Inside the massive cave—
Time had passed unnoticed.
Hours of relentless effort had pushed Noah beyond his limits.
His body finally gave in.
He collapsed onto the cold stone ground, lying flat as his chest rose and fell violently. Each breath came out ragged, uneven.
"Huff… Huff… Ughh…"
His eyes were gone—yet his awareness still stared upward into the vast ceiling above.
Exhaustion weighed down every part of him.
But beneath it—
Something had changed.
Noah had refined his Will.
Not just used it—
Tempered it.
At first, he had focused everything into a single objective:
Move the Ether.
And within half an hour—
He succeeded.
But he quickly realized the truth.
Moving… was not controlling.
So he changed his approach.
Completely.
Instead of forcing movement—
He focused on dominion.
Control.
Absolute control.
That decision nearly broke him.
His mind strained.
His heart pounded so violently it felt like it would burst.
Even with the Sword God Physique, the pressure was unbearable—
Yet something terrifying happened.
He adapted.
Every time he reached his limit—
His body recovered faster.
Stronger.
More stable.
As if it was evolving in real time to match his will.
And then—
After an entire hour of relentless struggle—
He succeeded.
Fully.
"I DID IT!!"
His voice echoed violently through the cave.
A grin stretched across his face as he lay there, breathless, trembling—not from weakness, but from exhilaration.
His heart pounded wildly.
This feeling—
This rush—
He had never experienced anything like it before.
The novels he once read…
The "cliché" moments he mocked—
Now made sense.
This was real.
Noah pushed himself up again.
His body recovered almost instantly.
His mind was already moving forward.
To the next step.
Velzahar's technique.
That single point of destruction—
Compressed at the tip of a finger.
Noah smirked slightly.
"…That was fucking cool."
He raised his hand.
Focused.
His thoughts faded into silence.
Only one thing remained—
Will.
The Ether responded immediately.
Particles gathered—
Easily.
Effortlessly.
Unlike before.
A vortex formed above his index finger.
Spinning.
Condensing.
Growing denser with every passing second.
Noah's expression sharpened.
'…This feels different.'
He had expected resistance.
Failure.
But—
There was none.
The vortex intensified.
Faster.
Heavier.
More violent.
So he pushed further.
His Will tightened.
Compressed everything—
Relentlessly.
One second.
Ten seconds.
Thirty.
A full minute passed.
Then—
Silence.
The vortex vanished.
And in its place—
A tiny sphere hovered.
Rotating slowly.
Calm.
Stable.
Small.
Far smaller than Velzahar's.
Yet—
Noah's instincts screamed.
This was wrong.
The pressure it emitted—
Was far denser.
Far more violent.
Noah's breath hitched.
'…This is enough.'
He extended his hand.
But instead of copying—
He modified.
His fingers shifted.
Index and thumb forward.
Others curled.
A gun shape.
A grin spread across his face.
"Heh… I'll call this…"
A pause.
"…Doom Shard."
His Will locked.
Target set.
Fire.
The sphere shot forward.
Not like a projectile—
Like a beam of annihilation.
And then—
Impact.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—
The explosion tore through the cave.
Far louder.
Far more violent.
Than anything before.
Debris scattered like dust.
The ground trembled.
The air itself shook.
But Noah—
Had already seen everything.
His senses pierced through the chaos.
And what he perceived—
Made his mind go blank.
The wall—
Was gone.
Not cracked.
Not shattered.
Erased.
Reduced to fragments.
A massive hole stood where solid obsidian once existed—
Leading straight outside.
Noah froze.
Completely.
"…W-What…?"
His voice barely came out.
His mouth hung open.
His thoughts refused to process reality.
'Did… I do that…?'
This wasn't success.
This wasn't talent.
This was—
Abnormal.
And the most terrifying part—
It felt easy.
No strain.
No backlash.
Nothing.
"…What the hell is happening to me…?"
Before he could think further—
A familiar chime echoed.
[Host has learned a Skill!]
[Skill Acquired: Doom Shard (Lv.1)]
[A compressed sphere of pure Ether, containing immense destructive force.]
[Host will be Receive a Reward For Learning a New Skill on his Own!]
Noah's expression hardened slightly.
The System.
Still there.
Still watching.
He didn't trust it.
Not fully.
Not yet.
"…What reward?" he asked quietly.
[Reward Granted: Sword God Manual]
[Stored in Inventory]
Noah paused.
"…A manual?"
With a thought—
A book appeared in his hand.
Bound with rope.
Simple.
Ancient.
He opened it.
And froze.
Inside—
Were images.
Four in a single page.
Not drawings—
Instructions.
A technique.
The same one he had seen during integration.
Intent Hand Sword.
At the bottom—
[Specification: Fundamental Technique]
[Tier: 0]
Noah flipped the page.
Then another.
Each technique—
More complex.
More detailed.
More overwhelming.
Some required dozens of steps.
Far beyond his current level.
He closed the book slowly.
"…Not yet."
With a thought—
It vanished.
"…I'll focus on Doom Shard first."
And without hesitation—
He began again.
Meanwhile…
Inside the Royal Palace of the Elves—
Within the Queen's private chamber—
Velzahar sat calmly.
Composed.
Silent.
Beside him—
The Queen leaned against his shoulder.
Her body trembled slightly.
Tears still falling.
"…Sniff… Brother… why did you disappear…?"
Velzahar raised his hand.
Gently placed it on her head.
"…I didn't leave willingly."
His voice—
Soft.
Unusually so.
She lifted her head.
Eyes locked onto his.
And he spoke.
"My family was massacred."
A pause.
"…By a God."
Silence.
"I was sealed… for a thousand years."
The words fell heavily.
The Queen's pupils trembled.
Shock.
Rage.
Pain.
But she said nothing.
She listened as Velzahar started explaining Everything and Her Emotions Stirred Inside her.
As something far greater—
Than grief—
Began to awaken within her.