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Days passed, one after another.
Quiet days, a suffocating silence blanketing the sacred island of Noctera.
Snow Lionheart was in the midst of finding his path, sealed within the golden tree that fed him inexhaustible power. Liora, meanwhile, had taken Uriel aside to teach her everything she could in the narrow time they had.
A barrier of SSS class now wrapped the place ..Liora’s own work sealing it off from the rest of the world.
Earlier, as a result of the devastating battle against Blatier, the island had been laid to waste, and everyone upon it had perished.
All of that left Frey Starlight sitting alone before the tree, quietly gazing toward the far horizon.
The shadow beneath his skin had thickened, drowning him in a filthy blackness that ravaged him like a plague. The process was agony ..as if molten lava had been injected under his skin.
He could no longer summon his power properly, nor fight as he once did.
Yet despite the pain, despite everything Wisker’s shadow had done to him, Frey sat in silence, face blank and calm, as if none of it mattered.
Training was impossible in his state. He had to remain conscious at all times to suppress the shadow; he hadn’t slept in days.
Clutching the Nameless mask, the darkness in Frey’s eyes reflected his exhaustion—a weariness that finally caught up to him now that the blood cooled and he’d been away from battles to the death for several days.
After training and do-or-die fights, this calm felt unnatural.
"Snow will learn the truth soon," he said with a sigh, lying back on the cold stone, legs dangling from the edge of the great spire.
"Which makes me... the only one who still doesn’t know his origin or his truth."
In a way, he felt a kinship with Snow. Both were vessels ..one for Nameless, the other for the Pure Vessel. But in truth they were very different: Snow was part of the Pure Vessel. Frey was not Nameless, and there was no real bond between them.
"This body was designed to host the only monster who can stand against Agaroth... and I’m the one meant to clear the way for him."
That might be true, but Frey couldn’t help wondering:
"Why haven’t you taken my body yet, Nameless?"
He asked the emptiness.
At first, Frey hadn’t been sure there was anyone there at all ..no ancient warrior from ages past. But as days went by and he grew used to the space within the mask, he became almost certain a second will lingered there. Eyes watched him from afar, waiting for something.
"But why wait? No matter how hard I push, I’m sure he’d do better than me."
If Nameless seized control, he’d grow far stronger than the Frey of now. Wars would end early; no one would be able to stop him.
But that hadn’t happened. There was no use brooding on a long shot—at least, not now.
"I wonder if there’s another way to get stronger .. stronger than I am." Frey spread his palms against the cold floor.
He had pushed himself to the limit, walked the Blood Path, mastered his aura control, and built a body that refused to stop fighting no matter the injury. He had even forged overwhelming techniques ..Nameless Judgment and the recently created Dark Ascension.
All of that had made him a great power whom everyone on Earth feared .. yet it still wasn’t enough. He hadn’t been able to defeat Blatier.
Compared to Blatier, Rank Thirteen ..Geppetto—was much stronger, at least a full stage above.
And Zeibar, Rank 10... Frey didn’t even want to think about that nightmare.
Zeibar possessed a world-breaking ability called the Soul of Reincarnation, one of the six Souls owned by Agaroth.
It allowed him to create an infinite number of clones .. a one-man army. Each clone carried a percentage of his full power, and their existence did not diminish the original in the slightest. That was what made it a world-breaking power.
Zeibar could create two clones, each with 80% of his strength. Add a third, and the percentages for all began to drop. Two clones: 80% each. Four clones: 50% each. It continued to decrease until stabilizing at 10%.
The question that plagued Frey was: what was the exact ratio?
How much of the original’s power did the clone on Earth possess?
That question gnawed at him. Even a 50% Zeibar surpassed Geppetto. An 80% clone... that would be a catastrophe ..one no human could endure.
"I’m exhausted. I’ve hit my peak... and it still isn’t enough."
It felt endless; every time he climbed, a bigger obstacle loomed.
Lost in such thoughts, he rose when he heard approaching footsteps.
It seemed Uriel and Liora had returned.
"Back early. I thought you’d be longer," he greeted, as Liora headed toward the golden tree.
"I’ve passed on everything I can to the Saint of this era, so there was no reason to stay away any longer," Liora said with a smile. "And the hero has finished as well. It’s time for him to step into the world in his new state."
As she spoke .. much to the shock of Frey and Uriel .. the trunk of the World Tree split, its glow dimming as it began to collapse. The church’s long-guarded wonder was falling.
The tree’s fall shook the island, and Liora rushed to spread her power to keep the island aloft in the sky.
" This place will collapse soon. Even I can only do what the tree did for a few hours at most," Liora said with a frown as she spread her golden domain.
But her scowl vanished the instant the tree shattered completely—and Snow Lionheart stepped back into the world after several days away.
The moment he emerged, everyone present felt a peculiar aura wash over them—an energy utterly unlike their own.
"What is this strange aura?" Uriel asked, unable to identify the power. Frey, however, could.
"Light Soul."
"I’m surprised you know its nature... but you’re right, Frey Starlight," Liora said as Snow approached. "This is the great Light Soul .. borne only by the purest, most immaculate beings in this world."
And that being was none other than Snow Lionheart.