MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 674: Opulence

Within the Blue Planet, a shimmering portal of deep cerulean light floated unruffled, suspended just a few inches above the earth. Its surface rippled like the calmest of oceans, exuding an otherworldly tranquility.

Through this radiant gateway, Vega stepped out first, her strides steady, calm, and purposeful, as though she was in complete harmony with both time and space. Behind her, Anthony followed with slower, gentler steps, his eyes already scanning their new surroundings with quiet curiosity.

The portal sealed itself silently behind them, vanishing into nothingness, leaving not even the faintest trace of its existence. Immediately, Anthony’s Sense Dome flared outward like an invisible wave, enveloping the entire area in its perception. His mind processed the scene before him, and for once, the boy who had grown desensitized to wealth and splendor found himself utterly shaken.

The buildings rose before him like monuments sculpted by the gods themselves. They did not merely scream of opulence, no, even the word ”opulence” felt pale and insufficient. The architecture seemed to transcend human craftsmanship; it whispered of eternity, of generations of power that no amount of earthly gold could replicate.

Anthony’s eyes shifted toward the vast garden where they stood. It was not merely a garden but a living symphony of colors and fragrances. Exotic flowers bloomed in radiant hues, petals shimmering faintly as if each one carried fragments of starlight.

Rare plants, some he recognized only from old records, swayed under the caress of a gentle breeze, reflecting the bright sun that hung high above them.

Majestic trees rose like guardians, stretching endlessly skyward, their trunks thick and their branches sprawling outward with an almost exaggerated vitality. It was as though the very laws of nature bent here to nurture perfection.

Anthony could do nothing but stand stunned, caught between disbelief and reverence.

He had been raised in unimaginable wealth since the day he was born. To him, luxury was as common as breathing; material possessions rarely stirred his emotions. But here, within this estate, he felt the sting of inadequacy for the first time.

For the first time, he wondered, compared to whoever owned this place, had his parents always been poor?

’No guards. No maids,’ Anthony observed silently. His brows furrowed.

Despite the estate’s size, his Sense Dome registered only three presences within the vast compound. Three souls... and nothing more. It was bizarre, unsettling even.

”What are you standing there for? Let’s go,” Vega’s calm and sweet voice broke through his thoughts, pulling him back to reality.

Anthony’s lips curved into a smile as he followed behind her. ’Just how wealthy is this man?’ he wondered, the thought echoing over and over in his mind.

They approached the front porch, Vega’s steps filled with a kind of silent familiarity that contrasted Anthony’s curious tread. Her hand reached for the ornate door handle, but Anthony had already sensed it, two powerful presences standing directly behind the door.

’Her parents?’ he guessed instinctively.

Vega had spoken of her father before but never once mentioned her mother. Out of respect, Anthony had never pressed the subject, unwilling to force open what might have been a wound. He had always assumed silence was her shield, that the absence of mention meant pain.

But perhaps... he had been overthinking.

Before Vega’s hand could touch the door, it swung open from the inside.

There they stood, two figures, a man and a woman.

The woman appeared first to Anthony’s eyes. She was tall, elegantly towering over six feet, her posture exuding calm dominance. Anthony froze, shock coursing through his veins. She was Vega’s mirror image. No, she wasn’t merely similar, she was an exact replica.

Her hair, a cascade of purple silk, fell down her back like a flowing river of purple. Her face bore the very same features as Vega’s, sculpted with ethereal perfection. But her eyes glowed with molten gold, sharp and commanding, setting her apart.

Her beauty was devastating. She was no ordinary beauty one could simply admire. No, her presence commanded reverence, demanded belief. Her curves were so flawless, her waist so delicately yet powerfully defined, it was as though divinity itself had paused creation just to sculpt her. She was beauty weaponized, so divine that the heavens themselves must have sacrificed secrets to fashion her existence.

Anthony instinctively compared her to Vivian, Donna, and others he had once thought unmatched. But against this woman, even they paled.

Only Vega herself could eclipsed her.

Though her eyes were golden instead of purple, every contour of her face belonged to Vega. Time itself seemed to hesitate under her gaze, her eyes shimmering as though capable of tearing through the very river of time. Her posture was flawless, an immovable pillar that nothing in the universe could bend.

This was Amara, the mother of Vega.

Beside her stood the man. His shoulders were broad, his frame lean but sculpted with quiet strength, radiating a force that was difficult to measure. His black hair fell like a crown gifted by existence itself, while his eyes, also black, were darker than any abyss Anthony had ever peered into. He stood taller than Anthony, embodying both elegance and menace.

Anthony’s shock deepened as realization struck him. He knew this man.

It was Klaus.

The man who had once stood as his weapons instructor during his first year at the Omni Peak Academy. The man who had once extended an offer to take Anthony under his tutelage, an offer Anthony had declined.

The man whispered about in hushed tones, feared by even the most arrogant geniuses, for none could truly gauge his limits. The man whose existence was cloaked in such thick layers of mystery that reality itself seemed less certain than he was.

A legend bound to a single name, Weapons Master.

Anthony’s blue eyes met Klaus’s abyssal black ones, but this time, there was no warmth, no familiar smile. In the past, Klaus had always greeted him with subtle nods or amused expressions whenever their paths crossed.

But here, in this place, Anthony saw none of that. What he met instead was a cold, sharp gaze, one that carried enough weight to erase him from existence in a blink.

But Anthony was not the only one swallowed in surprise. Vega too was struck motionless, not because of her father, but because of her mother. She had not expected Amara’s presence here.

”Mom!” Vega’s voice cracked the silence, filled with unguarded joy. She darted forward, her composure unraveling as she threw herself into Amara’s embrace.

Amara’s golden eyes softened. A radiant smile touched her lips as she folded her arms around her daughter, holding her tightly. For a few long seconds, time itself seemed to hold its breath, as though unwilling to intrude upon their reunion.

But Anthony’s attention was elsewhere. Klaus had not blinked once. His cold gaze locked on Anthony in an unbroken standoff, invisible yet suffocating. The weight of it pressed down on him like an unspoken challenge.

At last, Vega pulled away gently, her purple eyes shimmering as they met her mother’s golden ones. Her words tumbled out in a rush, filled with confusion and longing.

”I thought you said you wouldn’t be back for a few years! What are you doing here? When did you return? Are you staying? Are you leaving again?” Vega fired off her questions one after another, unable to restrain herself, her emotions spilling faster than her thoughts could catch them.