Ethernion—no longer merely the city of gods, but now the center of a new age.
Under the command of Reina, the Celestial Sword Demon King, the strongest warrior and the wisest mind had been chosen to hold the highest positions, entrusted with the task of forging a new order.
Reina sat at the heart of the great temple,her gaze falling on two figures kneeling before her.
One was the mightiest warrior who had brought the battlefield to heel.The other, the one who governed wisdom and information.
They were responsible for the domains of war and strategy—and of knowledge and governance.
Reina crossed her arms and spoke.
"Report."
The strongest warrior was the first to rise and speak.
"Lady Reina, warriors are flooding into Ethernion."
His eyes gleamed as he continued.
"After the war, we expected this place to become the new center.But far more diverse forces have gathered here than we imagined."
He reported on the main groups of warriors now arriving:
Knights who once swore loyalty to the gods
Some paladins, weakened by the fading power of the divine, sought a new master.
They wished not for faith, but to fight under the banner of a new leader.
Mercenary bands and war returnees
Survivors of the war drifted here.
Some sought simple contracts, others wished to become Ethernion's warriors.
The warrior added grimly,
"For now, they are under control… but if they begin to move for their own gain, division could take root."
Reina's expression was unreadable.
"That too is a choice.If needed, we will unite them.And if needed, we will crush them with force."
Then, the second high official spoke, his voice calm and deliberate.
"Lady Reina, those who study knowledge and magic are also gathering here."
He reported on the intellectual factions:
Mages studying Arcane magic
In Elysium, it was becoming known that Arcane magic bore similarities to Naegong, sparking fervent research.
Some mages sought to use this knowledge to create new forms of combat.
Clerics who abandoned faith
After the gods waned, some priests forsook their old religious systems.
Instead, they began researching a new framework, one rooted in ethics and morality.
Archivists from the Grand Library
Some who had safeguarded ancient records now moved to Ethernion.
They studied the war of Titans and gods, the history of Elysium, and the origins of Murim and magic.
Finally, the man added something of weight.
"And… there is something we must pay attention to."
Reina raised her head, intrigued.
"What is it?"
He produced a book, old and frayed.
"Recently, we discovered traces of forgotten beings hidden in ancient records.Beings older than the gods themselves.And they may not have vanished at all… but been concealed."
Reina turned the pages, a faint, knowing smile curving her lips.
"History is always fascinating."
Lee Do-hyeon, standing beside her, murmured,
"This opens yet another possibility."
When the warrior and the sage finished their report, Reina rose slowly from her seat.
She looked down over the temple and spoke,her voice steady and commanding.
"We built this place. We opened a new path."
Her words carried the weight of steel.
"But we will not stop here."
Ethernion was not a mere refuge.It was the starting point of a new world.
From here, they would face greater wars still to come—and truths long hidden in the folds of history.
And at the center of it all stood Lee Do-hyeon and Reina.
**
Chapter : The Five Aspects — The Hidden Beings
Lee Do-hyeon, Reina, and Arknan the Bard opened the ancient tomes brought by the archivist from the Grand Library.
Each page was filled with words that felt both old and enigmatic.
"After the war between Titans and gods, order was reestablished by the gods.""But in that process, there were beings the gods could not contain—and so they were sealed away.""Among them, the most powerful: the Five Aspect Dragons."
Lee Do-hyeon narrowed his eyes as he turned the pages.Reina's gaze lingered silently on the texts.
"So the Five Aspects… were they truly sealed?"
Arknan murmured, scanning the pages with a furrowed brow.
But the deeper they read, the stranger it became.
The elves' records clearly stated that the Five Aspects were sealed.But the Grand Library's documents… said something different.
They didn't say "sealed."They said "they vanished."
"Perhaps they chose to hide themselves."
Reina closed the book softly.
"Which means it wasn't the gods who sealed them…but they who rejected the gods' order—and disappeared."
Arknan nodded.
"If they had been sealed by the gods, they would appear in the gods' own records.But strangely, there is no mention of the Five Aspects in any divine history."
Lee Do-hyeon thought deeply.If the Five Aspects had hidden themselves… why?
And so, they formed an expedition to find them.
The traces they sought had been deliberately hidden.Even the oldest records contradicted one another.
But they followed every lead:the clues given by elves,the notes the archivist had brought,the ruins left behind from another age.
Piece by piece, they assembled the puzzle.
And at last, they arrived at the place where those traces led.
But there… there was nothing.
Then—
As if the long-slumbering beings had been waiting for them,a voice, soft yet vast, filled the space.
"So… you have finally come."
The air shifted.
Light and darkness crossed,and the space itself warped.
And then—
Immense forms began to appear.
Lee Do-hyeon and Reina stood still, their guard unbroken.
But the beings did not move to attack.
"You have many questions.""But you already know the answers."
