The world seemed to hold its breath.
Ray stood just outside the cave entrance, the morning light spilling across the battlefield like a pale veil.
Behind him, deep within the cave, the civilians huddled together — silent, terrified, yet alive.
Before him stretched chaos — a blur of blades, dust, and blood.
The Berserking officer roared again, his body swollen, veins blackened with corruption. His white armor split at the joints, muscles bulging grotesquely beneath.
Around him, the rogue mercenaries regrouped, snarling and shouting orders, weapons drawn and hearts trembling.
"Who the hell are you!?" one of them shouted.
"Take off that mask!"
Another, an officer still clinging to arrogance, barked, "Do you even know who you're standing against!?"
Ray said nothing.
His hand tightened on his sword. The Void Cells flickered weakly along his arm — their once-fluid glow now faint, restrained.
He still had trump cards — yes — but none he could use.
The Void Cells were suppressing both his qi and mana, restraining their collision within him.
And the few Cells he could command were concentrated in his weapon, keeping the brittle steel from shattering too soon.
The mercenaries and enforcers surrounded him. Twelve of them engaged directly — seven standing back, chanting low, forming magic circles, and imbuing arrows with mana. The remaining five advanced in a tight formation, pressing him toward the monstrous officer.
Ray moved like water, dodging their blades and countering when he could, but his inexperience showed. His stance was sharp, but his timing lacked rhythm; his instincts were pure, but his reading of the battlefield lagged behind.
He was strong — stronger than any one of them — but they had fought wars. He had only fought to live.
Bolts of mana hissed past his face; an arrow grazed his shoulder. He deflected a spear thrust, pivoted to kick an attacker away — but every move forced him a step closer to the berserker.
Only when he caught the officer's shadow looming behind did realization strike.
They're herding me…
Too late.
The berserker lunged, his corrupted frame blotting out the sun, sword descending in a blackened arc that howled through the wind.
The world froze for an instant — then light burst from Ray.
A sharp pulse of blue aura exploded outward, pure and brilliant.
The ground split beneath his feet; the officer's strike rebounded, hurling him backward as if the air itself had turned solid.
Shock rippled through the enemy ranks.
"T-T-That's… Advanced Aura!" an enforcer stammered, voice cracking.
The mercenary leader's face hardened. "He's not just anyone," he muttered. "But something's holding him back. If he were truly an Advanced Realm master, we'd already be dead."
Ray's heart raced, his breath ragged.
He hadn't meant to release aura. He hadn't even known he could.
The black energy within him stirred faintly, sliding like a living shadow along his left hand.
Its presence calmed him — and unnerved him.
The aura that erupted felt too pure, too refined, as if the corruption within had been stripped away.
Then realization struck.
The energy that devoured the impurities…
It wasn't just dormant.
It had stored that purity — and used it now, on its own, to protect him.
It's alive… watching me.
The blue aura shimmered faintly, already beginning to fade. He could feel it — four minutes, at most, before the black energy receded again.
The berserker roared, standing once more, monstrous and trembling. His form was barely human now, each breath a growl of hatred.
Ray steadied his breathing. He couldn't waste time.
He focused all of his aura into his sword. The weapon vibrated violently, cracks webbing along its length — but he didn't stop.
The officer charged again, blade raised.
Ray moved.
A single, perfect slash.
The sound came a moment later — a long, drawn-out crack as the world itself seemed to split.
The berserker froze mid-swing.
Then, slowly, his body fell apart — cleaved clean through his torso.
The force of the strike didn't stop there.
It cut through trees, through the earth, leaving a deep wound across the landscape that glowed faintly with fading blue light.
Ray's sword shattered. The blade crumbled into dust, even the hilt dissolving between his fingers.
For a heartbeat, everything was silent.
The survivors stared at him in disbelief.
Then — anger replaced fear.
The ones who had fled from the berserker regrouped, more than twenty now, their eyes filled with desperate fury.
They charged all at once, shouting, blades and spells raised high.
Ray turned his head slightly — behind him, the faint light of the cave glowed softly.
