As Valerius sprinted through the forest toward the island's center, he muttered under his breath:
"Lorde."
A small portal tore itself open midair beside him. From it, the head of a translucent golden, smug-looking spirit poked through—eyes tired, mouth unimpressed.
"What? I’m busy."
Valerius, still running, shouted, "I want to test your power!"
Lorde frowned.
"No."
Then—with perfect disrespect—he pulled his head back in, and the portal vanished.
Valerius skidded to a halt.
"Hey—hey, wait! Lorde!"
Another portal popped open. Lorde’s head emerged again.
"What." His tone was flat.
Valerius pointed a finger dramatically. "Come on, man! I’ve been asking for months. In fact—"
SLAM.
The portal snapped shut again before he could finish.
Valerius glared at the empty air and muttered, “Asshole.”
Lorde’s voice echoed ominously from nowhere.
"I heard that."
Then—WHAM—a fist burst from a new portal and socked Valerius across the face.
He flew several meters, he spinned in the air then landed on his feet with a sigh.
"Petty idiot."
He dusted himself off, then narrowed his eyes. Far ahead—several kilometers away—he spotted movement.
A small group, racing toward the center.
It was them.
Without hesitation, Valerius blinked forward—his speed tour through the air—and landed beside them with a gust of wind.
Elsa blinked. "Was that... you?"
Valerius just shrugged. "Maybe."
He turned to Kaelan with a smirk.
"Surprised to find you still in the running. Ziraiah told me you got your ass handed to you by some guy."
Kaelan scratched his head, groaning.
"Yeah... not my finest moment. But because of thati realised what I lacked. I learned how to use vitalise. I’m an enhancer now, an Augmenter"
"Ooo, good for you," Valerius said with fake sincerity.
Kaelan raised an eyebrow. "What about you? What happened to you in that kingdom?"
Valerius grinned. "You ever hear of the Beneik Ruin?"
Kaelan’s jaw dropped. "What?! That Beneik Ruin? With the tens of thousands of corpses?!"
"Yup. We were there."
He jabbed a thumb toward Eliana. "She was too. Though she kind of disappeared halfway."
Maloi turned to him, surprised. "You were in the Beneik Ruin?"
Valerius nodded. "Yh. Ask princess over here."
All eyes turned to Eliana. She gave a tired shrug.
"Yes, he was. And his siblings too. He was tiny back then."
Elsa giggled. "Yeah, I thought he was just a regular Earther. I didn’t expect him to grow into a monster."
Valerius glanced sideways at Eliana. "So, how did you escape?"
She went quiet for a moment.
Then answered softly, "I didn’t. They sacrificed themselves to save me. All for me to be kidnapped again. In the end... it was Pungence who rescued me."
Kaelan and Elsa gasped in unison.
"WHAT?! PUNGENCE? The Pungence?"
Eliana nodded solemnly. "Yes. That Pungence."
Kaelan whistled. "Damn... now I wish I went too."
Elsa side-eyed him. "Are you forgetting the part where a hundred thousand bodies were found there?"
Eliana turned back to Valerius.
"And you? How did you escape the Black March?"
Valerius exhaled.
"Someone came after me. A man—I’ll never forget his face. He was so powerful... they all ran. Even that red guy."
Eliana’s eyes widened.
"Omfry? Omfry ran? Then... there are monsters even stronger than the Black March."
Valerius muttered, "So that’s his name. Huh." He tilted his head. "Funny. My sister said someone named Pungence rescued them too. Big guy, arms like tree trunks."
Eliana smiled faintly. "That’s definitely him."
Suddenly—Balling’s voice thundered across the sky:
" TEN OUTSTANDING SECONDS REMAINING!"
Everyone’s eyes widened.
"WHAT?!" they shouted in unison.
Valerius focused, and in the distance—hundreds of kilometers away—he saw it:
The center of the island.
Time slowed.
Without hesitation, Valerius grabbed Kaelan by the arm and hurled him into the air like a javelin.
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"WAAAAAAHHHH!"
Next, he seized Maloi and Elsa—one under each arm—and launched them forward like cannonballs.
Their faces warped from the speed.
Then Valerius turned to Eliana, scooped her up bridal-style, braced his feet, and exploded forward.
The earth shattered beneath him.
The world became a blur.
> 5.
4.
3.
2...
He arrived.
Just before the countdown hit zero.
---
Kaelan, Elsa, and Maloi crashed into something invisible midair. It was soft… elastic… like thick air.
They slammed to the ground moments later.
Kaelan gasped between breaths. “What the hell… I thought I was gonna die.”
He and Elsa immediately vomited, while Maloi staggered, dizzy, and collapsed face-first.
