’s smile only widened as he watched the storm of disbelief and horror flicker across her face. He was savoring it. Her denial, her fear, her desperate attempt to rationalize what she couldn’t accept.

Eirenyssa’s body shook violently, her lips barely managing to form words.

“W-what… are you?”

Zane didn’t bother to answer. He rose smoothly from his chair, his shadow stretching long across the pristine white floor. Extending his hand, he spoke with calm finality:

“I’ve heard all you can say. The rest—the things you won’t say—but I’ll take it anyway.”

Before she could even blink, his figure blurred. His hand clamped over her face, fingers like iron talons digging into her cheeks.

Her heart slowed . No… no, he’s not the same as that other one… He’s far worse. Far far worse. A real monster!

A sinister smirk tugged at Zane’s lips. “Let’s extract all that information from your head, shall we?”

Then he tightened his grip.

White-hot agony tore through her skull. Her scream was strangled, muffled against his palm. Her mind convulsed, every wall she had built, every sealed memory, every forbidden truth was being pried open. She felt naked, as though her very essence was spilling out into his grasp.

“Mmmhh—! Umhh—!” she writhed, nails scraping the ground.

Zane’s deep purple eyes gleamed with cruel amusement.

“That Arin boy… threatening my students story, ruining my academy adventure…” His voice darkened, low and resonant. “I won’t let that happen.”

The pressure on her mind peaked—then, abruptly, it ceased.

Zane released her and straightened, exhaling like someone who had finished reading a book. “Ah, I see. That’s it.”

His gaze lingered on her broken form as he added, almost casually,

“So, the one who sent you—your superior—layered safety locks in your soul. If you so much as tried to spill anything about him, you wouldn’t just fail… you’d have died instantly.”

Eirenyssa collapsed onto the white floor, gasping for air. Her body quivered as she tried to make sense of what he’d said.

“…W-why…” Her voice cracked, tears dripping freely. “Why… A-Ain…”

Eirenyssa lay sprawled on the white floor, her trembling body finally still. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, the defiance and rage long drained from them. What remained was only the hollow shell of someone whose will had been broken.

Zane looked down at her in silence for a long moment.

Then, his lips curved into a faint, unreadable smile.

“At this point… I pity you.”

He crouched slightly, eyes narrowing with quiet amusement.

“But don’t worry. I have a better use for you anyway.”

His words echoed through the dimensional space, heavy with intent—an ominous promise of what was to come.

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