Chapter: 133: Obscured_The Regressed NoBody

My breathing was ragged, my body on the verge of collapse, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. Jiwoo—no, this entity wearing Jiwoo’s face—looked at me with a playful yet unnerving smile which sent a nauseating wave of disgust through me. His lavender eyes glowed faintly, the colouration pulsed, slowly turning more iridescent, but there was no recognition in them—like a storm brewing in the void.

Blood dripped from the corner of my mouth as I staggered back, pain radiating from wounds that refused to stop throbbing.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t my bond anymore.

My mind spun, the after-effects of suppressing the curse tightened around my heart like a vice, making a surge of pain to run wildly throughout my body. My mana, weak and unstable, as I forcefully rotated it inside me to clear the remnant effects of the curse which still lingered.

I breathed heavily, each breath left me struggling as I slowly rose to my feet, my eyes still fixed on Jiwoo—or the entity which now draped my bond’s skin and face.

“Who…are you?” I rasped, forcing the words out through gritted teeth. My voice wavered, but I held its gaze, even as my knees threatened to give out again.

The aura around Jiwoo dimmed slightly, but the air remained heavy and oppressive. The entity tilted its head, Jiwoo's expression shifting into something almost amused. Its smile widened, coy and infuriatingly calm, which sent a shiver to claw away at me. It let out a soft chuckle, the sound unnervingly human yet wrong in a way I couldn’t place—as if...something inhuman.

“It isn’t time for you to learn that yet, Mordain’s offspring,” it said, its voice laced with an ancient weight that carried the burden as old as time itself. “The answers you seek will come…but not now. There is something else you must understand which holds more importance.”

I clenched my fists, anger and frustration boiling in my chest. My head throbbed with the lingering traces of the curse, my heart still struggling to keep up with the oppressive energy radiating from it. But I refused to back down.

“Then why are you here? Why take over Jiwoo? Were you waiting for this opportunity to take over him when he was at his lowest?” My voice came out hoarse, the words laced with the sneer which replaced my expression—hard and venomous.

Its eyes sparkled with mischief, as if it found my question almost amusing. “Heh, impatient as always, aren’t you?” It said, folding its arms. “Don’t be so eager to jump into the abyss—it can either consume you, or make you something more. But in your case right now, you’re severely unprepared, unresolved, you wouldn’t be able to survive the truths and horrors which lie in the depths of that abyss. Your fate will be worse than death if you dare to take that step right now.”

Its chuckle rose in the air, like a mock statement struck right into my chest.

“You ash’ari were always so eager to unravel the truths of the world—more so, the dragons. It’s no wonder your kind met such a tragic end.”

The mention of my people—the dragons—felt like a dagger to my chest—but what felt more of a slap to my face, each word he spoke held some truth I could never unravel with the limited understanding I had.

I clenched my jaw tightly until it ached, my pulse quickened, and my vision blurred with the memory of their slaughter. “You know…what happened to us? The dragons?” I asked, my voice trembling with equal parts grief and rage—unable to mask the shift in my emotions, and I felt like an open book to it, as if it could unravel me if wanted, but only reeled me along on the palm of its hand.

It took a step closer, the weight of its presence pressing down on me even more—as if an insurmountable mountain was placed in front of me.

“I know many things,” it said smoothly. “Why your race was massacred. The reason behind your imprisonment. The secrets of the remnants, and why they persist even after all this time. Why the ancient war started, and what role each of the progenitors’ played. I even know the reason behind your friend’s regression…though that, for now, shall remain my little secret.” It brought a finger close to Jiwoo’s mouth, appearing nonchalant and mischievous.

I wanted to scream at it, to demand answers, but its smirk only grew wider, as if it thrived on my frustration, and for some reason I couldn’t control my emotions in its presence, as if it knew far more than it led on.

I clenched my hands, anger flaring inside me as I released a wave of my intent, clashing against its as the smile over my bond's face widened further.

“And your question: why I took over your bond's body in this particular moment?” It mused, its voice sounded mischievous, an edge of sarcasm growing at the tip of its tongue. “If not for me, you, together with your precious bond and everyone here would have been disposed off by Amanises—before even reinforcements were to step foot on this soil. You should be grateful that I decided to manifest in this vessel. You should be thanking me for helping you out by doing you all a favour.”

