I opened my mouth to say something, but Lyra smiled.

Not just any smile.

I thought Elric’s was the worst, but no.

Those amber-colored eyes held a fire in them. One that screamed severe consequences if I dared to speak. It contrasted sharply with her otherwise soft features, the cute way her braided black ponytail fell to the small of her back.

So, I chose to stay quiet.

For now.

But it was really hard not to scrunch my nose or clip it shut entirely.

"Okay." Elric stretched as he stood. "Now that we’re done, we can test a couple things."

He took a breath before continuing. “We can check how long we can stay awake comfortably, and how far we can continue Body Refinement without it getting too dangerous."

No one disagreed.

Without a word, Lyra and Sia settled in, closing their eyes as they began absorbing world force, their breathing deep and steady. After a few minutes, they transitioned into light sparring, experiencing Perfect Conversion for the first time themselves.

I glanced toward the green pool in the distance while waiting for them to fully fill their Grand Channel.

Maybe it wasn’t deadly…

Maybe it was just regular water but, you know, green.

Used for totally normal things like drinking, cooking, and, most importantly,bathing.

I sighed, sitting down in the tight circle everyone had formed after the two girls finished, trying my best to ignore the putridity that came after the transformation.

"So who goes first?" I asked.

"I think we should let the newest ones go," Thea suggested, pointing toward Elric. "You, Lyra, or Sia."

Then she turned to me.

"You mentioned you created a thin core around the Precursor Energy, right?"

I nodded. "That’s right. Why?"

Thea puffed out her chest with pride, as if she had just come up with the greatest idea known to humanity.

"Well," she started, pausing for dramatic effect. She opened one eye to make sure everyone was listening.

Man, I loved that so much.

"What if we all make thin cores… in a single person?"

Thea finished, letting the words hang in the air.

"But you wake up as soon as one is formed," Elric pointed out.

She nodded. "Yes, which is why you'll condense it to just barely before forming an actual core."

That was…

"Genius."

Thea smirked at my compliment. "Of course. I came up with it."

She was pushing me too far.

"Confidence looks goo—"

"Flirt later," Elric interrupted, "Let’s start with Sia."

Thea explained the process, outlining what would happen as Sia closed her eyes in preparation.

"Let’s form one at a time," I suggested, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Last thing we want is to overwhelm her with our own internal force."

The group nodded, settling into focused silence.

We waited. Patient. Attentive.

Then.

A faint shift in the air.

I sensed it first. The familiar pulse of Precursor Energy.

"I’ll go first."

Without another word, I sent my force in, carefully guiding it to wrap around the foreign substance. I condensed it, just enough to be a step away from forming a core, leaving space for the next energy.

Immediately, another force followed.

It was sharp, precise, calculated. It navigated the Grand Channel with grace, settling above mine effortlessly.

I’ll let you figure out who that was on your own.

It followed my example, wrapping around my near-core, forming a condensed sphere of its own.

Then another energy.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Then one final one.

"Now," I said.

The moment we all solidified the core, Sia’s eyes snapped open.

"Okay." I stood up immediately. "Spar with someone. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing it’s converted the same way as any other form of world energy."

Sia took a battle stance, rolling her shoulders, testing the new energy flowing through her.

Before I could move, Elric pushed me back down.

"I’ll take care of it." He chuckled. "Just make sure we don’t fall off the ledge, please."

Thea and I moved closer to the edge, standing guard, making sure no one would accidentally step too far.

Elric moved with effortless precision, leading the friendly battle not by overwhelming Sia, but by guiding her through each exchange.

He didn’t strike first.

Instead, he let her attack, watching her movements carefully, adjusting his positioning just enough to force her into better footwork. When she threw a punch, he’d shift his stance, subtly nudging her to follow through correctly. When she kicked, he’d let her land it, but with just enough resistance for her to feel the impact without actually hurting him.

At times, he’d parry her strikes with open palms, redirecting rather than countering, making her recover from unstable positions. Testing her adaptability.

He wasn’t trying to win. He was trying to teach.

Much nicer than he was to me.

He didn’t even use any skills.

But I suppose that was to be expected. I mean, if I could go easy on Thea…

…No, never mind.

I definitely wouldn’t risk such an action.

The two finished when Sia’s pallor returned to normal, and we all moved in to observe her.

