The Eastern Ruins of Nareth
WHISSH!!
WHISSH!!
WHISSH!!
Thousands of swords filled the sky.
Like a meteor shower.
No…
It looked more like a disaster.
BOOOOM!!
BOOOOM!!
BOOOOM!!
The rain of swords continued to shake the ruins.
Explosion after explosion filled the sky.
The Novus Fighter Executive forced his Authority of Impact to its absolute limit.
Every strike unleashed a shockwave capable of destroying dozens of swords at once.
Yet…
ten more immediately replaced them.
“Tch!”
For the first time…
his expression changed.
He was overwhelmed.
On the other side…
the Assassin Executive vanished again and again.
His body moved from one shadow to another.
His blade continued to slash.
CLANG!!
CLANG!!
CLANG!!
Dozens of swords shattered.
Yet…
hundreds more had already arrived.
Meanwhile…
the Mage Executive continued creating Barrier after Barrier.
CRAAAK!!
The first Barrier shattered.
CRAAAK!!
The second broke apart as well.
The third lasted for a few seconds…
before finally exploding into fragments of Mana.
“…Impossible!!”
He gritted his teeth.
“Why does his Mana never run out?!”
The three Novus Executives could no longer advance.
Authority of Impact continued destroying the incoming swords.
Authority of Silence allowed the Assassin to keep moving from place to place.
Authority of Resonance shattered dozens of blades at once.
But…
every time a hundred swords were destroyed…
a thousand new ones appeared.
There was no end to them.
BOOOOOOM!!
The Fighter Executive was sent flying again.
His body crashed into the ruins.
Blood trickled down from his forehead.
“…What the hell is this monster…?”
The Assassin appeared again.
His breathing was becoming ragged.
For the first time…
parts of his clothing were torn.
His left arm was covered in cuts.
The Novus Mage was also beginning to retreat.
The Mana Barriers he created shattered one after another.
CLAAANG!!
CLAAANG!!
CLAAANG!!
The sky…
looked like a rain of death.
Kael could only stare.
“…Mr. Rowan…”
“If he could see this…”
Doran tightened his grip on his spear.
“…Even Mr. Rowan’s storm of steel…”
“…wasn’t this big…”
Lyra was frozen as well.
Her eyes remained fixed on the thousands of swords filling the sky.
Every single one of them…
had just been created from nothing.
In the middle of that storm…
Aether himself was still breathing heavily.
Blood began to seep from the corner of his mouth.
“…Damn…”
“…This power…”
“…takes a ridiculous amount of Mana…”
He raised his sword again.
Dozens more swords appeared.
WHIIISSHHH!!
The three Executives were forced back once more.
BOOOOOOM!!
The Fighter Executive was forced down onto one knee.
For the first time…
he couldn’t get back up immediately.
Meanwhile…
behind them…
the massive magic circle began to change.
The ancient runes shone brighter and brighter.
The gate that had been only partially open…
slowly opened all the way.
Hum…
A green-gold light flooded the entire ruin.
A strange wind blew out from within.
Carrying the scent of a forest no one there had ever experienced before.
One of the Mages immediately smiled.
“…It worked!”
The Arc Sage raised his head.
His eyes were focused on only one thing.
The gate.
Then…
he spoke briefly.
“…Mission accomplished.”
All the Novus Mages immediately stopped channeling their Mana.
One of them bowed.
“Lord Arc Sage.”
“The gate to the Elven World is stable.”
The Arc Sage nodded slowly.
“Enter.”
Several Mages glanced toward the three Executives who were still fighting.
“…What about them?”
The Arc Sage answered without the slightest hesitation.
“The mission matters more.”
“Don’t waste time.”
The Mages immediately moved.
One by one…
they entered the gate.
Without looking back.
The three Executives realized what was happening.
The Fighter Executive’s eyes widened.
“Lord Arc Sage?!”
The Arc Sage continued walking toward the gate.
“The mission is complete.”
“That’s all that matters.”
The three Executives protested.
“B-But we’re still—”
“You…”
“…know what your duty is.”
The words…
were colder than before.
And they immediately understood.
They…
had been abandoned.
Yet…
not a single one of them protested.
Because…
from the very beginning…
they had been prepared to die for Novus.
The Arc Sage himself still hadn’t stepped through.
He remained standing there.
His gaze was no longer on Aether.
It was focused…
on the young man’s right hand.
The white-gold Vestige Mark glowed once again.
Hum…
The Mana surrounding Aether began to change.
This time…
no new swords appeared.
Aether himself frowned.
“Huh…?”
“…Why…?”
The white-gold Mana continued gathering.
Not in the sky.
But…
in front of his palm.
Its size…
was only that of a fist.