I felt at a loss for words. But it was true, this entity had manifested in Jiwoo’s body, killed Amanises, saving us all from a disaster, but I couldn’t be sure what its true intentions were? Was it a friend or a foe. And it was unlikely that it was a friend from how it acted.

My brows furrowed further as I saw Jiwoo’s hair growing longer, his locks turning whiter, but, what remained unchanged was the dubious smirk which grated over my nerves.

Then, as if struck by a sudden idea, it snapped its fingers.

“Tell you what,” it said, its tone almost playful. “Let’s make a deal. If you can land a single hit on me, I’ll answer one of your questions. Truthfully, without riddles or games. You can ask me anything—why your people were destroyed, why you were imprisoned, who I am…even the nature of the remnants. Or anything you wish to ask. The choice is yours, Mordian.”

It stepped back, spreading its arms wide as if to make itself an easier target. “I will do you one better,” the scales of the relic armour retracted, dissolving inside Jiwoo’s body as the armour vanished. “There, now your chances have increased.”

Its words clearly struck a nerve inside me.

“But,” it continued, its voice darkening ever so slightly, “I also wish to test your strength. Right now, I don’t believe you’re worthy. You’re not strong enough to handle the truth. But perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps you are ready…or are you?”

The challenge hung in the air, its words taunting me. My legs shook as I forced myself upright, every fibre of my being screaming in protest. The curse weighed heavy, suppressing my mana, but I couldn’t ignore this. I couldn’t walk away this time. Not from this fight.

I had all my answer right in front of me now, it was only a matter to reach them now.

“What’s the matter, Mordian?” It teased, tilting its head like a curious predator. “Are you afraid to find out what lies behind the veil? Or are you simply too weak to fight for it?”

I gritted my teeth, steadying my breath. My hands trembled, but I summoned what little strength I had left. “Don’t mock me,” I growled. “I’ll make you answer me.”

The grin on Jiwoo’s face widened, its eyes gleaming with anticipation. “Good,” it said softly.

I pushed at my mana as I felt it protest against my will, moving through my veins like lightning zapping at my insides, as I pushed my body into a stance, turning my gaze to the entity.

“Are you ready?” It asked, no shift in its presence as if it possessed no essence of mana or any kind of energy, only an aura which oppressed the world around it. My bond’s mana appeared alive, but under control, restrained, obscured.

Just as I blinked, he vanished from in front of me, my breath caught in my throat as I felt an unbearable surge of pain rise from my chest, as the time it took for me to blink, he appeared in front of me, Jiwoo’s knee connected to my sternum as my eyes widened and I went crashing backward.

I rolled several times, taking a hold of myself as I pushed my body back into a stance, as it appeared in front of me again.

There was no shift in the air, no movement in the presence of the mana or demonic energy, its movements seemed almost ghost like, as if obscured from the world momentarily and then appearing like a shadow.

I hesitated for a heartbeat, unsure if to strike my bond's body and wound him, but I had no other choice. Deep down I assured myself that Jiwoo would understand the reason behind my actions due to the urgency of the situation or even if he retained a part of his consciousness.

I was quick to move as I conjured several projectiles, I pivoted, launching them blindly around me, as they struck my bond’s body, but I felt no impact.

Only seeing the projectiles turn asunder as the energy dispersed.

I twisted mid stance, as I pulled at the mana all around us, the air bursted like a bubble as explosions rang in the air, the fire element moved and a fiery chain of explosions occurred around it, but I soon realised the wind and water particles protecting my bond’s body even without a shift, as if the mana was redirected and aligned to some higher will. The mana dispersed as it waved its hand, as if my will and hold over the particles snatched away and lost.

Then it moved, I followed its stance, finding myself reeled into its attack before I could even find time to react, its arms coiled back and then struck me in my abdomen with such fluid precision which left me flabbergasted and breathless.

This power and technique, I thought as I spat blood and it took me by my leg, and soon I went hurtling in the air—my control over my physique lost, my mana appeared in jeopardy, as if it’s strikes had targeted my channels specifically. This was no doubt the fighting style of the pantheon warriors, but the power and destructiveness of the technique was far deadlier than what I'd witnessed.

