Chapter 220: The Artifact Of The Lower World 1
[Unknown Planet - Leonardo’s Home.]
[11:30 Pm.]
Leonardo sat on abeautiful decorated couch, holding a delicate teacup. The scent of jasmine and something ancient filled the room.
He took a measured sip, but the calm was a conscious effort. Beneath the surface, his mind reeled. The energy pulse he had just witnessed didn’t just exceed the God-Rank; it was a fundamental tear in the established reality of the Lower World.
"But... who can unleash such power without tearing themselves apart? How did this person bypass the restrictions?" he muttered, the question a rare admission of uncertainty.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
A heavy echoed through the chamber, but Leonardo didn’t turn his head. He recognized the heavy, untamed aura immediately:
"You didn’t bother to conceal your presence, so why the pretense of knocking?" he asked, his voice slow and even.
The door swung inward, and Sunny strode in, his posture radiating urgency and barely contained fury.
"Welcome, God Wolf." Leonardo smiled. He gestured to the couch opposite him, inviting ease that Sunny clearly didn’t possess.
"Please, sit."
"I’m not here for social calls. I require information," Sunny stated, his eyes locked onto Leonardo with an impatient intensity.
"Ah. I presume it concerns the source of that delightful shiver in the air?" Leonardo noted the rigid tension in Sunny’s jaw. "You seem unusually invested in it. Why?"
"She attacked Eldoria. She targeted my family and people!." Sunny’s voice dropped to an arctic chill, a palpable threat hanging in the air.
"Hmm. Even with your formidable defenses? Scary indeed." Leonardo’s smirk was infuriatingly serene.
"This isn’t funny, Leonardo!" Sunny snapped, leaning forward. "I need you to tell me if there is a way to increase my strength beyond the current known limits!"
"I won’t speak a word until you sit down," Leonardo countered, his tone regaining its absolute authority. He was testing Sunny, demanding respect before knowledge.
"....?!"
Sunny paused, his breath a sharp hiss. He needed this information. Fighting Lilith, even with the gem—was a risk he couldn’t afford to take with his current strength. Morgana’s hint that Leonardo possessed the answers was his best chance.
He finally exhaled, the sound a concession of defeat. Sunny walked over, the movements stiff, and sat heavily on the couch.
"Now, tell me," he urged.
"Patience. Rushing gains nothing." Leonardo leaned forward, picking up the teapot. He poured a dark, steaming liquid into an empty cup, his movements deliberate and slow.
"Were you expecting me?" Sunny asked, his eyebrow arched in suspicion at the ready cup.
Leonardo slid the full cup across the table toward Sunny. "No. I wasn’t expecting you, Sunny." He watched the shock bloom on Sunny’s face, his smile widening slightly.
"You... You know my name? How?" Sunny’s shock was genuine, his carefully guarded identity was suddenly exposed.
"I am the First Elder, Sunny. I don’t rely on mere informants," Leonardo explained, his composure absolute.
"I can perceive and sense any significant energy signature across the entirety of the Lower World. When your power signature went completely unstable—a spike that defied reality—I naturally had to investigate... And I saw..."
Leonardo took a sip of his tea, allowing the revelation to sink in.
"When you completed your transformation and changed your race, shifting into the Beastify race... it stunned me. Truthfully, I never believed anyone could achieve that in this era, but you did." He paused:
"I’ve known who you were from the very start. I’ve simply been confused as to why you neglected to reclaim your family’s ancestral nation, opting instead to build your own. I assume you plan to retrieve it eventually?"
"I plan to," Sunny answered, a renewed steely edge entering his voice.
"Good. When you are ready, I will assist you." He said.
"Why??" Sunny asked with a frown, Leonardo was a man with rules, helping him would be going against his word rules.
"I don’t like what’s Matilda did to you... Oh, and you need to permanently retrieve the Fearless Family’s superweapon."
"The Fearless Family’s superweapon? No! That weapon belongs to my family!" Sunny protested instantly.
"Wrong," Leonardo corrected him gently, his tone that of a teacher correcting a student.
"Your ancestors took it from the Fearless lineage. I have lived over five hundred years; I am privy to truths that history has forgotten." He sighed.
"Let’s table that discussion for a future time. For now." He gestured to the tea.
"Are you serious? Tea?" Sunny asked with a frown, the urgency of his mission clashing with Leonardo’s nonchalance.
Leonardo nodded.
Exhaling in a loud burst of frustration, Sunny picked up the cup and swallowed the contents in a single gulp. He slammed the empty cup down. "Done!"
"What if I poisoned you?" Leonardo asked, the smirk back on his face.
"Then why go to the trouble of keeping my identity secret? Besides, I am immune to all poisons," Sunny retorted, folding his arms across his chest. His confidence was back, covering his fear.
"Now. Can you tell me?"
"Fine. Fine." Leonardo settled back into his seat, the subtle game over.
"You know there is a severe restriction on the power ceiling in the Lower World."
He leaned in again, his voice dropping to a serious, confidential tone. "There is only one thing in this entire world that can help you exceed your current peak. It is something fundamentally important, the lynchpin of the Lower World itself."
"And what is it?" Sunny asked, leaning forward, his frown deepening with anticipation.
"The Artifact of the Lower World. In simpler terms, the Lower World Core." Leonardo revealed. "Acquire this artifact, and you—and only you—will be able to bypass all current restrictions, becoming an absolute powerhouse."
He paused for dramatic effect: "However, this power only allows you to enter the First Order—the initial tier of true power. The energy you sensed earlier... that was already beyond the First Order."
"Such power... actually exists within this restricted world?" Sunny asked, mild shock giving way to intense focus. The risk was enormous, but the reward was the only path to survival.