Black.
Pitch-black.
Silent.
It gave off no light whatsoever.
“…What is this…?”
Aether himself looked confused.
He wasn’t trying to create a sword.
He was simply…
imagining.
How could he stop all three of them…
with a single attack?
The black point slowly began to spin.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Then…
the dust on the ground began shifting and being pulled toward it.
Small pebbles followed.
Fragments of shattered swords…
slowly drifted toward the center.
The space around it began to warp.
Light…
appeared to bend toward it.
The Arc Sage’s expression grew even more serious.
“…I see…”
“…Authority of Creation…”
“…He can even create a phenomenon like a Black Hole…”
The Mage Executive froze.
“…?”
His Authority of Resonance…
could no longer affect the Mana around the black point.
The vibrations he created…
simply disappeared.
The Assassin Executive stopped as well.
His cloak was slowly being pulled toward the black point.
“…What…”
The Fighter tried to step forward.
But…
his legs suddenly felt heavier.
The Arc Sage, who had done nothing but observe until now…
finally widened his eyes.
For the first time…
the calmness on his face completely disappeared.
“…Impossible…”
“Something like this shouldn’t be possible for a newly awakened Vestiger…”
His eyes remained fixed on the tiny black point.
His voice became sharp.
“ALL MAGES!”
“GET THROUGH THE GATE!”
“NOW!!”
Every remaining Mage immediately ran.
No one dared ask questions.
They had never heard the Arc Sage speak with such urgency.
One Mage still managed to glance back.
“B-But, Lord…”
“The Executives are still—”
“GET IN!!”
The shout echoed through the ruins.
The Mage immediately disappeared into the gate.
The Arc Sage became the last to move.
Before stepping through…
he turned back toward the black point one more time.
Its size…
continued to grow.
Without looking back again…
the Arc Sage stepped into the gate.
The next second…
all the Novus Mages disappeared into the light.
The gate began to close slowly.
And…
for the first time…
the three Novus Executives felt something they had never experienced in their entire lives.
Fear.
Hum…
The black point…
was still floating above Aether’s palm.
Its size…
continued to increase.
The space around it began to ripple.
Like cloth being crushed by an invisible hand.
Small pebbles lifted first.
The space around it warped even further.
CRACKK!!
The small stones rose into the air.
Then the larger rocks.
The remaining trees were torn from the ground, roots and all.
Then… This story is hosted at g.com.
sword fragments.
Pieces of armor.
Massive chunks of stone.
Everything slowly began floating.
Then…
they shot toward the center of the darkness.
The pull grew stronger.
WRRMMMMMMM—
The air gave off a long, distorted hum.
The ground beneath the black point began collapsing into a massive circle.
Cracks spread in every direction.
Even sunlight…
appeared to bend as it passed through.
The gate to the Elven World…
continued closing.
The green-gold light within it grew smaller and smaller.
The Arc Sage could no longer be seen.
The Novus Mages…
were gone.
Their mission…
was complete.
But…
not one of the three Executives had the luxury of caring.
Their eyes…
were completely fixed on the black point hovering before Aether’s palm.
Hum…
The point spun again.
Slowly.
Yet…
its gravitational force suddenly increased several times over.
KRRRRRRKKK…
The ground beneath it cracked into a massive circle.
Not from an explosion.
But because the entire surface…
was being pulled inward.
Dust.
Pebbles.
Fragments of stone.
Broken weapons.
Everything began to rise.
Then…
was dragged toward the center of the darkness.
Even…
the swords Aether himself had created…
were being pulled in.
“…Huh?”
Aether’s eyes widened.
“…What…”
“…is happening?”
He tried lowering his hand.
But…
the Black Hole didn’t disappear.
Instead…
its diameter continued growing.
From the size of a fist…
to the size of a human head.
The space around it warped.
Light…
bent toward the center of the darkness.
The wind changed direction.
The entire ruin…
seemed to be exhaling its final breath.
“…Damn it.”
Aether gritted his teeth.
“…How do I stop this?!”
Not a single answer came to mind.
The Black Hole…
continued growing.
“DO NOT GET CLOSE!!”
The Fighter Executive’s roar echoed across the ruins.
He immediately drove his sword into the ground.
CRAAAK!!
The blade sank deep.
Authority of Impact exploded.
DUUM!!
Shockwaves hammered the ground again and again.
Cracks spread in every direction.
Not to attack.
But…
to keep his body anchored.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
Yet…
his feet still slid.
Little by little.
The Assassin Executive moved faster.
Dozens of daggers flew into the ground.
TUS!
TUS!
TUS!
They embedded themselves in a path.
He moved to the next shadow.
But…
the shadow itself…
was beginning to warp.
