Gilga's spirit hurtles through endless layers of reality.
Shapes stretch and shatter around him—triangles, spirals, and impossible fractals warping into dimensions that should not exist.
He plunges past a realm of colossal eyes, each one unblinking, staring into him as if they already know his name. Their sheer size makes him feel like dust drifting through a god's bloodstream.
He falls into a sea of pure light. It blinds him, drowns him. But the light curdles—turning into heavy grey water that pulls him under.
A vortex of feathers spins beneath, grey and endless, tearing at his spirit with every rotation. Gilga's essence frays, but he clamps down on himself, holding strong, refusing to dissolve.
Then—silence.
The storm fades.
He opens his eyes to nothing.
Pitch-black.
No touch.
No smell.
No taste.
Not even a sense of his own body.
He drifts through the void, a thought with no vessel.
Suddenly a sound trembles through the darkness.
It isn't language. It isn't noise. It's something that cannot be written, described, or remembered. It shakes his very concept of what "hearing" means.
Then—from the endless dark—
A giant red eye blinks open.
It swivels, searching.
Gilga whispers, voice cracking across the void:
"God… I see… you."
The red eye fixes on him. It surges closer until it swallows his entire being.
The redness drowns him.
His last senses—sight, hearing—evaporate.
He becomes only a single thought, drifting through an endless red ocean. Even that thought begins to dull, to numb, until all that remains is the faint awareness that he exists.
Then—an instant of rebirth.
All his senses flood back at once.
The red realm shatters, collapsing into darkness.
Gilga hurtles back through the realms he crossed: the grey feathers, the grey sea, the colossal eyes—reversing his descent in a single, blinding rush.
Back in reality.
The swirling galaxy of energy inside the chamber consumes the last of the blue spiritual flames. The vortex contracts, condensing, until it forms a brain—then a head.
Gilga snaps his eyes open, gasping for breath. He can barely think, his mind still echoing with shapes and sounds that do not exist in this world.
On the other side of the glass, Gorbill is screaming with joy.
"You're the first to come back! Gilga—what did you see?!"
Gilga sits trembling, hands gripping the chair.
"It's… unexplainable. But I heard… God's voice. It was… divine…"
The lab rumbles violently. Distant explosions echo through the tunnels.
Gorbill spins to his console.
"No! They've found us. Even though the World-Level have returned to normal, they traced the spike."
Gilga steadies himself.
"What level… did I reach?"
"Level 7," Gorbill says, voice trembling.
The next explosion tears the underground base apart. Fire and debris rain down. Gilga reacts instantly, converting data into solid barriers that block most of the blast.
Moments later after the bombardment of explosions, Gilga awakens on the edge of a giant tunnel, his body shredded and bleeding. He drags himself up, coughing. Around him yawns a vast crater, water streaming down into the abyss.
Above, a giant emerald spaceship descends. Its hull glows with Gem Noble insignias. Through the window, Gilga spots Kairo.
The ship's scanners sweep the crater, searching. Gilga presses himself into the shadows, heart pounding.
"That's a Gem Noble… trying to destroy the source that spiked the World-Level," he mutters.
He crawls deeper into the tunnel, escaping into the dark.
Days pass in the sewers. Gilga spends them lost in thought, replaying the indescribable vision over and over. His mind claws at meaning but cannot grasp it.
Finally, realization strikes like lightning.
"If I was the only one to return… then that must mean..... I was chosen by God. Everything—every failure, every setback—it all led to this moment…"
He starts to laugh, the sound echoing off the wet stone. It rises from a chuckle to a manic cackle.
"It's a calling from God… that I will be the winner of the next Star Games…"
Boa's face flickers through his mind, an image burned into his soul.
"And he will be my rival. The one who stands in my way to Godhood. This is the story of my ascension."
Gilga emerges from the sewers, his eyes burning with new conviction, and heads toward the Slum's prison.
Back in the present, inside the golden hotel room, Gilga finishes recounting his story.
Nox stands in silence for a moment before finally saying,
"I see. That is all."
He turns away, heading for the door.
Gilga's eyes widen.
"That's all you have to say?! I expected more from you—at least an explanation!"
Nox pauses, glancing back only briefly.
"Don't have your hopes up so high. You were just lucky that you fell out of the pocket."
