Adrian's thoughts echoed Kael's words. "Equal to Lord Sentinel?"
The idea made his chest tighten. He could feel it too, his presence now hummed with the same unfathomable weight he had once sensed only in Sentinel.
It meant he had grown. Stronger than he ever imagined. Strong enough that at last, Sentinel's promise could be fulfilled, he would soon learn what lay beyond Earth.
For now, he controlled his presence so others would not feel pressured around him.
Behind them, the Abyss lay in ruin, fissures belching pale mist like the sighs of a dying beast. Perhaps it would not exist much longer.
No one spoke until finally Kael got up and said, "We're done here. Time to return."
He blinked them to the outpost. Defenders rushed to meet them, but their eyes fixed on Adrian, full of awe and unease.
Commander Lyanna Frost stepped forward. "Report?"
Kael replied, "The Abyss is gone. And humanity has four new S-ranks." His gaze lingered on Adrian.
The outpost erupted in cries of relief. Every S-rank meant more than strength, it meant survival.
They did not waste too much time here, they quickly departed back to the HQ.
...
Two days later, their transport pierced HQ's barrier. Word of their ascension had spread already, carried on comms, on forums, whispered in every barracks and command post.
The moment they landed, a tide of Defenders filled the plaza. Cheers, songs, banners, celebration thundered for the new S-ranks.
Even as some muttered disbelief about Adrian's age, the doubt faltered beneath the weight of his record. The ink, the speech, the battles, his legend had already taken root.
At last, Kael led them from the crowds into the Central Tower. This time, he took them higher, into the floor where Sentinel resided.
"Lord Sentinel wants to see you all," he said.
Thomas and Elara exchanged tense glances. Ironwood's steel aura thrummed. None of them had ever met Sentinel before. Only S-ranks or a few who achieved something great got to see him.
They had dreamed of this moment all their lives. And now it's going to happen.
Adrian only felt anticipation of a different kind, answers.
They stopped before the simple door of wood and brass.
"Enter," came the voice within.
The chamber was bare as always. The man sat cross-legged in the center, as though he had never moved from that place in millennia.
Thomas, Elara, and Ironwood froze, overwhelmed as they felt the man's presence. It was similar to how Adrian's felt in the battlefield, like they were standing on the edge of an endless ocean.
Adrian had his presence controlled so it did not affect other defenders, but the sentinel was always alone and the S-ranks can bear it, so he did not care about controlling his presence.
The Sentinel's eyes warmed as he looked upon them. "Children. Humanity is fortunate. We only had three S-ranks before, now, with your ascension, many things will change. You have done well."
Thomas dropped to one knee immediately. "Lord Sentinel."
Elara, Ironwood, and Kael followed suit, Adrian remained standing but bowed with respect.
The Sentinel's mouth curved slightly. "Rise."
But when his gaze fell on Adrian, his expression cracked. Shock, true and unguarded.
Even Kael felt weird, he had never seen Lord Sentinel falter like this. The ancient guardian's composure, unshaken for millennia, wavered like water disturbed by a stone.
But as his duty, Kael moved forward, presenting the mission record on a tablet. It floated to the Sentinel's hand, but he barely glanced at it before setting it aside.
His eyes never left Adrian. The weight of that stare pressed against the chamber walls.
Finally, he spoke. "Child… how? How do you carry an Essence Seed?"
The others stiffened. Thomas's hand found Elara's shoulder instinctively.
Adrian blinked. "Seed?" He thought of the change within him, the river collapsing, leaving only that impossible core.
He nodded slowly. "I don't know what it is. But when I touched the Stone from that S-rank monster… this seed formed inside me."
The Sentinel laughed suddenly, startling them all. It wasn't mockery, it was relief, pure and overwhelming.
"So it is as I thought. That Stone was no ordinary core, it was tied to your affinity." His voice carried centuries of hope finally answered.
"And now, it has birthed what few in this world could ever touch. Your affinity has crossed the boundary. It has become Essence."
The chamber froze.
Thomas, Elara, Ironwood looked at each other, confused. The word hung in the air like a foreign language.