"Let’s see what’s going on inside there," Elric said, stepping closer.

"I bet that’s not the first time he’s said that to her," I muttered, chuckling to Thea.

She swung at me instantly, but I was ready. I dodged deftly, grinning as I darted away toward Sia before she could land a hit.

Before I reached them, Elric gasped.

His eyes widened.

"What’s wrong?" Lyra asked, concern creeping into her voice as she stepped forward.

Elric shook his head. "Nothing, but…"

That hesitation made us all uneasy.

We gathered around, each of us placing a hand on Sia.

She looked… uncomfortable about that, but no one let go.

Inside her, the core was still there, cracked but whole. The rest had been shattered and lost, scattered somewhere beyond reach.

But that wasn’t what shocked us.

Something else remained.

The purple energy.

No longer radiant, no longer brilliant. It had been drenched, smothered, bathed in the color of Sia’s internal force.

"Sia," Thea instructed, voice steady. "Form a needle core and shatter the one in there."

She nodded, sitting back down, eyes closing in deep concentration.

What happened next… none of us will ever forget.

We understood the moment when she shattered the pseudo core, the energy rushed into her. Absorbed completely.

Because of what happened next.

A rumbling.

It started beneath us, low and deep, vibrating through the rock itself.

Then came the howl.

A guttural, primal roar of rage, anger, and loss.

It tore through my skull, blinding every sense, the world going white in an instant.

I fell to my knees, clutching my head as my ears rang with a chorus of blurred voices…whispers, echoes, wails.

One became clearer than the rest.

Not just a voice.

A presence.

"You will not be forgiven."

The words weren’t spoken. They were commanded.

The weight of them sank into my bones, radiating authority so vast, so absolute, that for a moment. I felt like a mere speck before it.

Silence.

The noise vanished with the final word.

I looked up.

We all did.

And in each other’s eyes, I saw it, the same shock, the same horror.

But Sia, Sia looked the worst of all.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her face pale, frozen, terrified. As if she had seen something beyond comprehension.

She collapsed.

Her body fell limp, tilting toward the ground.

Elric lunged, catching her just in time, his own breath ragged, his skin drenched in sweat.

He was shaking.

Still reeling.

I swallowed, forcing air into my lungs.

"Wha—" I exhaled heavily.

Then again. "What the hell was that?”

…

Elric emerged from the tent after checking on Sia. "She’s fine, just passed out."

"Good," Lyra said as we all exhaled in relief.

"Alright, sooo, anyone ever heard of what just happened?" I asked, hoping, but not with high expectations.

Blank stares.

I sighed. "Yep. Figured."

"Another obstacle to Body Refinement," Thea lamented.

"Maybe…" Elric mused. "Let’s wait for Sia to get up. In the meantime, we should refill our Grand Channels."

We all agreed, sitting down and taking turns sparring lightly to maintain focus while replenishing energy.

Eventually, Sia woke up, thankfully only out for a bit less than an hour.

We all heard a rustling from the tent, and moments later, she stepped out.

She looked far better than before, The fear in her eyes was gone.

Actually…

She looked almost excited.

"Sia?" Lyra called, watching her carefully. "Are you alright?"

She nodded quickly. "I feel fine."

"What happened to you?" Thea asked cautiously. "You looked terrified."

Sia walked up and sat with us, her expression still unsettled.

"Eyes," she said. "Someone was staring at me… they were so angry. Then the voices. They kept talking, calling me a traitor, a criminal… then they were drowned out by the eyes. But you all heard his words. He was talking directly to me."

A flicker of fear returned to her eyes.

Silence settled over the group.

"Well… let’s all be criminals then."

They all turned to me, confused.

I shrugged. "I don’t think it’s a mystery that this happened because you absorbed the entire Precursor Energy. At least, all that we can for now."

"Plus… it was trying to kill us anyway." Thea added, voice steady. "Who knows? Maybe if we had only delayed it, eventually we would’ve been consumed by it."

I glanced around.

Everyone had the same look in their eyes now.

Determined. Unwavering.

"No one thinks we’re rushing into this?" I asked, wanting to confirm one more time.

"That ‘you will not be forgiven’ didn’t exactly sound like a joke." Thea said.

I looked around one last time.

"Alright… traitors and criminals it is."