The moment Lloyd and his companions left the Path of Black Ash, the air shifted abruptly—as if they had stepped from a dead world into a graveyard that still breathed.
Before them stretched an endless realm beneath a dark, bluish-gray sky, scattered with floating stone islands. Each island was pierced by countless swords—
Broken swords.Rust-covered swords.And blades that still gleamed, as though waiting for a hand to wield them once more.
Lloyd moved forward slowly, unease tightening his chest.
— "This place…"He paused.— "It's filled with rage."
The Gatekeeper nodded.
— "This is the World of Forgotten Swords. Warriors from countless realms fell here, each dying with their blade in hand—and their will unbroken."
Riorno smiled faintly.
— "So the spirits never left."
As his words faded, the air began to tremble.
The swords embedded in the ground started to shake, then slowly rose. Around them formed spectral figures of ancient warriors—translucent bodies, hollow eyes, yet iron grips on their hilts.
A unified echo thundered across the realm:
— "Those who enter our land… must fight."
The Battle of Wills
Lloyd did not hesitate.
He surged forward, clashing with a towering spectral warrior. When their blades met, the impact was not merely physical—it struck his mind.
Images flooded his thoughts:Battles. Screams. Loss. Unfulfilled vows.
He staggered back.
— "They don't fight with bodies…"— "They fight with will."
The Gatekeeper shouted:
— "Do not let your mind open!"
But there were too many.
The spirits surrounded Lloyd, pressure mounting from all sides. For the first time in a long while, brute strength was not enough.
Then—he saw it.
A sword unlike the others.
Embedded in a high rock, its edge blackened, its blade cracked—yet unmoving.
Lloyd forced his way toward it and reached out.
The moment he grasped the hilt, a surge overwhelmed him.
A voice echoed within:
— "If I fall… let another carry my will."
Lloyd screamed—but did not let go.
The blade merged with his white aura. New markings spread across his body, deeper and clearer than before.
He opened his eyes.
— "A new technique… Resonance of Will."
He struck the ground.
The attack did not target bodies—but wills.
The spirits froze.Then, one by one, they faded, finally at rest.
Lloyd fell to one knee, breathing hard.
Riorno stepped closer.
— "Now I see it… your power isn't just destruction."
Lloyd looked at the sword in his hand.
— "I carry their path now."
Far above, on a floating island…
A masked being opened a single eye and whispered:
— "Another step closer, Lloyd…"
And for the first time,the road to Lord Zebra truly began to narrow.