Chương 121: Chapter 114: The Wish Unspoken

The biting, relentless winds of Solitas whipped through the skeletal steel girders of an abandoned, high-altitude construction site in the sprawling industrial fringes of Atlas. Far below, the neon lights of the floating city glittered like a sea of diamonds, completely oblivious to the shadow war festering in its darkest corners. Inside the empty, concrete shell of the safehouse, Mercury Black leaned heavily against a frosted pillar, blowing warm air into his cupped hands.

"I'm telling you, this is a colossal waste of time," Mercury complained, kicking a piece of rubble with his metallic prosthetic.

"We spent the entire day walking around that fancy commercial district. We checked the military perimeter, we scoped out three different research facilities, and we didn't see a single trace of military escalation regarding a divine artifact."

"Then we aren't looking hard enough," Emerald Sustrai snapped, her red eyes narrowing as she huddled deeper into her white coat to ward off the chill.

"We have our orders, Mercury. The Relic of Knowledge is the priority."

"Enough," Hazel Rainart commanded softly. The massive man sat upon a stack of concrete blocks, his deep, resonant voice easily cutting through the howling wind.

"Bickering will not manifest the Lamp." Then, temperature in the safehouse abruptly spiked. The howling wind was forcefully displaced by a localized, swirling vortex of superheated air. Cinder Fall descended gracefully from the dark sky above, her feet touching the concrete without a sound. The dual, terrifying magic of the Fall and Spring Maidens radiated from her form, her amber eye burning with an intense, megalomaniacal glow.

"Report," Cinder demanded immediately, her tone dripping with venomous expectation.

"Tell me one of you has located the Relic." Mercury crossed his arms, looking away. Emerald swallowed hard, taking a hesitant step forward.

"Cinder... we haven't found any presence of the Lamp. We've surveyed the military bases, we scanned the outer sectors of Atlas Academy, and we've tracked the movements of the Ace-Ops. There is absolutely no trace of it." Cinder's expression darkened into a scowl, a flicker of raw, magical flame dancing across her fingertips. Before she could unleash her fury on her subordinates, the low, purring hum of an expensive engine echoed from the access ramp.

A sleek, black Atlesian luxury car glided into the abandoned site, its headlights cutting through the snow. The driver's side door clicked open, and Arthur Watts stepped out, impeccably dressed in his tailored suit and yellow vest.

"Patience, Cinder," Watts smirked, twirling his walking cane with elegant confidence as he approached the group.

"Rushing the board only leads to foolish mistakes. Besides, I come bearing excellent news. I have successfully concluded negotiations with our dear friend, Jacques Schnee. In exchange for my... digital assistance in manipulating the upcoming Council election, he is completely in our pocket."

"Spare me the political theater, Watts," Cinder hissed, stepping into his personal space, the heat radiating from her skin causing the snow at her feet to instantly vaporize.

"Is it true? Is Ozpin's group actually here in Atlas?" Hazel stood up, his massive frame casting a long shadow.

"We need confirmation, Arthur. The children have vanished, and the Relic with them." Watts let out a patronizing sigh, adjusting his mustache.

"My data is never wrong. After intercepting that highly disturbing amateur footage of the 'Silver Titan' obliterating the Leviathan in Argus, I set a ping on the Atlesian airspace grid." Watts tapped his Scroll, projecting a holographic flight log into the cold air.

"A Manta 6-1 airship landed at a classified military pad yesterday," Watts explained smoothly.

"It was flagged in the system as a 'stolen' vessel, considering I had entirely deleted Ironwood's clearance codes for their group to trap them in Argus. Yet, they were granted immediate, highly classified sanctuary by Winter Schnee herself." Watts swiped the screen, bringing up a heavily encrypted military dispatch.

"Furthermore, I have just obtained intercepted chatter from the Mantle perimeter," Watts continued, a sinister gleam in his eye.

"The Grimm-infested subterranean cyber-hubs have been entirely cleared. Ironwood's tech units are actively restarting the Kingdom's connection to the outside world as we speak. This, without a doubt, confirms that Ozpin's vanguard is already here, and they are moving aggressively." Emerald and Mercury exchanged a deeply confused look.

"Wait," Mercury frowned, rubbing the back of his neck.

"If Ozpin and his little brats have been here since yesterday, then the Relic of Knowledge is definitely in Atlas. So why can't we find it?"

"Exactly," Emerald added, turning to Watts.

