Pain vanished.
The world stilled.
I felt my heart stop — and then surge again, stronger, louder, like thunder in my veins. My mana, once depleted, roared back to life, swirling around me in a golden vortex.
The shattered fragments of my sword lifted into the air, drawn by the maelstrom of energy. They melted, reforged, and blazed into a new weapon — a blade of pure mana flame.
The wyvern hesitated.
Its instincts felt it before I did — the change, the awakening, the storm that was now my soul.
My voice came out calm, even cold. "Ethereal Lord… first layer."
DUE TO THE MIX UP PF THE CHAPTER RELEASE;CHAPTER 25 IS AFTER CHAPTER 54
The mana exploded outward.
The world turned white-hot. I moved faster than sound — one instant beneath the wyvern's shadow, the next above its head, my blade cutting through air that burned with pressure.
It swung at me, claws flashing. I met the strike head-on.
The explosion sent shockwaves rippling through the clearing. Every movement now was instinct — no thought, no hesitation, just will made manifest.
Fire met fire as the wyvern unleashed its breath again, but this time I didn't dodge.
I absorbed it.
The flames flowed into me, merging with my mana until my entire body blazed like a living inferno. The wyvern roared in confusion — and fear.
I raised my hand, and a great sword of flame materialized above me, its edge humming with destructive power.
"Burn."
The blade fell like a meteor.
It split the wyvern's chest open, cleaving through scale, flesh, and bone. The explosion of fire and light blinded me, deafened me — and when it cleared, the beast lay still.
The wyvern — the King-tier guardian of this place — was dead.
I stood over it, gasping for breath, every muscle trembling from exhaustion. My vision blurred again, but this time from sheer relief.
Alex stumbled toward me, barely standing. "You… you did it…"
I gave a weak smile. "No. We did."
He laughed, then winced in pain. "You really… broke through mid-battle."
I knelt beside the wyvern's corpse and pressed my hand to its chest. The heart still glowed faintly, pulsing with the residual flame of its life. With a slow breath, I drew out the Flame Core.
It burned in my palm, alive with power. I could feel it calling to me, resonating with the mana that had awakened within me.
Without hesitation, I began the absorption.
The moment the flame entered me, it was agony — searing, purifying, rebirthing agony. But I endured, letting it carve new pathways in my body, infusing my mana with the element of fire.
When the process was done, flames flickered along my arms, obeying my will like extensions of my own soul.
I exhaled slowly. The air shimmered.
Alex stared in awe. "Your aura… it's burning."
I looked up at the massive door behind us. The runes on its surface were glowing brighter now, as if recognizing my newfound power.
"Then it's time," I said softly. "Let's see what Father left behind."