The night breeze swept quietly through the ruined battlefield as silence lingered after Damien's question.
"Did you really think you were the only one?"
Zael stared at him for several seconds without replying immediately.
Because the question itself carried implications.
A lot of implications.
Talents above mythical rank.
Others like him.
And more importantly—
The fact Damien spoke about it so casually meant this probably wasn't some isolated coincidence.
Behind Zael, Auralis looked between the two boys repeatedly before finally speaking.
"…I feel like I missed several chapters worth of context."
"Same," Lily muttered.
Only Aurelia remained quiet, her sharp eyes observing Damien carefully.
Meanwhile Damien laughed lightly after seeing Zael's expression.
"Relax. You look like I just exposed some world-ending secret."
Zael's gaze sharpened slightly.
"That depends on how much you know."
Damien grinned.
"Fair."
Then he stretched lazily before continuing.
"I don't know your abilities specifically if that's what you're worried about. But people with talents above mythical rank have certain similarities."
"Similarities?" Zael repeated calmly.
Damien nodded.
"The growth speed for one."
His golden eyes flickered slightly.
"Monstrous adaptability. Strength progression that ignores common sense. Skills evolving unnaturally. Things like that."
Auralis slowly turned toward Zael afterward.
"…Wait."
Then toward Damien.
"…WAIT."
Lily sighed.
"That actually explains a disturbing amount."
Zael ignored them completely.
"What exactly are talents above mythical rank?"
Damien blinked once.
Then laughed.
"So you really don't know."
That answer alone told Zael enough.
Meaning Damien had likely learned about this from somewhere else.
Or someone else.
The playful look on Damien's face faded slightly afterward as he spoke more seriously.
"There are ranks beyond mythical."
The atmosphere shifted subtly.
"Most awakeners don't know because the information is heavily restricted. Mythical is basically treated as the absolute peak publicly."
Damien pointed toward himself casually.
"But some talents exceed that limit."
Then toward Zael.
"Yours definitely does too."
Zael stayed silent.
Not confirming.
Not denying.
Damien didn't seem bothered.
"In some circles," he continued, "people like us are called Transcendents."
The word lingered in the air.
Aurelia's eyes narrowed faintly at that.
Clearly the term meant something to her.
Zael noticed immediately.
But before he could question her—
Damien continued speaking.
"The funny thing is most Transcendents never even realize what they are initially. They just think they awakened absurd talents."
His grin returned afterward.
"Then eventually reality starts breaking around them."
Auralis immediately pointed toward Zael.
"That sounds exactly like him."
"Oi."
"I'm serious!"
Even Lily nodded reluctantly.
"…Actually yes."
Zael ignored them again while focusing on the important part.
"How many are there?"
Damien shrugged.
"No clue."
That surprised Zael slightly.
"You don't know?"
"I've only met two personally." Damien pointed toward himself first. "Me."
Then toward Zael.
"And now you."
That answer eased Zael slightly.
At least this wasn't some massive openly organized group.
Probably.
Damien suddenly smirked afterward.
"Though honestly? You're crazier than I expected."
Zael raised an eyebrow.
"You attacked my group because of that?"
Damien immediately coughed awkwardly.
"…Okay that part wasn't related."
Auralis cracked her knuckles instantly.
"I knew it."
Damien raised both hands defensively.
"In my defense, we genuinely thought we were stronger."
"You were wrong."
"Painfully aware now."
Even some of his teammates groaned from the rubble afterward.
Surprisingly—
The tension on the battlefield gradually eased afterward.
At least until Damien suddenly asked another question.
"So…"
His golden eyes locked directly onto Zael again.
"What's your talent called?"
Zael paused briefly.
Then smiled faintly.
Cold.
Amused.
"Nice try."
Damien burst out laughing immediately afterward.
"Worth a shot."
Far above them, hidden within the dark clouds overhead—
A pair of crimson eyes silently observed the entire scene.
Zael's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Damien.
