Somewhere within the Eastern Nightmare Lands, near the Shadow Sect...
Most of the Sect’s SSS-rank fighters had gathered, standing guard and bearing witness to the moment of breakthrough.
Among them were Fulghor and Gehrman, both watching closely in case anything went wrong.
Frey Starlight was currently sealed inside a massive black cocoon that completely enveloped him.
Inside it, he slept peacefully like a child, unaware of the world around him.
His aura was evolving, and it seemed as though his very body was being rebuilt.
"Once he breaks into SSS-rank, his power will rise dramatically.
Combined with his abilities, he’ll become a force no one can ignore,"
Gehrman said as Fulghor nodded in agreement.
"He must grow as strong as possible. The coming battle will be decisive .. it will determine the fate of Earth itself,"
Fulghor’s deep voice stated coldly.
At that moment, a group of humans approached Gehrman after hearing his words.
Among them were Shadow Sect fighters and the leaders of the great families.
When Gehrman saw their faces, he smiled faintly.
"I can tell you have something you wish to say."
The one who answered was Nova Starlight, the founder and leader of the Starlight Family.
"In a way..."
Nova said, glancing toward the dark cocoon.
"When you told us in the past that our only hope lay in a distant future...
I never imagined that hope would be a young man barely in his twenties.
And on top of that... he’s my descendant."
"He’s not just some ordinary youth,"
said the dark-skinned woman, Evankhell.
"He’s the man who guided us when everything collapsed.
Because of him, we were able to rise again."
"He’s the one who wrote those unbelievable events .. the very stories through which we learned how to use aura and fight."
Nova let out a quiet sigh.
"This is the second time I’ve heard this, and I still can’t process it.
Are we talking about something like reincarnation?"
A few days earlier, the leaders of the great families and the heroes of the previous generation had met Frey Starlight.
He had barely acknowledged them .. as though their existence meant nothing to him.
He, together with Snow Lionheart, were now the strongest beings humanity had ever produced...
even though whether they were still truly human was already questionable.
Placing the fate of the world in the hands of two men barely past twenty sounded absurd .. yet it was the only option left.
"The reason you can’t defeat the demons is simple,"
Gehrman said, cutting through the conversation.
"It’s because of the limits that prevent your growth."
"You were the first human heroes .. powerful enough to break into SSS-rank when humanity was driven to extinction by the demons."
"But your talent has limits.
No matter what you tried, not even the best among you ever surpassed Stage Two of SSS."
That was the fundamental reason the old generation could never rival the demons.
The Shadow Sect warriors .. the original readers .. had lived for a long time, refining their power while waiting for Frey’s arrival.
Yet even they were trapped at the peak of Stage Two .. Chaos Pulse.
They lacked the talent and potential required to break that ceiling.
"Unlike you, Frey Starlight fought Amon, who had reached Stage Six of SSS, while his own level was still only SS+."
The true difference between Frey and the heroes of the past lay in his talent ..
and in his world-breaking abilities.
He possessed six, and had recently obtained the seventh.
"If you wish to win... then you have no choice but to follow him."
No one from the old generation replied.
Silence fell as everyone waited for Frey to emerge from the cocoon.
Among all recorded humans, Abraham Starlight still held the highest level ever achieved .. having reached Stage Four of SSS.
He was currently locked in a struggle against Thanatos’s Dark Power, which was attempting to turn him into a vessel.
Abraham wasn’t weak .. he resisted Thanatos .. but the strain forced him into seclusion deep within the Shadow Sect.
Only Ada remained by his side.
Frey had been there as well . until he left to hunt Beatrice.
Thanatos was not like Gepetto.
Gepetto had never been able to influence Abraham.
But Thanatos was a real threat.
Even if he couldn’t control Abraham, he would at least hinder him on the battlefield .. preventing the Starlight patriarch from fighting freely.
At worst, Frey might be forced to confront and kill Thanatos himself in order to truly free his father.
But the question remained...
How?
