Jay sat on the hospital bed, dressed in patient clothes, his body carrying the sharp scent of
medicine. He had been asleep for days. Now, he stared blankly at the large window in his room.
In his mind, he had contemplated jumping from it more times than he could count.
But every time he tried, the fear of death overwhelmed him. An instinct for survival always took over.
'Maybe I'm just a coward,' he muttered to himself, frustration growing inside him.
"If you're thinking about jumping, you won't die from this height—especially with your ability. It's.only the tenth floor," came a voice.
Albedo, sitting calmly in a chair beside Jay's bed, spoke while delicately cutting a red colour fruit with a knife.
'He can read my thoughts,' Jay realized, suspicion flashing in his eyes.
"Well, kind of," Albedo replied, confirming Jay's fear.
Albedo, meanwhile, was equally surprised.
'Strange... my mind-reading Skills are working on him,' he thought.
"W-what?!" Jay stammered in shock, his voice cracking.
After a moment, he composed himself, though his voice was still shaky.
"I... I apologize, Lord Albedo."
"No need," Albedo said calmly, not looking up. He finished slicing the fruit and ate it, never
offering Jay a piece.
"By the way," Albedo said, reaching into his pocket, "I found this. Thought you might want it."
He placed a round sunglass on Jay's bed and stood to leave. Before stepping away, he added,
"If you're interested in becoming stronger, why not become my disciple?"
Jay stared at the sunglasses, memories of that certain incident flooding his mind. But this time, he didn't cry.
He clenched the sunglasses in his hand.
"If I become your disciple, Lord Albedo… will I be strong enough to protect someone?"
"That depends on you," Albedo replied. "But with your innate ability, I'd say you could do much more than that."
Jay, hearing those words, slowly put on the sunglasses.
'Please… watch over me, Mr. Hank.'
"I'll do it," Jay declared.
"Then you'd better start calling me teacher," Albedo replied with a small smile before turning to leave.
***
In a vast domain blanketed with windswept grass, a massive boulder stood in its heart. Its
surface was draped in a white cloth, adorned with countless talismans, each one fluttering
faintly as if alive with spiritual power.
The stone loomed in silence, unyielding, radiating a quiet, impenetrable aura, as if daring any who stood before it.
Noah stood just a few feet away, gasping for breath. His chest heaved as he fought to steady himself, the fatigue evident in every tremor of his body.
His fingers gripped the hilt of his sword
so tightly that his skin had peeled away, blood trickling down the blade's handle, staining it red.
Pain rippled through him, but his eyes remained fixed on the stone with a gaze full of
unshakable resolve.
His body screamed for rest, but he ignored it. Spiritual energy surged through his spiritual veins like a coursing river, gathering slowly in his hands before flooding into his sword.
The blade gleamed, encased in a shimmering aura-his Sword Aura-layered in power. His muscles tensed as he swung.
[Battle Art: Empty Blade]
The strike tore through the air, an arc of energy slicing toward the boulder with a force that seemed capable of splitting the earth itself.
With a metallic clash echoing through the air, Noah felt the impact of his blade striking the large stone reverberate through his body.
Yet, when the dust settled, the stone remained untouched, not even a scratch.
Noah's gaze flickered across its surface-there were faint marks, scars left by others who had trained before him, but none from his own strike.
Disappointment surged within him. His grip faltered for a moment, his eyes narrowing in
exhaustion. The weight of the Domain pressed down on him, stifling his cultivation, reducing him to the strength of a mere Non-Awakened.
He wasn't ready. Not yet.
But deep within, a stubborn flame refused to die.
"No... I'm not done yet."
His voice, though soft, was edged with fierce determination. He forced himself to stand tall,
steadying the sword in his trembling hands. Once more, spiritual energy flowed through him,.more intense this time, as if in response to his resolve. He swung again. And again. And again.
This was the test of the Sword God's Domain-a grueling trial designed to strip a swordsman of everything but their swordsmanship. In this place, cultivation meant nothing, only the purity of the Sword Aura mattered.
The goal was simple yet nearly impossible: damage the unbreakable stone, forged to withstand even the greatest Sword Auras. If a swordsman succeeded, they would receive the legacy of the Great Rasura, his Will of Ascension.
Noah's strikes became relentless, his body moving on instinct despite his exhaustion.
