The moment the boy spoke, the air shifted.It was not dramatic. There was no flare of light, no violent surge of Aether. Yet Lucas felt it instantly, like a weight pressing against his chest from the inside. His Core reacted before his mind did, tightening as if bracing for impact.The short boy stepped closer, his black hair slightly unkempt, his expression calm to the point of indifference. His eyes moved from Gerald to Roderic, then finally settled on Lucas. He did not smile.“You are training early,” the boy said. His voice was quiet, but it carried.Gerald straightened immediately. “This space is free. We are not breaking any rules.”“I know,” the boy replied. “I did not come to complain.”Roderic frowned. “Then what do you want?”The boy tilted his head slightly, studying Lucas as though the others were no longer present. “I wanted to confirm something.”Lucas felt the pressure increase. His Aether stirred on its own, spreading thinly across his body. The fire on his wooden swor

Lucas still sat there as students were heading out of the class. He was deep in thoughts, thinking why the paragon had to use one of the forbidden magic and put his soul in Lucas' body.Suddenly again he could see the world becoming slower and slower, he already knew what was coming so this time he wasn't surprised.“Hi Lucas, looks like you need me to answer some of your questions again” A soft female voice said.He still couldn't see her physical presence but could still only hear her voice.“I need to know, why did the paragon do this even though she knew she would break?” Lucas asked.“Well you see” The soft female voice replied hesitantly “she was a woman that always believed she could do the impossible, and she always tried to push that belief on others which as you could guess would cause an issue”“That makes sense” Lucas replied with his face looking down like he was still thinking “but even if she was like that why would she do it for a random, and even if she wanted to help

The pressure returned without warning.It was subtle at first, a faint tightening around the chest, enough to unsettle but not panic. Only those sensitive to Aether noticed it. Lucas did.His steps slowed as the sensation crawled across his skin, sinking beneath muscle and bone. The cave air grew colder, heavier, and thicker. Torches bent toward an unseen force. The darkness itself seemed alive.“Again,” a student muttered. “That feeling.”Instructor Draven raised a hand. “This level of killing intent is abnormal but unfocused,” he said.Kael stepped forward. “It feeds on response, not presence.”Jason gripped his sword. “Invisible or not, we can handle it.”Kael nodded. “Stay linked. Communicate.”Crystals pulsed faintly, passing messages between units. They moved again. Ten steps. Twenty steps.The pressure vanished. Students laughed nervously.Then it returned, stronger. Lucas stopped.Draven exhaled. “Turn back.”The cave entrance was still there, but farther away. Each step stret

The descent ended without impact.Lucas felt the platform settle, not with force, but with agreement, as if the space beneath it had decided that it was acceptable for him to arrive. The pressure that had followed them through the lower layers did not vanish, but it reorganized itself into something quieter, more deliberate. It pressed against his senses like a measured hand rather than a crushing weight.The environment stretched outward in geometric order. Wide planes of dark stone intersected with translucent structures that reflected no faces, only movement. Light existed without a visible source, diffused evenly across the space, casting no true shadows yet allowing depth to remain unmistakable. Everything felt designed. Not intentionally hostile, but undeniably restrictive.Elara exhaled slowly beside him.She did not speak, but Lucas felt the shift in her posture. She was adjusting, instinctively lowering her output, aligning herself with the rhythm of the domain. The platform

The tremor beneath the domain had not finished spreading when the man finally moved. He stepped forward from the fractured edge of light, coat untouched by dust, expression unchanged. Calm. Always calm. The artifact at his chest pulsed once, a slow, deliberate rhythm. The sound it made was not loud, yet it seemed to reach everywhere at once. Jason felt it first. The aura he had been gathering along his arm sputtered. Draven felt it next. The familiar hum of energy that wrapped around his blade flickered like a candle in violent wind. The man’s gaze swept across the chamber and settled briefly on Solion. Measured. Calculated. Then he walked down into the broken platform as if stepping into a quiet courtyard rather than a battlefield that had just witnessed authority fracture. Jason did not wait. He lunged. “Aura blade.” Golden light surged from his sword, extending into a radiant edge. Draven moved in perfect sync, blue aura condensing along his weapon