Then it appeared again, its presence like a shadow, disappearing and vanishing as if erased from his world, and then reappearing out of thin air.

It clasped both hands and then struck down, I brought my hands up to defend, but the power behind its strike was massive and unbearable as I felt the shockwave reach deep into my bones as I plummeted through the air and made contact with ground, a cloud of dust and debris rose in the air as I steadied my body, my legs shaking as I cleared the blood from my face.

Then the terrifying sensation in the air increased, the hair at the back of my neck was left standing as I turned and it appeared behind me, I grunted as I launched my fist, unrestrained, but it appeared unaffected, countering with a pivot as it shifted my bond’s body and manoeuvred into a roundhouse as I staggered back.

The eerie sensation hung heavy in the air, a suffocating weight that seemed to wrap around me like thick chains. I locked eyes with the entity.

Everything I had thrown at him was useless. Every strike, every spell, every ounce of strength—I might as well have been fighting against the inevitability of time.

It seemed unfazed by everything, no amount of effort good enough to counter it’s insurmountable technique and power. It countered me effortlessly, not merely reacting but pre-empting, as though it could see through the fabric of my intent, unravelling my every move before I even made it.

I had known Jiwoo was desperate when he activated Ruler’s Authority. But this…this wasn’t Jiwoo anymore. The entity that had awakened inside him was an aberration, something primordial, a being that had no place in this world.

Everything appeared useless in front of it. All those years of training and struggle merely a pebble in the face of this raging storm.

My instincts screamed at me to flee, to abandon the fight and run as far as I could. This wasn’t a battle I could win. This wasn’t even a foe I could hope to resist—a foe far worse than a transcendent. My legs felt like lead, yet every fibre of my being was urging me to escape. And yet, here I stayed.

I stayed for him. It didn’t matter what this being wanted, I needed to free Jiwoo from its clutches. I had to, no matter what.

I had promised him, I had promised to protect him and shoulder his weight with him, and this was my moment to prove myself right.

Jiwoo—no, the entity—spoke, its voice a deep, solemn cadence, ancient and knowing. It resonated like a thousand voices layered over one another, each steeped in lifetimes of experience.

“Why do you continue to struggle?” The entity asked, its words cutting through the tension like a blade.

I staggered, pain clawing up my arm and tearing through my body. My breaths were ragged, my vision blurred, yet I sneered through the agony, forcing myself to focus on the figure before me.

“What do you mean?” I spat, venom lacing my words.

The entity’s lips curled into a cruel smirk. “Are you really that desperate to get those answers? I mean, you can if you continue to meet the remnants! But it's something more you want...Why are you trying to save him? Does it even matter? Is it worth it? In the beginning, you didn’t care about Jiwoo. He was nothing to you—just another human, insignificant and unworthy of notice. But look at you now.” It gestured mockingly at my battered state, as if finding amusement and pity looking at me. “Struggling, bleeding, risking your very life for the same human you wouldn't have batted an eye for before. It’s almost comical—ridiculous even.”

The words struck a nerve, and my fists clenched. The entity continued, unrelenting—as if it knew me better than I did myself.

“When you first met him, you thought him dull, unremarkable. That was, of course, until he freed you, granting you an escape from your prison—showing his true worth to you, which even you found fascinating. But don’t delude yourself—you didn’t care about Jiwoo. You were selfish, like all dragons before you—even all ash’ari. Even your ancestor, Mordain, couldn’t change the essence of your kind, no matter how hard he tried to reshape the Ash’ari traditions.”

“Your foolish pride and pathetic standing stood in the way of your right and wrong. You even thought of disposing him, if he turned into a burden later. Didn’t you? Yet, the way I see it, you were the burden always pulling down Jiwoo to rise to the top. He was guided by you, true, but even you began to feel inferior to his unrestrained talent and genius?”

Its last words felt more like a question, as it felt like a slap to my face, so powerful that it left me speechless.

And hearing those words while looking at Jiwoo made the guilt of my previous actions settle right into my chest like an old nasty wound probed by a dagger

I felt a flash of anger surge through me, my mana flaring as I lunged at it. Projectiles formed around me—blades of fire, ice, and pure kinetic energy—but it moved with unnerving ease. No hesitation, no wasted motion. It anticipated every strike, weaving through my attacks like a shadow slipping through cracks in the light.