"You've helped us hack into the military cameras and the perimeter sensors. We've scanned the Academy. We've checked the secured research facilities. If Ironwood locked it in a vault, there would be a massive military presence guarding it. It should be easy to spot." Watts's smirk faded, replaced by a calculating, deeply troubled frown.

"That is the variable we are currently missing," Watts admitted, tapping his cane against the concrete.

"I remind you all that the ancient, indestructible door to the Spring Vault was not opened with magic. It was violently, physically shattered into pieces." Watts' rubbed his chin, thinking of the anomalous event.

"Ozpin possesses some kind of 'secret weapon', something that we have yet to identify. It is highly probable he is using this unknown variable to conceal the Lamp outside of traditional Atlesian protocol." Cinder's fists clenched, the Grimm arm hidden beneath her sleeve twitching violently.

"Then we find this weapon, and we burn it to ashes."

"Don't do such thing yet, Cinder. Keep looking for the Relic, but you will do so quietly," Watts commanded sharply, glaring at the Maiden.

"I am returning to Mantle to maintain the hacked heating grid and to conceal Tyrian's serial murders to keep Ironwood distracted. While you search, watch your backs. And most importantly... keep a low profile." Watts said to the four, before focusing to the dual Maiden again.

"Especially you, Cinder. If Ironwood discovers we are here before the board is set, we lose our advantage." With a final, condescending tip of his head, Watts returned to his black car, leaving the four villains standing in the freezing dark, completely unaware that the divine artifact they sought was currently resting to the most unexpected place ever.

High above the clouds, inside the Schnee-sponsored luxury penthouse, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to the freezing, plotting shadows of the villains. The opulent living room was warm, smelling faintly of rich broth and cleaning supplies. Following the chaotic, high-speed hot pot dinner, the entire Vanguard had pitched in to clean the mess.

"Alright, that's the last of the bowls," Jaune Arc announced, drying a porcelain dish with a towel and stacking it neatly into the pristine cupboards.

"And the coffee table is completely spotless!" Nora Valkyrie cheered, proudly holding up a spray bottle and a rag. Saitama stood near the hallway, his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing his black suit trousers and a white short-sleeved undershirt, his dotted eyes scanning the living room with a critical, surprisingly satisfied nod.

"Not bad," Saitama mumbled.

"At least you kids know how to clean up after yourselves."

"It's getting late," Ren noted, checking the time on his Scroll.

"We should return to the Atlas Academy dormitories to rest."

"Right. We need to be on perimeter duty in Mantle again tomorrow," Pyrrha reminded her friends. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Thank you for having us, Saitama!" Ruby Rose smiled brightly, waving her hand.

"The hot pot was amazing!"

"Yeah, thanks for not kicking us out," Yang Xiao Long grinned, stretching her arms.

"Your hospitality is greatly appreciated," Weiss Schnee offered a polite, dignified bow.

"It was a lovely evening," Blake Belladonna added softly, walking toward the elevator.

"Indeed!" Penny Polendina beamed, floating alongside Ciel Soleil.

"I have gathered a tremendous amount of fascinating domestic data! Thank you, Mr. Saitama!"

"Your caloric intake remains statistically baffling," Ciel stated in her crisp monotone, adjusting her beret.

"Good evening."

"See you tomorrow, Saitama! Bye, Neo!" Oscar Pine waved as he filed into the glass elevator with the rest of the group. Neo, currently sprawled out comfortably on the velvet sofa, lazily raised a hand and offered a sarcastic, two-fingered salute without looking away from the television.

"Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow," Saitama sighed, pointing a stern finger at the crowded elevator.

"And don't make a mess next time you come over! I mean it!" The elevator doors slid shut, carrying the chaotic, heavily armed teenagers down toward the military academy. The penthouse finally settled into a peaceful, profound silence. Saitama let out a massive, exhausting yawn, stretching his arms high above his bald head until his shoulders popped. He looked over at the illusionist on the couch.

"I'm going to sleep," Saitama announced, scratching his cheek.

"Don't stay up too late watching garbage TV. And brush your teeth. That cake was mostly sugar." Neo rolled her eyes dramatically, tossing a couch pillow at his head, which Saitama effortlessly dodged without looking.

