At that moment, Kai Foster launched his attack.
"It's too late! Burn and die…!"
An unstoppable attack.
Or at least, it should have been.
"Don't worry. You can block it."
It was a blunt thing to say to the protagonist who was about to close his eyes and accept death, but it wasn't meant for him to hear anyway.
Not with the distance between us.
Rin wasn't weak.
He had an A-rank talent, just like Ryen and Leo.
But unlike them, his talent came with a heavy penalty.
As I activated it, time seemed to slow.
My blood rushed through my veins at an unnatural speed, my senses sharpening as if someone had flipped a switch inside my body.
My vision stretched. Sounds warped and dulled. The sparks from Kai's lightning spell crawled through the air like falling embers suspended in honey.
A deep, overwhelming energy stirred within me—an energy I could feel being severed, forcefully drawn out.
The pain that followed was instant.
Like my body was being ripped apart from the inside.
But the power I gained in return?
It was nothing to scoff at.
The name of this ability—
Enhancement.
A skill bordering on omnipotence, allowing me to draw out the full potential of anything I touched—no matter what it was.
And now, that power settled upon [The Holy Sword Of Justice.]
Ryen's talent.
For a moment, the world stood still.
The air fractured.
Light—pure, searing light—burst from Ryen's blade, wrapping around him like a cloak woven from divine fire. The heat from Kai's Deathflame collided with that brilliance, and for a heartbeat, the two forces—destruction and justice—clashed in perfect equilibrium.
Then everything detonated.
BOOM—!
A shockwave tore through the dreamscape, shaking the entire world to its core. The crimson fire that once promised annihilation met the silver light of the Holy Sword of Justice—and lost.
For the first time, Kai's grin faltered. His mask—already cracked—shattered completely, fragments scattering like shards of porcelain caught in the wind. His eyes, wide with disbelief, reflected the impossible sight before him.
Ryen, surrounded by a shimmering halo of light, stood unmoved. His sword hummed, the glow burning brighter than ever before. But it wasn't just his power—it was mine, too.
The Enhancement I unleashed had synchronized with Ryen's talent perfectly, amplifying it far beyond what he should've been capable of. The Holy Sword of Justice wasn't just responding to him anymore—it was responding to me, to my mana feeding into it, expanding its reach, its strength, its judgment.
The divine aura surged outward, clashing against the Deathflame that was ready to consume us all.
Black and silver intertwined, swirling like two storms fighting for dominance. The air screamed as the Deathflame pushed forward, devouring everything it touched—but the Holy Sword didn't yield.
"Ryen!" I shouted, forcing my voice through the storm. "Don't hold back! Just—trust me!"
He didn't respond. Didn't need to.
Ryen gritted his teeth, both hands gripping his sword. He stepped forward, one agonizing inch at a time, forcing the holy light deeper into the heart of the inferno. His uniform burned away at the edges, his skin blistered, but he didn't stop.
Because now… he couldn't.
The moment I enhanced his talent, it had fused with mine—our mana threads locking together in perfect resonance. If he faltered, both of us would be crushed under the weight of the backlash.
"Come on," I hissed under my breath, sweat dripping down my forehead. "Don't let this bastard win."
Kai screamed.
Not in pain—but in rage.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFY ME?!" he roared, his voice echoing across the burning horizon. The Deathflame swelled again, surging forward with even greater intensity, a tidal wave of black fire that devoured the very ground. "THIS IS MY WORLD!"
Ryen didn't flinch.
Neither did I.
Then he spoke—his voice low, calm, cutting through the chaos like a blade.
"No. Not anymore."
The silver light erupted.
A blinding radiance tore through the darkness, slicing through the Deathflame in a single, decisive arc. The sound was deafening—a divine roar that split the dream itself in half.
Kai's magic shattered like glass.
The black flames dispersed, fading into nothingness. The oppressive heat vanished, replaced by cold silence.
When the light finally dimmed, Kai Foster stood in the center of the destruction—bloodied, burned, and barely standing. The smug defiance in his eyes had vanished, replaced only by confusion… and terror.
His lips trembled as he tried to speak, but no words came.
The once invincible, untouchable killer—the man who had painted entire cities in blood—was kneeling before the very people he sought to destroy.
Ryen's sword, glowing faintly, pointed straight at Kai's chest.
And then, slowly… Ryen fell to one knee, panting.
The light faded from his blade, and I could feel the backlash beginning to kick in. The Enhancement drained everything from me—mana, energy, even consciousness. My legs trembled as I staggered forward, trying to stay upright.
And next moment...
I fell behind him, legs buckling as the backlash from my talent finally caught up.
Blood gushed from my mouth, my nose, my ears. My body screamed. My vision blackened.
At the same time and unknown sensation hit my body.
My whole body felt like it was being ripped apart from the inside.
I thought I could handle the pain.
I was wrong.
The cost of using this talent… was my very essence—my Primal Qi, my soul energy.
And now, it was all gone.
So this is it, huh?
I'm going to die.
"What a fucking short life …for someone who tried so damn hard to live."
But just as the thought crossed my mind, I heard something.
Footsteps.
No… a heartbeat.
Not mine.
Steady, powerful. Not fast. Not frantic. Just there. Constant. Alive.
"Hey."
A voice.
Warm.
Firm.
Familiar.
Ryen.
"You're not dying today."
He knelt beside me. I couldn't see clearly anymore—my vision was a kaleidoscope of bleeding light and creeping darkness—but I could feel his presence.
Solid. Unshaken.
"You think I'd let you go after all that?" he muttered, gripping my wrist.
I couldn't answer.
Could barely breathe.
Still, his grip tightened.
"I don't care what you gave up. You're not done yet."
I felt something stir.
A warmth—not mine.
Mana?
No. Something older. Something deeper.
Ryen was pouring energy into me.
But not his own.
The sword.
Judgement.
It still held a trace of the power I'd given it. And now, it was giving it back.
"Don't be an idiot," I whispered hoarsely, blood bubbling between my lips. "You'll burn out…"
"I'm not giving you anything that's mine," he said, smiling faintly. "This is yours. You earned it."
The light pulsed through me.
Not violently like before. Not painfully. It was different now.
Gentler.
Restorative.
Piece by piece, I felt the cracks in my soul begin to knit themselves back together. My veins cooled. The pain dulled.
The breath returned to my lungs.
Not enough to fight.
But enough to live.
It was really nice way to start prologue, isn't?
No, it was not.
....And the same time I closed my eyes, maybe for forever.