MY 10,000× DIMENSIONAL SYSTEM

Curtis

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Within the Emperor's Palace, Titus let out low shouts as he swung his sword.

His body was drenched in sweat, as such he wasn't wearing a shirt which put his lean muscles on display.

Titus was quite short. Around 5'9, which was one of the main reasons he'd chosen a speed oriented build. Not to mention that his magic affinities of light and wind screamed speed.

Even now, there were weights on his arms and legs which caused his body to feel incredibly heavy. But in the last month, he'd come a long way, and as such, he could move with some freedom.

After finishing a set of reps, he sighed and took out a bottle of water from his spatial storage and drank some before pouring the rest on his head and let out a refreshed sigh.

Then he checked the time and tilted his head.

"Hm, father is still out huh? How long do these Auctions usually last?" He spoke to himself before shrugging. It wasn't really his business anyway.

He stepped out of the training room and paused when he saw his elder brother Curtis standing there with his usual impassive gaze.

"You're training again." He spoke. It wasn't really a question and simply a statement to which Titus nodded.

"Yes, I just finished my reps for today." He explained and his brother just stared at him. But Titus wasn't really perturbed. His brother always had the strange habit of just staring at people. He never really meant anything by it since it meant he was thinking about something.

Titus then thought of something before asking.

"By the way, do you know when father will return?" Hearing this, Curtis blinked as his eyes refocused, then he slowly shook his head.

"As far as I'm aware, the Auction can be long or short depending on the number of items that get sold. The last one was pretty short and he was back after only 4 hours. So I'm assuming the one this time is longer because there are more items being sold." He explained and Titus nodded.

He wasn't overly surprised by this and had guessed something similar. He just wanted to make sure.

After a while, Curtis suddenly said.

"Walk with me." The request caught Titus off guard. But he still nodded and put on a shirt.

Soon after the two siblings were walking through the halls of the massive castle. For a while, they didn't say anything, and they just proceeded in comfortable silence.

"How are you doing these days?" Curtis finally broke the silence and asked and Titus gave him a strange look.

"How else would I be doing?" He asked back and Curtis didn't say anything for a moment, then shook his head.

"It's alright. I've just noticed that your mood has been quite bright lately. Well, brighter than usual I suppose. Training with the Christopher person seems to have lifted your spirits quite a bit." Titus tilted his head at this.

"Well, I suppose I get your point now. Yes, ever since I started training with Master, my mood has improved greatly." Titus said and Curtis nodded.

"It's a good thing. I believe that now you have a goal and are working towards it by getting stronger, you feel more grounded and certain of yourself." Hearing this, Titus smiled slightly.

"I guess that would be correct. After he saved me from those Voidwalkers, I realised that I didn't want to remain weak, and my lack of motivation to train vanished. Now that I have an idea of what I want, I feel… lighter I suppose." When he finished, Curtis faced him and just like before, just stared. They were silent for a while before Curtis offered a very subtle smile which Titus wouldn't have been able to catch if he didn't know what to look for.

Then Curtis raised his hand and lightly ruffled Titus' hair causing the boy to groan.

"You've matured little brother. That's very good." Curtis said with satisfaction and Titus snorted and shoved his hand off, the fond smile on his face couldn't be hidden.

The two brothers stared at each other for a while before deciding to walk again. However, not long after, Curtis suddenly had a subtle change in expression.

He grabbed Titus' shoulder and pulled him close, then a bright blue barrier that gave off intense heat surrounded the two of them. And not even a moment later, countless black needles smashed into the barrier, but they all disintegrated on impact.

'What the?!' Titus exclaimed in his mind. What just happened???

Curtis had a frown on his face as the barrier slowly receded, and then slowly, the sound of multiple footsteps started to resound throughout the hall they were in.

Titus then noticed how dark it was. Sure it was nighttime, but there were no lights. In fact, not even the moonlight shone through the large windows in the hall. The only source of light was his brother who did not look happy at all.

Soon, the figures of dozens of cloaked individuals could be seen and Titus' eyes widened when he saw them.

'Voidwalkers?! What are they doing here?!?!' He exclaimed in his mind and looked around as he very quickly realised that they were surrounded.

