The Gamer's POV

"Is someone talking about me?" Cedric stuck his pinky finger into his itchy ear.

"Undoubtedly. I mean, you are far too magnificent to not have someone talk about you a few times in a day." Arlo flattered him, puffing out his chest feathers.

"Right?" Cedric smiled and raised a fist, and Arlo tapped it with the tip of his wing to return the fist bump.

After that, he turned to look back at the city below. It was vastly different from the Imperial City they had left. Where the capital was bright and grand, this place was a sprawling maze of dark brick, towering factory chimneys, and streets packed tight with bustling crowds and iron carriages.

After a moment, Cedric turned back to his little friend and muttered pensively, "So many things about the Games this time around just rub me the wrong way. Also, I’m having a bit of a bad premonition."

Arlo looked at him for a bit, tilting his head in confusion. "Uh... do you mind being a bit more detailed, my Lord, so that my bird brain can understand?"

Cedric chuckled. "On second thought, I’d rather not say anything for now. I don’t want to jinx things."

Arlo blinked, letting the matter drop. Then he leaned closer and whispered, "By the way, the ugly blonde goose is heading this way."

Cedric exhaled exasperatedly at the news. He could already hear footsteps approaching him, and then, Leon’s voice sounded behind him.

"How is it that you are able to stand for almost an entire trip? Don’t your legs get tired?"

Without looking at him, Cedric scoffed softly, "They weren’t aching, until they heard your voice."

"Ouch. Is that any way to greet someone who brought you the gift of my company?" Leon said with a smile as he leaned over the railing, looking out at the clouds.

After a moment, he dipped his hand into his pocket and took out a small, diamond-like crystal. This tool was called a muffler, and it could be used to conceal whatever they said within a few meters around them.

He turned to his senior brother and asked, "Did you know that there are two children of traitors in our midst? One is Amadea Volpe. She is a third-year and ranked third in their top ten. She is a remarkably powerful dominant. And then we have Feyre. She used to be ranked eleventh, but she took Roben’s spot in the top ten."

He paused, and Cedric slowly turned to him. Leon’s expression turned serious as he sighed. "I heard that a similar order had been given to the administrations of the other bastions for an execution mission similar to ours."

"Hm," Cedric murmured as he turned away.

He had already suspected this much, so he wasn’t really surprised at the confirmation. He grew contemplative for a bit, then seeing the muffler in Leon’s hand, he suddenly changed the topic.

"You know, I’m curious," he said.

Leon, who was secretly thrilled that he had successfully initiated a conversation with Cedric, turned toward him with a bright, expectant smile as he waited curiously for what would come next.

After a second, Cedric continued. "Have you ever wondered? From what I told you, there used to be seven realms in total. The two belonging to us were destroyed by us. Then we have the realm called Earth belonging to the Mother, and this realm which is the Cradle. Then, finally, we have the first ring, the second, and the third, which we presume are realms belonging to the other children."

He paused and looked down at the smoky city before continuing. "The God of Unearned Misfortune did not have a realm. So have you wondered: just what the hell could be the fourth ring?"

Leon’s eyes widened briefly, and his easy smile faltered. Then he narrowed his eyes as he grew contemplative. "Hm. Now that you mention it... woah... I’m quite curious too. How come I never questioned that?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Cedric watched his reaction closely, before looking away and exhaling a soft breath.

Of course, he knew that Leon would not have an answer to that, but he was still really curious. Fortunately, Leon’s father, Duke Caspian, was one of the few monarchs in existence who actually ventured to the fourth ring. So Cedric had deliberately planted the seed, hoping that a curious Leon would eventually ask his father to at least tell him what sort of place the fourth ring was.

As Leon fell deeper and deeper into his thoughts, Cedric smiled in anticipation because far ahead, he could see a floating city come into view.

The city was a massive, sprawling island hovering high above the smoky world below. A transparent, rounded dome completely enclosed the entire landmass, making it look like a giant snow globe suspended in the sky.

However, through the eyes of his ravens flying ahead of them, Cedric could see that the island was far from beautiful. Beneath the clear shield lay a dark, hollow ruin.

Cedric could still remember the grim history behind the place.

A long time ago, the Dominants who had ventured into the second ring to destroy the red bridge had failed, and almost everyone who had journeyed during that eclipse had died.

As a result, the red bridge matured and opened a gateway directly from that Grade Three territory into this world, releasing horrifying monsters. The places where red bridges appear are completely random, and unfortunately, this time, it materialized right over a thriving city which was called Verona Cross at the time.

Countless people died, and the city was completely devastated. In response to the disaster, many of the empire’s finest Weapon Masters and Grade Three warriors came together to fight the creatures, desperately trying to stop them from spreading across the land.

They did manage to contain the threat, but because red bridges do not simply disappear permanently once they have opened, a greater power had to intervene.

One of the Monarchs of the empire at the time, a demigod who went by the name of Malaric Janus and carried the epithet of the Sky Architect, came to the ruined city.

Using his immense power, he ripped the entire landmass out of the ground, lifting it high into the sky, and sealed it inside that protective dome. The barrier was built to secure the monsters that would inevitably keep coming out of the red bridge, preventing them from running rampant into the rest of the province.

Of course, as the years went by, a new city was built on the ground right beneath the floating island. But for some ironic reason, the ruined stronghold trapped inside the glass sphere above was later given the name Isola Bella.

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