[Royal Palace – The Royal Garden, Morning]
It was a perfect morning.
Birdsong filled the crisp air, carrying a scent of blooming roses and honeyed fruits.
King Darius, Queen Althea, and their two sons were enjoying a rare day outside — a family moment shielded from politics and duty.
Arden, still cradled in soft blankets, watched the fluttering leaves with wide, curious eyes.
His older twin brother, Leon, toddled around clumsily, laughing whenever he fell into a bed of flowers.
Darius set a hand on Althea's back, his touch light. "They'll grow up strong."
Althea smiled warmly. "Stronger than even we can imagine."
If only they knew how true that was.
Hidden behind Arden's serene gaze, worlds shifted.
Systems hummed.
---
[Inside Phantom Nexus ]
In the endless fields of the Nexus, Astra trained tirelessly.
Wielding star-forged blades, she danced across the battlefield — slicing, striking, vanishing into silver light.
Above her, Mindhub pulsed — a glittering network linking Arden's mind to all his clones and creations.
> [Mindhub Status: Stable]
[Active Connections: 107]
[Data Sharing: ON]
Each movement Astra made, each victory and mistake, fed directly into Arden's subconscious, evolving his skills without him lifting a finger.
> [Passive Skill Upgraded: Battle Instinct (Lv 2 ➔ Lv 3)]
And beyond the Nexus… something stirred.
A presence.
A hunter sent to eliminate the anomaly known as Arden.
---
[System Alert – Phantom Nexus Expansion]
> [System Notification!]
New System Skill Unlocked:
Celestial Deceiver (Passive)
Conceals Host from divine scanning and detection.
Creates false "Fate Threads" to mislead destiny watchers.
Increases stealth and survival chances against cosmic threats.
[Skill Auto-Integrated into Phantom Nexus Defense Protocols.]
Arden's defense against the multiverse had begun.
Without any conscious action, he was already becoming a ghost in the systems of gods.
An invisible storm.
A silent predator.
---
[Royal Garden ]
Darius leaned back against the picnic blanket, watching Leon chase a butterfly.
"You know," he said to Althea, "I always thought our legacy would be the sword and the throne."
Althea glanced at him sideways. "And now?"
Darius smiled. "Now... I think it will be something gentler."
Arden, nestled in her arms, gave a tiny yawn.
Althea touched his forehead lovingly. "Maybe... both."
Their laughter blended with the music of the wind, with Leon's giggles, with the sigh of the earth itself.
And in that moment, Arden's tiny fingers curled around Althea's thumb.
A simple, fragile gesture.
Yet it carried a silent vow — "I will protect this peace, no matter the cost."
---
[Meanwhile — Outer Realms]
Far from the peaceful garden, in the cold dark between worlds, a creature of stitched timelines tore open a portal.
Its form flickered, glitching between states of matter.
Eyes burning like dead stars, it whispered:
"Target located.
...Termination initiated."
It took one step toward the Kingdom of Solaris — and reality wept around it.
---
[Royal Garden ]
Arden's sharp senses caught it first.
A faint ripple.
A wrongness in the air, like a thread pulling loose from the tapestry of the world.
He didn't cry.
He didn't panic.
Instead, Arden's mind raced through his Phantom Interface, calculating, adapting.
> [New Task Generated!]
Family Defense Protocol – Level 1
Objectives:
Strengthen physical environment.
Fortify magical barriers around immediate family.
Identify incoming threat.
> [EXP Reward: 2,500]
[Phantom Energy Reward: 5,000]
Task Accepted.
Instantly, invisible threads of Phantom Energy spread from Arden's sleeping body — weaving subtle sigils into the flowers, into the soil, into the very light of the garden.
No one noticed.
Not even Darius, the veteran king.
Not even Althea, whose blood carried ancient power.
Only Arden.
And Astra, watching silently from the Nexus.
As the garden breeze turned oddly cool, Darius stretched, sensing something faint but brushing it off.
"Strange wind," he muttered.
Althea leaned closer, cuddling Arden protectively.
"Strange... but harmless."
She smiled down at Arden.
"Our little star is here.
Nothing bad can happen today."
Arden's eyes closed once again — but his mind stayed alert.
He would make sure nothing bad happened.
No matter what.
---
[Inside Phantom Nexus ]
In Phantom Nexus, Astra stood before a massive mirror — the Battle Simulation Crystal.
Projected onto it was a warped figure: the incoming hunter.
Astra narrowed her violet eyes.
"No mercy."
Behind her, new clone squads materialized — heavier armored, carrying energy rifles crafted in the Phantom Forge.
And hovering behind them… were the blueprints of even greater weapons:
Skybreakers (Anti-celestial artillery)
Soulnet Weavers (Capture and erase enemy memories)
Eclipse Shields (Dimensional fortresses)
Arden's Nexus was no longer just a sanctuary.
It was a fortress.
A forge of legends.
A cradle of destruction.
And it would stand ready when the enemy arrived.