Emperor's Reckoning

"Hm!!" Zet opened his eyes spontaneously. He immediately got up and looked around the room. His eyebrows furrowed. "This is.."

"My room?"

He suddenly felt a shiver running down his spine. "That's impossible, I was inside Garuda City yesterday!"

*Growl!

His flat stomach growled and begged for fuel. He felt his entire body was weak and lacked energy. The sudden fatigue caught him off-guard.

"This is weird," said Zet as he held his stomach whilst getting out of his bed.

"Ah, you're have woken up, young master," a servant called out from the door.

Zet saw him bowing as if nothing felt out of place. "You, where are the elders that accompany me to Garuda City?"

"Ah, they are already in their room, young master," said the servant.

"Hm? How did I get here?" asked Zet.

"Ah, about that," the servant seemed struggling to explain it to him.

"What's wrong?" Zet asked.

"Young master was laying on the ground in front of the gate, just right outside of the clan," said the servant as his heart thumped.

"What?!" said Zet as his eyes opened wide.

He suffered no injuries which was the part that confused him the most. 

(Hm?!) an image of a man in butler attire flashed inside his mind. The horror of cultivators collapsing under his one word replayed in his mind. He immediately touched his body in several places but found no wounds.

"Y-Young master?"

"Are the elders alright?" asked Zet.

"Y-yes, they suffered no injuries."

"Then, did they suffer the same fate as I am?"

"Y-Yes."

"Who brought me here?" said Zet.

"You have woken up," a ruling voice entered the room before the servant immediately bowed.

He had a thin beard and connected to his mustache. His hair had the same red as Zet but his face was way older. He too had a curved sword by the side of his waist.

"Father! You're home!" Zet came rushing before hugging him.

He smiled but raised his hand to gesture against the servant to leave the two of them alone.

"Zet, it's good that you're alright," said the middle-aged man before rubbing his head. "Sit down, I need to ask you something."

Zet immediately nodded and did as he was told.

"Ask away father!" said Zet with a grin on his face. Seeing the man in front of him, even the hunger that he felt slowly faded.

"I was the first one that saw you laying outside of our clan and I was on my way back too."

Zet's eyes dilated in surprise. "Then, do you know who brought me here? The last time I recall, I was in the middle of Garuda City, before..."

"Before?" asked his father with his eyebrows furrowing.

"I passed out, along with the others."

"Weird, the three of you passed out but you were returned back. I had the physician check up on you and found nothing was out of place. Your meridian is fine, your bones, your muscle, they are all fine. The two elders are fine as well."

The middle-aged man crossed his arms. "I have also checked that city, it seems something mindblowing had happened when I was away."

"IT IS! I found a big brother that I can look up to!"

"Huh?" His father was slightly confused by his son's words.

"He is really amazing father, strongest of them all! I've never seen anyone like that."

"Lyon Torga," his father suddenly muttered his name.

"Yes! Yes! That's the one, have you met him?"

His father shook his head. The world where Garuda City lies was still in turmoil. I couldn't even get near the city with those natural disasters happening and about."

"Turmoil?"

His father nodded. "There are multiple disasters happening when I arrived in that world. Some said that Lyon Torga is under attack by some unknown force. More importantly, I saw the Yuki clan and the Argonaut clan as well on the way there."

"They were there as well?" said Zet as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait a minute, they thought that big brother Lyon was under attack? Hahaha!"

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" asked his father.

"It's not possible father, that man, big brother Lyon is... strong. His subordinates are also strong. Before I passed out the rest of the cultivators passed out before me. The inhabitants, even the goose was laid unconscious and the perpetrator was not from an outside force, it was from one of his subordinates."

"Wait a minute, so the whole city was unconscious?"

Zet nodded. "With one word."

"A word? You mean a mantra?"

"Eh? What's a mantra?" asked Zet.

His father let out a sigh. "Mantra is a technique exclusive to Ascending Gods cultivators and above. The word will be infused with mana and could strike one's soul directly. However, in record history, there were only a few who specially trained that technique and could kill a person with one single order. Well, at least that was the legend, I personally never saw anyone kill with one word out of their mouth."

His father looked down after he made a harsh swallow. "But you say, the whole city passed out? Even the animals?"

Zet nodded repeatedly.

(That would be ridiculous. What kind of sick control does one have to be able to pull something like that off? I doubt father could do it) his father contemplated.

"The subordinate that did it was the one they call Assid. He wore a butler suit and sharp glasses. He looked really neat and clean to the point that one could feel dirty with one slightest slouch."

His father didn't mind his exaggeration but his eyes constricted. "W-What did you say? He wore a butler attire?"

"What's wrong father? You've met him?"

His eyes opened wide in disbelief. "I did! It was on the day that I came back. He was walking past me and greeted me with a slight bow without a word. I naturally gesture back, I thought he was a weirdo or something so I politely bowed back to avoid trouble."

(That means it was not a coincidence, if that guy has that much power, he must be wanting me to notice him!) thought the middle-aged man.

He shook his head before letting out a sigh, "I need to thank him for bringing you back home safely."