The Superior Rebirth: A Hero's Awakening

He's Watching

The scene slowly opened—moonlight cast over broken steel and scorched earth. Standing atop the shattered skull of Reginald's iron golem, Xavier stood still. Breath slow. Unsteady. His right hand clutched Excalibur not like a weapon, but a crutch. His whole body trembled, worn to the bone after the final blow he dealt.

Though his RealmHeart state had faded, a calm, almost serene blue aura still pulsed faintly from his body. Not like a fire... but like the soft, endless rhythm of ocean waves lapping gently against the shore.

"You alright, Xavier?" came a voice, light but familiar. Alcmena, now returned to his smaller, feline form—a sleek silver cat—perched at the edge of the golem's crown.

Xavier exhaled deeply, brushing his hair back with a shaky hand. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Just a bit tired—and kind of dizzy. That's all."

Alcmena chuckled as he nimbly climbed onto Xavier's shoulder. "Makes sense. You pulled a ridiculous amount of ethereal energy from your core without a single moment of rest through the whole fight against him."

"What you're feeling now? That's the early toll of Core Corruption."

"Yeah," Xavier muttered, nodding slowly. "I could tell."

Their conversation was short-lived. A sudden cough echoed from nearby—wet, rough, and hollow.

Xavier's tired eyes narrowed. He followed the sound across the remains of the battlefield until he came face to face with Reginald. The once-proud enemy now lay sprawled against the mangled remains of his iron golem, staring up into the stars.

"Ah... Xavier," Reginald rasped, coughing blood. "Was wondering where you went."

Xavier said nothing. Instead, he calmly drove Excalibur into the steel beside him and asked coldly, "Now that Master Alcmena and I have defeated you... tell me what you really wanted from me. And why you kidnapped my friend, Teslaine."

Reginald coughed again, a twisted smile curling on his lips. "Surprised you're even standing, honestly. You got stabbed in the back by someone pretending to be Teslaine, then got flattened in a gloriously one-sided fight against me."

He chuckled. "For someone so... fragile, you're annoyingly persistent."

Xavier's eyes darkened. "Stop dodging my questions."

The humor faded from Reginald's face. "Fine. Like I said before... I was hired. By that cunning bastard, Percival."

Xavier's breath hitched.

"He let the Lantern Society find one of his hidden facilities on purpose," Reginald continued. "He wanted them to infiltrate it. All of this... it was orchestrated."

A cold shiver ran down Xavier's spine.

"Why would he do that?" Xavier asked.

Reginald wheezed a laugh. "Because he's been watching you. This whole time."

Xavier blinked. "What...?"

"He knew you'd flee your estate under Adam's influence. He knew you'd end up joining the Lantern Society that Adam was associated with. And he knew if one of their agents got captured, you'd come running."

Reginald's grin returned, cruel and amused. "His words, not mine: 'Xavier is too kind-hearted. Too naive. He won't sit back while others suffer.'"

"And when he found out it was your little friend Teslaine who got taken... he knew you'd definitely come. Like the born hero you are."

Xavier didn't move. Didn't speak. The weight of it all pressed down on him like a mountain.

"He sent me to torment you. Just for fun."