The Veilwalker

"Welcome…" The waiter said with a charming smile as he led them to a free table. "You made the right choice coming here today. Gresher Diner is one of the best diners in the city."

"Thank you," Zol and Cassandra took their seats while the waiter passed them a menu from his storage device.

"Please signal me once you’re ready to order." The two hunters nodded and the waiter disappeared.

Once alone, Cassandra took a look at the menu, not recognizing most of the dishes on it.

"Need some help?" Zol asked without looking up his menu. "You can order everything on the menu as well."

"Uh…sure." She replied. But then her attention was caught by the atmosphere and chatter in the diner.

She paid attention to what some of the customers were saying, and compared that to her late universe, she saw how different it really was.

"Haha… I say life has never been this good." A customer said. "Ever since our lord came back, things have slowly turned out for the better."

"What did you expect?" Another chimed in. "Lord Alexander is one of a kind. Haa… how I wish I could meet him in person."

"Well, I have. At least during his younger years. Back then, he was just a kid trying to become a good hunter. Who would have thought the accident he survived set him on this path of greatness?

"I bet my ass there is no one like him out there. The way he speaks and presents himself invokes some kind of trust you didn’t know you had.

"Even with all that power, he remains the same. Haa… too bad he is already taken. My daughter is head over heels for him and she’s not the only one!"

The group laughed and made merry. Conversations like these were happening all around them, and Cassandra could tell these people really meant what they said.

"These people really believe in Alexander, don’t they?" The Catwoman lowered her menu to look at Zol.

"It’s only natural." Zol replied. "I’ve known him since he survived the cosmic mana wave. Back then, he was very worried and unsure of himself.

"How was a fifteen-year-old boy supposed to make sense of his vision? Regardless, he pushed forward, and here we are now."

"Mm," Cassandra nodded, briefly lost in thought. "But I don’t understand how they could believe in him so much. Aren’t they afraid of his might?"

"You heard what the people said, right?" Zol put his menu down. "Alexander doesn’t just understand them, he was just like them. Before this level of peace and quiet came, no one knew when the next disaster would strike.

"Living was a chore back then, and Alexander knew what to say because that would have been the same thing he would have wanted. And the people believing in his words? Well, they have no reason not to."

"No reason?" The Catwoman raised an eyebrow. "Alexander is the most powerful being in this universe, maybe beyond it. What is stopping him from suppressing and enslaving the people to his will?"

Cassandra had no faults with Alexander, but this looked too unrealistic for her. The people were too welcoming of a being wielding such power.

She knew this because her universe was the same. They feared her because of her strength, and despite what she did for them, not all were happy.

Also, many people would definitely abuse such power should they be the ones wielding it. Absolute power corrupts, and it’s not just a saying.

People had dark desires that manifested the moment they had the power to do what they couldn’t. And knowing no one could stop them even makes it worse.

"Haha…" Zol chuckled lightly. "While we do look that way, we aren’t without problems. For the normal person, living this way is more than enough.

"It beats living under constant fear any day of the week. Even right now, there are a few people out there--an elite few who see Alex as a ticking time bomb.

"They fear exactly what you’re saying. What they don’t know is that Alex is already at the top. He just doesn’t see any benefits from that. He prefers freedom above all else."

"Freedom, huh." Cassandra muttered in thought. She recalled what Alex said about being at the top and similar phrases he dropped here and there.

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Looking back on that, the Catwoman understood his line of thought. ’What’s the point of when you literally have the power to do anything? Even I don’t find anything fulfilling about that. He focuses on what brings him fulfilment.’

Freedom.

"Let’s put everything aside for now." Zol’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Energy is all you need."

"Energy?" Cassandra felt something click within her and she turned all her attention to Zol. "What do you mean?" Explore hidden tales at novelbuddy

"I mean we should order something." Zol replied, slightly taken aback. "Are you okay? You look like you heard some bad news?"

"Oh, uh… yeah. I’m fine." Cassandra picked back her menu. However, her thoughts were on what Zol said about energy.

’Energy is all I need.’ The more she played the phrase in her head, the more she felt she was on the right path. ’Everything I’ve seen Alex do started with energy. The laws I’m grasping all have their fundamentals in energy. It’s the bricks that make everything possible!’

Suddenly, a profound aura simmered around her body, about to burst out. While not harmful, it was forceful enough to hurt the people around her.

However, before anything could happen, she and Zol were displaced from the diner.

"Woah…" A customer who had noticed the sudden spike in energy exclaimed. "Those guys suddenly disappeared!"

"Yeah, I saw it too!" Another added. "Hehe… they were probably hunters. No wonder they were so good-looking."

Meanwhile, outside the Sol system, Zol and Cassandra appeared, and the moment they did, the profound aura around Cassandra gushed out like torrential waves, blowing Zol millions of kilometers away.

"What the…?" Zol muttered, unclear as to what was happening. The Catwoman seemed to have lost control.

’Don’t worry, she’s fine.’ A familiar voice echoed in his head and he nodded. ’Also, take your own advice.’

Zol was confused for a moment, but then Alex completed his statement.

’Energy is all you need.’