Three days passed under a merciless rhythm.
Training at dawn.
Work and learning throughout the day.
Then training again—until late into the night.
Yami barely saw his bed unless his strength was completely spent.
There wasn't a single rib in his body that didn't scream in pain with every breath he took.
Then, one night—
He woke up.
He didn't know what had awakened him.
He opened his eyes… and there was no ceiling above him.
Only emptiness.
A vast, silent void with no clear boundaries—
as if the concept of "end" didn't exist here.
He stood up in panic, looking around wildly.
He touched his face. His hands. His chest.
Everything was there.
Too real to be a dream.
He began walking, not knowing whether he was moving east or west.
Every direction felt the same, as though the space itself refused to be understood.
He let out a nervous laugh and muttered,
"This feels more real than a dream…
and more like a dream than reality."
He grabbed his head tightly.
"Since I came to this planet, nothing has been normal.
What am I saying? This has to be a dream…
There's no way someone actually summoned me here, right?"
Before he could finish the thought—
A calm, clear voice spoke from behind him.
"It seems I arrived at an inconvenient time."
Yami spun around.
A young man stood there—about his age.
His eyes were silver, just like Yami's… but deeper. Older.
In the same instant, Yami's eyes turned into that cosmic black.
A dark aura of the same color spread around his body.
Yami raised his guard instantly.
"I'm not looking for trouble," he said sharply.
"I already have more than enough."
The stranger smiled and took a step closer.
"Relax. I'm only here to talk."
Yami didn't hesitate.
"Where am I?"
The stranger answered calmly,
"You are inside the Domain."
"…What domain?"
The stranger studied him for a long moment before replying,
"You carry the Space Gem.
This is its domain."
Yami froze.
"A gem? I didn't—"
The stranger cut him off gently, smiling.
"It seems you're not ready to understand yet."
Yami swallowed.
"I was in my bed. I opened my eyes… and ended up here."
The stranger nodded.
"Time doesn't flow here the way you know it.
I usually appear when the body is exhausted…
or when it's ready."
"Ready for what?"
"Ready to be summoned."
Yami let out a short, nervous laugh.
"I have a lot of questions… but I'll ask just one."
"Go ahead."
"How do I leave this place?"
The stranger smiled.
"Clasp your hands together.
And instead of releasing the Rast from your heart…
try drawing it inward."
Yami did as instructed.
And in the very next moment—
He was staring at the ceiling of his room.
He gasped for air, then covered his face with both hands and whispered,
"I really hope Felix stops punching me in the face during training…"
Yami woke up the next morning, and to his surprise—
His body was completely healed.
No pain in his ribs.
No heavy fatigue weighing down his muscles.
He raised his hand in front of his eyes, studying it carefully, then slowly clenched his fingers.
"For some reason…" he murmured,
"I feel like my power has increased… a lot."
He got out of bed and put on the clothes he had borrowed from Felix.
Looking around, he frowned.
"That's strange… Why isn't he awake yet?"
He opened the door—and found Felix still fast asleep.
A mischievous grin spread across Yami's face.
He grabbed the pillow from under Felix's head and yanked it away.
Felix jolted upright.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Laughing, Yami replied,
"Waking you up."
Felix rubbed his eyes, then stared at him in genuine shock.
"I didn't expect you to wake up this early…
Last night, I was sure I'd beaten you into staying in bed until evening."
Yami tossed him his clothes.
"Get up. Training's waiting."
Felix muttered while getting dressed,
"This is for your own good, you know…"
The two headed to the training grounds, where Arkan was already waiting.
Without any introduction, the usual training began.
But after only a few minutes—
Felix and Arkan exchanged a silent glance.
Yami was different.
His strength had clearly increased.
He wasn't just defending anymore—he was keeping up with them.
Even landing precise strikes on Felix, despite his speed.
His control over his abilities was astonishing compared to his struggles just days ago.
Felix stepped back, smiling.
"This is incredible… You're expanding your aura to predict my movements.
That's a rare skill, even among Gas-State users."
Arkan added calmly, eyes fixed on Yami,
"And not just that… your control is nearly flawless.
Which means the amount of Rast in your heart has increased."
Yami grinned.
"Looks like I should thank you both…
Great teachers—even if one of you uses me as a punching bag."
He glanced at Felix.
The three of them laughed and resumed training.
Elsewhere—
A massive ship cut through space, black as a starless night.
At its core, Darkos sat upon a throne-like chair, slowly turning an old metal fragment between his fingers. The engravings on it were barely visible.
A soldier entered and bowed deeply.
"My lord, we are approaching the northern planets."
Darkos slipped the fragment into his pocket and asked without turning,
"Tell me… how much Oran have we collected?"
"Approximately fifty thousand units, my lord."
Darkos smiled calmly.
"Good."
The soldier hesitated, then spoke carefully.
"My lord… may I ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"We have gathered more than enough…
Why are we passing through every planet in your territory?"
Darkos let out a short laugh.
"And who said I'm doing this only for Oran?"
The soldier looked up in surprise.
"Then… why, my lord?"
Darkos stood and walked toward the massive window overlooking space.
"One word," he said.
"Fear."
The soldier froze.
"Fear…?"
Darkos spoke softly, lethally calm.
"Do you know why those greedy fools dared to kill my father?"
The soldier swallowed.
"No… I don't, my lord."
Darkos continued staring into the vastness of space, as if looking at a memory rather than stars.
"Fear," he repeated.
"Fear is what preserves thrones. My father forgot that."
He paused.
"He believed loyalty was eternal.
He believed strength alone was enough."
Another pause.
"Fear never allows people to forget."
He finally turned, his gaze making the soldier straighten instinctively.
"That's why I come in person.
So they see me.
So they remember."
A faint smile crossed his lips—utterly cold.
"The world doesn't need a just ruler…"
"It needs a present one."
The soldier bowed deeply.
"As you command, my lord."
Darkos returned to his throne.
"Continue on course. We will arrive soon."