At the same time, Morgan, standing atop the worktable, stepped closer to Gabriel's hand.
When her fingers brushed against his skin, Gabriel flinched slightly—not from pain, but from the subtle shock that rippled through the touch.
Her gaze lingered on the Slime… then slowly shifted to Gabriel's face.
"Interesting," she said flatly. "Your Mana resonance… it's intimate. Sweet."
She paused on the last word, letting it hang in the air.
"The frequency is stable, pure, and far too… personal," Morgan continued softly. "As if you're—" she tilted her head slightly, "—speaking directly to its core of existence."
Gabriel's eyebrows twitched.
Morgan went on without a hint of jest—precisely why her words cut so sharply.
"If this Slime had a will of its own," she said, "it would undoubtedly regard you as the center of its world."
Silence fell for a fraction of a second.
Then Morgan's gaze dug deeper into him.
"Do you always pour this much Mana… when you're focused?"
Gabriel's face immediately flushed. In his ears, Morgan's choice of words sounded far too ambiguous—and the touch on his hand did nothing to ease it.
"i-i—"
The words caught in his throat, swallowed by a mix of nervousness and a sudden, overwhelming awareness of Morgan's presence nearby.
The pale white Mana in his arms surged uncontrollably. The flow, once precise, now gushed more forcefully.
The Slime's core throbbed violently.
Cracks of light appeared within the container.
Morgan squinted. "Ah. Too late."
BOOM—!
A silent yet brutal Mana explosion rocked the warehouse. The transparent container shattered into shards of light, the Slime erupted into white splashes that vaporized midair before collapsing back into an unstable, viscous puddle on the floor.
Dark Matter dust swirled through the air.
Silence fell.
Gabriel stood frozen, his right hand still extended, his face flushed all the way to his ears. He closed his right eye completely and took a deep breath.
"…Tch."
He slowly lowered his hand.
"Note," he muttered in a low voice, trying—and failing—to restore Ash's composure. "Do not… provoke the architect of existence while weaving fate."
He glanced at Morgan from behind his bangs, still blushing.
"And Fay," he continued, his tone striving for coldness, "is officially forbidden from using ambiguous words during Mana experiments."
Morgan looked at the remaining Slime, weakly pulsating on the floor.
"Noted," she said briefly.
Yet the corner of her mouth—just a fraction of a millimeter—curved upward.
***
A week had passed for Gabriel in this world. During that time, he had successfully created a Slime-based weapon fully compatible with his Mana.
Now, the Slime was neatly stored within the Void Ring—a device he had previously obtained from the Infinity Room Auction House, providing up to five cubic meters of storage.
Practical, silent, and safe from ordinary detection.
__________________
Dark Matter Slime
Rank: Black
Type: Weapon
Description: A Slime-based weapon developed using Kage no Jitsuryokusha's Slime, modified with Dark Matter Magic. This Slime has a total capacity of 100 liters of Slime material. Its internal structure consists of semi-anorganic Dark Matter that reacts directly to the user's Mana, allowing instantaneous shape-shifting without delay or loss of mass.
With 99% Mana conductivity efficiency, the Dark Matter Slime functions as an extension of the user's body and will—more akin to an additional organ than a conventional weapon.
__________________
Under the bright morning sky, on a bustling sidewalk, Claire was seen dragging two small children—each held firmly by one hand—like carrying two living shopping bags.
In her left hand: Gabriel.
In her right hand: Cid.
Cid's body was stiff and resigned, dragged along without the slightest resistance—clearly very accustomed to this treatment.
Gabriel, on the other hand, swayed with Claire's pull, arms swinging, legs lifting occasionally, looking like a ragdoll entirely surrendered to fate.
Today, they weren't practicing swordsmanship.
Their goal was simple: shopping for clothes—especially for Gabriel.
Over the past week, Gabriel had only worn Cid's clothes. In other words, he had been sharing a wardrobe with his fake twin brother.
The problem: Gabriel's body—shaped by the system—was slightly smaller than Cid's, making nearly every piece of clothing look oversized on him.
But Claire seemed to have taken enough notice.
And today… she intended to fix it.
"Claire nee-sama…" Gabriel murmured. "I'm not a suitcase."
He paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up as if he had discovered an ancient artifact.
"But… hmm… this is nice too. No need to walk… carried wherever. Oh, hand of fate, guide me…"
"Quiet," Claire cut him off coldly. "You—don't. Both of you are slow walking on your own. We're shopping. Hurry up!"
Gabriel ignored her. He only took a small breath, then turned to Cid while still being dragged along.
