The Academy's foundations cracked like bone.
A deep, rolling thunder rose from beneath the earth — not sound, but pressure, crushing and overwhelming.
Aren staggered as students fled past him, their screams echoing through the collapsing halls.
Outside, the city alarm blared:
"BREACH EXPANSION DETECTED.
UNDER-CITY ENERGY CRITICAL."
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Mana lights shattered.
The air itself vibrated.
Kane tightened his grip on Aren's arm.
"Aren—stay with me. Do NOT look down into the breach."
Aren tried.
But the void king's call tore at his mind like hooks.
"AREN…"
"AREN…"
"AREN…"
Kale limped over, bruised and bloody but still defiant.
"What do we do?! That thing isn't stopping!"
Rellin activated her highest-level barrier seal — a massive, blue crystalline dome over the torn floor.
Her forehead dripped sweat.
"This is no longer an infiltration or a demon event. We are witnessing a partial ascension event."
Kale blinked.
"A what?"
Kane answered grimly:
"Something ancient is trying to step into our world."
Aren whispered:
"…He's not trying. He's succeeding."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The breach pulsed with violent light.
Not purple.
Not blue.
A twisted color between the two — void bleeding into reality.
Aren's body reacted instantly.
His markings burned.
His heartbeat synced with the pulses.
His vision flickered between worlds.
He clutched his chest.
"Ghh—!"
Kane raised his sword.
"DON'T GIVE HIM AN INCH."
Kale glared at Aren.
"Fight it! Don't you dare give in now!"
Aren tried.
He really tried.
But the void king's presence surged upward like a rising tide.
"AREN.
MY HEIR."
Aren screamed—
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
He fired Void Sever again—
CRACK—BOOOOM—
—but the breach barely flinched.
Rellin shouted:
"The breach is stabilizing from HIS side! He's reinforcing it!"
The hall trembled.
Stone cracked.
Ceiling beams snapped.
And then—
A massive, spectral wing forced itself through the breach.
Students screamed.
Soldiers retreated.
The sealing array shattered in a rain of sparks.
Kale stared in horror.
"That's—
That's not a projection anymore—
That's a PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION!"
Kane stood firm.
"No. Not fully. Not yet. Half his form is still trapped underground."
Rellin shouted:
"IF HE PULLS HIMSELF THROUGH, THE CITY WILL FALL!"
Aren's pupils shrank.
Not a threat.
A reality.
He forced himself upright.
"My void… he's using it as a bridge."
Kale snapped his head around.
"What?!"
Aren pointed at his glowing markings.
"He's not forcing his way into this world.
He's using ME.
My evolution.
My connection."
Kane hissed.
"He's turning you into a conduit."
Aren's hands shook.
"No… no… please… I didn't want this…"
The wing tore further through the breach, dragging a massive shoulder with it.
The void king's voice filled the hall:
"AREN.
LET ME THROUGH."
Aren felt himself step forward involuntarily—
But Kane shoved him back.
"NO! You're not moving another step!"
Aren slammed into a wall, gripping his head.
He wasn't resisting the dragon anymore.
He was resisting himself.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A cold whisper slipped into Aren's mind.
Not the king.
The rival entity.
"Listen…
Void-bearer…"
Aren gasped.
"You again—!"
Kane looked around sharply.
"What? What is it?"
Aren clutched his head.
"She's talking to me—
the other ancient… whoever she is…"
The rival entity's voice trembled.
"The king… drains your evolution…
He strengthens through you…"
Aren froze.
"…He's stealing my evolution?"
"Yes.
Your growth… your power… it fuels his ascension."
Aren felt sick.
"He's using me like a ladder…"
The rival entity's voice sharpened:
"Break the ladder.
Break the link."
Aren shouted aloud:
"How do I break the link?! Tell me!"
A pause.
Then—
"You must sever your evolution."
Aren's heart stopped.
"What?"
Kale stepped back in shock.
"Whoa—wait—what is he SAYING?!"
Kane looked horrified.
"Sever your evolution…
Aren… if you do that—
you could lose your powers."
Aren shook his head frantically.
"I can't—he'll break through if I don't!"
The rival voice insisted:
"Sever the link…
Or he rises."
Aren looked at his hands.
At the glowing markings.
At the trembling breach.
At Kane, bruised and bleeding but still standing.
At Rellin, barely holding the barrier fragments.
At Kale, terrified but refusing to run.
He inhaled sharply.
"…Then I'll cut it."
Kane grabbed him.
"AREN—THINK—YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND—"
"I understand enough!" Aren shouted.
"If I don't sever it—he'll use me to enter the world."
A quake rocked the hall.
Half the void king's torso emerged.
There was no time.
Aren lifted his hand.
Void swirled violently, resisting him.
He focused everything.
Every drop of will.
Void Sever.
Not at the dragon.
At himself.
Kale's eyes widened.
"AREN—DON'T—!!"
Kane lunged to stop him.
Rellin screamed.
Aren whispered:
"…I choose my path."
He slashed—
Void Sever (C) → VOID REJECTION (B–)
Unique Skill Created.
The void around him shattered.
The markings on his arms tore open in sparks of violet flame.
The connection snapped—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
The breach exploded into light.
The void king roared in fury, pulled backward.
His wing fractured.
His phantom body disintegrated.
His voice cracked into pure rage.
"AREN—YOU—DARE—DEFY—ME—"
Then—
The breach slammed shut.
The hall fell silent.
Dust settled.
Aren collapsed face-first.
Kane caught him just before he hit the ground.
"Aren! Stay with me—AREN!"
Aren's breath was shallow.
His markings were gone.
His void aura was… empty.
Hollow.
But he smiled weakly.
"…I broke his ladder."
Kane gritted his teeth, shaking.
"You idiot…
You brilliant idiot…"
The void king's fading voice echoed faintly—
"AREN… YOU HAVE NOT ESCAPED…"
Aren whispered:
"…I didn't want to escape.
I wanted to choose."
And darkness swallowed him.