In this vast world called Etheron, within the borders of the four safe empires,
and under the beautiful sun... new talents and even miracles were born.
Whether noble or commoner... it didn’t matter.
As long as you possessed the necessary talent and the ability to grow, the spotlight would find you.
They would want you, offering support and resources for your growth... to become an essential asset contributing to the advancement of human civilization.
They would smile at you beautifully, treat you with respect... even if those gestures were artificial, even if they didn’t truly like you... but it didn’t matter. You were still an important asset, and they wouldn’t let you go or walk outside their control.
But what about the others?
Those who had never seen the sun,
who had lived in darkness and awakened to pain...
...
A year ago, when Caius was 16,
in that underground laboratory, specifically in one of its rooms,
stood a man in a white coat—the same doctor who had been conducting tests on Caius.
In front of him was a medical bed, surrounded by several people stained with blood.
"This is Test Number 256. I truly hope we see significant progress from last time," the doctor said, jotting notes on his electronic board.
But he wasn’t speaking to the people in the room—he was speaking to the young man lying on the bed...
A boy with black hair and black eyes, restrained by special bindings.
Blood covered the entire bed.
His right hand was full of holes and deep wounds... flesh hanging visibly.
His other hand’s bones were broken and horribly mangled.
One of his feet was blackened, and the smell of burning flesh lingered nearby... the tendons that moved the muscles were all torn.
His eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling with a vacant gaze...
The pain was unbearable,
yet he did not scream... nor cry.
Not because he was brave or strong... but because...
He had grown used to it long ago.
Drops of blood fell to the floor...
This was one of the experiments he endured alone... even the other tests didn’t go this far.
It would have broken anyone... driven them mad.
Yet he endured strangely... and that was what they wanted... so they smiled at him and loved him.
Those weren’t beautiful smiles...
but sick, twisted ones.
Finally, the doctor announced the end of his torment:
"You may move your essence now... 01 let’s see the result of our hard work."
The chip in his head activated, and essence began moving through his body toward the wounds and injuries.
It was consumed at an extremely rapid pace, nearly depleting all his essence in seconds.
Yet in return, his wounds healed.
The holes and cuts closed, skin returned perfectly white... bones mended naturally.
His burnt foot pulsed with life and rejuvenated; all burn marks gone.
It was perfect regeneration, leaving no trace of injury.
When the doctor saw this, he laughed...
He laughed.
....
Caius’ POV
I fell to my knees.
Finally, my body failed to stand again... ligaments in my feet torn, every inch of me covered in wounds.Dizziness struck due to blood loss.
I counted the remaining time in my head: [00:12:59].
When I noticed the others had stopped attacking me and were bickering over who would claim my points, I felt... amused.
Unintentionally, I began to laugh.I couldn’t hear my own voice, but I knew I was laughing loudly.
Do these fools think I’ll lose?That if they break my body, I’ll fall?
I am the one who vowed revenge against the entire Void System...I will fall here, in front of a group of spoiled children? I laughed.
I checked my essence reserves—about fifty percent remaining. Excellent.
Essence surged violently through my body, and in a single moment, half of it vanished.
But it also healed the wounds that had prevented me from moving.I didn’t heal everything, because that would consume all my essence.
This was the ability I gained from the experiments they conducted on me.
Instant and perfect regeneration...But it consumed essence at an insane rate, enough to drain second-rank reserves in an instant.I couldn’t use it freely, at least not at my current strength.
I stood again, gripping my only remaining sword in my left hand.I felt the others moving toward me once more.
Interestingly, only the two girls approached; Elliot did not move this time.
But I quickly understood his intention.
I focused on the girls, the closest being Leona.
With roughly ten minutes remaining, I didn’t intend to defend as before.
I charged at Leona and struck with my lone sword.She dodged, and we both sank into an extremely fast exchange.She saw all my incoming moves, blocking or evading them... but it didn’t matter.
My essence concentrated in my right hand, particularly at the tip, gathering a large portion of my current reserves.
At the right moment, my sword moved toward her neck, while my fist aimed for her stomach.Even if she foresaw this strike a few moments ahead, what good would it do when the outcome was inevitable?
She raised her sword, blocking my blade before it touched her neck, and placed her arm before my fist to stop it... she succeeded.
But at that moment, I released all the stored essence in my hand at once...
The same technique I had used against Garon, a replication of third-rank power.
Thanks to my ability to sense essence in a complex and living way, I reached a high level of control, mimicking third-rank power while still second-rank.
I didn’t see what happened to Leona when the essence exploded inside her...But unlike Garon, her body wasn’t strong enough to withstand the resulting force.
So perhaps her arm shattered, her internal organs damaged... she could even die, if not wearing armor.
I felt her body fly backward at insane speed from the force of the strike... maybe she screamed, I don’t know.
But in the next moment, her soul vanished from my perception.At the same time, my senses returned, and I heard the chime of my watch signaling new points gained.
This clash lasted ten seconds, and Leona Starlin was eliminated.
I opened my eyes to see the ruined battlefield.
Izel stood in front of me, disbelief in her eyes.
I closed the distance, reaching her instantly.
As I did with my fist before, I did it now with my sword, forming a small layer of light on its surface.
It was unstable and constantly breaking apart... but it was enough to finish the opponent before me.
I swung my sword at her. Flames erupted around her as she tried to defend, but my blade cut through the concentrated fire and reached her neck.
The smell of burning flesh hit me... it was her, but I didn’t care.All I saw was my sword cutting through everything, plunging into her neck.In the next moment, she vanished before me.
The last thing I saw were the skeptical looks on her face as she whispered a few words:
"What... are you?"
Izel Ashvil was eliminated.
I stood for a few moments, catching my breath, before turning to see Elliot Sivrax smiling at me.
I picked up one of the swords lying on the field, then stood face-to-face with Elliot.
"So you want a one-on-one fight with me... Are you really sure you can defeat me alone?" I asked.
Elliot adjusted his stance, preparing for the duel."You’ll see... I won’t retreat anymore."
Was he trying to look impressive and drop me in the final minutes?
Unfortunately, I knew this man... he hadn’t even revealed his strength yet.
Ten minutes remained until the end of the test.
In the next moment, a bright light formed around Elliot’s sword, the air trembling from sheer power.
I smiled."Come at me with everything you’ve got, my dear hero."
Then the fight began anew.
The battlefield turned upside down.