The silence that followed the sound of Evon crashing into the stone floor of the ruined temple was deafening.
Jessica Wang's scream tore through the chaos.
"EVON!!"
Her B-rank body blurred forward, but the black shield of Destiny Prison shimmered around her, immovable. Shen gritted his teeth and slammed a fist against the golden barrier protecting them.
"Damn it—he's cut us off. He's fighting alone!"
The others behind them—Tian Ren, Zhao Fei, Ying Yue, and Lei Fang—stood frozen, weapons clenched, faces as pale as ash. Before them, the seven S-rank beasts howled and swarmed across the temple ruins. Massive in size, with grotesque, rune-etched bodies, they radiated an aura so heavy it felt like breathing through cement.
Tian Ren's voice cracked.
"Th-this… This isn't a regular S-rank gate... These monsters—what are they?!"
Lei, the oldest of the four A-rankers, narrowed his eyes, hand trembling on his blade.
"I've fought in black gates before. This is different. They are stronger."
The S-rank monsters' presence warped the very air. Their dark, shimmering forms flickered unnaturally—as if the world around them rejected their existence. One had a crimson centipede-like body with eight clawed limbs tipped with human hands. Another—a molten bull-shaped beast with jagged obsidian horns—released a roar that cracked nearby stone pillars.
Jessica was on her knees, hands shaking.
"He was already exhausted. His eyes—did you see his eyes? They were dimming."
Behind the barrier, Evon coughed violently, blood splattering onto the shattered temple floor. His sword—a standard hunter-grade blade—was cracked, its edge chipped. He dragged it across the stone as he stood, staggering forward.
The third S-rank beast, a towering serpent-like creature with stitched metal-magma armor fused into its flesh, lunged. Its fist, the size of a car, rushed toward Evon with terrifying speed.
BAM!
The impact shattered the floor around him into a spiderweb of cracks. The dust cloud lifted—and there he lay, crumpled. Still.
Silence.
Jessica whispered, "No… not again…"
Ying Yue sobbed.
"He's not moving—he's—he's—"
Suddenly, a golden ring of light—no, destiny—blazed beneath Evon's body.
The air stilled.
A strange hum resonated, low and ancient, vibrating through every stone, every breath, every cell. Then—light erupted from Evon's chest. Golden chains snapped out from the air around him and coiled upward like vines.
And within that golden brilliance—
—five figures appeared.
Not physically. Not yet. But as echoes of existence—soft and radiant, pulsing with familiarity.
A warm voice rang in Evon's fading mind.
"Evon… can you hear me?"
His eyes fluttered open. Vision hazy. His bloodied lips trembled.
"…Naia…?"
A second voice, fierce yet gentle:
"We're here."
Then another:
"Don't give up, Evon."
"You're not alone anymore."
"We found our way back to you."
And finally:
"We are… your Fated."
The five figures—Naia, Lyria, Sythara, Veyra, and Yena—shimmered within the circle, golden and divine. Each of them radiated power, their ethereal eyes locked on Evon.
From within the circle, beams of their essence shot into his body—one after the other.
Naia's water, cool and eternal.
Lyria's flame, warm and sacred.
Sythara's dragon aura, cosmic and immense.
Veyra's cyber force, crackling and relentless.
Yena's light, divine and healing.
Evon's body convulsed—then calmed.
His wounds sealed instantly. His broken ribs snapped back into place. Blood evaporated into gold mist. His cracked sword disintegrated—and from his open hand, a new weapon formed: a blade wrapped in five elemental lights.
Shen stumbled back, eyes wide.
"…What is that?"
Zhao whispered, "Is… is he Awakening again?"
Jessica, trembling, barely breathed.
"No. This… this is something else. Something *old*."
---
Inside the ring, Evon opened his glowing golden eyes.
A divine voice echoed—not just in his mind, but in the minds of everyone present:
"The contract has been sealed. 'Destiny Resonance' is now complete."
"His soul is bound to the Five Fated."
"He may now wield all that is theirs… as his own."
The black S-rank beasts paused. Their snarls faltered. They sensed the shift. The air around Evon pulsed with radiant heat, glacial cold, mechanical hums, holy light, and dragon force. He took one step—and the stone beneath him melted and froze simultaneously.
Ying Yue fell to her knees.
"What the hell is he?! This… This isn't hunter power anymore—this is divine."
Lei gritted his teeth, sweat pouring from his brow.
"He's bonded with five elemental goddesses—this shouldn't even be possible."
Jessica pressed her hands to her chest, tears forming.
"Evon… My son…"
---
Evon raised the new sword—no, it wasn't just a sword now. It was the Blade of Fate, forged from the powers of all five Fated.
He faced the remaining five S-rank monsters, eyes calm, breath steady.
"Let's dance, you bastards."
The first beast was the The serpent of metal and magma that punched him moments ago, lunged.
Evon slashed once, a radiant sword aura shot forward.
FWWWWOOM.
The serpent's head evaporated in a burst of True Fire that didn't even touch the ground.
Another beast— the no face beast with numerous eyes and a bone spear—screeched, launching shadow silk.
Evon snapped his fingers—Immortal Glacier bloomed midair, freezing the silk and the monster into an unmoving sculpture. A second later, cyber lances pierced it from within the ice.
The remaining three monsters regrouped, now wary.
Evon vanished—his speed augmented by Sythara's dragon body and Naia's stillwater motion. He reappeared midair, sword held aloft, glowing with Yena's holy light.
He dropped like a meteor.
BOOOOOM.
Dust, fire, frost, and light exploded outward, shaking the ruined temple.
---
Inside Destiny Prison, the others could only watch.
Jessica whispered, voice choked with awe.
"…He's not the same boy who woke up yesterday…"
Shen nodded slowly.
"He was always more than we knew. But this… He's the one this world's been waiting for."
Zhao Fei, usually the loudest, was pale and silent.
Yue muttered, "So... They're real?... Five goddesses… five elements… all fused into one… He's not human anymore but a divine god..."
---
One final beast remained. The massive bone-plated centaur, wielding twin axes of shadow.
It snarled, "You… You do not belong… Chosen of the Outer World…"
Evon didn't answer. He raised his sword.
The monster lunged.
So did Evon.
They clashed—light versus void—and the air split apart around them.
A single beat of silence.
Then—
---
KRSHHHH.
A sudden fracture—not in the stone, but in space itself—opened above the battlefield.
It looked like glass cracking across the sky.
Sythara's voice echoed again faintly in Evon's mind, but this time panicked:
"Evon—wait! That's not from this world! That's—"
The air screamed. Purple lightning tore across the horizon.
A colossal pressure fell over the gate.
Evon's body trembled—not in fear—but from something older, something deeper than even divine power.
---
From the tear in reality, a new presence began to descend. The sky dimmed unnaturally, the black gate's aura warping again.
The remaining monster suddenly turned away from Evon and screamed toward the sky in pure terror.
"NO—NO, NOT THEM—NOT THOSE ONES—"
Jessica looked up, mouth open.
Ying Yue screamed.
Tian Ren dropped his sword.
Evon turned, sweat pouring down his face.
The crack above the gate widened.
From it, a single glowing eye opened—gold, serpentine, ancient.
The voice came—not from the world, but from beyond it.
"Evon Wang."
"We have found you."
_____________________