Mize moved forward at an unhurried pace, his steps light against the stone pathway.
The moment he stepped into the shade of the tunnel's entrance, the stationed guards straightened, saluting in perfect unison.
He responded with a faint smile, lifting a hand in casual acknowledgment, but his pace remained steady, carrying him deeper into the underground passage.
The shadows stretched and twisted behind him, slithering across the floor in eerie silence.
For a brief moment, the darkness seemed alive, writhing before settling back into place.
His crimson eyes flickered.
"Blue torches..." he murmured, gaze landing on the mounted flames that lined the corridor.
Their unnatural glow cast an strange blueish hue across the damp stone walls, the shifting blue light dancing along the curves of his cheekbones.
"It is one of Minister Aizen's creations, My Lady," the butler informed him, quickening his steps to match Mize's pace.
Yet, despite his efforts, he remained a respectful step behind.
"Aizen's doing?" Mize echoed, momentarily glancing over his shoulder.
His gaze flitted between the flickering torches, the butler, and the procession of maids and knights trailing behind.
A quiet hum left his lips as he turned back. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. He does give off that mad scientist vibe."
His long, inky black hair swayed with his movements, brushing against the back of his oversized hoodie.
There was a subtle, effortless grace in his stride, an unconscious elegance that made the knights shift awkwardly in place, some of them lowering their gazes entirely.
The tunnel stretched far longer than he anticipated, its end obscured by darkness. Mize's brows twitched slightly.
'For a facility meant to be used often, this design is annoyingly inefficient.'
The distant glow of light flickered ahead, signaling the end of the path.
The transition was sudden, one moment, the stone corridor enclosed him in shadows, the next, an open space unfolded before his eyes.
Mize stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the unexpected sight.
A vast underground cave stretched before him, bathed in soft luminescence.
Lush greenery sprouted between cracks in the stone, patches of grass thriving in the unlikeliest of places.
A narrow stream of water trickled through the terrain, its surface shimmering beneath an unseen light source.
Despite being underground, the air felt fresh, cool and lightly scented with moisture and earth.
Mize's attention, however, honed in on the two floating structures in the center of it all.
Two pyramidal steles hovered inches above the ground.
The first was ominous, its surface tainted in a deep, purplish-black hue, tendrils of shadows writhing unnaturally across its exterior.
The entire structure seemed distorted, as though space itself twisted around it.
Mize approached, his fingers brushing against the pyramid's cold surface.
[Unsuitable stele.]
A translucent message flickered into existence before vanishing just as quickly.
He arched a brow. 'So this is Liam's summoning stele…'
There was something unsettling about it, as if it pulsed.
He reached out again, but the moment his fingertips neared, the entire thing shimmered and phased out of reach.
Mize exhaled through his nose, withdrawing his hand. "No matter."
He turned his gaze to the second stele.
Unlike the first, this one suited him far better.
A soft pink mist coiled lazily around its structure, golden symbols pulsing faintly along its edges.
The energy it exuded was warm, almost inviting.
He took a step forward before pausing, casting a glance over his shoulder.
"Make some space."
At his command, the maids and knights instinctively stepped back, distancing themselves from the stele.
Even the shadows lurking at his feet stirred, rising into towering figures clad in obsidian armor.
Three shadow knights emerged, their forms imposing as they silently positioned themselves nearby.
Mize blinked, glancing at them briefly before turning back.
His palm pressed against the stele's smooth surface.
[Suitable stele detected. Would the Lord like to bind with it?]
"Yes."
[Binding successful.]
[First-time recruitment is free for both normal summons and hero summons.]
Mize's lips curled into a slow, satisfied smile.
"Ah… now we're talking."
Mize narrowed his eyes slightly, rolling the thoughts over in his head.
From the two separate summons mentioned by the warp system, he figured that Basic Summoning was for troops and common citizens, regular individuals who would make up the workforce and army.
Meanwhile, Heroes Summoning was likely for those unique figures, akin to Elias, Aizen, and Halb, who operated under Liam's command.
It was an interesting system, Mize had to admit. But one question lingered at the back of his mind, would his summons be inherently different from Liam's?
Would they be influenced by his attributes, or was it all just random?
Would his summoned individuals possess any distinctive traits that tied them to the nature of his stele? His profession? Anything at all?
He pushed the thought aside for now.
His gaze flickered toward the newly appeared summoning panel, a translucent display floating before him.
He lifted a brow at the sight of it.
"So from now on, I don't have to come all the way down into this tunnel just to use the stele, huh?"