“…What?”
For the first time…
his expression changed.
Authority of Silence…
made his presence almost impossible to detect.
But…
gravity…
didn’t need sound to find its prey.
His body continued being dragged inward.
His black cloak whipped violently toward the center of the darkness.
The Mage Executive raised both hands.
“Barrier!”
Hum!
The first layer of Mana formed.
Before it could even finish—
CRAAAK!!
A crack.
The second Barrier.
CRAAAK!!
It shattered.
The third Barrier…
lasted only a moment…
before folding inward…
and disappearing.
The Mage Executive froze.
“…No…”
“…My Mana…”
“…It can’t hold it back…”
What was being destroyed…
wasn’t the Barrier.
It was…
the space where the Barrier existed.
Behind the Perfect Cubes…
Kael could only stare.
The ground.
The sky.
The air.
Everything…
was moving toward a single point.
“…What…”
“…is that really a Vestige…?”
Doran gripped his spear tightly.
“That…”
“…is a Vestige?”
No one answered.
Because…
there had never been an Authority like this.
Mira stared at the black point without blinking.
Her heart beat faster and faster.
As a Healer…
she was used to sensing Mana flows.
But…
what she felt now…
wasn’t Mana.
It was something that made every instinct in her body scream at her to get away.
Lyra slowly raised her head.
The tears on her face had not completely dried.
Her gaze shifted…
from Aether…
to the dark phenomenon growing larger before him.
“…Aether…”
“…what exactly…”
“…are you…?”
In the middle of the chaos…
the Black Hole grew again.
Now…
it was almost the size of a gate.
Its pull increased dramatically.
GRRRRRRRMMMM…
The sound of distorted space filled the entire ruin.
Stones the size of houses…
were ripped from the ground.
Ancient trees…
were torn away with their roots.
Ruined pillars…
rose into the air.
Then…
everything vanished…
the moment it touched the black surface.
No explosion.
No debris.
Just…
gone.
As though…
it had never existed.
The Fighter Executive roared.
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!”
Authority of Impact finally reached its limit.
Every punch slammed into the ground.
DUUM!!
DUUM!!
DUUM!!
Yet…
his body still slid backward.
The boots of his armor began lifting from the ground.
The armor around both arms trembled violently.
Tiny cracks began forming.
Not from impact.
But…
from the impossible gravitational force.
“…Impossible…”
The Assassin Executive tried to disappear again.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
But…
every time he reappeared…
he was even closer to the Black Hole.
“…No…”
“…I’m being…”
“…pulled in…”
He drove both daggers into the stone.
It was useless.
The daggers…
slowly bent.
Then snapped.
The Mage Executive poured out every last bit of Mana he had.
Defensive runes filled the air.
Dozens of layers.
Hundreds of layers.
Yet…
they all met the same fate.
Not destroyed.
Not pierced.
But…
folded.
Then…
erased.
His eyes widened.
“…DAMN IT!!”
“…This isn’t just a pull…”
“…Space…”
“…it’s collapsing…”
Those words…
made the other two Executives freeze.
Now they understood.
What stood before them…
was no longer simply a newly awakened Vestiger.
It was…
someone who had just created a phenomenon…
that shouldn’t even have been possible on a battlefield.
And…
the Black Hole’s gravitational force…
was still increasing.
GRRRRRRRMMMMMMMM…
The distorted sound of space continued to echo.
The Black Hole…
was no longer growing.
Yet…
its gravity continued to increase.
The ground within a radius of hundreds of meters…
slowly began lifting.
Massive rocks floated into the air.
Ancient pillars were torn from their foundations.
Everything…
The black point…
floating calmly before Aether.
“…Hold on!!”
The Fighter Executive roared with everything he had.
Every muscle in his body bulged.
Authority of Impact was forced to its limit.
DUUUM!!
DUUUM!!
DUUUM!!
Every stomp shattered the ground beneath him.
Yet…
his feet continued sliding.
Little by little.
Just a little more.
Closer.
“…No way…”
For the first time…
his face was filled with fear.
On the other side…
the Assassin Executive kept moving.
Shadow.
To shadow.
Then another.
Then another.
But…
every time he appeared…
he was even closer to the Black Hole.
“…Why?!”
His Authority of Silence…
could erase almost every trace of his presence.
But…
gravity…
didn’t need presence.
Didn’t need sound.
Didn’t need a trail.
It pulled…
everything that possessed mass.
The Mage Executive gritted his teeth.
Mana flooded his entire body.
“Authority of Resonance!!”
HUMMMMM!!
A wave of Mana swept across the ruins.
The air trembled.
The ground resonated.
Dozens of magic circles appeared before him.
One.
Ten.
