A glass barrier shattering resounded. Violent cyclones of violet energy surged, enveloping Leonel's body in what almost looked like a cocoon.
By the time the energy faded and Leonel's form appeared again, he seemed to radiate with an innate sort of excellence, his bronzed body exuding a faint purple light that seemed to make those around him gravitate toward him.
Leonel's eyes slowly opened, a blinding light shooting out from their depths.
He sat up, his face expressionless. But, when he caught a glimpse of his hair out of the corner of his eye, he could only smile somewhat bitterly.
From its bronze sheen, Leonel's hair had become a bright white gold, so bright, in fact, that it almost looked as though it was made out of motes of light rather than hair filaments.
As though this wasn't odd enough, there was a faint violet color emitting from it. From the right angle, it almost looked as though Leonel had extremely pale purple hair.
He had to admit that such a look would be extremely beautiful on a woman. But, on him, it made him look like a pretty boy.
If he could see the fact that his eyes had gone from a pale green to a pale violet as well, he would probably throw his hands up in defeat.
'This should be… A Lineage Factor synergy of sorts…' Leonel concluded.
Leonel's fourth Lineage Factor, unsurprisingly, came from the Fawkes family – his mother's side, and specifically his mother's father, the Emperor.
After years of introspection, Leonel realized that the faint pressure he gave off whenever he focused was exactly this Lineage Factor shining through, and this was why his cousin also had the same ability as they had both awakened it.
However, things weren't so simple as this. It also seemed that his Fawkes family Lineage Factor had resonated with a portion of his Metal Synergy Lineage Factor… The odd purple energy in specific.
This resulted in the two combining to form something quite different and unique.
Leonel sighed. This look didn't feel like him at all. He could just barely accept his bronzed hair because it still remained manly, but this hair made him look like a dainty fairy prince.
Knowing that he would likely fail again, Leonel tried to cut his hair once more. Bringing out his Quasi Silver spear, he hoped for the best and cut across. Who knows, maybe his increased strength would help.
But, what Leonel couldn't have expected was for the cut to come with such ease. If it wasn't for the strands of hair that remained in his hand, he would have thought that he cut across empty air.
'Ah…'
Leonel looked at his clump of hair shocked.
'That was… coercion?'
It was almost as though Leonel told his hair to become easier to cut, so it obeyed and became easier to cut. It was a subtle change that Leonel might not have noticed if he was unable to retrieve his own memories so perfectly.
With narrowed eyes and spinning thoughts, Leonel put his hair away into his spatial ring, feeling that he shouldn't get rid of it.
He stood, ruffling his short hair with a grin. This felt so much better, he felt like he was himself again. All he was missing was his favorite tracksuit and a football.
The moment Leonel stood to his full height, the world trembled.
'Hm?'
Leonel blinked.
In those final moments he was within the Zone, he felt that he had passed its requirements. It was a subconscious feeling that resonated with his soul, so he was almost certain of it.
If he was on Earth, he would have been transported to a world with Uncle Montez. But, obviously, this wasn't Earth. And, despite the fact this place looked very similar to where he would be transported to on Earth, there was a very clear lack of Uncle Montez.
Leonel thought that maybe there would be someone else here. But, even after all this time, no one had appeared. So, he had no choice but to believe that much like Terrain, Valiant Heart wasn't deemed as important enough to gain support from higher Dimensional worlds.
Then again… This was a Variant Zone. It should be capable of producing its own rewards as well. But, to this point, Leonel hadn't seen anything like that either.
Until now…
As the fog dispersed somewhat, Leonel finally saw an object that made his heart tremble.
This sudden change to himself shocked Leonel. It wasn't that Leonel had never felt his heart tremble before. But… Right now he felt so confident and grounded that he believed it would take nothing short of a galaxy collapsing for him to lose control of his own reaction.
Yet, merely moments after Leonel gained this confidence, this tablet seemed to shatter it into countless pieces.
Whatever this tablet was, wherever it was from, or whatever powers it had… It was so far above the current Leonel that he couldn't even begin to see the base of the mountain it was at the peak of.
After being stunned for a moment, Leonel began to laugh.
"Then from today on, you are mine."
Leonel reached out as though his shattered confidence was nothing more than a meaningless moment.
The moment his palm made contact with the tablet, his body shook to the core of his soul, threatening to shatter into countless pieces. Yet, Leonel held on firmly, allowing a stream of information that seemed almost endless to flood his mind.
Even for him, it was hard to keep track of it all.
As though it sensed this, the tablet released a surge of energy.
Leonel's mind trembled, his Dream World suddenly explosively expanding as his Dream Force entered the Fifth Dimension.
Such a reality made Leonel's pupils constrict.
In the blink of an eye, this tablet was able to shatter a barrier that he had been at for almost three years. Though Leonel knew that his mind had the capacity to enter the Fifth Dimension long ago, actually doing so was a completely different animal.
This tablet… Just what was it?