Lord of Annihilation

Chapter 250: Ideal World. Part 3

A Shared Domain was a special Domain-technique where two or more Domains with similar Rule structures combined to form a singular, stronger Domain. 

The effects of a Shared Domain are more pronounced and stronger owing to its greater Rule composition and shared control between multiple entities. It also, generally, has a longer duration.

Just as Lucius' hands were inches away from the head of the Greater Queen, the Domain titled [Ideal World} enveloped him. Instantly, he saw his surroundings disappear into the darkness and a sense of powerlessness encompass him.

Lucius felt his eyelids turn heavy and his consciousness turn sluggish. An intense desire to sleep enveloped him and Lucius was unable to defend against its effects.

'Badmuststayawake'

Darkness seized him and Lucius fell unconscious.

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Laying atop a cozy single-bed, the eyes of a good-looking, seventeen years old teenager slowly opened. His dreamy-looking, black-colored eyes gradually became more awake as a big yawn escaped his throat.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The annoying beeps of the alarm sounded beside his head, fully awakening the teenager from his sleepy stupor.

"I'm up.I'm up" he inaudibly muttered, reaching out to turn off the alarm. 

Beep!

Having done so, he swung his feet from the bed and sat up. Sitting on the side of the bed for a few seconds, he mustered the strength to lift his body from the comforts of his bed.

Walking past his desk riddled with numerous books, the teenager opened the door to the bathroom and entered it. Reaching the white, ceramic sink, he opened the tap and placed his hand underneath it, feeling the ice-cold water wash over his palms. 

Splashing the cold water over his face and feeling the cold water sink into his skin the remnants of his sleep left him, fully awakening him for a brand new day.

Turning around to close the bathroom door, the teenager continued with his morning duties.

Thirty or so minutes later, the youth left his room fully dressed for school and walked through a corridor arriving at a staircase. Suppressing a yawn that managed to escape his mouth, he climbed down the staircase reaching the ground floor of his house.

Walking past the expansive living room, just as the youth was about to enter the kitchen to make breakfast for the day, he felt a foul odor of alcohol assault his nose. 

Turning his head towards the beige-colored sofa, he noticed the sleeping figure of a woman lying haphazardly atop the sofa. Annoyance appeared on his face, as he rolled up his arm sleeves and walked towards the woman.

"Sis, wake up! It's almost 6:30 in the morning! Don't you have a meeting at 8:00?!" he grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her. 

The sleeping woman, a beautiful lady in her mid-twenties with pale-white skin and radiant golden hair, muttered something under her breath and showed a look of unwillingness on her face. 

"five more minutes, mom.." 

Hearing that, more annoyance appeared on the face of the youth as he increased the fierceness of the shaking.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" He also started to monotonously scream near her ears.

The expression on the face of the beautiful woman, quickly warped into one of annoyance, as her eyes showed signs of opening. Seeing this, the youth increased his efforts once more, finally resulting in the awakening of the woman.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Argh, shut up!! I'm up. I'm up!!" The woman pushed her little bother's arms aside and sat up on the sofa.

Staring at the youth's face with irritation and exasperation, she asked.

"Do you really have to be this annoying in the morning, Lil' Bro? I'll have you know---"

"Didn't you say that you have an important meeting that you absolutely can't be late to today?" The youth shot back, interrupting her mid-speech.

The woman's actions froze as realization dawned upon her. She quickly reached for her phone to check the date and time.

"It's 6:30. You still have time to get ready." The youth uncaringly announced and turned back, heading back to the kitchen.

"You're the best, Lucius!!" The golden-haired woman jumped at the youth's figure and hugged him from the back.

"Ah! Get off me you drunken hag! You're getting that alcohol scent on my uniform!" Lucius struggled to escape from his older sister's antics.

Ridding himself of her bear-like hug, he quickly ran towards the kitchen and put on the apron hung up on the clothes hanger. Gathering the materials required he then started his daily routine of making breakfast.

"Wash your face and brush your teeth properly!!" Lucius shouted.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, Mom!" Kalor sarcastically replied.

That's right. This was Lucius Halpen, a seventeen-year-old teenager in his second year of high school. 

He lived in a two-story house with his twenty-seven years old half-sister Kalor Halpen, who worked as a sales representative in a cosmetics company. She was Lucius' legal guardian after his father moved to the States after divorcing his second wife (Lucius' mother) and abandoned him.

Kalor, who was borne out of Lucius' father's first marriage and eventual divorce, took custody of her younger brother when the latter was eleven years old. Since then, she was her caretaker and his only family.

Another thirty minutes had passed and Lucius was almost done making breakfast. Having finished their morning duties, Kalor returned and took a seat on the breakfast counter.

While setting the table, Lucius questioned his sister who was busy looking at her phone.

"Did you go drinking again last night?"

Without raising her head from her phone, Kalor replied.

"Yep. It was for a client meeting."

"When and how did you get home?"

"11:30-ish, I think. I think Mira dropped me off. Or was it Kurt? I don't know, my memory is kinda wonky." 

Sighing at his sister's casual reply, Lucius advised in a serious tone.

"How many times have I told you not to drink so much? I swear, one day someone is bound to take advantage of your drunken state."

Raising her head to meet her brother's serious expression, Kalor sniggered. She then punched at the air a few times and confidently replied.

"No worries! I still remember those moves that your girlfriend thought me. If anyone dares to take advantage of me, I'll show them what I've got!"

"How about just, not drinking so much?" Lucius exasperatedly replied.