"Cid-kun…" he said softly yet dramatically. "Do you think… the stars will align tonight? I wish to read the fortune of Claire nee-sama's future spouse…"
He then looked at Claire, his expression innocent yet tinged with ancient tragedy.
"So strict…" he continued honestly and without shame, "I fear she… won't find a match in the future…"
The words came out just as Claire was focusing on her steps.
Her stride halted.
Slowly… very slowly… Claire turned.
A fine vein appeared at her temple.
Cid, meanwhile, continued to stare straight ahead without any expression—like an NPC stuck in an idle animation.
"Hm," he said flatly. "Perhaps."
He went on, in a tone as if he were explaining an astronomical phenomenon.
"The Scorpion Edge constellation usually appears when someone is starting to lose their patience."
(Translation: Claire is about to explode.)
Cid gave a small nod.
"So… your prediction might be accurate."
The ball was thrown.
Claire came to a complete stop.
A faint smile formed on her face. A smile that was… not healthy.
"I see?" she said softly. "I seeee?"
She lifted Gabriel higher, like picking up a shopping bag that was far too light.
"So according to you two," she continued in a sweetly poisonous tone, "I'm scary, and I'm unpopular?"
Gabriel's face instantly went pale.
"T-that's not what I meant!" he blurted out in panic. "I-I mean… uh… I was just… reading the movements of the cosmos… for your future, Nee-sama—!!"
"THE COSMOS MY ASS!" Claire shouted without hesitation.
Without lowering him, Claire pinched Gabriel's cheek—while her other hand continued dragging Cid as if nothing had changed.
"Aaakhh—!! Nee-samaaa!!" Gabriel grimaced. "This is a test… this is suffering… this must be the trial of a Pale Seraph—!!"
Cid continued walking, expressionless, steps steady.
"Prediction confirmed," he murmured. "Claire Nee-sama is entering the Heavenly Wrath phase."
At that moment, the air around Gabriel subtly trembled, unnoticed by both.
On his shoulder, a faint light formed, then crystallized into a small, transparent figure—Morgan in her astral form—hovering with arms crossed, observing the scene with absolute calm.
"…Hey," she said flatly.
Morgan watched Gabriel's cheek being pinched, then her gaze briefly shifted to Claire's face—just for a fraction of a second—before returning to Gabriel.
"Observation note," she continued, tone unchanged. "Your mouth is not aligned with the survival instinct."
She hovered slightly, level with Gabriel's face.
"Earlier, you were dragged like a nearly-lost child."
"Now, you're adding a destructive variable through spontaneous speech."
Morgan paused.
"This isn't courage, but foolishness wrapped in cosmic metaphor."
She glanced slightly toward Claire.
"The fact that you're still alive," she said calmly, "is because your Nee-sama chose restraint."
Returning her gaze to Gabriel:
"Recommendation," Morgan stated. "If you wish to continue existing in this environment, learn to keep your mouth shut while being dragged."
Gabriel could only grimace, voice choked, replying through telepathy, "Fay… that's cruel…"
"No," she answered briefly. "It's efficient."
And so, under the bright morning sky, their journey toward the clothing store continued.
***
On a dark night, inside the cabin that served as the Shadow Headquarters—specifically in Gabriel's research warehouse—Cid could be seen channeling Mana toward a heap of mutated, seemingly rotting flesh.
The bluish-purple Mana illuminated parts of the room, casting strange reflections on the warehouse walls.
A satisfied smile was etched on Cid's face as he manipulated the flow of his Mana, using the flesh as a medium to hone his energy control.
Behind him, sitting leisurely atop a wooden crate, Gabriel observed everything while sipping red liquid from his cup—which, in reality, was just strawberry syrup.
On Gabriel's right shoulder perched the graceful Queen of Winter, Morgan. Her cold eyes tracked every change in the flesh with evident interest.
"Interesting…" Morgan murmured softly.
It was unclear whether she found Cid's impressive Mana control intriguing—or the repulsive training object itself.
Unlike Morgan, Gabriel could perceive the truth behind that form. With Gigan, he realized that the flesh was far from ordinary.
Its existence revealed the shadow of a long-haired blonde elf suffering in pain.
This elf—who would later be known as Alpha—was destined to become the first step in the resurrection of Shadow Garden, a sequence Gabriel had meticulously planned for a long time.
In fact, unlike Cid's "accidental" discovery, this encounter had been orchestrated by Gabriel in secret, with extreme care.
However, in order not to disrupt the natural course of development, Gabriel chose not to intervene directly.
He allowed Cid to continue interacting with the elf—using it as a training medium—while enhancing his Mana control, exactly as it was meant to unfold in the shadows.