Stillness?
It is Phelion's mana.
A being who has existed for two thousand years—an immortal hero, one who stood firm during the religious wave of annihilation three hundred years ago.
A man who used his own coin to obtain what he desired in order to continue existing.
(But not everyone seeks power in exchange. Some desire something else—Knowledge.)
Phelion slowly sank into the ground.
He leaned back, collapsed, and disappeared into the earth as if sinking into water, right before Lloyd's astonished eyes.
Lloyd leapt into the air, raised his leg high, and slammed it straight down with terrifying velocity.
BOOM!
Like a destructive artillery shell, the surrounding area was obliterated, leaving nothing intact.
Lloyd stared at the devastated ground—Phelion was nowhere to be seen.
Rage surged through him.
Had the seal he placed been broken so easily?How was Phelion still alive after sustaining such injuries?What was Phelion's plan?
Questions piled up relentlessly. The fury on Lloyd's face gradually gave way to an unnervingly serious expression.
His anger had consumed him so completely that he failed to perceive Phelion's true intent—and that mistake came at a cost.
Or rather… why was someone like him even capable of anger?
My emotions… they shouldn't—
Whoooosh—Clang—
Suddenly, the sound of ocean waves and a tolling bell echoed.
Lloyd collapsed to the ground.
Something was happening—something unmistakably wrong.
The earth around him warped like rolling ocean waves, engulfing his body, while the bell continued to ring again and again.
Each toll forced a vision into his mind—a pitch-black color, an abyssal black.
(Those who exchange a single coin for intellect see others as foolish.Children-like thinkers (~70 IQ) are scorned by ordinary people (~100 IQ).So what of those who believe themselves intellectually superior?)
Lloyd's eyes widened.
The frequency at which that pitch-black vision appeared increased. Waves formed from smoke, dust, and shattered earth coiled around him like tentacles.
Stillness, to Phelion, is the depth of the human soul—filled by falling rain.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH—!!"
Lloyd collapsed.
The light vanished from his eyes, leaving behind an unfathomable void.
Gaze into the abyss—lest it gazes back.
Lloyd was swallowed by Phelion's abyss through emotion itself.
Whenever one reaches the sixth core stage, knowledge becomes a prerequisite for further advancement.
This knowledge does not come from books, but from experiences—events etched deeply into the mind.
However, beyond the tenth stage, something else is required.
A path of ego-consciousness.A symbolic anchor tied to one's mana.
This is called an Ego Perspective (Perspective Beyond Essence).
For Phelion, whose mana is Stillness, his Ego Perspective is submersion—the abyss formed by what his power creates.
Throughout the battle with Lloyd, Phelion continuously provoked Lloyd's rage before being sealed.
Through that, he succeeded in drawing Lloyd away from the true battlefield.
Jinxite stood amid the rubble and drifting smoke.
Before him, dozens of spells collided violently in midair.
This wasn't part of the agreed plan, he thought.The royal family should have chosen someone else instead of him.
Remember this carefully, his superiors had instructed him.First: on the first day, commit suicide immediately.Second: assassinate the princess as quickly as possible.Third: if anything unexpected occurs, reveal your identification and retreat.
Those were the orders.
Yet here he was—caught in this absurd battle after dying twice already.
Damn royal politics, he thought.
That was his final thought.
"Was killing him like that really fine?"
Lusk asked the one who had just severed Jinxite's head.
It was Janeus, calmly wiping the blood from her blade.
"He's not that easy to kill. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been chosen to assassinate me in the first place."
Janeus recalled everything Ron Irus had told her—about the overarching plan and the truths he knew.
Her confidence only grew.
From the severed neck, iridescent colors erupted like a waterfall, rapidly seeping into the ground.
"As expected… the Royal Family's tricks are terrifying."
(But those who live only within books—how could they ever understand what true wisdom or civilization really is?)