"No can do. This body is fueled by beer and without my fuel, I cannot run." Kalor heroically replied, which earned her a hit on her head.

"Ouch!" She yelped in pain, rubbing the top of her head.

Lucius uncaringly sat down on his seat, after laying on the table. He then reached out for the toasted bread and started to eat.

"Enough about me. What do you have planned for today?" Kalor asked, reaching in for the breakfast dishes.

"I need to head to school a little early today. It's my turn to set up the class for the morning. I'll be coming late today since Aurora's got her Kendo tournament today." Lucius replied while reaching in for the glass of water.

"Oh yeah, speaking of your girlfriend. How far have you guys gone?" Kalor asked with a straight face.

Hearing that question, Lucius reflexively spat out a mouthful of water. 

"*cough*, *cough*" Lucius started to wildly cough.

Having successfully gotten her revenge for the earlier strike on her head, Kalor smiled victoriously. It was then, that Lucius' phone which was placed on the table started to ring.

"Oh, speak of the devil!" Noticing the caller's name, Kalor immediately reached in for the phone, grabbed it, and ran from the table

"Don't *cough*yo- *cough* dare!!" Lucius fumed, moving to catch her.

Ignoring his reactions, Kalor answered the call and the pleasant voice of a young lady replied from the other end.

"Hello? Lucius?" the voice asked.

"Oh hey, Aurora! What's up, this is Kalor!" Kalor replied while circling the living room to thwart Lucius' attempts to retrieve his phone.

"Oh hello, Big Sis Kalor. Where's Lucius?" the voice cheerfully responded.

"Oh, he's still getting ready. Want me to pass a message?" 

"Yes, please. I've left my house and am coming towards your house. Please ask him to wait for me." The voice politely requested.

"Sure thing. Anyways, Aurora, I got a question for you." Kalor suddenly spoke.

"DON'T YOU DARE!!" Lucius screamed.

"What's that noise? Is that" 

"A cat! It's that darn neighbor's cat! Anyways, my question, how far have you and my little bro gone?" 

The voice on the other end was silent for a second, before casually replying.

"Only kissing, nothing farther. But even that, I had to force it on him. He's too stiff and mindful." The voice complained.

"Too uptight and no fun, right?" Barely holding in her laughter, Kalor asked.

"Exactly. I might have to force myself on him one of these days." 

"Just remember to use protection. Early pregnancy is a serious affair. Anyways, I'll pass the message. Cya in a while." 

"Bye." The voice replied and the call ended.

Collapsing on the sofa, Kalor broke into a fit of unbridled laughter. Her eyes kept landing on the red-faced Lucius, who stared at her with a livid expression.

"HAHAThi-this is n-no good, bro! HEHE-Yo-you'll have to take t-the HAHAlead!!"

"You're just impossible!" Lucius hissed and returned to his seat to continue his breakfast.

Stabbing his fork into his omelet with such intensity, he wished that the omelet was his rowdy sister.

Kalor continued to laugh for a while, before eventually coming to a stop. Wiping the tears off of her face, she returned to the table to continue his breakfast.

Handing over to Lucius his phone, she spoke. "Here,"

Lucius did not reply but angrily grabbed his phone. Remembering the conversation, his face reddened once again.

Looking at his reaction, Kalor snickered once again before a serious expression appeared on her face.

"I was serious about the protection part. You know pregnancy is a serious affair for bot"

"God, could you stop it!" Lucius thundered.

Kalor sniggered once more, satisfied with his reaction. Having successfully completed her revenge she silently ate her breakfast.

Fifteen or so minutes later, the doorbell for the house rang. 

"You might want to get that." Kalor teased once more.

Ignoring her words, Lucius walked towards the main door and gradually opened it. Sunlight filtered in, blinding him for a moment before a pearl-like female voice drew his attention.

"Good Morning, Lucius. Are you ready to leave?" 

The figure of a beautiful young lady with silver hair and cherry-colored eyes appeared before his eyes.

She was wearing their school's dark-grey uniform, however, her blazer wasn't fully buttoned and her collars weren't set. A corner of her white shirt was left untucked and her skirt was worn unevenly. Casually wearing her bag over her shoulder and carrying her kendo sword in her other hand, she fit the picture of a delinquent to a tee.

Looking at this smug-faced girl, a name involuntarily escaped from Lucius' mouth.

"Aurora"

It was then that an intense headache struck Lucius' head. His mind felt such great pain, that it felt like someone had poured a box of razor into his head and was furiously shaking it. 

He suddenly forgot who he was and where he was at, as strange, foreign memories poured into his mind. These memories, innumerable and incredibly varied in nature, kept continuously filling his mind before stopping at a certain scene.

A crimson-colored sky and dark brown earth. 

An innumerable number of tears and fissures covered the sky and earth respectively, as countless corpses surrounded the destroyed plains around him. 

Mountains had crumbled and oceans had dried. What remained was a dying planet, a result of a battle between Stage 6 existences.

In the middle of all of this chaos and destruction, Lucius saw himself holding onto Aurora's body.

Her armor was broken and her weapon had shattered. Countless injuries and wounds filled her body and blood flowed uncontrollably. At the center of her chest, a gaping hole was seen with no heart residing within.

With tears flowing out of her eyes, she turned to look at him with grief-stricken eyes. 

"..Wh-y?" 

As the words escaped her mouth, her head slumped and her soul passed on into Limbo

"ARGH!!!!" An inhuman cry escaped from Lucius' throat and an incredible amount of power exploded from within his body.

At that moment, he had ascended into Stage 6 of [Killer].