A hundred.
All activated at once.
But…
when the wave touched the Black Hole…
there was no collision.
No explosion.
The wave…
simply curved.
Then…
was swallowed.
As though…
it had never existed.
His eyes widened.
“…Mana…”
“…even Mana…”
“…is being absorbed…”
“RUN!!”
The Fighter screamed.
“WE CAN’T FIGHT THIS!!”
All three turned and ran.
They were no longer thinking about victory.
No longer thinking about the mission.
They…
just wanted to live.
But…
it was too late.
GRRRRRRRRMMMMMM!!
The Black Hole’s pull increased again.
The Fighter’s armor began to creak.
KRRKKK…
Cracks spread across his chest plate.
More appeared.
Then…
CRAAAK!!
The metal plate buckled.
Not because it had been struck.
But because the space around it…
was being crushed.
The Assassin Executive drove both daggers into the ground.
TUS!!
TUS!!
Before he could anchor himself…
the daggers…
bent.
Then…
snapped.
“…No…”
His body was lifted from the ground.
His black cloak whipped violently behind him.
His feet no longer touched the earth.
He reached for anything he could grab.
There was nothing.
The Mage Executive forced out his final Barrier.
“NO—!!”
Hum…
A transparent Barrier appeared.
For a moment…
it seemed to work.
But…
the surface of the Barrier slowly curved toward the Black Hole.
Like glass being pressed from every direction.
Then…
it shattered without a sound.
The Mage Executive was lifted into the air as well.
“…No…”
“…I haven’t…”
His sentence was cut short.
All three were now floating.
Closer.
Closer.
Their bodies began spinning under the Black Hole’s gravity.
Unable to control their direction.
Unable to regain their balance.
The Fighter roared.
The Assassin threw his final dagger.
The Mage continued pouring Mana into the Barrier.
Nothing worked.
Because…
what they were fighting…
wasn’t a human.
Not a Vestige.
But…
a phenomenon of the universe itself.
Aether’s eyes widened.
“…Hey…”
“…Stop…”
The Black Hole…
continued spinning.
“…Please…”
“…stop…”
There was no response.
Authority of Creation…
wasn’t completely under his control yet.
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!”
The Fighter was the first to reach the Event Horizon.
In an instant…
the armor covering his body began to fold.
His massive sword bent.
Then…
his entire body…
began stretching.
As though space itself were pulling every part of him in a different direction.
There was no blood.
No sound of bones breaking.
Only…
distortion.
A moment later…
he vanished.
Completely.
“T-THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!!”
The Assassin was next.
He tried to jump into another shadow.
But…
even the shadow…
was swallowed.
His body disappeared…
without leaving behind a single fragment.
The Mage Executive was the last.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
“…A phenomenon…”
“…like this…”
“…can’t possibly…”
“…be created…”
He never finished the sentence.
The Black Hole swallowed him.
And…
he vanished as well.
Silence.
There were no bodies.
No ashes.
No scraps of clothing.
Only…
emptiness.
The Black Hole slowly shrank.
From the size of a gate…
to the size of a human head.
Then…
to the size of a fist.
Smaller.
Smaller.
Until finally…
it disappeared.
As though…
it had never existed.
The entire ruin suddenly fell silent.
No more clashes.
No more screams.
The wind began to blow softly again.
Aether was still standing.
His eyes were wide.
His breathing was ragged.
“…I…”
Before he could finish—
PRRAAKK!!
The Vestige Mark on the back of his right hand dimmed.
His body immediately staggered.
He coughed violently.
“Ukh…!”
Fresh blood dripped onto the ground.
The Mana inside his body…
was completely exhausted.
At the same time…
the six Perfect Cubes behind him began developing cracks.
CRAAK…
CRAAK…
CRAAAAK…
The cubes protecting Rowan.
Finn.
Kael.
Doran.
Lyra.
And Mira.
All shattered at once into fragments of white Mana that slowly faded into the wind.
Aether tried to keep himself conscious.
But…
his vision began to blur.
His knees gave out.
His body dropped to one knee in the middle of the ruins.
In the distance…
the gate to the Elven World…
finally closed completely.
It left behind not even a trace.
Novus’s mission…
Project: Eden was a success.
But…
no one would ever forget that day.
The day…
when a nameless young man…
created a phenomenon…
that should have been impossible for a newly awakened Vestiger to create.
The sun had just appeared beyond the trees.
Its light touched the Eastern Ruins of Nareth, now transformed into a sea of destruction.
Stones lay scattered everywhere.
Trees had fallen.
The ground was cracked in nearly every direction.
There was no Black Hole anymore.
No longer a storm of swords.
No more sounds of battle.
Only…
silence.
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