Inside of the guest bedroom. Saitama's bedroom... The en-suite bathroom door clicked open, and Saitama stepped out, a cloud of warm steam billowing behind him. Having finished a relaxing, hot bath, he was busy vigorously drying his shiny, bald head with a fluffy white towel. He tossed the towel into a hamper and slipped into his favorite, comfortable blue-and-white striped pajamas. He let out a contented sigh, ready to dive under the covers and sleep for ten uninterrupted hours.

But as he walked toward the bed, he stopped. Resting on the pristine mattress was a high-end, glossy shopping bag filled with the various souvenirs and boutique clothing items that he and Neo had purchased during their afternoon excursion in the Diamond District. Beside it, the bedsheets were slightly rumpled, a remnant of the teenagers previously inspecting the room. Saitama frowned, his dotted eyes narrowing slightly.

"Man, they really can't help but make a mess wherever they go," Saitama mumbled to himself. He quickly smoothed out the bedsheets, fluffing the pillows until they were perfect. He picked up the heavy souvenir bag. Deciding he was far too tired to go through the boutique items with Neo tonight, he figured he would just stash it away and deal with it tomorrow morning. Saitama walked over to the wooden wardrobe in the corner of the room.

He pulled the heavy mahogany doors open, intending to drop the shopping bag onto the bottom shelf. He froze. Sitting innocuously between a stack of freshly laundered spare blankets and a pair of folded winter slacks, glowing with a very faint, ethereal blue mist, was a golden lamp encrusted with massive jewels. Saitama tilted his head to the side, a perfectly blank, utterly confused expression on his face. He stared at the lamp, completely oblivious to the true nature of the relic.

"Who put a lamp in here?" Saitama was confused, scratching his cheek.

"I don't remember seeing that in here when I unpacked." But then again, this place is funded by a billionaire. It must be some kind of fancy, high-end penthouse furniture.

"I shouldn't mess with it. If I break it, that white-haired girl is definitely going to revoke my free rent," Saitama muttered while comically scared by imagining the angry faces of the Schnee sisters, and Glynda Goodwitch. Saitama gently set the shopping bag down next to the artifact, being incredibly careful not to bump it. He was just about to close the wardrobe doors and go to sleep, but his hand lingered on the brass handles. He looked at the lamp again.

Something about the ornate, ridiculous design tickled the deepest, most apathetic recesses of his memory.

"Where did I see this lamp before?" Curiosity overriding his fear of property damage, Saitama reached out and picked the Relic up. He held it by its golden handle, bringing it closer to his face and inspecting the flawless blue gemstones with a deeply unimpressed, dotted-eyed stare. It reminded him of a weird, glowing lamp he had picked up back in the ruined basement of Haven Academy.

He remembered thinking about selling it to a pawn shop to buy premium crab legs, only to have a dozen terrified teenagers, the drunk man and a bandit lady scream at him in absolute, synchronized panic. He didn't really remember the specific details of how the lamp looked, but he was absolutely certain this lamp was somehow similar to that one. Saitama sighed, holding the divine artifact of the Brother Gods loosely by his side as if it were a cheap novelty mug.

"What a weird design," Saitama commented aloud, his flat voice breaking the silence of the bedroom.

"It looks like one of those old magic lamps from a fairy tale. What's next? A Jinn gonna pop out and give me three wishes or something?" Whoosh... The absolute, fundamental laws of time and space on the planet of Remnant instantly ceased to exist. The color drained from the luxurious bedroom, turning entirely grayscale as time froze perfectly in place. Outside the window, a snowflake hung suspended mid-air.

From the spout of the golden lamp in Saitama's hand, a massive, billowing plume of brilliant, ethereal blue smoke erupted. The smoke swirled and condensed, filling the room with an ancient, cosmic magic that defied all mortal comprehension. The smoke coalesced into the towering, majestic, and entirely naked blue female figure. Her golden chains clinked softly in the frozen time, her ethereal beauty radiating with the omniscience of the Brother Gods. Jinn, the entity of Knowledge.

Jinn opened her glowing, pupil-less eyes, looking down at the mortal who had summoned her. She prepared to deliver her grand, ancient introduction, her voice echoing with the weight of eternity.

"I am Jinn. Entity of Knowledge, created by the God of Light." She declared, her voice a melodic, resonant hum that vibrated through the very fabric of reality.

"You have summoned me, and so I shall answer your--""Whoa, hey!" Jinn blinked, her grand speech abruptly cutting off. Saitama was standing in his striped pajamas, holding the lamp. His expression hadn't changed even a fraction of an inch. He wasn't on his knees in reverence. He wasn't trembling in fear. He was simply looking at her with blank, dotted eyes, deeply, comically uncomfortable.

