A gentle hum filled Kaelen's ears as he stood in the vast, empty darkness once again. The world around him was void of stars, color, or even gravity. But somehow, he felt grounded—connected to something far greater.
Suddenly, a brilliant light broke through the abyss, expanding until it took form.
The figure that emerged was regal, ancient, and divine. Long, flowing hair of shimmering blue-silver framed his noble face. His eyes, though closed, radiated immense power. His robes were etched with divine patterns—symbols that pulsed like galaxies in rhythm. This was not just a being.
This was Veldanava—the origin of all.
Veldanava: "Took you long enough to reach this place, kid."
Kaelen: blinking in disbelief "Wait... you're... How are you in me? You lost your powers, didn't you? And you... died."
Veldanava: smirking faintly "Not quite wrong, but not fully right either. Before you ever reached the Cardinal World, I was still... barely alive. When your soul crossed the multiversal boundary, I felt it. And I was curious."
Kaelen: "You sensed me...? You still had your abilities? So what happened to them?"
Veldanava: "No ordinary body could handle a soul like yours. So, the world—guided by my residual will—formed one. It wasn't made... It was forged."
Kaelen: "Wait, so... I'm like a rare human with a strong constitution?"
Veldanava: chuckles darkly "Human? Kid, your body is anything but human. It's made from my own creation magicules. And not just mine—it's a blend of all four True Dragons' magicules... and even the Great Holy Spirits."
Kaelen felt his heart drop. The sheer scale of what he just heard was terrifying. His body... was a divine anomaly.
Kaelen: "But how...? That kind of power should've scattered across the cosmos."
Veldanava: "Seems you still don't know the true extent of your skills."
Kaelen: "Which one?"
Veldanava: "Devourer of Essence. It's just a weakened version of a far superior skill—Void Eater. That one can devour even null energy,my essence and even ivrages essence since u have stored in some the last encounter."
Kaelen felt like the ground had just vanished beneath him.
Veldanava: "After you devoured my essence you obtained the Founder skill. You absorbed fragments of my essence when I reached out to examine you. That skill even grants small-scale creation abilities."
Kaelen: "Wait... if my unique skill has a consciousness, and if I evolve it into an ultimate skill and name it... could it become a Manas?"
Veldanava: "Possibly. Under normal conditions, yes. Though I can't say for sure—it's unprecedented."
Kaelen: "...Not very helpful, you know."
Veldanava: grinning "Either way, I fulfilled my purpose. I brought you here to explain things properly. Now, it's time to wake up. The representative from Rudra... is Velgrynd. I've sensed her nearing. She might arrive sooner than expected."
Kaelen: "Wait, Velgrynd?! She'll kill me if I don't impress her!"
Veldanava: "That's why I'll help you. Your true power is sealed, but I'll leak a fraction of it out."
Kaelen: "Huh? WAIT—!"
Before Kaelen could react, the light exploded outward. He gasped as his soul was ejected from the dreamspace.
Back in the real world, a dense wave of magicules erupted from Kaelen's body. He floated slightly above the ground, glowing with radiant energy. Lyra and Allaric stood a few steps back, shielding their eyes from the blinding aura.
Kaelen's hair shifted from jet black to a striking silver-white. His eyes turned piercing blue with slit-like pupils, like a dragon's gaze. For a brief second, a cosmos flickered within his irises before fading.
He collapsed to one knee, panting—just as a glowing screen appeared before him.
**[STATUS UPDATE]** **
New Unique Skill Acquired:**▸ *Primordial Ingestion* (Evolved from [Devourer of Essence])
**Dragon Physiology Unlocked:**
▸ *Dragon Form V1
***Elemental Proficiencies:**
▸ Flame Manipulation
▸ Ice Manipulation
▸ Flame Manipulation → Cardinal Fire
▸ Ice Manipulation → Cardinal Ice
▸ Chaos Enchantment
**Advanced Perception Skill:** **
▸ *All-Seeing Eye: Chrono-Dissector* (Evolved from [Mystic Eye of Analysis])
Lyra's voice finally broke the silence, breathless:Lyra: "K-Kaelen...? What happen ?"
He stood slowly, magicules still swirling around him, eyes glowing like stars.Kaelen: "...I'm not sure anymore."