The world did not collapse.
It hesitated.
After the fall of the Convergence Entity, reality around Eclipse Academy stood frozen—as if existence itself was waiting for a command.
Arakio felt it.
Not as pain.
Not as fear.
But as choice.
The Weight of Existence
He knelt.
The Hunger did not push him forward this time.
It waited.
You can consume, it whispered.
Or you can preserve.
Arakio's hands trembled. His body still bore the scars of partial Stage 5, veins glowing faintly with gold-violet light.
Jiho stepped closer, voice low.
"Arakio… the overlap zones are destabilizing again. If they collapse—millions of lives—"
"I know."
Riko clenched her fists.
"If you go further… you might not come back as yourself."
Ayakio said nothing.
She only held his hand.
That was enough.
Stage 5 — Full Manifestation
Arakio stood.
This time, he did not open the gate.
He walked through it.
The Hunger unfolded—not violently, but deliberately.
Stage 5 fully awakened.
The sky did not shatter.
It bowed.
The Sovereign Form
Arakio's presence changed fundamentally.
His aura no longer expanded—it claimed space
Gravity aligned to his heartbeat
Overlapping realities stabilized instantly in his vicinity
The Aura Blade transformed into something beyond weaponry:
Existence Severance — Sovereign Edge
It did not cut matter.
It cut decisions.
The Second Convergence Wave
The multiverse responded.
Three new convergence cores manifested simultaneously—each powerful enough to erase entire sectors.
The council screamed evacuation orders.
Too slow.
Arakio raised his blade.
"Not today."
He did not attack.
He declared.
Hunger as Judgment
Each core was touched by the Sovereign Edge.
Not destroyed.
Evaluated.
One collapsed—its world long dead, sustained only by parasitic overlap.
One stabilized—its inhabitants still fighting, still hoping.
One resisted.
The resisting core screamed in defiance.
Arakio met it head-on.
This time, he consumed.
Not the world.
The corruption.
The Hunger fed—not endlessly, not greedily—but with purpose.
The Cost
When it ended, the sky cleared.
The academy survived.
So did the worlds Arakio spared.
But he fell.
Stage 5 burned through him like a dying star.
Ayakio caught him before he hit the ground.
Tears fell onto his face.
"Don't leave me," she whispered.
Arakio smiled faintly.
"I chose… to stay."
The Observer Moves
Far beyond time, something ancient stirred.
Not Light.
Not Darkness.
Something older.
Something that did not create worlds.
Something that ends stories.
The Nothingness had noticed.
Chapter 15 Summary / Cliffhanger
Full Stage 5 unlocked
Hunger evolves into judgment, not consumption
Arakio spares and saves entire worlds
First true cost of god-level power shown
Arakio collapses after victory
Nothingness officially enters the narrative