Darkness.
Not the kind that suffocates.
Not the kind that blinds.
This darkness was... different.
Reyon felt his limbs dissolve, his heartbeat slow to a crawl, and yet his consciousness—his very sense of self—stood clear, sharp, and untouched.
His body… had become Void.
"…W-What is happening to me?" Reyon whispered into the silence. There was no sound. No echo. No breath.
Suddenly, a flicker—no, a shimmer—rippled before him like a tear in black velvet. And from that tear emerged a silhouette. Tall. Familiar.
A man with long, flowing silver hair, wearing the ancient robes of the Phoenix lineage.
Reyon took a step forward. His mouth parted. His eyes widened.
"...Grandfather?"
The man slowly turned.
It was him.
Older. Tired. Yet unmistakably—Leywin Phoenix.
Reyon's heart clenched. His voice trembled.
"Are you... Are you alive?" he asked, the question escaping his lips before he could even process the gravity of it.
Leywin sighed. He looked at Reyon with deep remorse carved into every wrinkle of his face. "First of all," he said, his voice slow, laden with regret, "I apologise for pushing this burden to you… when it was all my fault."
Reyon blinked, unsure whether to speak or simply listen.
"I… made a deal," Leywin continued, folding his arms behind his back. "A deal with the Brook family… and black mages."
Reyon's eyes darkened. "You what?"
"To let me continue my research," Leywin said, almost as if trying to convince himself. "I had to adhere to some conditions. One of them… was to develop a chimera."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"The creature that would later become known as Cerberus."
Reyon's breath hitched. "All… all of that. For what? Why?"
Leywin's gaze turned distant. "For a single reason. I wanted to go back. To the past."
Silence.
Reyon clenched his fists. "You… you wanted to return?"
"I was an orphan," Leywin murmured. "I lost my parents… many of my colleagues… to my own vengeance. I thought… if I could just change it all…"
"But…" Reyon muttered. "That kind of magic—it's—"
"Easier said than done," Leywin finished. "I know."
Reyon narrowed his eyes. The thought that had lingered in his mind now pushed its way forward.
"Could it be… you were the one who brought me back to the past?"
Leywin nodded.
"Yeah," he said softly. "It was me."
Reyon's knees felt weak. "Then... you're not real?"
Leywin smiled faintly. "This is just a part of my consciousness. A fragment… left behind before I died."
Reyon swallowed hard.
Leywin's next words chilled him.
"My death… was the reason for the dragon's appearance."
Reyon's eyes widened.
"You already know," Leywin continued, "I developed τ to control time. And I was trying such absurd things… because of dark mana's influence. That's why I hid the strongest symbols… underneath the Classers' headquarters… with a trial at the end."
Reyon stared in stunned silence.
"My brain," Leywin continued, tapping the side of his temple, "melted from overusing the symbols. If it had just been a decade or two… I might have succeeded. But I tried to reverse time by eighty years."
His voice trembled.
"It caused… mana overflow."
Reyon felt a coldness enter his chest. "So… what happened to you… happened to me… against Methusela."
Leywin gave a slow nod. "You were experiencing it. But mine… mine was a thousand times worse."
His eyes darkened.
"My body exploded. Waves of raw mana burst from my corpse… strong enough to mutate."
Reyon's jaw tightened.
"The Brook family expected this outcome," Leywin said bitterly. "I knew too. But I was under the influence of dark mana."
He looked at Reyon again, pain swimming in his eyes.
"After my body exploded, mana waves strong enough to mutate everything in their path surged outward. The Brooks stole three Wyvern babies—the species closest to dragons."
"And they mutated…" Reyon whispered, his voice barely audible.
Leywin nodded again.
"Each one of them became stronger than even the Dragon King. Especially the black dragon. The one who absorbed τ... gained the power to manipulate time… at least, a little bit."
Years of pain and regret lined his voice.
"Then years later," he said slowly, "you got £ and §, and my consciousness got attached to you… as you were dying."
Reyon's eyes trembled. "Then… you used τ on me?"
Leywin smiled faintly. "Yes. To take you back in time. I expected you to improve… but you became way stronger than I expected."
Reyon's heart was thundering.
"And now," Leywin said, raising his hand, "I will use the last of my power… to dispel all dark mana inside you."
A faint golden pulse radiated from Leywin's palm, flowing into Reyon's chest.
A warmth—clean, clear—like light piercing through the suffocating fog.
"Then please!" Reyon said, stepping forward. "Teach me how to use τ! So I can kill that monster!"
No matter what i did i can't control use τ
Leywin chuckled.
τ is something that you need thousands of complex formulas and theories i developed and they are now lost i never intended to pass down τ and most importantly
"You don't even need τ to kill that dragon."
Reyon blinked. "What?"
Leywin shook his head, a hint of amusement in his smile. "And you're wrong to consider τ the strongest symbol."
"Then… what is?" Reyon asked.
"The strongest," Leywin said, "is ∞."
Reyon's eyes narrowed. "But then… why couldn't I kill the dragon? Even after almost mastering ∞?"
Leywin raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you notice? This time… Methusela's time stop didn't work on you."
Reyon's eyes widened. "W-What?"
"You think that's a coincidence?" Leywin said.
Reyon furrowed his brows. He had felt something strange… something off.
"I knew… something was happening," he muttered to himself. "But I couldn't exactly point it out."
Leywin smiled again.
"It was because of Void."
Reyon's breath hitched.
"Even time… becomes dormant… in Void," Leywin said slowly.
Reyon stared. "Then… why can't I kill the dragon? Even if I have almost mastered ∞?"
"Almost mastering," Leywin said, "is not the same as mastery."
He waved his hand.
"Let me show you."
The darkness rippled again, forming an image—Reyon's own body, standing tall, eyes glowing with pure darkness.
In the image, every attack that came toward him—sword, spell, wave of fire—was absorbed.
Every.
Single.
One.
"If you cast multiple ∞ all over the surrounding," Leywin said, "then Void would cover your body. Making you truly… invincible."
Reyon's heart skipped.
"And," Leywin continued, "if you kill the dragon inside Void… it won't be able to manipulate time."
"But…" Reyon muttered. "How would I cover that… colossal dragon… in Void?"
Leywin grinned.
"You have the strongest magician teaching you, don't worry."
Reyon's lips slowly curled into a determined smile.
"…I'm ready."
Leywin's form began to flicker.
"Then learn. And make sure…"
Reyon leaned forward, fists clenched.
"…you master it."
Leywin raised a finger, placing it over Reyon's forehead.
And then—boom—a surge of warmth flooded through Reyon.
Symbols danced in his vision—∞ glowing in chains, fractals, spirals.
Leywin's final whisper echoed in his mind:
"True Void is not just nothingness… it is where even time stops holding its breath. it is true end"
Darkness shattered.
Reyon's eyes flew open.
And for the first time in his second life…
He was no longer afraid.