The Spiritual Realm was silent.
Not the peaceful silence of a quiet forest.
It was the kind of silence that came only after countless creatures had died.
Scorched earth stretched in every direction. Giant trees had been shattered during battles, while monster corpses lay scattered across the landscape. The air carried the scent of smoke, blood, and roasted meat.
Beside a small campfire sat a lone teenage boy.
At first glance, he barely looked like a teenager anymore.
A full year of surviving alone inside the Spiritual Realm had changed him.
Dark raven hair flowed messily past his shoulders.
A faint beard had begun growing along his jawline, giving him a more mature appearance.
His once youthful face had become sharper, calmer, and more intimidating.
Even his skin looked different.
It carried a strange reflective sheen, as though the world itself shimmered across its surface.
That young man was Aaron.
He quietly rotated a large piece of monster meat over the flames while staring into the fire.
The crackling sound was strangely comforting.
After an entire year alone...
He had almost forgotten what normal conversation sounded like.
Aaron tore off another piece of meat and chewed slowly.
"I've officially gone insane..."
He chuckled to himself.
"I've started talking to campfires."
No one answered.
Not that he expected anyone to.
Over the past year, he had hunted creatures without pause.
His combat skills had improved dramatically.
His understanding of his own abilities had also deepened.
Unfortunately...
He had learned their limits the painful way.
Aaron slowly opened his palm.
A transparent reflection appeared above it.
The image twisted continuously before eventually stabilizing.
"My Reflection..."
"It still isn't perfect."
Originally, he believed he could reflect anything.
Reality quickly corrected that misunderstanding.
If he attempted to reflect a creature stronger than himself...
His own body became the price.
Bones cracked.
Blood vessels burst.
Sometimes...
He even reflected the creature's corruption.
The first time it happened, Aaron had nearly died.
For several terrifying hours, he couldn't distinguish reality from illusion.
He still remembered laughing while fighting monsters that didn't exist.
That experience taught him never to become arrogant.
Now...
His limit was clear.
He could safely reflect any creature up to the rank of an Awakened Calamity.
Anything beyond that...
Was gambling with death.
Aaron sighed.
"Still..."
"I've survived."
He wasn't just an Initiate anymore.
He had reached the rank of Initiate Calamity.
A level most people could only dream of reaching.
Yet...
The advancement that truly mattered remained just beyond his grasp.
Aaron stood and looked toward the distant horizon.
"I haven't seen a single human citadel in an entire year."
He shook his head.
"This place is almost worse than my Trial."
At least during the Trial...
There had been people.
Here...
There were only monsters.
Then—
A faint light appeared in the distance.
Aaron blinked.
"...Finally."
A smile spread across his face.
"There really is one."
Far beyond the forest, a small golden light pierced through the darkness.
A human settlement.
A citadel.
Without hesitation, Aaron extinguished the campfire before preparing to leave.
Then something made him pause.
He hadn't checked his profile in several days.
Curious, he summoned it.
A translucent screen appeared before him.
Name: Aaron
Rank: Initiate
Class: Calamity
Data:
Scorpion Sword,
Cold Pendant,
Mystery Shard,
Shadow Armor,
Flame Eyes,
Aaron's gaze briefly stopped on the section labeled Flaw.
He immediately skipped it.
"I already know you're there."
"No need to ruin my mood."
His eyes moved downward.
God Body:
Purple Manor Aura,
Reflecting the World
Calamity Core:
6,999 / 7,000
Aaron froze.
Then slowly lowered the screen.
"...Seriously?"
He stared blankly into space.
"One point."
"One."
"I've eaten enough monster meat to feed an army."
"I've killed hundreds of Awakened creatures."
"And I'm still missing..."
He held up one finger.
"...one fragment."
Aaron couldn't help laughing.
"Fate really hates me."
He looked down at the last remaining piece of roasted meat.
It wasn't particularly appetizing anymore.
Still...
He shrugged.
"You're my final hope."
He took one bite.
Then another.
Finally...
He swallowed the last piece.
Silence.
Aaron waited.
Nothing happened.
He sighed dramatically.
"I knew it."
The familiar whisper of the System suddenly echoed inside his mind.
You have gained five Calamity Fragments.
Your reflection of the world deepens.
Aaron's eyes widened.
"No way..."
Before he could celebrate—
The System spoke again.
Calamity Core Complete.
Prepare for Reformation.
Aaron's smile disappeared.
"...Wait."
"What do you mean by—"
BOOM!
His body exploded into countless shining mirror fragments.
Millions of crystalline shards scattered into the air.
Aaron couldn't even scream.
Pain overwhelmed everything.
Every shard felt like a burning needle.
Every fragment carried a piece of his consciousness.
His soul...
His flesh...
His essence...
Everything had shattered.
Then the fragments began moving.
One by one...
They returned.
A hand.
An arm.
A shoulder.
His chest.
His legs.
His face.
Every piece reassembled with perfect precision.
The pain became even greater during reconstruction.
It felt as though every nerve inside his body had been recreated from nothing.
Aaron clenched his teeth.
He refused to scream.
Minutes later...
The pain vanished.
Aaron slowly opened his eyes.
The world looked...
Different.
The sunlight reflected from leaves more clearly.
Every pool of water resembled a perfect mirror.
Even tiny droplets of blood reflected images he had never noticed before.
He could feel reflections everywhere.
Every polished stone.
Every blade.
Every puddle.
Every window.
It was as though the entire world had become connected through countless invisible mirrors.
The System whispered once more.
Rank Advancement Successful.
Congratulations.
Initiate Mythic Achieved.
Aaron remained silent.
Then a grin slowly spread across his face.
"So..."
"I finally caught up."
Curious, he immediately tested his power.
Three reflections emerged beside him.
Each one looked identical to Aaron.
Each carried the same expression.
The same posture.
The same aura.
Aaron laughed.
"I could barely maintain one before."
"And now..."
He looked proudly at the three reflections standing beside him.
"...three."
His smile widened.
"This changes everything."
Without another word, Aaron dismissed his profile.
He looked toward the distant light of the human citadel once again.
"I think..."
"...it's finally time to meet actual people."
With his three reflections silently following behind him, Aaron walked toward the glowing settlement in the distance, unaware that this small journey would soon intertwine with events far greater than he could possibly imagine.