---volume 5 (starting)
Chapter 116 THE BEGINNING OF DAFFODILS
Shen's eyes opened slowly. For a moment, everything was white—so white that it felt like he had been swallowed by emptiness itself. When his vision cleared, he realized he was lying in a silent castle. The halls stretched endlessly, yet there was nothing inside—no paintings, no chairs, no decorations. Only a simple bed, a jug of water, and enough food to last a lifetime.
He sat up, holding his head. The memories came rushing back—Rin's voice, the overwhelming pull, the way his soul had been dragged into another place. His fists tightened. "Did I die… or was I captured?" he muttered.
The silence pressed on him, thick and endless. The air itself felt unnatural, as though time didn't flow here. He walked the halls, but every path circled back to the same room. No windows. No doors leading outside. Just an eternal cage.
He sat back on the bed, breathing heavily. "So this is it? Am I meant to rot here?" But then, deep inside, something stirred. A pulse of power. A fusion of everything he had achieved until now—his Dark Mage Forms, his strength, his rage, his will. They resonated together, merging into something greater.
His eyes widened as his body surged with overwhelming energy. Black aura mixed with sparks of blue and red, shaping into a form he had never known before. The sheer pressure cracked the empty walls of the castle. Shen looked down at his trembling hands and whispered, "This… this is my new form. The Null Extension."
He felt stronger, yet the castle still wrapped around him like an unbreakable maze. No matter how much he struck the walls with his new power, the space rebuilt itself instantly. He gritted his teeth. "Even with this… I'm still trapped."
He sat in silence, the endless ticking of his thoughts gnawing at him. But then—something changed. A faint sound echoed through the castle. Footsteps. Someone was there. Shen's head snapped toward the sound, his eyes narrowing.
Then, a voice. Calm. Almost mocking.
"Hey… hello."
The words came from beyond the wall, as if someone was waiting for him outside the prison. Shen's heart pounded. For the first time since he woke up, he wasn't alone.
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