"You lot are incredibly bold. To come into this place." Curtis said coldly and Titus felt the hairs on his body start to stand on end and shuddered. The air was slowly getting ionised.

"Curtis Darius." The leading Voidwalker spoke.

"We have reason to believe that you carry with you a Legend Sword Shard. So here's the deal. Give it to us, and you and your brother live. Simple as that." Their tone was calm and Curtis' expression darkened.

"Care to explain how you've arrived at such a conclusion?" He asked and the Voidwalker shrugged.

"Just a feeling. So what do you say?" They asked and Curtis stared before smiling cruelly.

"... Titus, close your eyes." Curtis whispered and Titus wanted to say something. But when he saw the hard expression on his Brother's face, he knew that it wasn't up for debate. So with a gulp, he closed his eyes shut.

And the instant he did, all hell broke loose.

Curtis snapped his fingers and uttered softly.

"Solar Flare." The moment he did, an insanely bright light erupted with him as the center.

Titus felt a wave of heat wash over him, but it was warm at best. But from the pained grunts he heard, he was pretty sure it wasn't the same for the Voidwalkers.

Even with his eyes closed, he could still tell that the light was unbelievably bright and was sure that if he had kept his eyes open, he'd have been blinded instantly.

Eventually, the light receded and Titus opened his eyes, and he was shocked by what he saw.

Besides where they were standing, the entire hall had melted from the intense heat that Curtis had released. Many places were still white hot and reduced to nothing but a melted sludge.

As for the Voidwalkers themselves, Titus frowned as very few of them had actually died from the attack.

The rest of them were enclosed in a dark barrier that made Titus' frown deepen. At first glance it looked like it was made of darkness, but when he stared at it,his perception didn't quite register that it was even there. He could see it, but his other senses couldn't pick it up. Almost as if it was merely an Illusion.

He looked to his brother and he seemed to have noticed it as well.

"Titus. No matter what, stay close to me." Curtis said calmly but firmly and Titus nodded.

At that point, the barrier receded revealing the figures of the remaining Voidwalkers who didn't look any worse for wear.

"Are you done?" The leading Voidwalker said, though the annoyance in his tone was evident.

Curtis said nothing and simply stretched his hand and seemed to grab nothing. But then he began to pull.

The moment he did, the bodies of the Voidwalkers tensed and Titus felt his heart start to race.

Out of thin air, a bright blue chain began to appear in his Brother's grasp.

"Stop him!" The leading Voidwalker shouted, but he didn't need to as his subordinates already knew that they did NOT want Curtis to fully pull out that chain.

"Remember what I said." Curtis said calmly before leaning forward, his muscles tensing.

Titus' eyes immediately focused as he prepared to run.

The ground beneath Curtis' feet cracked before he shot forward like a missile and Titus' eyes widened as he immediately sprinted after him, enhancing his body with magic. But to his shock, even with his enhancement, he was barely keeping pace with him which, as far as he could tell, Curtis was running with his base speed alone.

'What the heck?!' Titus exclaimed in his mind.

Then the Voidwalkers reached them, and Curtis fully pulled out the chain.

The bright blue chain was vibrant, energy crackled around it and it gave off a terrifying aura, which ionised the surrounding air with its presence alone. Runes were inscribed on its surface which had a plethora of incredible effects.

The Voidwalkers unleashed all sorts of magical attacks without restraint and Titus paled. If those attacks hit even a window a large portion of the castle would be destroyed. What would happen to them in that case?

However, that's when the chain Curtis held suddenly glowed, then in one smooth motion, he swung it.

The chain seemed to have come to life and gained a mind of its own as it suddenly snaked through the air like a snake And intercepted each of the attacks and each one disintegrated before they could even do any serious damage.

The chain didn't stop after this though as it snaked towards the approaching Voidwalkers in a flash and none of them were able to react when it grazed passed their bodies, and soon after, they disintegrated into ashes.
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Titus was amazed. He knew his brother was strong, but he had never seen him get serious.

He knew that even now, he wasn't seeing what Curtis was truly capable of, but he was already dispatching the powerful Voidwalkers with ease.

Titus then recalled that his brother had a title and now began to understand that he deserved the distinction as he was very much above average.

His brother was he Nova Herald after all.