"Lady, you need to put some clothes on," Saitama said flatly, pointing a finger at her.

"It's freezing outside, and this is highly inappropriate for a guest bedroom." Jinn, an omniscient being who possessed the accumulated knowledge of the entire universe, was completely and utterly baffled. For the first time in millennia, she didn't know how to immediately process the reaction of the mortal before her. She focused her divine, all-seeing gaze directly upon the bald man in the pajamas, intending to read his soul, his aura, his destiny, and his deepest desires. She looked into Saitama.

And Jinn found... absolutely nothing. There was no Aura. There was no Dust-affinity. There was no trace of the Brother Gods' intricate, divine design that bound every single living soul on Remnant. Instead, Jinn stared into an endless, dimensionless, terrifyingly infinite void of sheer, impossible physical mass. He was a biological impossibility, a mortal who had somehow shattered his own physical limits so entirely that he had completely detached from the fundamental laws of reality.

Jinn's ethereal blue eyes widened in profound, cosmic shock.

"You..." Jinn realized, the sheer weight of the anomaly vibrating through her divine form.

"You are not from this world, entirely untethered from the tapestry of this universe." Jinn whispered, floating slightly closer, her usual majestic confidence replaced by genuine, unadulterated curiosity.

"You... are an anomaly. A being of boundless kinetic potential." Jinn smiled, asking Saitama again.

"Tell me, strange one... what is it that you wish to know?" Saitama stood there, holding the lamp in one hand, scratching his cheek with the other. He let out a loud, highly exhausted yawn.

"Look, can we do this another time?" Saitama asked, his voice dripping with pure, mundane apathy.

"It's been a really long day, I just ate a massive hot pot, and I really want to go to sleep." Jinn floated in absolute silence, her mouth slightly open.

"I don't even know what to ask you anyway. I don't really need anything for now," Saitama shrugged, looking completely unbothered by the frozen state of the universe around him. Jinn, the omniscient entity sought by kings, wizards, and immortal witches for centuries, stared at the bald man in the striped pajamas. He was holding the ultimate key to the secrets of the universe, and he was rejecting it because it was past his bedtime. A soft, genuinely bewildered, musical laugh escaped Jinn's lips.

"You are a very strange, entirely unique human," Jinn murmured, a fond, amused smile gracing her ethereal features.

"Very well. Sleep tight, anomaly." With a swirl of divine blue smoke, Jinn gracefully retreated back into the spout of the golden lamp. Whoosh... The color instantly rushed back into the bedroom. Outside the window, the snowflake resumed its fall. Time re-engaged. Saitama stood in the exact same position, holding the lamp. The room was completely silent, save for the faint hum of the penthouse's heating system. Saitama blinked twice, slowly processing what had just happened.

"Weird," Saitama muttered, his expression completely unchanged. Without a second thought, he placed the Lamp back onto the shelf next to his shopping bag, firmly closed the mahogany wardrobe doors, and walked over to the bed. He pulled the thick, down comforter over himself, rested his shiny bald head on the plush pillows, and instantly closed his eyes, plunging into a deep, comical slumber. For several minutes, the room was quiet, save for Saitama's soft, rhythmic snoring.

Then, Saitama's eyes suddenly snapped open. He didn't move his body. He just stared straight up at the ceiling, his expression still comically deadpan in the dark. His brain had finally caught up. He could have asked that weird, naked blue woman where the nearest supermarket with discounted premium groceries was located in Atlas. He could have asked her if there were any good fighting video games in this world that he hadn't played yet. And, most importantly...

He could have asked her how to get back to his home universe. Saitama lay perfectly still in the dark, staring at the ceiling, thinking deeply about the monumental, life-changing opportunity he had just casually dismissed so he could take a nap. After a long, agonizing minute of silence... Saitama comically shrugged beneath the blankets.

"Whatever." Saitama muttered, closing his eyes again.

"I didn't even know that woman. She was probably just a scam artist trying to sell me something. And I don't even know how to call her out of the lamp again anyway." Rolling over onto his side, Saitama pulled the blankets up to his chin, completely dismissing the cosmic entity of omniscience. Within seconds, the soft, rhythmic sound of his snoring returned. The invincible anomaly sleeping peacefully while the fate of the world rested quietly in his closet.