In an instant, the tides shifted.
The Guardian's Aen... changed.
It wasn't rage. It wasn't fear.
It was something deeper.
Evolution.
When Spawns push past their limits or fall deeper into corruption… they grow.
They don't just become stronger—
They become something else.
From the way it moved, the decay in its flesh, the way its aura twisted—
It was a Wraith.
Or worse.
And I knew what came next.
If we let it evolve... it would become a Titan.
I grabbed the blade. No time to hesitate.
No time to think.
I had to—
A hand grabbed my shoulder.
I turned.
Marcus.
It had been a while since I last saw him.
Part of me wanted to kill him on the spot.
But I was too tired. My body didn't have the strength to follow through.
"Night," he said, "look… and see the true power you possess.
Watch. Learn.
Because I know—you don't understand your Attribute. Not really."
I stared at him.
How the hell did he know that?
But he was right.
I didn't understand anything about Attributes.
Then something changed.
Rion's Aen shifted.
Not just his power—his entire presence.
His black hair faded into a glowing frosty blue.
His eyes—still sharp—became colder.
His sword shimmered. The blade had cooled so deeply, it changed color, humming with an unnatural chill.
He moved.
Faster.
Cleaner.
Each strike left frost behind—cuts freezing shut around the Guardian's wounds, cracking and biting into its frame.
Then—
Everything stopped.
The air.
The Guardian.
Even me.
But I could still see.
Still feel.
This had to be the ability of Night Pierce.
I wasn't surprised—not entirely.
No one matched Rion's speed and control.
But even so… it wouldn't be enough.
He didn't know how to use Aen.
He was pushing his traits using nothing but stamina.
I had to help.
Then the Guardian's body began to change.
I didn't know if it was the death of the noble that triggered it, or something else…
But I felt it.
A heavier pressure.
A colder dread.
Then, a Hex echoed through the air.
[The Guardian of the Echoing Vestige is evolving]
[A Leviathan is being born]
[The Guardian has evolved]
[The King Who Failed His People has appeared]
My breath caught.
The Guardian wasn't human-sized anymore.
It towered over us—
A giant.
My hands trembled.
What were we supposed to do now?
Fighting a normal Leviathan was suicide.
But this one had a title.
It was a Named Spawn.
Rion backed away, leaving its range entirely.
Judging by the look on his face, he had no strength left.
It was over.
There was nothing left to do.
But still…
I couldn't stand there.
I picked up the sword.
The edge was cracked, the handle almost breaking apart.
I could barely stand.
My Aen was gone.
But I still moved.
I knew it was pointless.
I was weak.
But if my light couldn't bring anything down—
Then my darkness would.
Rion's voice echoed in my mind—words he told me that day:
"If you'd been just a little braver, she wouldn't have died."
Since then…
I'd been hiding.
But now?
I limped forward.
Each step pulled more pain out of my body.
But I didn't stop.
I gripped the sword tighter.
As I approached that thing, I didn't think about winning.
I just wanted—
At least once—
To be the one who tried.
And then, something bloomed inside me, the words i never knew till now echoed in my mind.
"In sunlight, moonlight, darkness… and even in death—
I will bloom."
A single stump sent me crashing, but then someone who I thought was gone appeared.
It was no one else than Ren. His eyes were filled with gratitude of some kind.
I didn't know when, but my eyes were shut closed. I was conscious but couldn't control my body. I had only one option. I peered through Ren.
The Hex echoed in my ear:
[You have awakened your first art]
[You have discovered a key to awakening your arts]
I couldn't see how he moved, but I could feel his movement, power, and everything. It was different. Was he using it?
My first art… in an instant. A single slash split the Guardian in two.
The Hex's voice echoed in my head, relieving a part of my worries :
[You have slain Twilight Leviathan, The King Who Failed His People]
[Your achievements are being analysed]
[Your rewards have been stalled]
What just happened?
---
I dived into my soul point, still left in awe as the Hex's voice continued.
A set of runes formed in front of me:
[Divine Light has been activated]
[Authority of True Light has been activated]
[Re-enacting the residue of the slain]
Light escaped from my body, slowly forming some sort of white domain.
Then I saw a little kid in front of me.
The domain was already complete.
Green hair. Green-blue eyes.
"Who are you?" he said.
Those words…
They made me remember.
They were the same words I asked myself once.
In the blink of an eye—
The kid was replaced by a young man.
Just like how it happened with the Guardian.
That's when I realized.
This was the Guardian.
"You must have killed me," he said, with a sad face.
"Yes," I said, with no remorse.
"Thank you.I knew there was no way for me to live. But i can't help but feel remorseful, anyway there is something I must tell you before its too late.
You will die."
My face twisted with fear.
"What do you mean?"
"I saw it…
You died in the most dreadful way in know."
[Authority is weakening]
The white domain dissipated as he smiled.
"I wished I could follow you on your journeys…
But it seems fate has another plan for you.
All I can tell you is—
Beware of your heart and of the voices in your head.
Because your fate is more dreadful than you can imagine."