The words hit Gilga like a dagger. Suddenly, images crashes into his mind.
He sees a tiny fish swimming among a the herd of fishes, only for a massive whale to swallow the entire herd. By sheer chance, that one fish slips past the whale's jaws, spared by accident.
Another vision appears—a young boy reaching for berries, tucking them into his pocket. One berry falls through a hole in the fabric, slipping free not by fate, but by flaw.
Gilga grips his head, trembling.
"No… no, that can't be true. Everything has meaning! It must!"
But Nox is already gone, the door closing behind him, leaving Gilga stunned and spiraling in his own thoughts.
Three days pass. Meanwhile in planet Isha, inside of Basil's HQ Lab building, a massive Nova Crystal pulses at the center, pumping energy through thick electric tubes. Each tube feeds into towering capsules lined up across the chamber. Inside each capsule rests a Battle Robot, every one of them carrying its own Nova Crystal embedded in its chest.
One robot begins to stir. Its fingers twitch. Its digital eyes flicker open, vision blurred by water and bubbles. As the haze clears, it notices its hands—metallic, not flesh—and then its entire robotic body. Panic surges. It thrashes against water and the capsule walls.
The capsule hisses and opens, water rushing out. The robot stumbles onto the floor, clutching its stomach as memories flashes in a first-person view vision from its life as a human. In a flash, it recalls a dark spear plunging into its abdomen, falling to the ground, as it then sees Tomi's face as the vision then shuts for the last time.
The robot's eyes blink rapidly, its digital voice beeping erratically, trying to form words. Worker robots rush in to stabilize the situation, but the panicked robot shoves them aside, bolting past the rows of capsules. It smashes through the metal doors, bursting onto the main work floor where countless worker robots operate in their cubicles. Alarms blare.
A shadow sweeps over the panicked robot—another Battle Robot with massive wings descends from above. It lands in front of the runaway robot as it is Wade.
"Calm down and settle in," Wade says, his voice steady. "I know everything's confusing, but you need to relax. Take your time. Let your memories return, and you'll be okay."
The robot's frantic movements slows. Wade presses his comms.
"Basil, we've got a malfunction here. One of your BR woke up early."
Basil's voice crackles through.
"What? That's almost impossible. The next pack isn't scheduled for release until tomorrow. Unless… based on my theory, this one must've had a tragic death during the Star Games. That could've triggered an early awakening."
At the words "Star Games," the robot panics again. As it pushes Wade through a wall as it then crashes through a window, tumbling into the dirt below. Dust erupts around it as it rolls, then scrambles back to its feet.
People from the town gather, trying to corner the rogue robot. It leaps through the open door of a bar, splintering tables and spilling drinks. It struggles to run again, but Wade bursts in after it.
"We're not going to hurt you! Please stop breaking everything!"
The robot glances at a nearby digital screen broadcasting the Star Games. It shows many Stars speaking to their friends and families at the Golden Meet-Up Station, separated by glass windows. The feed shifts to various Stars conversing—then to Gaia speaking with her mother.
The robot freezes, pointing at the screen as it comes closer to watch. The broadcast then shifts to a wide shot of Tomi eating noodles with Kayle at a restaurant.
"To… mi…" the robot rasps.
Basil arrives, scanning the robot.
"Everything looks normal," Basil mutters. "She may just be in a state of shock because she didn't go through the normal fusion process."
In the corner of the robot's vision, digital text flickers:
Name: Vel Colos
Home Planet: Kairus
Memories flood back. The robot stiffens, then speaks clearly:
"I've… been brought back?"
Basil's digital face then smiles
"Yup. You've got Boa to thank for that—and me of course. You're one of the lucky souls that Boa saved."
He claps his metallic hands, as many worker robots rushes in to clean up the mess Vel made.
"Oh, since you're here, I've got the upgrade chip for you, Wade."
Basil installs a chip into Wade's chest. Wade's form shimmers, shifting into his former human appearance.
"This is great!" Wade laughs. "I missed this look of mine!"
Basil turns to Vel.
"You can do it too. Your body's already updated with the current patch. Just focus—then then menu screen should pop up then just choose your settings."
Vel focuses. A menu pops up in her vision with two options:
Return to Former Human State
Proceed to Customize
She selects the first. Her robotic frame transforms into her human self. She touches her arms, horn, and face, stunned.