Eliana dropped to her knees, her face pale. “Uuuh… I don’t feel so good.”
Valerius scratched the back of his head, slightly sheepish. “Sorry about that.”
Eliana turned to him, groaning. “I think I’m going to—”
She bent over and vomited violently.
Valerius gently held her hair out of her face and rubbed her back. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You made it.”
Wiping her mouth, she glared up at him. “What was that?! That sudden acceleration could’ve killed us! I didn’t even have time to augment myself!”
Valerius smiled. “Don’t worry. You’re fine. I’m not that careless.”
---
He then raised his head and gazed at something in the distance—a massive ancient stone pillar, rising like a tower.
His pupils shrank slightly.
He recognized it instantly.
Yeru…
Large Synelee glyphs were etched across its black stone surface. Valerius squinted and read the words:
> “IN THE BEGIN, THERE WAS ONLY ONE RACE, THEN ANKI CAME DOWN—”
The sentence was cut off violently, a jagged gash carved through the rest of the text.
A dark red stain marked the scar.
Valerius frowned. That looks like… blood. Was someone trying to finish the message… and got attacked?
He whispered, “Yelleen… what does it say? Who is Anki?”
Yelleen’s voice echoed in his mind.
“I don’t know. It’s incomplete. But I can tell you this… there are more Yeru stones like this. Scattered across the world. If you want the full message, you’ll need to find all of them.”
Valerius asked, “And how do I do that?”
“I don’t know.”
---
Eliana walked over, wiping her mouth. “Who were you talking to?”
Valerius replied casually, “Oh… just talking to myself.”
All around them, thousands of challengers stood silently, beneath the looming shadow of something enormous above.
A floating island—700 kilometers wide—drifted overhead, casting its titanic shadow across the land. It was surrounded by swirling storm clouds, rumbling like gods whispering in a fury.
Above them sat a fortress like no other:
The Aether Crucible.
---
Suddenly, the sky lit up with golden glyphs and a familiar voice echoed like a thunderous rock concert:
“CONGRATULATIONS FOR MAKING IT THIS FAR AND ON TIME!”
Balling’s voice. Proud. Loud. Unfiltered.
> “WELCOME TO PHASE TWO—THE DOMAIN DUELS!
You’ve earned your place in the Crucible… now let’s see if you can survive it.”
> “HERE’S THE BREAKDOWN:
1v1 MATCHES! You and a random opponent!
Each battle will be held in a living arena—gravity fields, lava rings, mist valleys—zones that react to your fear... or your power!
WINNERS move forward.
LOSERS? Hahaha… oh, they get a lovely second chance...
in the TRIAL OF REDEMPTION.
Optional. Deadly.
Choose wisely.”
Then silence.
Valerius exhaled. “That guy’s got the voice of a stadium DJ.”
He turned toward the group. “Yelleen, where are Eryndor and Ziraiah?”
“800 meters to your left.”
Valerius turned to Eliana. “Hey… wanna come meet my siblings?”
Eliana blinked. “They’re here?”
Valerius nodded. “Yeah.”
---
He walked over to Kaelan, who was still on his knees retching.
Valerius smirked. “Come on, man. You’re embarrassing yourself. I’m gonna go see Eryndor and Ziraiah. Wanna tag along? It’s been three years since I saw them.”
Elsa raised her eyebrows. “Three years? What happened?”
Valerius answered, “We got separated during the Beniek Ruin. Haven’t seen them since.”
Eliana caught up beside him. “You know where they are?”
“Yup.”
Now standing at 9 feet 8 inches tall, Eliana reached just under Valerius’s chin. The two walked side by side.
As they passed another group, a woman with silver hair and silver eyes watched them silently.
Then—
WHAM!
A blur rocketed toward Valerius—a flying kick aiming right for his head.
The world slowed.
Valerius turned calmly.
Saw her.
His eyes met hers.
He shook his head, grinned, and slipped to the side, narrowly dodging.
In midair, Ziraiah’s eyes widened.
Valerius smirked and extended a single finger.
“Gentle stab.”
He poked her side.
“AAAHH!!” she screamed, spiraling backward from the absurd poke.
She slammed into the ground hard, dust and gravel rising like a mini crater.
---
Kaelan’s mouth dropped. “What was that?!”
Valerius crouched down over her head, his arms resting lazily across his knees.
“You know,” he said with a smirk, “a normal sister would welcome her loving brother with a hug. But nooo… you just had to let out the cave girl in you, huh?”
Ziraiah was smiling as she lay there.
“You stupid idiot. Where the hell have you been?”
