Nicholas looked at Klaus with eyes that flashed through emotions like lightning illuminating storm clouds—fear, anger, determination, and something deeper that spoke to pain accumulated across lifetimes. He composed himself with visible effort, straightening in his chair as if preparing for battle fought with words rather than weapons.

"Do you know what an apostle is?" Nicholas asked, his voice carefully controlled.

Klaus met his gaze without flinching. "I do."

Nicholas closed his eyes for a moment, and Klaus watched memories play across his features like shadows cast by flickering flame. When Nicholas opened them again, his expression held weight that seemed too heavy for someone so young.

"You are the Gluttony Apostle," Nicholas stated with certainty that carried no room for denial.

Klaus sipped his tea with deliberate calm. "I've already discussed this with the council. I left them with information they're still processing about what apostles truly are. Since you're asking the question, I assume you weren't present for those discussions. But the simple fact that you know the term 'apostle' means you possess knowledge that even the Council of Monarchs lacks."

Klaus rested his chin on his fist, studying Nicholas with eyes that had grown cold as winter morning. "How so?"

Nicholas didn't flinch under the sudden pressure Klaus projected—subtle force that would have made trained soldiers step back instinctively. Instead, he met Klaus's stare with steadiness that spoke to experience facing far worse intimidation.

"It just happened to be," Nicholas replied with evasion that both of them recognized as inadequate.

Klaus remembered Roman mentioning that Nicholas had provided crucial help locating the Icarus cult's hidden temple during the rescue operation. His grandfather had also noted that Nicholas seemed to possess unusual insight into threats Klaus had described, understanding that exceeded what normal intelligence gathering could provide.

"Just who are you, Nicholas Davoss?" Klaus asked.

Nicholas smiled for the first time since their conversation began, though the expression held more irony than humor. "That's the question I truly wanted to ask you, even back in our Lionhart Youth training ground days, Klaus Lionhart."

After all, you never existed in any of the timelines I lived, Nicholas thought, keeping the words locked behind careful expression that revealed nothing of impossible knowledge he carried.

Nicholas sipped his tea again, using the moment to gather courage for questions that would either provide answers he desperately needed or confirm fears that had haunted him across multiple lifetimes.

"For you, what is the definition of an apostle?" Nicholas asked. "What is their role?"

"They are the link between Arkdieu and this realm," Klaus replied without hesitation. "Their vessels."

"So you really know," Nicholas said, though Klaus caught flash of anger in his eyes despite his attempts to maintain neutral expression.

"How do you know about Arkdieu?" Klaus asked, curiosity sharpening into something more focused.

"I witnessed how dangerous they are for our world."

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Witnessed? If you truly witnessed an Arkdieu in full possession of their apostle, it wouldn't be a tale you'd be able to retell."

"But I did," Nicholas said quietly, his voice carrying conviction that made Klaus pay closer attention.

Nicholas's mind raced through implications of Klaus's existence in this timeline. The changes were already massive—by destroying the Eternal Rift, Klaus or Gluttony had prevented one of the biggest disasters that had befallen the Runiya continent in previous timelines. His existence had also saved Alexandra Lionhart, who had been doomed to die in all eight previous lives Nicholas had witnessed.

Yet Klaus's presence had also accelerated other threats. Sabrina Petrova had appeared five years earlier than in previous timelines, and Nicholas knew firsthand what atrocities she would eventually inflict on the entire continent. The butterfly effect of Klaus's existence was reshaping the future in ways both beneficial and terrifying.

Some calamities would still occur regardless of Klaus's interference. Nicholas had learned through bitter experience that certain disasters seemed inevitable, arriving with mechanical precision despite attempts to prevent them. The question was whether Klaus represented salvation or simply a different path to the same devastating conclusion.

"Let me ask you directly," Nicholas said, changing his tone to carry weight of absolute seriousness. "Will you be a threat to my homeland? To the continent?"

"No," Klaus replied without hesitation.

"How can you be sure? Do you have a method to stop an Arkdieu from possessing your body completely?" Nicholas clicked his tongue in frustration. "Especially now that you absorbed the Icarus fragment. You've basically become the perfect vessel for Gluttony. Don't let false impressions of transcendence fool you—this is nothing compared to the kind of power you need to resist an Arkdieu."

Nicholas knew from personal experience what Klaus's body had become after absorbing the Icarus fragment. In one of his previous lives, he had been the one to absorb it, and just like Klaus, instead of having his ego consumed, he had been the one to consume the fragment. So Nicholas understood exactly what kind of power Klaus now possessed, and it was what worried him most.

An Arkdieu vessel already possessing such power—what would happen if Gluttony possessed Klaus's body in that enhanced state? Nicholas's heart sank just thinking about the possibilities.

"How will you stop Gluttony from possessing your body when you failed at Northwatch?" Nicholas demanded.

Klaus set down his teacup with precise control that spoke to patience being tested but not yet broken. "I'm not what I used to be anymore, Nicholas Davoss. For an Arkdieu to fully possess my body, I must either be on the brink of death or in willing communion with them. Neither condition will happen again."

Nicholas's eyes suddenly flashed with gold-red light, releasing murderous intent so profound that Klaus felt it like physical pressure against his enhanced senses. The killing intent was far too mature and refined for someone Nicholas's apparent age, speaking to experience that exceeded what any single lifetime should provide.

"I will protect the Rikxia Empire and my world against any threat," Nicholas said, his voice carrying promise that transcended mere determination. "Mark my words, Klaus Lionhart—I will be the one to kill any apostle I deem a threat to my nation, even if it means killing two young princes."

This is not the kind of murderous intent a child his age could emit, Klaus thought, studying Nicholas with new appreciation for mysteries surrounding his visitor. Does he perhaps have knowledge of previous lifetimes?

The possibility opened new questions about Nicholas's true nature and the source of his impossible knowledge about apostles and Arkdieu. Klaus had encountered enough supernatural phenomena to recognize that reincarnation or memory retention across multiple lives wasn't beyond the realm of possibility.

Yet if Nicholas possessed such capabilities, it would explain his unusual insight while raising troubling questions about what experiences had shaped his current attitude toward apostles. Someone who had lived through multiple timelines where Arkdieu posed existential threats would naturally view any apostle as potential world-ending catastrophe.

Klaus felt testing impulse rise within his consciousness. If Nicholas truly possessed resolve to face apostles despite understanding their capabilities, then his convictions deserved proper evaluation. Empty threats were common enough, but willingness to back such words with action was far rarer.

"Would you spar with me?" Klaus asked, his voice carrying challenge that invited Nicholas to demonstrate whether his murderous intent translated into actual capability for violence against enhanced opponents.