"All your features are plastic, of course," Basil explains. "Creating actual human flesh is hard and resource-heavy. But enjoy your new body."
Then suddenly, a lady walks up to Vel and offers her hand. Vel recognizes her instantly—it's the summoner they fought in the dungeon during the Star Games.
"I'm Umi," the woman says with a smile. "And we've got a lot to talk about."
Vel hesitates only a moment before taking her hand.
Suddenly, Basil's comm crackles alive with Hank's voice.
"Basil, we've got a problem. Another BR awoke early and… uhm, you'll see."
A loud bang erupts outside. Everyone rushes out of the bar and sees another robot panicking and bolting away.
Wade spreads his mechanical wings with a sharp metallic snap and takes off after it.
Basil clicks his tongue. "Hmmm, now this is kind of awkward. I guess my theory's incorrect. Tragic or not, it just depends on the type of soul."
He sprints after them.
The robot leaps over the massive town gates and lands on the streets of Black Paradise. It looks around at the flying cars, towering skyscrapers, and advanced tech. Then its gaze shifts upward, locking onto the digital sun projected across the barrier.
A vision slams into its mind in a first-person view, as flames raging everywhere, fire consuming everything. It looks down at its own glowing hands, absorbing the flames. The vision surges forward—it soars into space, only to confront a massive dark planetary sphere before the memory abruptly cuts out.
The robot whispers, "I remember now… I also remember seeing this place before."
Another flash of memory returns—the beginning of the Star Games, when Nox stepped out of his Star portal, the same city behind him.
"This must be the restricted area," the robot mutters. "But why am I here?"
Digital text flickers into its vision:
Name: Rose Diamondfuel
Home Planet: Isha
Rose focuses, and a menu interface appears before her. She selects the first box, and her robotic frame shifts into her human form.
Wade and Basil finally catch up, relief washing over their faces.
Basil nods. "I'm sure you've got a lot of questions. Come back with us, and we'll discuss about it."
Rose silently agrees and follows them back toward B&B Town.
Meanwhile, in Oasis, inside Kairo's tower, the command room sits dark except for the glow of dozens of digital screens. One screen flashes a single readout in bold: World-Level 8.3. while the other screens shows the shadow faces of the Gem Nobles—voices overlapping in a chaotic chorus.
"We're way too close to the max world level!"
"How did this happen?!"
"It's because of those restricted-area people."
"Yeah that Star named Nox from the Star Games is responsible!"
"And that ex-noble Kelay Boombronze is with them! "
"If the World-Level climbs past the limit again, we'll be in real danger.
"What do we do?!"
Kairo slams his hand on the table loudly. The room snaps to attention. "Quiet," he says, voice low and cold. "I'll settle the problems over here. Just focus on the main objective. Don't worry—I have a solution. Give me some time."
He gestures, and a stream of data pixels lifts a fractured shard of the black star mask Kelay once wore. Kairo studies the fragment like a jeweler examining a diamond. "Once I finish analyzing this," he murmurs, "I'll replicate the exact material—build a device from it. That device will get me into the restricted area. Then I'll destroy the restricted before the World-Level rises any further."
One by one, the screens go dark. Kairo carries the broken mask into his private lab and begins a meticulous breakdown of the materials, his mind already spinning with blueprints and calculations.
Kairo settles into his chair, the leather creaking as digital hands sprouts from the console around him. They begin tinkering, soldering, and assembling at lightning speed. The chair spins slowly while his eyes narrow in thought.
The R.A.P.( Restricted Area People) and the Boas are working together," he thinks loudly " But why now? What are they plotting? Why risk pushing the World-Level so high? I must get to the bottom of this."
With a snap of his fingers, another swarm of luminous digital hands appears, each one scribbling notes, drafting theories, and mapping out possible conclusions across hovering screens.
Kairo rises, extending his real hand into the air, his gestures weaving glowing threads of data. A new device begins to form piece by piece, pulsing with unstable energy. Dozens of Nova Crystals materialize, orbiting him like a constellation as they fuse into the frame of the machine.
"Also I never thought I'd need this," Kairo mutters, watching the construct take shape. "A stronger digital beacon—one powerful enough to pierce higher levels of digital conversion fields."