Each swing echoed with the memory of his fight with Jin, a rival whose strength had pushed him beyond his limits. A slow smile crept onto his face, fueled by the memory of that battle.
"Jin," he murmured between heavy breaths, "here and now, I, Noah Camael, acknowledge you as my eternal rival."
With each strike, his Sword Aura grew thicker, more intense, more alive. The emptiness of his blade slowly filled with emotion—anger, happiness, fear, courage, and finally acknowledgment.
It thrummed with purpose, resonating with the full spectrum of his feelings.
"I understand now.... The Empty Blade isn't about emptying oneself of emotions, but about channeling them into the blade, filling it to completion."
[Inherited Art: Empty Blade Reversal]
In one fluid motion, Noah swung his sword, pouring every ounce of his energy, every emotion,.into the strike.
The Sword Aura, now thick and radiant, collided with the boulder.
For a brief moment, silence.
Then, with a deafening crack, the indestructible stone split cleanly in two, severed by the overwhelming force of Noah's will.
Noah stood motionless, his sword still raised, his eyes locked on the broken boulder. Slowly, a sense of calm washed over him. He had passed the test, not by overpowering the stone, but by understanding the true essence of the blade.
The legacy of the Great Rasura was his.
***
In a dimly lit room, countless candles flickered in a perfect circle, their flames dancing like
restless spirits. At the center of the circle sat Luke, naked, vulnerable. His neck, usually hidden beneath a scarf, was fully exposed, revealing the grotesque scar that marred his skin.
It looked.as though his head had once been severed and crudely sewn back with coarse, unnatural threads.
He sat in eerie stillness, the room heavy with tension. A strange symbol, drawn in dark red
liquid, marked his abdomen, its meaning lost in the oppressive silence.
Suddenly, a voice, low and malevolent, shattered the quiet.
"Give up already. You can't resist me forever. Sooner or later, I'll take your body."
The demonic whisper reverberated through the room, and the candle flames flickered
ominously, growing dimmer as though suffocated by the presence of something ancient and evil.
Luke clenched his fists, his jaw tight.
"Shut up… that day will never come. I will never... never kill anyone."
His voice trembled with defiance, each word a struggle against the darkness clawing
at his soul.
The voice chuckled darkly. "Really? You almost killed that creature last time. For a moment, I.thought your body was already mine."
Luke's eyes flared with resolve.
"That will never happen," he spat, his voice stronger now, fueled by the promise he had made to himself. "I swear it."
The shadows seemed to recoil from his words, but the battle was far from over.
*******************
On a small, secluded mountain near the holy city, the sound of relentless strikes echoed through the still air.
Kora, a short boy with unruly green hair, stood alone, his fists pounding into a towering tree.
He had trained here every day for years. Despite his effort, he had never been able to perform any.Art. Worse still, he hadn't leveled up since he Awakened three years ago.
Others grew.stronger, but he remained stuck, an anomaly in a world of power.
With one final punch, his fist connected with the thick trunk, sending the massive tree crashing to the ground. He stood panting, frustration etched on his face.
"Damn it. Failed again."
He had been trying to channel his spiritual energy into his fist, but once again, he couldn't do it.
His energy wouldn't respond, slipping away like sand through his fingers.
But failure didn't faze him. Without missing a beat, Kora dropped to the ground, immediately starting a set of one hundred push-ups. After that, he was off, sprinting for twenty kilometers down the mountain trail, his legs burning but his spirit unshaken.
"Even if I can't use Arts," he muttered under his breath, "I will still become the
strongest."
His voice was low, but the fire in his heart roared louder than ever.
Determination fueled him as he pushed his body to its limits, training long into the night until he finally collapsed, unconscious, on the cold earth.
When morning came, he awoke sore and bruised—but with the same fierce resolve. Without hesitation, he began training again. Nothing could stop him—not failure, not pain, not even the impossibility of the task.
***
"In the dark, moonless night,
A single ray of light took flight,
With a burst, so loud and bright,
Fireworks blazed, claiming the night.
I sit beneath the empty sky,
Searching for the moon that I
know's not there,
Memories stir, long left behind,
In the city where lights unwind.
The Festival begins again,
A spark of joy, where shadows end."
Jin sat on a bench atop the hill, gazing down at the sprawling city bathed in a sea of shimmering lights.
