The silence between them was not empty.
It was tense.
Dense.
Loaded with everything that had never been said.
Kul-Kain slowly lowered his sword.
Judai Scathach stood before him, only a few meters away, the vines still swaying behind his back, his chest rising and falling with controlled breaths.
Neither of them spoke.
There was no need to.
Judai was the first to smile.
A thin, crooked smile.
The same as always.
"I didn't think you'd make it this far."
His voice was calm, almost bored.
"But I suppose even a mistake… can surprise you sometimes."
Those words.
Kul-Kain felt something tighten in his stomach.
And the memory returned.
He was younger.
Thinner.
And the sword far too heavy for his arms.
The training field was full of boys his age.
Among them, Judai.
"Come on, move it, slacker."
"Or are you already out of energy?"
The laughter had come immediately.
Kul-Kain had charged forward.
A clumsy thrust.
Slow.
Judai hadn't even drawn his aura.
A step to the side.
A sharp strike to the wrist.
The sword had flown from his hand.
Then the kick.
Kul-Kain on the ground.
Breath shattered.
And Judai standing over him, looking down.
"Son of the Patriarch… huh?"
"What a disappointment."
Too easy.
Effortless.
Without even breaking a sweat.
But Judai remembered something too.
From the window of his room.
A small room.
Bare.
Belonging to the collateral branch of the family.
He had watched Kul-Kain train alone in the field.
Always later than the others.
Always after everyone had left.
Repeated strikes.
Mistakes.
Falls.
And yet…
He never stopped.
Judai had clenched his fist back then.
Not out of pity.
But out of rage and admiration.
Because he, born of a servant, had to fight for every crumb.
And Kul-Kain…
Even without talent…
Still carried a name.
And with that name
Came unavoidable obligations.
Something Kul-Kain tried to live up to
With every ounce of determination he possessed.
For that reason,
In a certain sense…
The two boys
Were the same.
The present crashed back onto them.
They lunged at each other at the exact same instant.
Sword against fist.
The impact made the air tremble.
Kul-Kain staggered back half a step.
Judai did not.
Their clash erupted into a brutal dance—rapid slashes, aura-charged punches, kicks, instinctive parries.
The ground beneath them cracked with every blow.
Outside the artificial dungeon, on the stands, Atlas Kulainn spoke in a steady voice:
"Remember one thing."
"Stealing the cores of defeated opponents… is a valid method to accumulate points."
A murmur spread among the candidates.
Inside the dungeon, Judai smiled again.
Kul-Kain understood.
This was not an even fight.
Judai was using… half of his strength.
One grade of difference.
Ten people.
Every strike from Judai was heavier.
More precise.
More devastating.
A punch to the stomach.
A kick to the ribs.
A direct blow to the chest.
Kul-Kain was sent flying against a tree trunk, spitting blood.
His vision wavered.
Kul-Kain could feel it—his life was slowly slipping through his fingers.
Every minute that passed.
A ticking clock marking the few moments he had left.
Another blow sent him rolling through the mud.
He was almost finished.
About to lose to him again.
Like always.
His body screamed.
The sword trembled in his hand.
So this is how it ends…?
Then—light.
A light appeared before him.
Like a beacon of hope.
A new spark opening a path forward.
A golden panel opened before his eyes, overlapping reality:
『Mission 00 is in severe danger of failure.
Activate safety measures? [Y / N] {3 releases remaining}』
Kul-Kain did not hesitate for even a second.
He did not want to lose again.
He had lost far too many times.
"Yes."
The world changed.
His golden aura cracked…
and shifted to violet.
Outside the dungeon, silence exploded.
The elders' eyes narrowed.
"That isn't aura…"
"It's Ego."
One step beyond.
The power of the heart after singularity.
A paradox.
Kul-Kain should not have possessed it.
Yet even though it bore that trait,
It was not fully Ego either.
Inside the dungeon, Judai felt the pressure change.
For the first time…
He took a step back.
"Interesting… so the Patriarch's son remains the Patriarch's son,"
he murmured.
And he decided to get serious.
The clash resumed.
But now it was war.
Fist against blade.
Flesh against metal.
Blows that should have shattered bones—stopped at the last instant.
Judai struck.
Kul-Kain answered.
Blood.
Sparks.
Auras of twisted nature colliding like storms.
Judai's eyes flew open.
He saw it.
In Kul-Kain's heart, one of the stellar valves was shining…
but not like the others.
The Ego was lodged there in an unnatural way.
It was creating an artificial star.
Temporary.
Forced.
Kul-Kain was now a grade 2 as well
Not for long
Not for real
But still he now had enough Power
An abomination of unknown source.
A feral smile spread across Judai's face.
Painting his stoic face with excitement.
"Then… let's see who breaks first."
They lunged at each other once more.
The air shattered.
And as their power reached its peak—
A distant chime marked the end of the first hour of the coming-of-age ceremony.
The fight was not over.
It had only just begun.
— To be continued —