The word...
Space.
It echoed endlessly within Ieros' mind.
Space...
Space...
Space...
Again.
And again.
And again.
The single word drowned out everything else until even the whispering wind and the murmuring forest faded into an unsettling silence.
The world became eerily still.
"...That's impossible."
Ieros' voice trembled.
His hands twitched uncontrollably.
Elle's innocent smile only widened.
"It's very much possible."
The warmth of her smile should have been comforting.
Instead...
It sent an inexplicable chill crawling down his spine.
"Why are you so calm?" Ieros asked, finally forcing himself out of his daze. "If everything you've said is true... wouldn't it be safer to keep my core sealed? Unlocking it sounds no different from committing suicide."
Elle let out a small giggle.
"That's exactly why I'm here."
She clasped her hands behind her back.
"I'm going to help you unseal your core."
She paused.
"But don't misunderstand."
"I'm not removing the danger."
"I'm only increasing your chances of surviving."
Her playful smile slowly disappeared.
"If you force it open yourself..."
"You'd have no chance."
"But if I help..."
She raised two fingers.
"You might have twenty percent."
Silence.
Twenty percent.
She said it so casually that Ieros almost laughed.
His fingers curled tightly into his palms.
"...If that's true..."
"How can you unseal my core and stop it from rampaging?"
Elle's smile immediately returned.
"Because..."
She proudly puffed out her chest.
"I'm strong."
It was such an absurd answer.
Yet somehow...
Coming from her, it sounded completely reasonable.
She stepped closer.
"Now..."
"...grit your teeth."
"This is going to hurt."
Her warm smile somehow made his heart even colder.
Before he could answer—
She placed her palm against his abdomen.
BOOM!!
An ocean of mana exploded into his core.
"AAAAAAAGHHHHHH!!"
Every vein across Ieros' body bulged violently.
His muscles convulsed.
His gums burst open beneath his clenched teeth.
Blood trickled down his chin.
His eyes rolled backward until only the whites remained, slowly becoming stained crimson as blood vessels burst one after another.
Then...
The world changed.
The leaves wrapped around his body slowly uncurled by themselves.
Pebbles rose from the ground.
They floated silently around him before vanishing piece by piece, as though invisible mouths were devouring reality itself.
Space began to distort, disregarding the normal rules.
The ground stretched infinitely before compressing into a single point.
Trees bent like sheets of paper.
Others silently disappeared into fractures too small to perceive
Behind them, the Tree erupted with an ancient pressure.
Its aura spread across the forest, attempting to suppress the warped space.
For a brief moment...
It succeeded.
Then—
Crack.
One of its massive branches vanished.
Not broken.
Not severed.
Simply erased.
A tiny spatial fissure quietly closed where it had once existed.
Elle's pupils contracted.
For the first time...
She looked alarmed.
She inhaled sharply before immediately changing the flow of mana entering Ieros' body.
Her face rapidly lost all color.
Blood streamed from her eyes.
Her nose.
Her ears.
Even the corners of her lips.
The surrounding wind instantly gathered around her, desperately wiping the blood away before it could stain her face.
It tried to heal her.
It failed.
Then—
Ieros screamed.
The sound no longer resembled that of a human.
As his scream echoed through the forest—
His mana erupted.
Invisible spatial fractures spread around him like shattered glass.
The surrounding reality groaned.
Elle's expression instantly darkened.
Crack!
Her fingers twisted into unnatural angles.
Reset.
Then twisted again.
Cracks spread across her skin as though her body itself was breaking apart.
She gritted her teeth, refusing to loosen her grip on Ieros' core.
Her eyes bulged outward.
Blood continuously flowed from every opening on her face.
Yet she never withdrew her hand.
A deafening roar suddenly shook the forest.
Erly.
Seeing Elle bleeding, the colossal beast charged toward her in panic.
Yet...
No matter how fast it ran...
She only became farther away.
Space itself had been twisted.
Distance no longer existed.
Roaring furiously, Erly launched himself into the air, intending to cross the gap in a single leap.
The instant his feet left the ground—
BOOM!!
An unimaginable pressure crushed him back into the earth.