Above him, the night sky exploded in a dance of color—fireworks bursting in radiant hues, momentarily painting the heavens with their fleeting brilliance. It was the Festival of Lights, a tradition of illuminating the darkest night of the year with joy-infused fire.
He watched silently, his eyes fixed on the sky. Near midnight, the crowd below would release floating lanterns, blanketing the heavens in a breathtaking spectacle.
Gradually, more people gathered around the park, their voices rising in excitement, anticipation thick in the air.
Jin's thoughts drifted—back to simpler times, when he celebrated the festival with his mother and sister. He remembered lighting sparklers, their laughter echoing, their faces glowing in the warm flicker of light. The sparks would die out, trailing into the night—just like those moments had.
If the voice were still here... it would have told him to smile. But in its absence, Jin only stared into the distance.
When he had no memories, at least he had a reason to smile—even if that reason was false, at least it was there.
Now that his memories had returned… that reason was gone.
Without the voice, he had no need to act anymore.
And for some reason, the emptiness felt even deeper.
Maybe it was better before. Maybe he shouldn't have come to this world. The Forbidden Land was cruel... but at least the voice was there—telling him how to behave.
Now, he was like a machine, stripped of its strange energy source.
"And that's why I'm here."
A voice echoed within him—clear and vivid, despite the crowd around.
Jin's empty crimson eyes drifted toward the source. There stood Albedo, holding two boxes of brightly colored frozen desserts.
"What's that?" Jin asked, completely ignoring the woman standing behind Albedo.
"This? It's called ice cream. Sweet. Cold. Delicious," Albedo replied, smiling as he turned toward Jin.
"Hey, this is mine. If you want some, buy your own," he added, protectively cradling his box.
"I wasn't asking."
"And I am Mira, I am not pleased to meet you. But whatever."
The woman beside Albedo introduced herself in a very polite manner.
"I rather be alone too." Jin accepted the greeting in an overly kind manner as well.
"Oh, you two are getting along quite well already," Albedo chuckled.
Jin returned his attention to the fireworks.
"So... what did you see there?" Albedo asked after a moment.
"Not much. I didn't have eyes there. But... I felt things. Things I didn't know existed within me."
"Oh? And what did you feel?"
"The first feeling was... something empty. My heart felt hollow, like it was searching... yearning to see something."
"Ah... that's loneliness," Albedo responded gently.
"The second was... stranger. My heart turned cold, a shiver crawled over me. My mind turned... soon."
"You mean numb? That's fear," Albedo corrected kindly.
"And the third... wasn't strange. It felt familiar, like I had always known it. Like something was calling me. A place I was meant to be. It made me sad. But I wanted to go there—even if I knew it didn't exist."
He turned toward Albedo, silently hoping he would name this final emotion.
"How odd..." Albedo murmured, thinking deeply. "I... I don't know what that was."
"It's simple," Mira interjected coolly. "It was longing. A yearning desire."
"Longing..." Jin repeated softly. "Strange... I don't know that word."
Albedo glanced at Mira, then back at Jin.
"With the voice gone, you must feel empty, right? That's why I brought you gifts."
"Gifts?" Jin echoed, tilting his head.
Albedo took something from Mira and handed it to him.
Jin observed it with quiet curiosity. It was a book—a fantasy novel. Written in the first person.
"Do you like it?"
"For what purpose?"
Albedo paused, then gave a soft smile.
"You don't know how to act anymore, do you? Then copy it. This book is written in first-person. As you read how the character acts in different situations, you'll learn how to respond. How to feel."
"I see... it makes sense. But the title..."
"No complaints allowed," Albedo interrupted, handing him a golden key and a sealed letter.
"So now that you're my disciple, I'll take responsibility for you."
With that, he turned and walked away. Mira followed him without a word.
"But my lord," she asked quietly, "what's the point? He doesn't have any emotions."
"It's not that he lacks them," Albedo replied. "They're simply buried too deep to reach right now. In time... they'll surface again."
***
After their departure, Jin's eyes wandered to the cover of the book. He read the title aloud:
"I Woke Up in a World with Many Fantasy Creatures and Began My Journey to Hunt a Thousand Wives to Become Invincible. By, Harem King..."
He blinked.
"What a strange book."