Chapter 11 – The Prince Who Trains Under Heaven
The royal palace grounds, once pristine, were now reshaped into a battleground of ambition.
Jay Ezekie—the Second Prince and the Silent Reaper—had not rested after his awakening. No banquets, no court celebrations. Only purpose.
His Tri-Sovereign Awakening had stirred the Empire's nobles and the world beyond, but Jay knew the path to true dominance had only just begun.
And so, he vanished from court.
A Training Ground of Old Legends
Deep beneath the palace, buried in ancestral marble and engraved with divine runes, lay the Obsidian Vault—a treasury sealed to all but the royal family.
It was here Jay now stood, face lit by crystalline glowstones and golden mana crystals.
Weapons, beast cores, dimensional herbs, and relics whispered with ancient power. At the center of it all was his prize: a mana-tempered time chamber, a relic left by the Empire's First Sovereign—a space where time flowed ten times slower, and gravity could be increased using pure mana infusions.
He activated it with his royal crest.
"One and a half years inside. Nearly two months outside. I'll return stronger than anyone expects."
Day 1–30: Breaking the Body
Jay began by shattering his limits.
Inside the time chamber, he raised the gravity to four times normal, using ambient mana to bind weights to his limbs. His bones creaked with every movement, skin tearing, muscles howling in agony.
He ran laps barefoot across mana-scorched stone until his feet bled. He thrust his arms into boiling glacial water—a paradoxical brew made of fire ice from the Vault—just to harden his nerves.
He fought against constructs forged from enchanted steel and mana puppets mimicking real combatants. When he collapsed, he used the Lust System's massive regeneration to heal only partially, then rose again, welcoming pain as a mentor.
Month 2–3: Mastering the Storm Within
Jay turned to his Tri-Sovereign Elements.
Ice came first. It had answered him most easily, and he intended to make it his foundation.
He summoned glaciers the size of boulders and shattered them with bare fists. He created snowstorms indoors, learned how to lower temperatures with a breath, then focused on shaping that frost into razor-thin threads, constructs, and spears.
"Ice is control. Patience. Precision."
He meditated in the Frozen Lotus Formation, a relic that amplified elemental affinity, until his veins pulsed with cold and he could freeze the blood in mid-air without chanting a spell.
By the end of the fifth month, he had fully mastered his ice element—his spells now instant, efficient, and terrifyingly silent.
Month 6–10: The Depth of Shadow
Shadow was harder. It whispered, twisted, resisted. Jay took that as a challenge.
He isolated himself in an obsidian sub-chamber—utter dark—and began casting [Nullshade Dominion] again and again until he could bend shadows into chains, clones, even razor wires to slice steel.
He developed techniques through trial and madness:
Shadowstep Echo: Moving through a shadow, leaving behind an afterimage to confuse foes.
Ebon Silence Field: A sphere that cuts off sound entirely, allowing ambushes and stealth combat.
He stared into the [Oblivion Eye – Eye of the Void Serpent] for days, learning to extend its effects beyond mere perception. Now he could see intent, trace mana currents, and even read lies through shifting auras.
By the tenth month, he controlled shadows like extra limbs.
Month 11–17: The Roar of Lightning
Lightning was power unrefined. Jay learned the hard way.
Every attempt to harness [Ragnarok Pulsebreaker] for sustained battle left him burned, convulsing, or unconscious. But he never gave up.
Using thunder-blood crystals from the Vault, he bathed in pure lightning mana, forcing his nerves to adapt, his heart to beat in harmony with electric pulses.
Soon, his body could absorb mana lightning to power [Voltaic Resurrection] on command.
He created:
Flash Arc Cage: Trapping enemies in walls of roaming electricity.
Pulse Reflex: A lightning-quick counter that strikes the instant danger is sensed.
By the time the final weeks arrived, Jay could dash across a hundred meters in the blink of an eye, striking with both shadow and lightning in perfect harmony.
Reforging the Prince
He did not only train in power.
Jay studied ancient battle techniques, mastered noble etiquette, and refined his aura. He turned his Tri-Sovereign signature into a silent deterrent—its pressure now invoked instinctive fear.
He forged weapons using Vault materials and embedded them with his elements:
A katana of obsidian frost, veined with shadow, sheathed in lightning.
Hidden ice-needle launchers in his gloves.
Shadowstep boots that phase through solid ground.
"I won't just be powerful. I'll be prepared."
New Foundations Laid
When he finally exited the chamber, only seven weeks had passed outside.
The Emperor himself came to greet him—and though no words were exchanged, Jay could feel the shift in weight. His father no longer saw a prince.
He saw a future emperor.
A Storm on the Horizon
Two days later, news came:
The Imperial Ascension Academy would open its gates in 2 years and 7 months.
Known across continents as the domain where the strongest were forged, it was an academy where status meant nothing and only power determined your worth.
Jay's eyes lit with quiet anticipation.
"Then I'll be ready."
And in the capital, nobles whispered again—not with mockery, but trembling awe.
The Silent Reaper... was still sharpening his scythe.
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Chapter 11 (Final Part): The Tower Knows No Lies
The plaza before the Ancient Judgment Tower buzzed with tension.
News had spread like wildfire:
> "He's back." "The one who took on seven nobles alone." "The one everyone feared, yet no one saw coming." "The Silent Reaper." "The Empire's Dream Man."
A New Test Begins
Jay faced the towering monolith, forged from enchanted starstone and etched with ageless runes. The Judgment Tower was ancient — a relic from an older era, built to gauge not one's cultivation stage, but the sheer depth of their power.
Only 100 stars existed on its scale.
The strongest nobles reached 35.
Elite knights hovered around 20.
Demigods, the pinnacle of the Empire's mortal path, scored at best 75.
Jay reached out and pressed his palm against the cold surface.
He started with 25%.
Lightning crackled faintly around his fingertips.
Shadows pooled beneath his feet.
Frost edged the ground.
1... 3... 7... 10... 12 STARS.
The crowd held their breath.
> "Twelve stars… and he's still in Stage One?" "With only a fraction of his strength?"
Then He Unleashed Everything
Jay let out a slow breath. Then pushed his full strength into the tower.
100%.
The air split with a violent snap of thunder.
Shadows stretched and danced.
A bitter, unnatural chill swept across the courtyard.
His muscles rippled — trained to their physical limit through endless exertion in mana-gravity chambers, forged by divine-level resources pulled from the deepest vaults of the Empire.
32 STARS.
A deep, resonant chime echoed from the tower — a sound not heard in decades.
The stone glowed blinding gold. Runic chains flickered, nearly breaking under the pressure.
Veteran knights were knocked back.
Even nobles took a step back, eyes wide.
> "He's not just strong…" "He's monstrous." "What is he?"
A Name Echoes Again
One of the older nobles whispered, voice laced with awe and dread:
> "That's the Silent Reaper… the one who challenged seven noble heirs and walked away without a scar."
Jay turned, silent as always, his expression unreadable.
No words. No arrogance. Just calm, collected power.
And as he walked away, murmurs grew behind him like wildfire.
> "A future High Blood God Candidate…" "He'll shake the Academy to its core." "This is only the beginning."