The fractures in the sky did not close.
They stabilized.
That alone terrified the senior mages of Eclipse Academy more than any invasion ever had.
Rifts were meant to collapse after releasing unstable energy. These did not. They hovered silently above the academy like watchful eyes, humming with restrained multiversal pressure.
Arakio stood on the central platform, breathing slowly.
The hunger inside him was no longer restless.
It was focused.
Jiho wiped sweat from his brow, maintaining a complex stabilization array.
"These rifts… they're not attacking anymore. They're waiting."
Riko frowned.
"Waiting for what?"
Arakio already knew the answer.
"For me."
The Villain Steps In
The air suddenly folded inward.
Space bent like glass under pressure, and from the largest rift emerged a presence so overwhelming that even gravity hesitated to obey it.
The Arc Villain descended.
Not fully manifested—yet his form was clear enough. A tall silhouette wrapped in living darkness, eyes glowing like dying stars. His aura did not explode outward like Xyther's.
It suppressed everything.
Students fell to their knees.
Barriers cracked.
Even time felt slower.
"So this is the one," the figure said calmly.
"The bearer of Eternal Hunger."
Arakio forced himself to stand straight.
"You're the one behind all this."
A faint smile appeared in the darkness.
"Behind? No. I am the convergence itself."
Pressure Beyond Limits
With a single gesture, the villain released a controlled wave of power.
The academy groaned.
Floating islands dropped several meters before stabilizing again. Defensive wards screamed under the strain.
Arakio moved instantly.
His Aura Blade transformed mid-motion:
Blade of Infinite Hunger — sharper, denser, cutting through compressed space
Mirror Shield — forming instinctively, reflecting reality-warping pressure
Resonance Sphere — expanding outward, linking allies' auras together
The hunger surged violently.
Not out of loss of control—
—but because it recognized a higher stage.
Jiho shouted, "Arakio! Your aura—it's changing again!"
Ayakio grabbed his arm, her energy synchronizing with his.
"Stay with us. Don't cross the line alone."
The hunger whispered:
This is the gate.
Step through… or be crushed.
The Hint of Stage 5
Arakio closed his eyes.
He stopped resisting the hunger.
Instead, he listened.
He felt it—not as a monster, but as a force shaped by will. Hunger was not destruction.
It was growth without permission.
His aura shifted.
Gold and violet were joined by a deeper tone—something heavier, calmer, older.
Space bent around him without breaking.
This was not Stage 5.
But it was no longer Stage 4+.
The villain's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Interesting. You can touch the threshold without losing yourself."
Arakio opened his eyes.
"I won't become your weapon."
The hunger responded—not with rage, but alignment.
Friends as Anchors
The villain increased the pressure again.
This time, Arakio would have collapsed—
If not for them.
Jiho reinforced the resonance field.
Riko redirected hostile distortions with precise counter-flows.
Ayakio's presence stabilized Arakio's emotional state, anchoring his consciousness.
Together, they formed a living circuit.
The hunger stabilized further.
For the first time, Arakio realized something terrifying.
Stage 5 could not be reached alone.
It demanded bonds strong enough to survive it.
The Villain's Warning
The Arc Villain lowered his hand.
The pressure vanished instantly.
"Good," he said.
"You are learning what most gods never understand."
He turned, stepping back toward the rift.
"The convergence will continue. Worlds will overlap. Laws will fail."
His gaze returned to Arakio.
"And when Stage 5 fully awakens… you will either reshape the multiverse—
or tear it apart."
The rift sealed.
Silence followed.
Aftermath
Arakio dropped to one knee, exhausted beyond anything he had felt before.
Not from damage—
—but from holding back ascension.
Ayakio knelt beside him.
"You scared me."
He gave a faint smile.
"I scared myself too."
Riko exhaled sharply.
"Well… congrats. You just got personally threatened by a multiversal entity."
Jiho looked at the sky.
"This isn't just about the academy anymore, is it?"
Arakio stood slowly.
"No," he said.
"This is about everything."
Inside him, the hunger pulsed once—silent, heavy, inevitable.
Stage 5 was no longer distant.
It was waiting.
Chapter 12 Summary / Cliffhanger
Arc Villain makes direct appearance
Multiversal pressure overwhelms academy
Arakio reaches Stage 5 threshold without fully crossing it
Hunger redefined: growth, not chaos
Friends revealed as anchors necessary for ascension
Villain confirms convergence will continue
Cliffhanger: Stage 5 inevitable — control or catastrophe