Valerius grinned. “Good to see you too, sis.”
She stood up slowly, placed her palm on his head, then her own.
“I’m taller than you now, Val.”
Valerius laughed. “Don’t get used to it. It won’t last.”
They stared at each other for a second—then embraced.
Ziraiah suddenly lifted him off the ground in a bear hug.
“Hey—hey! Put me down!” Valerius shouted, squirming.
She just laughed and spun him once before dropping him.
---
The clouds above rumbled once again.
And the Crucible loomed larger.
---
Eliana approached the group slowly, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“Oh my god…” she murmured, staring up at Ziraiah. “What have you been eating?”
Ziraiah, still holding Valerius in a tight embrace with his legs dangling midair, looked over her shoulder.
“Wait a second—is that the elf princess?”
Valerius smirked. “Yep. That’s her.”
Eliana blinked, stunned. She was so cute back then... but now she’s so beautiful.
Ziraiah’s gaze shifted and lit up.
“Elsa! Oh my god!”
She immediately dropped Valerius unceremoniously to the ground with a thud and sprinted toward Elsa, throwing her arms around her.
“How have you been?” Ziraiah asked, her voice warm with joy.
Elsa smiled, returning the hug. “Oh, you know… here and there.”
Then Ziraiah noticed Kaelan.
“Okay, what is going on? Why are you all getting so big?” Kaelan said.
Once, Kaelan had towered over them—but now, next to the Elvhein siblings, he looked positively average.
“Kaelan!” she called out, arms open as she ran toward him.
But just as she got close, her body froze in place—completely immobilized mid-step.
She groaned, rolling her eyes. “Ugh. Stop doing that, Eryndor.”
Eryndor’s voice echoed in her mind through sound transmission.
> “I would strongly advise against embracing unfamiliar men so freely.”
Ziraiah, still frozen, shot a glare in his direction and replied telepathically,
> “Kaelan’s not some random guy.”
> “Oh, truly?” Eryndor replied coolly. “We scarcely know the man. And do you not recall what befell the last boy who ventured too near to you… or has that slipped your mind?”
Ziraiah let out a sigh through her nose. “Fine.”
The spell lifted.
Kaelan, who had witnessed all of this, raised a cautious eyebrow.
---
From the sea of challengers, a ripple of silence spread.
A tall figure emerged from the crowd, every step deliberate, commanding. People instinctively parted before him, as though some primal instinct warned them to move aside.
He towered above them—majestic, unhurried, unstoppable.
Kaelan turned first, brow furrowing.
What… the hell?
Then Eliana followed his gaze, her sharp composure faltering as her lips parted slightly.
Even Elsa, who rarely allowed surprise to show on her face, froze mid-step, words caught in her throat.
They were all speechless.
Walking toward them was Eryndor.
His black hair—streaked with green—flowed behind him in the breeze like ink in water, the faint glow of his mana pulsing through each strand. His hands were casually buried in his long coat pockets, posture relaxed yet terrifyingly regal. Every inch of him exuded an effortless authority that made the air feel heavier.
He stopped in front of Valerius, looking down with a faint, knowing smile.
Valerius had to crane his head all the way back to meet his gaze. He smirked.
“Well, I’ll be damned… Just when I thought I was finally bigger than you. You elegant ass—you’re even taller than Mom now.”
Kaelan’s eyes darted between them, stunned.
How did he get so big? He’s nearly twice his size from three years ago… he’s as big as Pungence. And that mana—
Kaelan’s chest tightened as he felt it: a crushing, refined pressure, rolling off Eryndor like a tide. He glanced at Ziraiah too—and truly saw how much she’d changed as well.
Can someone really grow this much… in just three years?
Eryndor’s voice was calm, smooth—yet carried weight that made the others straighten instinctively.
“It would appear, that you are destined to dwell eternally beneath my shoulders, Valerius. How have you fared in our absence?”
Valerius chuckled lightly. “I’ve been through shit… but right now? I’m alright.”
Eryndor’s faint smile softened. He extended his arms.
“Come on.”
Valerius blinked, then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his older brother.
“It’s good to see you, man,” Valerius said quietly.
“Likewise,” Eryndor replied, his voice low, almost warm.
Eliana watched them and felt a chill trace down her spine. I’ve never seen someone as big as Pungence before…
Nearby, Kaelan was still frozen in place. This is… Eryndor Lerius spoke of? By the heavens."
And close by, Valtos stood silently, watching. He had returned to his normal 5’9 form—unassuming, unreadable—yet his silver eyes tracked Eryndor like a predator quietly studying a rival. But he believed, through out the island, he had no equal.
---
To Be Continued...