None dared speak. Even breathing felt presumptuous in this moment.
Adrian stepped forward. "Lord Sentinel… what is this essence you are speaking about?"
The Sentinel's gaze deepened. He was not only speaking to Adrian now, but to all of them.
His presence expanded, filling every corner of the bare chamber. "To know what essence is," he began, "we must return to the very beginning."
"Tell me, what is affinity?"
Adrian answered without hesitation. "A person's inherent connection to a concept. That's what we call affinity."
The Sentinel nodded. "Correct. But that is only the surface."
"Affinity is the first, raw resonance of a soul with a concept. Every soul, when it is born, resonates with something." He gestured to each of them in turn.
"Fire, light, steel, space. Human or monster, it does not matter."
"When they awaken, they begin to shape their mana with the properties of that concept. We call it affinity mana, and with it, we cast skills."
His tone grew heavier. "This is the system you all know."
He paused, then his words cut sharper.
"But hear me well. Affinity is not truth. Affinity is limited, Bound."
The air trembled faintly at his tone. Kael's spatial awareness wavered under the pressure.
"Think carefully. If a soul resonates with fire, where does that concept come from?"
"It's from this planet. But the fire here is not invincible."
"It needs oxygen. It feeds on matter. Take it into the void, and it dies."
Elara's breath caught. Her light affinity suddenly felt fragile, incomplete.
"A child born with fire affinity resonates with the fire of this planet. Their entire understanding is on a planetary level." The Sentinel's voice carried the weight of revelation.
"Even if that child understands all the fire concepts from the 3 volumes we have, those volumes themselves are merely planetary volumes." He gestured dismissively.
"Containing concepts within a planet."
Thomas felt his fire affinity shrink beneath this truth. Everything he'd mastered seemed suddenly small.
"At the end, it is still only a planetary fire, Powerful here, Powerless beyond."
Everyone understood, realization creeping in. No matter their understandings now, they could not cast a spell in the vacuum of space where nothing existed!
Ironwood's jaw tightened. "Then we're prisoners of our own world."
"That," the Sentinel continued, "is why affinity is only the beginning. That is why the civilizations beyond our skies forged the galactic cultivation path."
His words painted visions of star-spanning empires. Of powers that transcended worlds.
"They learned that affinity is only the first state. The first resonance, which is confined to a planet's environment." The Sentinel rose to his feet.
"The concepts you comprehend here are planetary concepts, nothing more."
"The second state is Essence."
The word struck them. Kael stepped back involuntarily.
"Essence is the fully awakened resonance of your soul with its concept. Not tied to earth, or air, or fuel." The Sentinel's presence blazed brighter.
"But tied to the concept's truth itself."
Adrian felt the seed within him pulse, responding to the Sentinel's words. Recognition bloomed.
"To reach it, affinity must evolve. Higher mana at S-rank is the foundation, but that alone is not enough." The ancient guardian's gaze swept over them.
"To step beyond, one must comprehend galactic concepts."
"Not merely how fire burns here, but what fire truly is, heat, energy, transformation itself." His words painted cosmic truths.
"When you comprehend the galactic concepts as the stars demands it, you take the step forward."
"The affinity in your soul evolves, and a seed blooms within your being." His eyes turned to Adrian with profound meaning.
"That seed is your essence. It is the crystallization of your understanding, the core of your concept."
"When you channel mana into it, the seed transforms it into something greater."
"Not affinity mana. But as Essence. The true form of your concept."
Thomas gripped his hands tighter. "And skills born from this essence?"
"Skills born from Essence do not sputter in the void. They do not bow to oxygen, or gravity, or matter." The Sentinel's smile was fierce with promise.
"They are the concept in its truest form."
"The flame that burns even where nothing exists."
The chamber fell silent. The weight of revelation pressed down on them all.
Adrian also stood frozen, Sentinel's words sinking into him. His Source had changed, evolved beyond recognition.
A seed now rested inside him. Not affinity. But Essence.
For all their lives, humanity had believed affinity was everything. The peak of power, the ultimate goal.
Now, they learned affinity was only the beginning.