That made sense. If Liam had gone through the trouble of burying the steles deep underground, then it was likely for security reasons, either to keep them hidden from prying eyes or to prevent unnecessary access.
Mize stepped back from the stele, dusting his hands off against his hoodie. "Well… whatever. Let's see what my summons will look like."
He focused on the summoning panel, operating it with practiced ease.
[Summoning Rift]
[Basic Summoning] [Tierless]
[Heroes Summoning] [Tierless]
"Tierless?"
Mize's fingers hovered over the selection, his head tilting slightly as curiosity sparked within him.
The system's response came in that ever-neutral, mechanical tone.
[Tierless means that all summoned beings will have to train from their weakest point in order to gain strength]
"Ahhh… so no free cheats."
He clicked his tongue, mildly disappointed. But that only led to another question surfacing in his mind.
"Then what about Elias, Aizen, and Halb? What's their strength level right now?"
[Tier 3, Host.]
Mize froze.
"Wait… what?"
His lips pressed together in deep thought. "But you just said that summons start at zero. How does that make any sense? How does a so-called 'Tierless' hero manage to reach Tier 3 in just three days?"
The system's voice remained unwavering, offering an answer in its usual monotonous tone.
[This is due to the Villain's profession, Host. While I am unable to delve deeper into the specifics, the Villain's abilities allow his summoned individuals to grow at an accelerated rate]
"So everything ties back to the Lord's ability and profession"
Mize exhaled through his nose, crossing his arms. "Figures."
A strange sensation crawled through Mize's body, something heavy yet intoxicating, like a thread of divinity stitching itself into his very soul.
Then, a wild, reckless thought sparked in his mind, so audacious that even he had to pause for a second to process it.
"System, my profession is the Path of a Goddess, right?"
[Precisely, Host.]
A grin tugged at the corner of Mize's lips, sharp and knowing. "Then it would make sense for a Goddess to create and destroy, yeah?"
[Logically, yes, Host.]
His grin widened. "Then... it wouldn't be weird if I could tweak the warp's system a little, right? You know, as a Goddess."
[That... Host. This humble one isn't sure.]
"Tch. What's there to be afraid of?" Mize rolled his shoulders, tilting his head as he stared at the floating panel.
His fingers flexed, testing the energy coiling in his veins.
"It's just a little experiment... Let's see if this works."
And then.
A wave of weightlessness hit him, like gravity itself had just shrugged and walked away.
His body felt both impossibly light and unbearably heavy at the same time, as if something greater was weaving itself into his very existence.
BOOM—
A violent gust of wind erupted from his body.
The grass flattened instantly, torches flickered wildly against the tunnel walls, and the maids and knights flinched under the sudden burst of force.
"H-Her Lady?!"
"W-What's happening to the Lady?!"
"This... this is"
Their words turned to strained gasps as the pressure deepened, turning the air thick and suffocating.
A weight settled on their shoulders, pressing them down, squeezing their lungs.
And then.
BOOM!
A second pulse crashed into the surroundings, stronger than before.
The small river at the edge of the cavern trembled, its surface rippling unnaturally, before it stopped.
Frozen. Suspended in time.
The knights staggered, hands gripping their weapons so tightly their knuckles turned white.
A few of them dropped to one knee, unable to withstand the sheer force pressing down on them.
Even the shadow knights, who were built to withstand unnatural horrors, found themselves retreating step by step, their armored feet digging trenches into the ground.
One of them, voice tight with alarm, turned to his comrades. "Inform the Lord. We'll hold our ground."
A shadow flickered, and one of them vanished.
The remaining two could only grit their teeth, forcing themselves to stand against the overwhelming presence radiating from Mize.
Or, at least, what used to be Mize.
Because whatever stood before them now... was something else.
Her hair had grown impossibly long, cascading onto the floor in silky waves, shimmering like woven night sky.
Her eyes, once mischievous and warm, now burned a deep ruby-red, cold and endless, like staring into the abyss of the cosmos.
Her dress, if it could even be called that was no longer fabric.
It moved, shifted, flickered like thousands of black butterflies clinging to her form, their delicate wings beating soundlessly in the dim light.
And her skin, pale, almost translucent, glowed faintly, as if untouched by mortality itself.
The cavern stood still. Not a single person dared to move.
And then.
She spoke.
"Now then..."
Her voice rang through the chamber, smooth and distant, yet carrying a weight that made the air vibrate.
She turned her gaze toward the floating panel, lifting a single hand.
"Bend to my will..."
The butterflies on her dress fluttered. The torches flickered.
A slow, knowing smile curled onto her lips.
"For I am the one who oversees fate itself."
BOOM!