Even Agaroth had been unable to kill Thanatos .. sealing him had been the only solution.
Gehrman was firmly against fighting Thanatos.
He was a direct enemy of the demons, and far too valuable to discard prematurely.
That was the advice he had given Frey.
As Gehrman sat there waiting alongside the rest of the Shadow Sect, his thoughts drifted.
"Something about him... has changed."
Gehrman wondered what had truly happened to Frey Starlight.
Others might not sense it yet ..
but Gehrman’s perception was sharp enough to notice it instantly.
"The way he carries himself now... it reminds me of my master..."
"...Nameless."
Fulghor turned his head toward him.
"Did you say something, Gehrman?"
Gehrman smiled faintly and shook his head.
"No... I didn’t say anything, my old friend."
Gehrman lowered his head, raising both hands before his face.
One was pale and cracked.
The other was formed of pure aura .. a limb that had been completely shattered on the battlefield and rebuilt imperfectly.
Gehrman had reached his limit.
He would likely never be able to fight properly again unless his broken vessel was repaired.
And that was something only Nameless himself could accomplish .. through his absolute mastery over the Law of Life and Death, a level of control that existed only at his peak.
Frey did not possess it.
Nor would he anytime soon.
Yet Gehrman didn’t care.
Not about his body.
Not about his own survival.
His tired eyes were nearing their limit .. but the end was close.
The path he had walked for thousands of years...
The grand plan he had patiently built since time immemorial...
It was all about to end.
"Just a little longer..."
Gehrman straightened, his gaze fixed on the cocoon of darkness.
"I only need to endure a little longer... and this nightmare will finally end."
His face was cold and emotionless .. but his glassy blue eyes carried the story of a man who had devoted himself to a single purpose.
So much so that the light within him had dimmed, far from the days when people called him a saint.
As Gehrman sank into his thoughts, Fulghor suddenly stepped forward, his eyes glowing beneath his helmet.
"Something’s happening."
The War General of the Shadow Sect spoke, drawing everyone’s gaze .. including Gehrman’s .. toward the cocoon.
At first, nothing seemed out of place.
But then...
A strange wave of aura surged through the land.
The dark cocoon suddenly began to expand, swallowing the ground as it grew.
Everyone leapt back instantly.
Gehrman jumped onto Fulghor’s shoulder as the giant charged forward, placing himself directly in front of the expanding dome of darkness .. ready for anything.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Sect warriors and the heroes of humanity grew uneasy.
"What’s happening?! Did he fail the breakthrough?!"
shouted Inver, the leader of the Sunlight Family, as he watched the violent storm of dark aura.
The rest of the humans shared his panic.
They had all broken into SSS-rank once before .. but none of them had ever witnessed something like this.
Only Gehrman and Fulghor remained calm.
"He didn’t fail," Fulghor said.
"He’s about to succeed."
Gehrman nodded.
"The first stage of SSS .. The Throne Beyond Existence .. is the first step toward one’s ultimate potential.
Its manifestation differs from person to person, depending on their true capacity."
He turned toward the old heroes.
"His real potential is simply too great.
That’s why his breakthrough is so violent."
They were all SSS-rank...
But the gap between them and Frey was immeasurable.
When it came to true potential, the old heroes were like small fish swimming beside a monstrous shark.
The dark power raged more and more with every passing second.
Then .. It exploded.
A towering black pillar tore through the sky, scattering the clouds as it shook heaven and earth.
From within it...
A human figure slowly emerged.
The dark aura faded away, and Frey Starlight stepped out .. his eyes still closed.
His white hair drifted in the air.
His body radiated a terrifying, restrained power.
There was no flamboyant aura .. yet the space around him trembled.
It was proof enough.
He had succeeded.
Frey’s face remained cold and emotionless...
But this time, it carried a trace of bitterness.
He slowly opened his dark eyes .. the V-shaped symbol glowing within each pupil.
"So you did it..."
Gehrman’s voice rang out.