After class ended, the bell rang, signaling its conclusion. The heirs all rose, but Saruto remained sprawled at the table, fast asleep. Lucien approached him and gently shook his shoulder, whispering, "Get up, Saruto. You slept for nine whole hours in class."
Slowly, Saruto opened his eyes, as if sleep had relieved him of some of his accumulated fatigue. He rubbed his face and sat up, saying with a faint smile, "I feel better now… but I remembered I left something at the palace. I'll be right back."
Before Lucien could reply, Saruto had vanished in an instant, using his teleportation skill, leaving behind only a faint trace of his aura. Back at the Luwin family palace, Saruto appeared in the main hall in a single step. He didn't linger, heading straight for the Time Room to continue his rigorous training. But before he arrived, Ethan appeared before him with a calm step, looking at him with his own serene eyes. "Stop," Ethan said sternly. "What now?" Saruto replied irritably. "You haven't eaten anything since this morning. You won't be entering training like this."
Ethan grabbed his arm and dragged him, despite his protests, into the mess hall. They sat together, and Saruto ate his food quickly, as if in a race against time. After he finished, he stood up and said, "Now I can go back to training."
He entered the Time Chamber and stood in its center, surrounded by its vast black aura. He began again to try to form the black sphere, compressing and gathering energy as Ethan had taught him, but each time the result was the same: the energy exploded, and his body exploded with it. Blood gushed from his mouth, his breath came in gasps, and the Time Chamber healed him automatically each time. In another attempt, before he could try again, Ethan raised his hand and stopped him. A sharp look crossed his face as he slowly approached him. "I know what's wrong with you, Saruto…" he said in a low voice, but it carried the weight of a hammer.
"What is it?" Saruto replied, wiping the blood from his mouth.
"You're relying on the Time Chamber for your healing. You're going through the process with the assurance that you'll be cured instantly, so focus and put your life into it."
Ethan waved his hand, and suddenly the Time Chamber's system window appeared before him. "Now I'm going to shut down the auto-healing."
With a single movement, Ethan pressed an option, and the healing energy from the chamber's walls dissipated. The atmosphere grew heavier, the air thick with the aura of death. "This time, Saruto… you either master it… or you die," Ethan said, his voice both sharp and calm.
Saruto's eyes were fixed on his master, a genuine sense of danger filling his body for the first time since he began his training. There was no safety, no guarantees. He now faced only one choice: success or annihilation. Saruto stood sweating, his body still bearing the marks of his previous injuries, but his gaze more resolute than ever.
Ethan approached Saruto and said, "This time, I'll enter an energy sphere with you… to guide your steps. Remember, Saruto: precision is more important than force."
Saruto nodded and closed his eyes. His body began to overflow with a dense black aura, a dark energy gathering and flowing from his spiritual pathways. Before him, an enormous sphere of blackness formed, enveloping him and Ethan within. But its surface was not steady; it trembled violently.
"Focus on the flow of energy in your body… don't release it all at once," Ethan said in a firm voice that pierced his mind. "Let it flow smoothly, like a river branching from your heart to your limbs. Control it precisely… don't let any leakage."
Saruto's hands trembled as he pressed down with intense concentration, and the sphere wobbled under the pressure. Then Ethan stepped forward and said coldly, "Remember, Saruto… if you fail, what will happen to Eliza and Camellia? Will you leave their fate in their parents' hands?! Let the hatred and anger surge within you… don't suppress them, for they are the source of the dark power in the Luwen family."
His words burned like fire in Saruto's chest. Images of the smiling princesses, and the words of the King of Light and the Queen of Hell, mingled within him. Suddenly, his energy began to stabilize, and the sphere solidified more and more, until it retained its almost perfect shape.
Ethan smiled faintly. "Well done. Now… it's time for the truth. You must detonate it all at once."
Saruto began to gather all his energy in the center of the sphere, his concentration reaching its peak. But at a crucial moment, his mind wandered, and the sphere began to lose its balance. A massive crack appeared in the sphere's wall, and it was about to explode.
At that moment, he heard a deep, familiar, and awe-inspiring voice within him: "Saruto… focus. Don't let fear take hold. Use my power; I am here."
It was the dragon dwelling inside him, Void. His voice thundered: "The Skill of Consciousness… use it, for the success of the operation."
Saruto smiled faintly and closed his eyes again. Activating the Skill of Consciousness, in an instant, his consciousness merged with Void's, and his perception expanded far beyond. He saw every strand of energy moving within the sphere as if right before his eyes. He controlled each point, readjusting it with pinpoint accuracy.
Void's voice echoed within him: "Now, Saruto… detonate it!"
Saruto opened his eyes and screamed with all his might, releasing the final thrust. The sphere trembled for a moment, then exploded in a pure, precise blast, without harming him. From that explosion, a new space was born… a vast, dark world, surrounded by a dark sky and glittering black stars, and an endless expanse of land. Saruto opened his eyes in surprise, finding himself standing in this new world, Ethan beside him, smiling. "You've done it… You've created your own world, Saruto."
Saruto took a deep breath, speaking telepathically to Void. "Thank you, partner… Without you, I wouldn't have made it this far. And now… This world is yours and mine, shared as one force."
Void replied in his mind with a smile, "No need for thanks, Saruto. It's my duty to you."
Saruto remained standing in the middle of his new world, feeling reborn, while Ethan watched him with eyes that knew this was only the first step on Saruto's path.