(The Eternal Garden, Veyr's POV)

"What? You want me to take you out of the Eternal Garden? To prove that I really know a way out?" Raymond asked, his expression

wavering between disbelief and amusement as he leaned forward, resting a hand against his chin.

Veyr met his gaze without flinching, his tone steady and his face serious. "Indeed. If you want me to keep cooperating with you, then it's time you put your money where your mouth is and prove that you can actually do what you claim."

Raymond's brow lifted slightly, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "And how exactly do you want me to prove it?"

"Simple," Veyr replied. "You take me outside, just once, and show me that you can really slip past Kaelith's surveillance. Let me see the world beyond with my own eyes, then bring me back before anyone notices I'm gone.

You're a Demigod, I'm a Transcendent. I couldn't harm you even if I wanted to, so there's no danger to you. But if you truly want my cooperation, I need proof. Prove to me that you're not lying about being able to set me free, and I'll teach you the next move."

Veyr spoke with calm finality, as for a long moment Raymond simply stared at him, his expression unreadable.

"Well, well, what a stupid request. You think I'd lie to you about something like that? Of course I know how to sneak you out of here," Raymond said at last, releasing a slow sigh as his gaze wandered toward the sky above, his tone light, almost playful, as if he were holding back laughter.

"Well, all right then, prove it," Veyr demanded plainly, his tone firm and unyielding, as Raymond's eyes glimmered faintly with mischief as he placed a hand on Veyr's shoulder.

"Fine then," he said softly, a faint smile touching his lips. "Hold your breath."

Before Veyr could question his meaning, the world around him warped violently, light folding inward until everything turned black for a heartbeat.

When his vision returned, the air was gone, replaced by the cold, soundless expanse of the cosmos.

Countless stars burned like scattered embers across an endless sea of darkness, and far below them floated the Eternal Garden, its luminous barrier shimmering like a divine sphere suspended in the void.

For an instant, Veyr forgot to breathe. His entire body froze, his thoughts unable to process the impossible sight before him.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Raymond's voice drifted beside him, calm and faintly teasing. "Don't panic. We're inside a stabilized mana bubble. You can breathe just fine."

Still, out of instinct, Veyr held his breath anyway, his eyes locked on the Garden below as the truth began to settle in.

'He really did it. He actually took me out...'

The thought barely formed before the darkness surged again.

The stars folded in once more, the void dissolved, and he found himself standing once again upon the same patch of green grass where they had started.

"There," Raymond said lightly, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve. "You happy now?"

Veyr stared at him, still trying to comprehend what had just occurred, before slowly nodding. "Yes... a deal is a deal. I'll teach you the next

move."

"Excellent," Raymond said, his smile warm and harmless on the surface.

Yet as Veyr studied that smile, a quiet unease settled in his chest.

Something about this whole affair felt wrong to him.

It was as if everything was too easy.... Too smooth.

'Something's not right,' he thought.

'Kaelith, A God, not noticing us leaving? I don't buy it for one second...'

He concluded, as the realization hit him like a train.

"The father and son duo are in this together.... And they're probably playing me like a fool!

Kaelith is probably hearing everything we say even right now!

He realized, as although he kept his outward expression amicable, internally, all his remaining hopes of escape shattered completely. 'Well, since they're bullshitting me, I guess it's time I start bullshitting them.

The hell with leaking Cult secrets, if I'm a dead man anyways, then I'd rather take them to my grave!

He thought, as although he kept smiling politely before Raymond, internally he decided to not teach an authentic Cult move to the Demi-God, and instead teach him a bullshit technique like [Rapid

Punch].

"The next move that I'm about to teach you.... It is unlike anything you've ever seen before.

It's a move I personally use on a regular basis in my fights..."

Veyr began, as Raymond's expression darkened immediately when he realized that Veyr had started lying.

"The name of the move is called [Rapid pu-"

Veyr started, however, before he could complete his sentence, the Demi-God angrily grabbed him by his neck, and lifted him off the

ground.

*Choke*

*Gurggle*

Veyr's feet kicked weakly against the grass as Raymond's hand tightened around his throat, the pressure crushing his windpipe until every breath came out as a broken rasp.

His vision blurred at the edges, colors bleeding into one another as the Demigod's killing intent flooded the air like a suffocating tide. "Don't lie to me now, boy," Raymond said coldly, his tone devoid of emotion, his eyes glowing faintly with an eerie, silvery light.

"You know I can see your aura turning black, can't you? Your soul tells me when you start lying. So either apologize and teach me the correct move, or say goodbye to your pathetic little life."

The words reverberated through Veyr's skull, but even as his lungs screamed for air, he refused to yield.

His fingers clawed desperately at Raymond's arm, the veins on his

neck bulging as he poured every ounce of his Transcendent strength

into prying the Demigod's grip open.

However, unfortunately for him, the effort turned out to be useless, as Raymond's hand remained unmoved.

*Struggle*

*Trample*

The grass beneath his boots began to flatten under the sheer weight

of his struggle, his aura crackling faintly like dying embers as the

world around him started to dim.

"Hhhh-"

The sound that left his throat seemed to be closer to a whimper than

a word, but still, his eyes burned with defiance. Spots of light began to dance across his vision, his body trembling violently as the strength in his arms waned, yet despite his pitiful

situation, his will refused to bend.

'I have no regrets, punk...' he thought weakly, his consciousness slipping away with each passing second.

And then, just before the darkness swallowed him whole, Veyr's lips twitched into the faintest hint of a grin, as with what little strength remained in him, he raised his trembling hands before the Demi-God's face, curled all but two fingers, and flipped both middle fingers straight at the man.

The gesture was small, pitifully weak-but it carried the weight of all

his defiance.

"F...fuck...you..." he rasped, the words barely audible, before his body finally went limp.

Raymond stared down at the unconscious Transcendent, his expression unreadable for a long moment.

Then, a small, humorless smile crept across his face as he loosened

his grip and let Veyr's unconscious body fall onto the grass below. "Tch... still defiant, even at the brink of death.

You're definitely a blood relative to me." he murmured quietly, his

tone almost admiring, though the faint flicker of irritation lingered in his eyes.

"We had a good thing going here.... But I guess, there will be no more

perks for you to enjoy between now and your execution.

By not choosing to help me.

You've essentially become a dead man already."