Last Ruler Of The Empty Throne-Chapter 154: Link

When Jon opened his eyes earlier, he immediately knew something was off. The sharp smell of canvas, the faint chill of morning dew, and the filtered sunlight seeping through brown fabric. It was clear he was in a tent, not a building. His instincts flared. His enhanced senses already told him.

The matter of exhausting his last skill slot only made his mood worse than normal. So, after reading through Laura’s memories, two things struck him the most.

Yes, people had died. Good men. Loyal soldiers. Comrades he had fought alongside and who had trusted him. Their loss weighed on him, but something else clutched tighter at his chest.

Jenny.

She had collapsed after summoning his reflection.

Jon couldn’t even describe it properly. He had seen her summon, and what emerged had shocked even him. The ferocity, the wrath, it wasn’t just a construct. It was a reflection. If her summon could be that violently protective, then what of Jon, the real source of that summoning connection?

What kind of power and emotion resided inside her to call forth something so raw?

And yet now, she lay somewhere in an unknown condition.

A wave of anger simmered in his gut, not at Jenny, but at himself. He had built this camp to be a haven, a place where those under him would be protected. A sanctuary amidst the chaos. But if something like this could happen... then what was the point? What was the point of any of it?

Then came the second thing. And it was worse.

Tomen.

The wall hadn’t just fallen. That could have been forgiven as a failure. But betrayal? No. That was something different. Jon loathed betrayal. It brought back bad memories.

And now Tomen had done the same.

Through Laura’s memories, he had seen it clearly: Tomen had not just defected, he had killed his own subordinates, allies who had trusted him. The sheer coldness of the act sent ice through Jon’s veins.

He had resolved to kill him. That had been the plan.

But then... something changed.

In the stillness of his thoughts, as his rage built and compressed into something sharp and pure, Jon felt something shift.

It was like a tight, suffocating cord in his mind had snapped. A rush of awareness spread through him, his mental space stretched, grew, bloomed. He could feel it: his mind world was expanding, vibrating with potential. His thoughts became clearer. His perception sharpened to an unbearable edge.

The killing intent that had gripped his heart slowly retracted, folding back into him like mist drawn into a vessel.

He stood still, dazed, as the realization dawned.

Then, without warning, he released his bluish fog into the air.

"Don’t resist," he commanded softly.

The mist obeyed, curling around everyone in the room. They tensed at first, remembering how the mist could bind and paralyze. But this felt different, lighter, and more intricate.

As the fog latched onto them, Jon activated his Moon Gaze. But this time, the effect was... beyond anything he had known. His vision didn’t just sharpen. He was no longer just seeing their physical forms. No, he was peering into them.

Into their mind worlds.

A gasp caught in his throat. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

He saw it, each person had their own unique segment in the mind world. Like crystalline spheres, each held their memories, skills, knowledge, everything that made them who they were.

He was seeing the sum total of their unconscious minds.

He had done this before, unknowingly, when he froze people, severed soul-body connections, or halted movements around them. It had all been through this place.

’I can’t believe it.’ Jon’s eyes widened as he reached out his hand. Even when ’Moon’ upgraded to the second realm, it still spoke of the unconscious. Then he still didn’t understand.

What exactly was the unconsciousness, and what was it always talking about?

And how did Moon relate to the Unconscious, Dream, and Mystery?

First off, this had already fully answered one of his subconscious thoughts. He had once lazily thought that the Mind world was responsible for transferring the knowledge into them.

But he felt like he truly understood that now.

If everyone had a segment in the true Mind world, and that segment contained all their memories, skills, and all their knowledge they’ve ever known, couldn’t one call that their unconsciousness? Basically, their Mind world.

’So, moon energy, in the form of the mist, can gain access to the unconscious, then that subconscious, meaning the mind world, is a part of the true mind world, which is the mystery, and dream is the energy used in...’ His heart raced.

Then—

BOOM.

His mind exploded with revelation.

He trembled, not from fear, but bliss.

The fog changed. It radiated outward in waves, no longer just blue. It shimmered with hues—blue, violet, gold, and silver—becoming iridescent.

It escaped the tent, spilled into the air beyond, dancing in the sky like aurorae.

His mind world tripled in size and kept growing.

He found himself standing before the moon, not physically, but in a space between thought and reality. The moon shone like a beacon, and suddenly he understood.

’So... you’re the link.’

Another boom.

He returned to himself,

[YOU HAVE FULLY UNDERSTOOD THE DREAM, UNCONSCIOUS, AND MYSTERY ABOUT MOON]

[YOUR FOUNDATION HAS GREATLY INCREASED]

[YOUR **** HAS BEEN RAISED]

[MOON HAS TAKEN AN EVOLUTION TO ’DREAM’]

[DREAM (FOURTH REALM) LEVEL 1: YOU...]

[MOON GAZE HAS EVOLVED TO DREAM GAZE (UNIQUE THIRD REALM)]

[DREAM PATH (FOURTH REALM): YOU...]

He barely glanced at the notifications.

Instead, he raised his hand and did the unthinkable.

He copied a skill from his own collection and dropped it into the mind worlds of everyone he could see.

The rainbow mist retreated, and vision returned.

Gasps filled the room.

Not a single person failed to see and receive the notification, even Tomen.

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED SKILL ’CLOUD FEET’]

"Huh?"

"W-What?"

"This... isn’t possible."

Confusion rippled through the group. Faces were pale, stunned. Whispers of disbelief turned into silent awe. Normally, a skill could only be learned from a scroll after continuously trying to acquire it.

But Jon... he had just given them skills. Like a god handing fire to mortals.

He had crossed into a realm beyond leadership, beyond strength. Now, he was something more, a figure closer to a mythical being than a man.

Even after they were dismissed, none could forget it.

What kind of power did one need to have to be able to do it?

Surprisingly, the person who gained the most from it was Norman. He stood frozen, staring at the new skill. His knees trembled. He had thought himself complete, but now he realized how small his understanding was. A new world had just opened before him.

...

Later, when only the girls and the two prisoners remained, Jon asked quietly, "Where’s she?"

Cynthia gestured silently, leading him to a corner of the tent.

There, lying still on a bed, was Jenny.

Pale. Motionless.

Jon looked at her and understood immediately.

Her unconsciousness had been severed from her body.

And now, he would fix it.