Somewhere in Meteor City, where dreams go to die and nightmares are traded like currency, a figure stood watching the stars.
His face was covered by a thin veil of red silk.
He had no aura. No presence. Yet even the shadows bent away from him.
"He's awoken."
Behind him, Feitan sharpened his blade silently.
Machi tightened her gloves.
Phinks cracked his neck.
And at their center… Chrollo Lucilfer closed his book.
"Then we must meet him."
A new King had risen.
And the Phantom Troupe does not tolerate crowns left unclaimed.
⸻
⚖️ Back at the Palace – Council of Fracture
Kaen sat alone on the blackstone balcony of his Mind Palace, eyes glowing like moons split in two.
The battle with Rhi'Olt had opened a door in his soul. Not to the past. But to possibility.
"We are not monsters," he whispered.
"But we're not normal, either."
Selva approached, her Dream Empress dissolving behind her. "Then what are we?"
Kaen didn't answer.
Because far below, Mora screamed.
⸻
💡 Mora's Revelation – The Sight Beyond
Mora had fallen into a trance.
Her second Nen ability had activated without her permission.
Second Sight: "Threadline Continuum"
When exposed to overlapping auras of royal or abyssal type Nen, Mora sees possible futures—all connected like silk threads in a web of fate.
And what she saw—
Was Kaen.
Not just one.
Hundreds. Thousands.
Some ruled.
Some burned.
Some were worshipped like gods.
Others… devoured by their own power.
But in every thread…
The world changed.
And in one, the worst of all—
Kaen stood alone, on a throne made from the bones of everyone he loved.
His Mind Palace, vast and infinite, stretching across the sky like a god's brain.
But silent.
Empty.
"He became a king," Mora whispered.
"But he lost his heart."
⸻
🕷️ Meanwhile – The Troupe Begins to Move
Chrollo wrote one sentence into his book:
Ability Target: Kaen – Mind Palace Lawcraft
He snapped it shut.
"We'll take it," he said.
"Even if we have to carve it from his corpse."
The Troupe scattered into the wind.
And Kaen?
He felt it.
From across the continent, his Mind Palace tingled.
"Someone's looking for me," he murmured.
He rose, facing his Court.
"Let them come."
⸻
🧠 Kaen's Upgrade – Reality Frame
The battle with Rhi'Olt and the awakening of Desire Engine unlocked a deeper layer.
He entered meditation.
Inside the Mind Palace, a hidden door appeared, leading to a white corridor of thought.
And there… he forged something new.
Reality Frame – "Architect's Mandate"
Allows Kaen to "lock in" imagined laws into temporary reality anchors. Within 10 seconds, anything imagined becomes absolute inside a radius, but it drains life force and cannot be reused until fully understood.
He opened his eyes.
"Ten seconds," he whispered.
"Of godhood."
Selva nodded grimly.
"Then let's make sure they're the last ten seconds any enemy ever knows."
⸻
📜 Ending – An Invitation
A black letter arrived.
Not by courier.
It appeared—floating in midair, sealed with the symbol of the Zodiacs.
Inside:
"To Kaen, King of the Mind Palace,
We recognize your strength.
We recognize your danger.
Appear at the Next Hunter Exam—
Or be hunted like one of your Chimera forebears."
Kaen smiled.
"Perfect."
He turned to us—his people, his readers, his legacy.
"Let's make this the greatest arc the Hunter World has ever seen."
⸻
TO BE CONTINUED in Chapter 35 – The Troupe Arrives