The impact shattered the ground beneath him.
His rock-like body cracked in countless places.
Several bones broke instantly.
He struggled to rise.
"Stay..."
Elle forced the words out through gritted teeth.
"...Erly."
The ape froze.
His massive body trembled.
He looked at Elle...
Then at Ieros...
Before lowering his head in unwilling obedience.
Slowly...
Ieros' screams faded.
His unconscious body collapsed limply beside Elle.
She breathed heavily.
Her fingers had twisted beyond recognition.
Both shoulders hung loosely from their sockets.
Cracks spread across every inch of her body, leaking mana that the Tree greedily absorbed.
Her eyes...
Were gone.
Only empty sockets remained.
"This..."
She coughed weakly.
"...better be worth it..."
"...Ieros..."
Her voice had lost every trace of its usual playfulness.
She tried to stand.
Her legs gave out immediately.
Before she hit the ground—
Erly rushed forward, carefully supporting her enormous burden despite his own shattered body.
The ape looked toward the unconscious human.
Anger.
Pity.
Confusion.
All three emotions mixed within his eyes.
The surrounding wind frantically snapped Elle's broken bones back into place while desperately attempting to regenerate her eyes.
She gently shook her head.
"No..."
The wind howled louder in protest.
Moments later—
Ieros suddenly jolted awake.
"Did you—"
Before he could finish—
Fresh mana flooded every corner of his body.
For the first time...
He truly felt his awakened core.
A familiar notification rang inside his mind.
Ding.
He ignored it completely.
His gaze landed on Elle.
He froze.
"...Your eyes..."
Without hesitation, he rushed over and gently supported her, relieving Erly of the task.
"Are you alright?"
Concern filled his voice.
"I won't die."
Elle smiled.
Though her face had become frighteningly pale.
"Tch."
Ignoring her protest, Ieros carefully helped her sit down once more.
She's pretending everything is fine...
But every mana channel in her body has ruptured.
Mana is leaking directly through her skin...
At this rate...
She won't last much longer.
His expression darkened.
"This is bad..."
He whispered.
Elle smiled faintly.
"It's fine."
"The tree is only taking back what belongs to it."
Those words frightened him even more.
If simply unsealing my core nearly killed a High Elf...
Then...
What exactly have I awakened?
As though hearing his thoughts—
Elle spoke once more.
"Don't worry."
"The seal will gradually weaken as your mana control improves and you master your attribute."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"But don't be stupid."
"If you gamble your life while using Space..."
"...you won't survive."
"Neither will your enemy."
"So..."
"For now..."
"Only use basic manipulation."
The cracks across her skin widened.
Even more mana poured from her body into the Tree.
Then—
Her expression suddenly changed.
She looked beyond Ieros.
Far into the distance.
A look of unprecedented seriousness appeared on her face as her eyes met a dark crimson one as it opened slowly.
CRACK!
Her body violently split with another horrifying sound.
Half of her remaining mana dissolved instantly.
One portion surged directly into Ieros' body, reinforcing the new seal around his core.
The other half flowed into the Tree.
Ieros bit through the inside of his cheek until blood filled his mouth.
He remained silent, as he watched her body dissolve into mana particles.
Erly limped back beneath the Tree, collapsing against its roots. The ancient roots slowly crept over his wounds, mending what they could, while his eyes never left Ieros and the place Elle had disappeared.
Ieros mouth opened continuously as if wanting to speak but deciding against it as he sees Early vigilant and slightly hostile gaze on him.
...
Far beyond the forest...
Within an endless sea of darkness...
A pair of crimson eyes slowly opened.
"Finally..."
A cracked voice whispered.
Hoarse.
Ancient.
Completely devoid of warmth.
Half of a grotesque face emerged from the darkness.
A slow, bloodthirsty smile spread across its lips.
"Hmm..."
"How meticulous..."
"...Mtile."
It chuckled darkly.
The darkness swallowed the creature once more.
At that exact moment...
The distorted space surrounding Ieros settled.
It felt...
As though an unimaginable gaze had finally been lifted from him.
He instinctively reached toward the place where Elle had been standing only moments ago.
His fingers closed around empty air.