"Wait a second," he said calmly. "You said us before."
Then his expression sharpened faintly.
"And I never admitted to having a talent above mythical."
For a second—
Damien simply stared at him.
Then a loud laugh escaped his mouth.
"Hahahaha!"
He nearly bent over from laughing while holding his stomach dramatically.
"Who are you kidding?"
His golden eyes locked directly onto Zael afterward, filled with amusement.
"Not having a talent above mythical and you're this strong?"
Damien gestured broadly toward the destroyed battlefield surrounding them.
"Yeah right."
Even Auralis snorted from nearby.
"He kinda has a point."
Zael ignored her completely.
Damien finally calmed down after a few moments before exhaling lightly.
"Now about when I said us…" he continued. "To be sincere, when I first received my talent, I thought I was the only one."
His expression turned oddly nostalgic afterward.
"Kinda like some protagonist from a novel. Never tasting defeat. Constantly growing stronger. Leaving everyone else behind."
Faint golden energy flickered unconsciously around his fingers as he spoke.
"For a while, it honestly felt that way too. No matter who I fought, I won. No matter how strong someone looked, I eventually surpassed them."
Then Damien looked directly at Zael again.
His grin returned slowly.
"That is until I met you."
Zael remained silent after hearing that.
The night wind swept through the ruined battlefield quietly while Damien continued staring at him with obvious interest, almost like someone who had finally discovered proof that he wasn't alone.
It was strange.
Because despite how casually Damien acted, Zael could tell he was being sincere.
For someone with a talent above mythical rank, growth naturally became isolating.
Too fast.
Too abnormal.
People around you eventually stopped feeling comparable.
Not because they were weak—
But because the gap widened too quickly.
Zael understood that feeling better than anyone.
Authority of Infinite Growth had shattered normal progression entirely. Even before assimilating the dragon bloodline, his strength growth already bordered on absurd.
And now—
Even mythical rank awakeners capable of dominating others their age had been casually crushed by him.
Damien suddenly grinned again.
"You know, I almost thought you were hiding your real level."
Zael raised an eyebrow slightly.
"I'm not."
"That's the terrifying part."
Auralis immediately nodded from nearby.
"Finally someone understands."
Lily sighed tiredly.
"You say that like you aren't also abnormal."
"I'm normal compared to him."
"No you're not."
Meanwhile Aurelia remained unusually quiet.
Her eyes moved between Zael and Damien thoughtfully, clearly analyzing every word being exchanged.
Damien eventually stretched lightly before continuing.
"Honestly, meeting you is kinda refreshing."
"That's a weird thing to say after getting your team destroyed," Lily muttered.
Damien shrugged carelessly.
"They'll recover."
One of his buried teammates weakly raised a hand from the rubble behind him.
"…I think my ribs are gone."
Damien ignored him completely.
Then his expression sharpened slightly as he looked back toward Zael.
"But seriously though, you should be careful."
Zael's eyes narrowed faintly.
"With what?"
"With standing out too much."
The atmosphere shifted subtly again.
Damien's playful attitude didn't disappear completely—
But his tone became more serious.
"People notice monsters eventually," he said calmly. "Especially ones our age."
Zael said nothing.
Because he already knew.
Kael's existence alone proved that.
Damien continued speaking while staring at the moonlit sky above.
"There are organizations searching for anomalies constantly. Some want to recruit them. Others want control."
His grin returned afterward.
"And some are just terrified."
That part sounded believable.
Even now, Zael's growth speed was becoming harder to explain normally.
Auralis suddenly frowned.
"Wait… if there are more people like you two, doesn't that mean the younger generation is basically doomed?"
Damien laughed immediately.
"Probably."
"That's not reassuring!"
"It's realistic."
Then he looked toward Zael again.
"So what now?"
Zael raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"You gonna keep pretending you're normal?"
Zael answered instantly.
"I am normal".
Damien blinked.
Then burst out laughing again.
"…Fair enough."