Night had completely covered Zeta.
Yet the Sacred Land of Humanity knew no sleep.
Ever since the decree of the Supreme Council of Humanity had been issued, the movement had not ceased for even a moment. Endless caravans continued to arrive at the cities, while enormous ships crossed the skies carrying people and resources. Officials and soldiers worked day and night to organize this immense influx.
And yet...
Deep within the Sovereign Palace, everything was different.
Absolute silence.
No voices.
No footsteps.
Not even a whisper.
Only the darkness of the ancient corridors and the faint light emanating from the inner palace remained.
Within the deepest hall...
Fafnir sat upon the ancient black throne.
His frail body still resembled a dried corpse that had somehow remained alive for five thousand years.
His dry white hair fell over his shoulders.
His skin clung tightly to the bones of his face.
And his black eyes resembled two bottomless voids.
Before him stood the crates that had recently arrived, piled one upon another.
Every crate contained rare cosmic treasures.
Some were sealed by intricate formations, while others emitted strange auras even while tightly closed.
These treasures were so precious that some of them would be enough to provoke a war between the greatest powers of Gandalia.
But to Fafnir...
They were merely the beginning.
He raised his eyes toward the crimson light floating before him.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Begin the conversion."
In the next instant...
Everything changed.
[Command confirmed.]
[Beginning conversion of the cosmic treasures.]
The moment the message appeared, threads of crimson light shot out from the screen.
And the instant they touched the first treasure...
It disappeared.
It was neither shattered...
Nor burned...
Instead, it simply transformed into pure cosmic energy.
The process was frighteningly fast.
Treasure after treasure.
Herb after herb.
One rare cosmic material after another.
Everything was converted into pure energy without losing even a single trace.
Within moments...
The hall began to fill with cosmic energy.
Its density increased rapidly.
Then further.
And further still.
Until the energy became visible to the naked eye, forming a dense silver mist that filled the space around Fafnir.
Fafnir raised an eyebrow slightly.
Even to him...
The sheer amount of energy was astonishing.
But the system did not stop.
[First batch conversion complete.]
[Beginning absorption process.]
Suddenly...
The cosmic energy surged toward his body.
It entered through his pores.
Then flowed into his vessels.
Then into his organs.
And finally spread throughout every part of his body.
At first...
Nothing happened.
Fafnir remained seated without moving.
But after several breaths...
A slight change appeared.
Beneath his dry skin, faint strands of light began to move.
Then his body trembled slightly.
His ancient injuries...
Were responding.
Fafnir lowered his eyes and looked at his hand.
Its skin was dry and cracked, with the bones clearly visible beneath it.
But at that moment...
The cracks began to slowly close.
Very slowly.
But they were closing.
There was no doubt about it.
His black eyes stared silently at the scene.
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
It had worked.
The system had not lied.
The cosmic energy was truly rebuilding this body.
But...
In the next instant, another notification appeared.
[Warning.]
Fafnir's smile disappeared.
[A strange residual force has been detected within the host's body.]
He fell silent.
[This force is connected to the original injury.]
[Five thousand years have passed.]
[It has not disappeared.]
[It continues to affect the condition of the body.]
Silence descended.
Fafnir stared at the screen.
Then he asked:
"Can you remove it?"
[Yes.]
The system paused for a moment.
[However, removing it requires an enormous amount of cosmic energy.]
[The higher the body's restoration percentage becomes, the easier it will be to eliminate the strange force.]
Fafnir remained silent.
So...
Even after five thousand years...
That force still remained.
A force left behind inside the body by that mysterious attack.
A force that even time itself had failed to erase.
This was not merely an injury.
It was something far deeper.
And yet...
There was no trace of fear on Fafnir's face.
Instead, his smile deepened.
"So you're still here..."
He said it calmly.
Then he added:
"Very well."
He raised his head.
His eyes slowly closed.
"I'll remove you myself."
The cosmic energy began to settle within his body.
This time...
It was no longer merely energy.
It was rebuilding the very foundation of the body itself.
His bones began to regain their strength.
His emaciated muscles began to recover some of their former density.
His dried vessels began to regain their vitality.
Even the organs that had remained damaged for five thousand years began to recover their ability to function.
But the process was slow.
The injury was far too deep.
And this body had endured it for five thousand years.
It was impossible to repair everything in a single moment.
Hours passed.
Yet the cosmic energy continued to flow without interruption.
Outside the hall...
More ships arrived at the Sovereign Palace.
Then another.
And another.
The officials opened the crates one after another.
Cosmic treasures.
Rare herbs.
Priceless materials.
Ancient weapons.
Everything humanity had been able to gather was being sent here.
None of them knew the true reason.
But they did not ask.
The orders had come from the Supreme Council of Humanity.
And that alone was enough.
Inside the palace...
The transformation continued.
Suddenly...
Fafnir's body trembled slightly.
Then a visible change occurred.
A strand of his white hair fell to the ground.
But beneath it...
Black hair appeared.
Deep black.
Black like the night itself.
Fafnir raised his hand and touched his hair.
His fingers paused for a moment.
Then he let out a quiet laugh.
"It has begun..."
This was only a small change.
But to him...
It meant everything.
For five thousand years, this body had remained trapped in a state between life and death.
But now...
Life had begun to return to it.
As the absorption of energy continued...
The features of his face gradually began to change.
The dry skin slowly disappeared.
The protruding bones began to disappear beneath a renewed layer of flesh.
The frail body began to regain its former shape.
Slowly...
But steadily.
And deep within his body...
A power that had lain dormant for five thousand years began to stir once more.
Not completely.
Not even close to its peak.
But it was there.
This body...
Was returning, one step at a time.
Suddenly, another system message appeared before him.
[First stage of restoration complete.]
[Partial physical damage has been repaired.]
[Body restoration has begun.]
The message paused for a moment.
Then one final line appeared.
[Body Restoration: 1%.]
Silence filled the hall.
Fafnir stared at the number.
One percent.
For anyone else...
Such a number might have seemed laughable.
But Fafnir did not think that way.
He had waited for five thousand years.
And one percent...
Was enough.
He slowly raised his head.
The radiance of the cosmic energy reflected within his black eyes.
Then a calm smile appeared upon his face.
It was not the smile of an old man waiting for death.
It was the smile of an existence who had finally begun to see the path back.
"One percent..."
He murmured.
Then he chuckled softly.
"Then let us see..."
His smile deepened.
"How long it will take to restore this body to its peak."
In the next instant...
The light of the system surged before him once more.
And the cosmic treasures humanity had sent were only the first batch.
As for the true process of restoration...
It had only just begun.