Their voices sounded like the echo of a fate spoken long ago.
Reina's voice cut through the stillness.
"Why did you vanish?"
One of the Five Aspects replied.
"We did not vanish.We were waiting."
Lee Do-hyeon frowned.
"Waiting?"
But they only spoke on, unhurried.
"We did not exist for the gods.The Titans made us, not as mere weapons of war.But the gods treated us as such… and so, we had to choose."
Reina's eyes sharpened.
"And you chose to turn away from the gods—and saw something new among humans."
The beings smiled.
"Yes."
Lee Do-hyeon felt the expectation he hadn't even realized he carried slip away.
He had thought they would offer their strength.
But they had not come to grant power.
They had only come to watch.
And then they spoke their final words:
"Even without our help, you will find the way."
And with that, the Five Aspects faded from sight once more.
Reina stood still, her voice quiet.
"…I see.That's the answer, isn't it."
They had sought the Five Aspects with an expedition,but found that they had not been sealed—they had hidden themselves.
They did not exist for the gods,and they would not accept the gods' imposed choices.
And…
They believed Lee Do-hyeon and Reina were already finding their own answer.
The last words they left were not a promise of aid.
They were a message—a belief that Lee Do-hyeon and Reina might surpass the gods without their help.
Lee Do-hyeon looked around the empty space they had left behind.
And quietly, he made his own vow.
"We will… find our own path."
**
Chapter : The Blood of Gods and Titans, and the Potential of Humanity
Beneath the skies of Elysium, two colossal forces clashed.
On one side—a Quarter-God, carrying the blood of the divine and the influence of the Titans, a being who straddled the line between god and titan.On the other—Reina, the Celestial Sword Demon King, who had surpassed the limits of humanity, and Lee Do-hyeon, who had crossed the walls between dimensions.
This was no mere duel.It was a battle where godhood, titan legacy, and human potential collided head-on.
The enemy moved with blinding speed,a Quarter-God infused with the power of Titans.
With a flicker of motion, he ripped space itself, blinking from one point to another—his sudden bursts of movement faster than any ordinary warrior or mage could react to.
But—
Gyeonggong and Bobeop, the refined arts of movement,were techniques that could meet blink on equal footing.
The Quarter-God blurred in midair,but Do-hyeon and Reina anticipated his reappearance—stepping on air, turning their footwork into counter-movement.
In that split-second, their blades met his in the sky.
Clang!
"Fast," Lee Do-hyeon muttered, his breath steady.
"You're not slow yourself,"Reina answered with a faint smile as she tightened her grip on her sword.
The Quarter-God retaliated.
Once, Do-hyeon and Reina had appeared like master and disciple.
Now, they were partners—their cooperation so seamless it was as if they shared one mind.
They understood their roles and moved as one.
Reina — Keeper of the Human Realm.As the Celestial Sword Demon King, she had broken through human limits.Her blade carried overwhelming momentum; her movements flowed like water.
Lee Do-hyeon — Walker of the God-Titan Threshold.He merged magic and Naegong,wielding a force to stand against enemies no human should be able to face.His strikes fused Arcane and Naegong,his power neither god nor titan, but something entirely new.
The Quarter-God unleashed magic.
From his fingertips, a spear of searing light formed—and in a flash, it tore through space toward them.
Reina twisted instinctively, her sword flashing.Her blade met the spear and knocked it aside with a ringing impact.
But at the same moment, the Titan-infused hand of their foe rose.
Gravity magic.
The space around them warped;Do-hyeon and Reina felt their movements drag,their bodies slowed as if sinking in invisible mud.
But even that had been anticipated.
Do-hyeon's sword swept through the air.
The creative current of Arcane surged forth,unraveling the oppressive weight.
Reina flowed seamlessly into her attack.
A flick of her wrist—a small shuriken snapped from her fingers, slicing the air.
The blade struck, cutting across the Quarter-God's skin.
He flinched,and in that moment, Do-hyeon shifted the flow—bringing his sword down.
Do-hyeon struck at the parts of him touched by Titans,his blade weaving the flow of the Void,collapsing the Titan's energy from within.
Reina struck at the parts of him tied to the gods,her sword cutting with the intent to deny divinity itself.
The Quarter-God screamed.
He tried to blink away—but this time, it failed.
The flow had already been rewritten.
Do-hyeon and Reina moved as one.
Two blades cut the air.Two arcs crossed.
Shhhk—
The enemy fell, cleaved.
Do-hyeon stared at the remnants of their foe.His voice was quiet, but resolute.
"In the end, it isn't about where you came from.God, Titan, human… what matters is who carries the greater potential."
Reina sheathed her sword with a faint smile.
"This—this is what true cooperation looks like."
Their victory was not just a win in combat.
It was proof—that even in the realms of gods and Titans,
the potential of humanity endures.