Far beneath the Hunter Exam Arena, past catacombs even Netero had once deemed off-limits, Kaen and the Eternal Court stood before a door of living steel.
It pulsed—like a heart.
Renzu paced restlessly. "This isn't normal Nen… It's something old. Something hungry."
Mora touched the surface, then hissed, pulling her hand back. "It tried to taste me."
Kaen approached with steady steps, his aura unfazed.
"Let it taste royalty."
He pressed his palm to the door. Mind Palace flared. The throne behind his eyes shone like a sun.
And the door… opened.
⸻
🌑 What Lies Beneath – The Chimera Core
The descent felt like slipping through memories that weren't your own.
Each step… rewound time.
Each breath… made their lungs feel ancient.
As if they were intruders in something primordial.
The walls were coated in petrified insect husks—fused with stone, their faces twisted in agony and reverence. Kaen could feel them whispering.
"They died bowing…" Selva murmured.
"They thought they were worshipping something divine."
At the heart of the room, suspended in an amber-like aura field, was a chrysalis the size of a house.
Inside, a figure floated—a Chimera Ant Queen that never hatched, never awoke…
And yet, it dreamed.
Kaen heard it.
A pulse… a message…
"My King. You've come home."
⸻
🧬 The Forgotten Enemy
Suddenly—
Black fluid surged from the cracks.
A figure emerged. Elegant. Tall. Wearing a broken crown. Its skin was crystalline, and its voice echoed like dozens speaking in chorus.
"I am Rhi'Olt, heir to the Original Queen.
Born of her dreams, sculpted from her wrath.
My kind were sealed because we could bend reality with desire alone.
You… Kaen… are one of us."
Kaen didn't blink. "I was born on Whale Island."
Rhi'Olt smiled cruelly. "Exactly. Where we left the last egg. Hidden among humans. Waiting for a mind strong enough to rebuild our dominion."
"Your Mind Palace… is not human Nen. It is a legacy."
⸻
💥 Clash of the Thrones
The moment was charged—Kaen's mind flooded with flashing images of kingdoms lost, ants crawling across galaxies, and thrones made of bone and memory.
The Mind Palace shifted.
His throne grew taller.
Stranger.
Renzu stepped forward. "Kaen, your aura is distorting."
Kaen raised a hand. "No. It's… focusing."
He activated:
Mind Palace Expansion – Royal Lineage Recognition
Reality folded inside the Palace.
Suddenly Kaen could access fragments of Rhi'Olt's Nen ability.
He copied it the moment he understood its structure.
⸻
🌀 New Power: Desire Engine
Allows the user to extract latent potential from any living being based on their deepest suppressed wish. Can fuel temporary power-ups, evolutions, or even abilities, but risks madness if overused.
Kaen held the power in his hand like a glowing orb.
"You want a King?
Then watch what happens when one earns his crown."
The battle began.
⸻
⚔️ The Battle: Kaen vs. Rhi'Olt
Rhi'Olt's ability, Reality Rescript, turned spoken words into attacks.
"Shatter." The air around Kaen collapsed.
"Burn." The air ignited.
"Obey." Renzu flinched as his limbs froze.
Kaen responded with pure will.
He called on the Mind Palace. Issued a counter-law:
"Only truth may alter reality here."
Rhi'Olt's words… fizzled.
His face contorted in disbelief.
"That's impossible. Your aura should've cracked!"
Kaen stepped forward.
"You're trying to inherit power.
I'm here to claim it."
His aura surged—
He activated both Velocity Grasp and Desire Engine simultaneously.
"I see your wish… Rhi'Olt.
You wanted to be loved."
And with one explosive palm strike—
Kaen shattered his crown.
Rhi'Olt fell to his knees, sobbing crystal tears.
"Then remember me," Kaen said, "as the King who didn't run from himself."
⸻
👑 Ending Scene – The Palace Grows
Back in the Mind Palace, a new wing formed—ornate, insect-like, gleaming with golden membranes and silken hallways.
Kaen stood before it, calm.
"I'm no monster."
Selva appeared beside him. "You could've been."
He turned to her.
"Which is why I never will be."
⸻
🧠 Post-Credit Scene – A Memory Awakens
That night, Kaen dreamed.
He saw a battlefield.
Chimera beasts vs. aura warriors.
And in the sky—
A titanic version of himself, sitting on a throne the size of a mountain, whispering to the world:
"This time… we finish the war."
⸻
TO BE CONTINUED in Chapter 34 – The False Crown