The civilians were watching from the shadows, faces pale, eyes wide.
He could hear their muffled cries.
He couldn't let this chaos reach them.
His aura was fading fast, but retreat wasn't an option.
He saw two paths in his mind —
one, to trust the black energy again, though it answered only when it wished;
and the other — to free what was restrained.
The Void Cells… they're holding it all back.
If I unbind them… I can end this.
But he knew the risk.
The collision of energies could destroy him from within.
Still, he didn't hesitate.
He closed his eyes for half a breath — and broke the seal.
A soundless detonation erupted inside him.
Qi and mana surged, colliding violently, burning through his veins. His skin cracked, glowing with streams of light beneath the surface.
Pain screamed through every nerve — but Ray's expression didn't falter.
The world trembled.
The air warped, gravity seemed to thicken. Even the sunlight wavered as pressure filled the clearing.
Ray took one step forward, his aura now a raging inferno of blue light, threads of black intertwining at its edge.
He glanced once over his shoulder toward the cave.
"Stay back," he said quietly.
Then he turned toward the rushing enemies.
The mercenary leader faltered mid-stride, a cold dread crawling up his spine. Something was wrong — horribly wrong.
Ray's aura condensed, his muscles tensed.
The Void Cells, though straining, flowed to his fists, reinforcing every inch of his frame.
The air hummed with the weight of what was coming.
He raised his fists — the first stance of the Nameless Art.
Then, with a breath that shook the ground, he moved.
One strike.
Then another.
Then a hundred.
The air blurred, fists overlapping until they became a single, continuous wave of destruction.
Each blow carried aura and qi, amplified by the Void Cells that reinforced his body — multiplying one another, erupting into a cascade of raw power that consumed everything before him.
The ground blackened.
The forest disintegrated.
The enemies — enforcers and mercenaries alike — vanished in the blinding surge of blue and black light.
The explosion of force rolled outward like a miniature world-ending storm, scorching earth, uprooting trees, turning the soil itself to glass.
When it ended, silence fell — heavy and absolute.
Nothing moved.
Nothing breathed.
Ray stood at the center of it all, body trembling.
Cracks of light spread across his skin, energy seeping through like molten veins.
His vision blurred; cracks spread across the black metallic mask.
A faint shimmer passed through it — then it fractured completely.
The Void Cells that formed it scattered, flowing down his neck and across his body, trying desperately to mend the damage instead.
The mask — his faceless armor — was gone.
His own face was bare under the morning light.
He could feel his strength leaving him.
Still, as he fell, a quiet thought flickered through his mind, accompanied by a faint grin.
I guess it's time to name the Nameless Art…
He hit the ground hard, but didn't lose consciousness.
The black energy stirred again, flowing gently through his body. It purified a small portion of the remaining mana — then devoured the purest part of it, blending it with itself. The cracks along his arms began to fade.
He sat there for a long moment, surrounded by ash and silence.
Behind him, the cave still stood — untouched.
The civilians were safe.
Then — a faint murmur.
One of the elders stepped forward, trembling, eyes wide with awe.
"Th-That's…"
Another elder, older and frail but smiling faintly, leaned against the cave wall for support.
"Void Eyes… finally…"
Ray blinked slowly, confusion flickering across his exhausted face.
His vision sharpened — the world no longer appeared in color or form, but in streams of light and flowing outlines.
Every living thing pulsed faintly with energy — and from within that brilliance, he caught the faint outline of himself through that perception.
His right eye glowed with a deep, vivid violet — calm, divine, and terrifyingly alive.
The civilians' whispers spread like wind through the cavern. Hope. Fear. Worship.
Ray exhaled, barely conscious, his head lowering.
He didn't understand their words — not yet.
But deep within him, the black energy pulsed once, almost approvingly.
The light faded.
The silence returned.
And as Ray's body gave out, the morning light spread across the charred earth — the world quiet and unaware that something ancient had just awoken again.
The cave remained untouched, sealed in safety.
No cries escaped.
No witnesses survived.
For now, the world would stay blind.
But the Reckoning had truly begun.
End of Chapter 5