Is this really a Game?!

The circle activated, and suddenly, Iscandar was gone.

He was teleported.

Behind Avargan, right in the center of where the ritual was supposed to take place, inside the grand formation that was created, a figure appeared, suspended in the air.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" Avargan laughed maniacally as he glanced at Reign and the others with a vicious smile on his face.

They all felt shivers go down their spines at what happened.

"I told him that his arrogance will be his undoing."

"I knew that I could not fight against that bastard, I knew that he was simply too powerful for me, even with the formation, but he never expected that the formation was actually not made to make me powerful enough to face him, but to trap him!"

"Now, the ritual shall truly begin, the flesh and the soul of that man will be the offering for the angels, and they shall bless me upon receiving the body and soul of a fateless bastard!"

"You would have made a fine sacrifice for the angels as well, but worry not, there is still time, enough time to have you join that man," Avargan said as he stared at Reign who was staring back at him.

All of them were staring at Avargan, but unlike the expressions of fear they had when the magic circle activated and Iscandar was teleported, they were now confused.

"Hmmmm?" Avargan stared at them before a voice reverberated through the area.

"Avargan, just what exactly do you think you are going to accomplish with these annoying tricks?"

Upon hearing the voice, Avargan's eyes widened as he looked to the side, only to see Iscandar, who was standing outside of the formation.

"Impossible."

Avargan then stared at the formation before his hand trembled as he finally saw who was inside it.

It was Elyndor.

"What … what are you doing there, Elyndor?!"

"Really now Father, you were sloppy, you didn't notice anything, not even when I was changing the formation, making it perfect for my plan," Elyndor said as he smiled, and suddenly, Reign and the others widened their eyes as the voice that came from Elyndor was a bit different from how he usually spoke.

But they recognized it.

It was the same voice that had guided them here, the same one that spoke to Reign multiple times, the voice belonging to Tier VI that had helped Reign out during the first battle with Avargan.

"It was you?" Reign asked as Elyndor glanced at him and smiled.

"You have played your parts magnificently."

"I have to admit, I was ready to intervene back then, to make my father stop for a moment so that you guys would be able to escape, I didn't expect you to actually be able to send him flying as you did."

"The illusions that were placed around the hideout were another thing I wasn't certain all of you would have been able to break through, and you all did, with minimal help from me."

"Truly, you have gone above and beyond what I had initially expected out of you, you have my thanks for that," Elyndor said as he slightly bowed to Reign and the others while still floating in the middle of the formation.

"What is the meaning of this, Elyndor?!" Avargan shouted in anger as Elyndor smiled.

"Elyndor?" Aragos asked with slight hesitation in his voice.

"Do you truly think I was not aware of your plan, of how you were planning on simply discarding all of us after you became king, how you saw most of us as nothing but failed experiments of yours?" Elyndor asked Avargan before shaking his head.

"I knew that you never thought of us as your children, but I never expected you to actually make a plan to sacrifice us to the angels so that you would not only gain the blessing but also our bloodline, gaining the talent of combat aura, becoming the same as my little brother over there," Elyndor said as he glanced at Aragos before smirking.

"You swore an oath." Reign said as Elyndor nodded.

"Aye, I did."

"And was there anything wrong there, I did say I am your friend and an enemy of Avargan, and I truly am, and I truly was your friend at that moment."

"Nothing I said was wrong."

"So of course the system wouldn't do anything to me," Elyndor said with a smile on his face.

"You see, father, instead of simply standing on the side and letting you do as you wish, letting you become more and more powerful mostly because of what I and my siblings had done for you, I decided that it would be better for me to take the blessing."

"After all, in sheer talent, I am above you, only Aragos could be said to be above me out of all my siblings."

"So, instead of having you, a person that everybody from the two kingdoms hates become more powerful by gaining the blessing, I decided that I would take it instead of you."

"I shall come out from this as a hero, the son that went against his father in order to save the citizens, and with the blessing, I will be able to do as I wish, wherever I wish."

Elyndor then clicked his tongue before sighing.

"You were too close-minded father, you never looked at the bigger picture."

"Take over the kingdoms and create an empire?"

"Why would you wish to do that when you can glimpse into the tapestry of fate and rise even higher."

"Instead of spending my life here, being a member of an empire, I would rather just take this and become more powerful before exploring the universe, gaining more and more power until a measly empire in this world becomes nothing else but a tiny, insignificant thing."

Iscandar, who had been observing the scene, listened to Elyndor's words with a raised eyebrow. The unexpected turn of events left the cavern in a momentary silence. Reign and the others were processing the revelation, their initial confusion shifting into a mix of surprise, relief, and uncertainty.

As for Elyndor's siblings, some were standing silently, their expressions showing that they already knew what he was planning, while others were staring in shock and surprise at Elyndor and what he had done.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Avargan spat out, his eyes burning with fury. "You dare betray me, your own father for power?!"

"You think you can just waltz in and take the blessing?!"

"You insolent fool!"

Elyndor chuckled a cold and calculating laugh that echoed in the cavern. "Father, you were the fool, while you were blinded by your desire for power in this world, I aimed higher."

"You also wanted to betray us, to use us, I simply did the same thing you wanted to do."

"With your help, I will call the angels, and the blessing will just be a stepping stone for me."

The grand array continued to hum with energy, and the ritual seemed to be reaching a critical point. It was getting more and more compact, and nobody, not even Iscandar, dared try to disrupt it thanks to the immense mana that was emanating from it.

The atmosphere was charged with magical intensity, the air vibrating with power. Iscandar, however, remained composed, observing the unfolding events with an unreadable expression.

Avargan was shaking heavily, and Elyndor was smiling as he opened his arms wide.

"Oh angels of fate, I am Elyndor, the one fated to meet you!"

"I have glanced into the tapestry of fate, I have seen what you have in store, and I have brought you what you wanted!"

"A fool blinded by an old destiny he once had," Elyndor said as he glanced at Avargan with a smirk.

"A miracle of this world, a being without fate, a person that can shape his destiny as he wishes, one whose fate cannot be touched by mortals." Elyndor glanced at Iscandar next before finally looking at the final person.

"And a Nephilim, a being that lives outside the boundaries of the universe, the ones that are far away from you, forever out of your reach, except today!"

The formations hummed louder and louder as they became more and more compressed, denser and denser, as well as more dangerous.

"You have the ability to glance into the tapestry?!" Avargan asked in shock as he stumbled and almost fell down.

The cavern seemed to quake with the gathering power of the ritual. The air became charged with a palpable tension as if the very fabric of reality was straining under the weight of the magical forces at play. The symbols on the cavern walls glowed with an otherworldly light, but no shadows could be seen in the cavern, and the symbols slowly started to move around.

Reign and the others exchanged glances, uncertain of what to do. Elyndor, standing in the center of the formation, looked confident and composed, his plan seemingly unfolding perfectly. Avargan, on the other hand, was seething with anger, his plans unraveling before his eyes.

Betrayal was one thing he didn't expect, not only because it was from his own children, but because he had made sure they were all highly loyal to him, they had even sworn oaths to follow him, to be loyal to him and do as he commanded.