The chamber was still. Sentinel's gaze bore into Adrian as he contemplated his answer.
"Infused your affinity, hm? Show me. Let me see your affinity."
Adrian hesitated for a breath. Could the Sentinel discern the truth? That his affinity was not Echo at all, but Source?
If anyone could, it would be him. Yet he did not falter.
With a steady breath, he activated his pseudo-manifestation. White-grey mist curled around him.
The Sentinel's eyes narrowed. For the first time, Adrian felt the weight of those millennia-old pupils lock onto his core.
The ancient being stepped closer, his presence washing over Adrian. The mist responded, swirling faster around Adrian's form.
"It is the same," Sentinel murmured. "No, a lesser version. Still…"
His voice lowered, contemplative. "Your manifestation already matches what I see in S-rank defenders. This is not a pseudo anymore as in the reports."
Adrian's chest tightened. Even after all his growth, this was still lesser?
Then what kind of power dwelled inside the Abyss?
The Sentinel's voice rolled like the tide. "Affinities bloom strongest where the land favors them. Fire in volcanoes. Water in the seas. Space at the edges of distortion."
He paused, studying the swirling mist. "Perhaps there should be something in the abyss which allows your affinity to dominate there."
"This also confirms your potential. What you hold now is the lesser form, but it is the same."
"If you endure, if you refine it, one day your power may surpass even mine."
Adrian's pulse quickened. Surpass the Sentinel?
He could still feel the ocean-like power inside the ancient guardian. The thought was unthinkable… and yet, if he could not even surpass humanity's greatest champion, what chance would he have against those aliens?
"Train hard, child," Sentinel continued. "The ones beyond this planet are not foes you can dismiss."
His voice hardened with certainty. "If you cannot surpass me, you cannot even dream of standing against them."
Adrian bowed his head. He already knew it.
The Volumes were proof of what alien civilizations had achieved, their knowledge stretching far beyond Earth's. He could never underestimate them.
One day, he would see with his own eyes just how strong they were. But for that, he needed something more.
He had already consumed everything humanity had, the three Volumes, the known affinities. If he wanted to grow further, he felt there was only one place left.
"The Abyss," Adrian said quietly. Then louder, "Lord Sentinel, allow me to go there. Let me join this year's expedition."
The Sentinel's expression hardened instantly. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
"You awakened a month ago, Adrian. A month."
His voice carried the weight of millennia. "No matter how fast you grow, you cannot grasp the dangers of the Abyss. Even S-ranks train for decades before daring its depths."
The ancient guardian's presence pressed down like a mountain. "You are humanity's greatest chance. If you fall, it is not just your life lost, it is the hope of every Defender who looks to you."
His eyes blazed with protective fury. "Do you think I will gamble that hope on a child's impatience?"
Adrian's fists clenched. His manifestation flared brighter, responding to his resolve.
His voice rang out steady. "You said my manifestation is already at the level of S-rank. Outside the Abyss, there's nothing left that can push me."
Adrian stepped forward, meeting the Sentinel's gaze without flinching. "If I hide in safety, if I cannot even face the Abyss here on our own world, how could I ever face what lies beyond the stars?"
Silence stretched between them. The Sentinel studied him for a long, long moment, his gaze like an ocean tide pressing against Adrian's soul.
The white-grey mist continued swirling around Adrian, never wavering despite the crushing pressure.
At last, he spoke. "Very well. You are right. If I call you the hope of humanity, then I cannot cage you and shield you from the fire."
The Sentinel's expression shifted, ancient wisdom warring with protective instinct. "Hope kept safe is wasted. Only when risked does it grow strong enough to bear fruit."
"But remember, the Abyss is where the bravest S-ranks tremble. If you go, you will face trials that break even legends."
"Even I could not protect you there, Adrian Blackwood. Survive, and perhaps you will surpass even me. Fall… and humanity's greatest hope dies with you."
Adrian felt the crushing responsibility settle on his shoulders. The white-grey mist around him pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. "Choose wisely."
"I've already chosen," Adrian said, his voice unwavering.
The Sentinel studied him for another heartbeat, then gave the faintest smile. "Brave. Foolish. Perhaps both."
"Then, for your protection, I will send Kael. He is the strongest S-rank we have."
Adrian's chest tightened. Even with Lord Kael's protection, the Sentinel's concern spoke volumes about the Abyss's dangers.
"You will depart with him and the others chosen for the Abyss this year. If the danger proves too great, you retreat with them. No exceptions."
Adrian bowed slightly, accepting the condition. "Understood."
The Sentinel's gaze grew distant, as if peering across unseen threads of fate. His expression shifted to something almost like surprise.
"Strange. Perhaps coincidence, perhaps not." He refocused on Adrian. "But this year's batch already includes your parents. Both are standing on the edge of S-rank."
Adrian's breath caught. His parents would be there, Thomas and Elara, the legendary Valiants who had shaped his entire worldview.
"The Abyss will be their crucible," the Sentinel continued, watching Adrian's reaction carefully.
A heavy weight settled in Adrian's chest, but beneath it burned fierce anticipation. To witness his parents' ascension, to stand beside them in that crucible, perhaps this was destiny.
"Child, if you falter, if you stir chaos, it will not only risk you, it will break their chance to ascend."
Adrian felt the full weight of responsibility crash down. Not just his own survival, but his parents' breakthrough hung in the balance.
"Guard your steps," the Sentinel warned.
"I will," Adrian answered. He meant it.
The Sentinel gave a faint nod, "Good. Then go. I will inform Kael."
Adrian hesitated at the threshold, questions about the ancient war and alien enemies burning on his tongue. But the Sentinel's presence brooked no further discussion.
The ancient guardian seemed to read his hesitation anyway. "I know you have more questions. But for now, answers of what lies beyond Earth are useless to you."
His voice carried the weight of eons. "Grow first. Return stronger. Then, I will tell you of the enemies waiting among the stars."
Adrian lowered his head, accepting the wisdom. Some knowledge required strength to bear. "Yes, Lord Sentinel."
He turned and left the chamber, the simple door closing behind him with finality. The weight of destiny pressed harder than ever before, but beneath it, his resolve burned brighter than any star.