The room fell silent and Kayden felt a powerful presence. The pressure was far greater than that of an ordinary god-like Merlin; it was not a question of strength or intensity but of quality. The person emanating this aura was a young man with red hair and eyes of the same intense color. His skin was completely white, he looked no older than twenty, and he wore a black military suit.
The man just released his pressure and saw everyone kneel, unable to resist his influence in the slightest. Kayden couldn’t resist with his body, but his mind remained calm. For a few minutes, Eros did absolutely nothing as he swept his eyes across the crowd, enjoying a feeling of omnipotence. His eyes stopped on a merchant group and...
"Golden Edges, you tried to kill me three centuries ago." His voice came out neutral, and no one expected a wave of wind to come out of his hands and rush at a ridiculous speed over the group of over 100 people. Practically instantly, the wind destroyed any trace of them. Only the glass survived the attack, there was not even any blood. Kayden couldn’t understand how the wind could be so deadly.
Among the dead people, there were several wizards of the fifth realm and some with seven rays. It was an abyss of strength, unlike anything Kayden had ever felt. No one even lifted a finger while this situation was happening.
"Are we going to the event? A question and a challenge." Eros sat on a throne floating in the heavens. "How strong do you think I am in the universe? Those who have courage, stand up."
Kayden already had the answer on the tip of his tongue, but it would be a direct insult and he didn’t want to lose his life. It was better to let the idiots try first. It didn’t take a second for someone to raise their hands.
"A future god of the highest levels, unique in the entire universe." It was flattery. Eros did not express any reaction. Over the next few minutes, dozens of compliments appeared, each one more elaborate than the last.
Kayden heard so many different ways to flatter someone that it disgusted him. Fear changed people on a completely bizarre level. No matter how much they talked, Eros didn’t even sway.
"You are ordinary and have nothing really special." A voice stood out from the crowd. Everyone was silent Eros finally reacted when he looked at the woman.
She was a tall blonde girl with all human characteristics. Its only difference was the presence of a cat’s tail that made its race evident. She was in the fifth realm, and when Eros looked into her eyes...
"Sorry! I just wanted your attention. You are the strongest man on this planet." She knelt on the ground and her mind shattered into pieces. Kayden saw the disgust in Eros’s eyes for a second.
This was the right path, but it was also the difficult path, as Eros seemed to be someone rational, but at the same time crazy. After a few seconds of silence, the woman stood up and stood still, lost in her thoughts. No one dared to speak for the next few minutes.
"You are special, unique among trillions, but…" Everyone looked at Kayden. "Does not matter. Among those at your level, you are just one of the crowd and you know it. Your ego is a facade to hide the contempt for the mediocrity you see on each side." For every word Kayden said, the room grew colder.
Evelyn wanted to get up and kill Kayden so he wouldn’t keep talking. Eros’ pressure on everyone increased several times, but on Kayden, it was even greater. It was as if a mountain appeared on his shoulders.
Eros continued to press and look into Kayden’s eyes, but there was no sign of fear or attempt to take back his words. The minutes passed quickly and no one said anything.
"You are special. Your words seem to me like self-criticism." Eros commented, breaking the awkward silence. "But you are weak. I see that you have seven rays, but your strength hardly reaches that level."
"Lord Eros, you must understand what it takes to be able to swim against the current. I’m making a bet: either I become unique or I die like one more in this universe." Kayden’s audacity made even elderly people who had lived thousands of years rethink their courage.
Kayden wasn’t crazy or stupid. He saw that Eros was not an irrational person driven by ego and other negative feelings, so he continued the conversation calmly. His attitude proved correct when Eros clapped his hands.
Kayden’s attitude proved correct when Eros clapped his hands.
"I spent 1300 years chasing something pointless. At that time, I could barely stand up to someone with two lightning bolts below me. Your answer is the correct one." Eros clapped his hands again, and a red necklace appeared in front of Kayden. "Welcome to the Selected."
Selected? This felt like something special. Kayden had no idea what exactly it was, but everyone around him understood the weight of it. It was a group chosen by Eros for some special purpose.
"Now for the challenge. Anyone who can move one of my fingers will be selected." The challenge was very simple, but also very restricted. Only those in the fifth realm had any slight chance of achieving this. Over the next few minutes, Kayden saw attacks capable of leveling hundreds of kilometers in seconds.
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Each attack was at the level of a nuclear bomb on a much larger scale. A wizard of the fifth realm and seven rays was capable of exploding the ancient Earth from the inside out if his spells were aimed correctly. The most impressive thing was that Eros managed to nullify each attack with his wind; all the remnants disappeared around him and could not even lift the dust around him. It was a much higher level.
"You are still weak." Eros released his pressure and everyone returned to the position of not even being able to lift a finger. "Enjoy the feast." The pressure disappeared and Eros also disappeared from the region.
Kayden felt his vision go dark for a second, and then he found himself floating in the sky, with white clouds beneath his feet. A few hundred meters away, there was a huge castle made of stone and purple trees that had luminous flowers.
"The Selected are those I have chosen to take with me to the next region of this world. I will need allies to build an empire in the next location. Do you have any ties on this side?" Eros was next to Kayden, watching the horizon.
"Just my organization, but it shouldn’t be a problem getting rid of it," Kayden said without any hesitation. It was a very good opportunity that was coming into his life.
"Live in the castle and enjoy all the benefits of it. We will leave in a few centuries. You need to advance in the kingdom or you won’t be able to even take a step to where we are going." Eros gave Kayden a few more instructions and then left.
Kayden spent a few minutes just thinking while looking at the clouds. Minutes turned into hours and before he knew it, he had been there for a few days, all to make a decision. Days turned into weeks and quickly into months. No one came to bother him during that time. Kayden’s decision was about his advancement, and it took a long time for him to accept it.
Kayden had no hope of advancing with seven rays, nor even of conquering anything superior in his kingdom to reach a much higher level. The difficulty in making the decision was accepting this fact, but accepting it did not mean agreeing. He decided to keep trying for a while longer; when there were only a few years left, he would advance and go with Eros to the next region. This was a unique opportunity that should not be missed.
A few seconds later, he entered the castle through the front gate. Inside, there was a pleasant atmosphere and a few dozen people. Of these dozens, only a few gave Kayden strong auras; the rest should just be employees.
"Hello, Mr. Kayden Heart. I’ve been waiting for you." An elf with black skin and white hair appeared to welcome Kayden. "We have a room available for your ladyship and any requests will be accommodated within a few hours."
Kayden was taken to his room. It wasn’t anything very elaborate, but it had all the resources needed for someone to live comfortably. He just thanked the woman and asked for some mental techniques.
Again, he began another period of isolated cultivation in his life. Their only interactions were to ask for more techniques and books on different subjects. He hit another wall again.