I wouldn't describe this moment as anything asides horrible, as though my worst fears were materializing. The eyes of every mercenary present were staring daggers at me. I could hear little murmurs affirming what this fatty jerk said earlier about me being in bronze class.

In this world, mercenaries are graded by seven ranks. From weakest to strongest: Bronze class - Copper class - Silver class - Gold class - Platinum class - Diamond class - Mythril class. The gold to diamond classes were considered the upper echelons of civilization, after all, a nation may only possess up to two Platinum classes to keep the world power balance.

However, climbing to the silver class would be the expected goal of all mercenaries. Many claw their way just to achieve silver class in their lifetime to become recognized as a powerhouse of the lower echelons of society. Their lives are no more than a fleeting existence in my opinion.

"You actually are a harbinger of trouble aren’t you?" [Nameless Star] sneered, watching from the cozy comfort of my soul while I was here trying to cope with the mocking gazes.

"Not the time Nameless" I huffed under my breath. Strength is everything in this world. Those from higher classes bully the juniors and the juniors in turn bully their own juniors. So for someone in the bronze class like me, at the very bottom of the food chain, I had no choice in this situation but to keep my head low like a house mouse.

Until…

"Cat's got your tongue, little man? I can't believe they would allow a lowly bronze--" Before the mace-wielding fatty would finish, an overwhelming aura enveloped the surrounding, the intensity muting the copper fatty and paralyzing every other mercenary present.

I felt like I was being suppressed by my own weight ten times over, my legs were shaking from the sheer intensity of his presence. And from the looks of things, even though I was just a copper class, I was holding out just as well as the rest of the coppers present. The fatty who wouldn't shut up before about me was now moments away from caving into the ground.

"Just now, did I not say there isn't a need to mention who he is? I'm not in the mood for needless chatter. If you knew just how dangerous a netherworld gate is, you wouldn't be wasting time berating a comrade. That man may be the person to save you from certain death or push you into it. If you understand that, then get back into the lineup. We'll be leaving immediately" Justin declared, releasing his aura as he finished his warning. As expected of a Gold-class mercenary, his power is truly beyond what I can comprehend.

"Hey, even right now, I'm at least stronger than that guy. So don't go around praising anyone that isn't me" I could hear Nameless pouting about my glazing. Seeing him this worked up must mean, gold classes are really that strong.

"Tch!" The fatty clicked his tongue at me before going back to assume his position in the lineup. The other mercenaries recovered faster than I thought, all of them acting as though nothing happened. As though it was a common activity. Mercenaries are scary!

"Are we all ready?" Justin asked, vetting our formation. Well, THEIR formation. I was placed at the back so I wouldn't be a hindrance to their battles. And in their defense, I even acknowledge I wouldn't be of much use to them. Our destinations were different in the first place.

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"Yes Sir"""" They all exclaimed in response. The gate opened, revealing a portal that was nothing other than the manifestation of pure darkness. The gravitational pull towards the center was strong enough to drag all of us without even Justin being able to put up a resistance.

Just before we were completely pulled in, the mercenaries in front activated a protective array with their formation to guide us safely through the void. The suspicious-looking silver class was at the forefront of the array, standing side by side with Justin as the powerhouses of the array. Their teamwork was almost impeccable. Maybe he was also a gold class hiding his info, not that I really care though.

"Ahh, there's an incoming attack from one of your friends" Nameless nonchalantly warned. Before I could properly process the warning, my side was hit with a burning hot sensation, pushing me out of the formation and into the gate first.

Just before I fell in, I could see Justin's pale confused face, the suspicious man's confusion, and the surprised expressions from the rest of the mercenaries. All except one that is, the presumed attacker.

Fatty had a bodacious smirk on his face as he watched me fall head-first into my doom. A wicked smile crept across my face. At that moment I swore, to pay back this debt with ample interest.

"Don't panic yet. The plan just took an irregular turn, but it's still according to plan. Just do what I tell you from now and we'll be safe. First, stop circulating any ether in your body. Whether it's to stop the gravitational attraction or to move faster, just stop all ether processes." Nameless instructed. I wasn't senseless enough to argue, I stopped everything.

From the passive circulation that increased my physical abilities, to the active circulation I used to try to prevent the gravitational pull. I was nothing more than a regular human or even less considering my physique.

Just as I stopped everything, I was enveloped in true darkness. I entered into the void.

"Now, you're going to be doing something known as implosion. [Ether Implosion] to be exact. I'll only explain it once so try to keep up. You stopped circulating ether a few moments ago, so your spirit must be filled with dormant violently colliding ether right now. You probably feel a little uneasy." He was right. My insides feel like I have a million bees flying all around my body, painfully tickling my innermost spots.

"Yeah yeah, so I'd appreciate it if you would hurry up with the lesson." Even without the internal pressure going on, I was starting to feel my spirit being eroded by the void. I was cast into nothingness, and one usually cannot comprehend absolute nothingness in the void since people don't get back-stabbed into nothingness often yeah?

"Don't rush me, it gets real difficult after now. It's already a relief that you can sense ether to a certain extent right now, so it saves us some time. You're going to absorb all this violent ether into the innermost part of your spirit, your soul that is. Where I am. Then after that, we're going to allow ourselves to the void. Do not stop the ether absorption to oppose the void progressing into you no matter what! When you're done absorbing all the ether… well, I'll just leave that part out for now. I'll give you a starting signal." Nameless concluded, leaving me utterly dumbfounded. Just like he said, I was slowly losing consciousness and I could feel myself being eroded into the void.

"Hey, How do you expect me to understand whatever the fuck you just said?? Talk less about actually doing it. How exactly do I know where my soul is? It's not like I knew about it until you told me a day ago!! Arghhh, what the hell did I get myself into?" I couldn't stop the confusion and discomfort I was feeling from the entire situation. It's so frustrating and exhilarating at the same time, it's like I was venturing into my own death with my eyes open.

"Shut it and start already! Just so you know, we're both going to die if you don't do this right now. You're not going to get shot or stabbed, we will both literally cease to exist. So man up and put your back into it!" Nameless threatened already controlling some of the violent energy and circulating it into the soul.

Wait… Circulate..?

"Nameless, so you're saying I need to just circulate my ether but in reverse so it goes inwards instead?" I asked the already panicking Nameless currently struggling with energy control.

"Huh? Yeah, that. I'll create a burst of energy right now. It'll hurt a bit but bear with it, cause that's where I want you to direct the circulation spiral into. Don't stop no matter what, ready?" Nameless now a little relieved that I understand his concept, almost immediately, hit me with blinding white pain at the core of my spirit.

The Soul!

It was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt in all of my life, but I didn't stop. I circulated my ether as fast as I could in that direction, taking all the violently hazardous ether and spiraling it into my soul. My sense of self was losing to the void and the pain persisted, but I spiraled like my very life was on the line. Because it was.

"That's it, Aries! You're almost there! Almost!" Nameless tried to encourage me from within, but I was already far gone. The pain from my spirit stopped, but my consciousness was nothing more than a brittle cloak. I could feel myself leave myself, I was but I wasn't. I still kept spiraling every last drop of ether into my soul, until… I was not.

"You're really fascinating Aries. But you've done your part well. Just have a good night's rest and leave the rest to me." Nameless…