Then, with nothing more than a flick of its wrist, a barrage of spears—elemental in nature—manifested out of thin air. There was no chant, no gesture. They simply were. It was as if its will alone brought them into existence.

Before I could react, the world blurred. It vanished from sight, only to reappear before me in an instant. There was no sound, no disturbance in the air—just a horrifying stillness, as though reality itself had shifted to accommodate its presence.

Its strike was devastating, landing squarely in my chest. I heard the sickening crack of bones breaking, felt the hot rush of blood fill my mouth. My body was hurled back, skidding across the ground like a ragdoll before coming to a halt.

The entity stood tall, its expression unreadable but its aura oppressive.

“Why do you care about your bond so much now?” It pressed. “You’re already free. You could leave him, seek out the other ash-ari, or even the pantheons. After all, weren’t they sworn allies of the dragons? Why stay with Jiwoo? It unlike you to have chained yourself to someone.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I glared at it, my vision swimming but my resolve unshaken.

“Did I strike a nerve?” It asked, its smirk widening. “Or perhaps…you’re waiting for something? Waiting for Jiwoo to fulfil a purpose only you can foresee?”

The words struck deeper than I cared to admit. My jaw tightened, but I said nothing. Feeling my mouth dry and mind turn ajar.

The entity tilted its head, scrutinizing me with a look that felt as though it could peel away my very soul. “Ah, I see it now. You saw something, didn’t you? A vision. When Jiwoo broke your chains and set you free, you glimpsed his future in that particular moment between shifting the world back from the static world, you were accidentally...—no, perhaps purposefully pulled into the convergence zone—where you witnessed a moment of greatness, a pivotal act that would shape everything. That’s why you stay by his side. Now I understand why you withhold the truth about ‘its’ existence. Or you would have already made him aware, you don't want to twist that moment when he does find out by himself, to not allow any external interference on your side, or to hider his progress and insight."

A coy smile played on my bond's face, making my heart tighten. “You’re waiting for that far away future to unfold—perhaps, it might not be as far away as I think.” It inclined its head.

I froze, my blood running cold. It knew. Somehow, it knew about the vision I had kept hidden, the one I had never dared to speak of.

The entity’s expression shifted to one of mock pity. “But you can’t even use your inherited power on will, can you? The famed dragons of Astrionyx, masters of time, reduced to this. Mordain was a fool to let your kind’s greatest gift fade into obscurity. I warned him many times to be careful, to be more decisive, yet his foolish thinking became his biggest liability.” Its tone turned almost sombre, but the pity and nerve never wavered.

My resolve wavered, the weight of its words pressing down on me like a storm.

“But enough talk,” it said, its tone turning sharp. “Before you can hope to see that future, you must survive me. I will see to it that you are determined and strong enough to survive that inevitable future.”

The air around us grew heavy, suffused with an oppressive energy that made my skin crawl. The entity’s smirk returned, its gaze unwavering as it awaited my next move. And despite every instinct screaming at me to give up, to run, I pushed myself to my feet.

I wasn’t done yet.

The battle continued, my struggles paled against the fluidity of its techniques, I couldn’t seem to land even a simple attack, not one scratch visible over its body as I considerably felt my movements lose pace, my body turning sluggish and weak as my mana died down, the curse having being suppressed multiple times felt unlike any weight I could bear.

With another strike from it, I finally fell to my knees, my limbs felt like lead, as my eyes blurred, my breathing heaved and ragged, as I looked at Jiwoo.

Searching for my bond in those iridescent eyes—but as hard as I tried, there was nothing, as if what I was searching for never existed.

My senses focused on the entity as I struggled to keep myself conscious, my body screamed with fatigue, barely any mana left to sustain my body.

The entity raised its arm forward as if inspecting my bond's body, as it spoke. “I have to say, when I manifested into this vessel, I was unsure of what to expect, “ it turned its eyes to somewhere distant, as I tried to follow but all my senses appeared dull and weak, there was no recognition in them.

“But I have to admit, Jiwoo has done an excellent job building this vessel. It's a far-cry to what it used to be an year and a half ago. At that time when I gave him the system, I tried to make the assimilation happen, but he was just too weak—both physically and mentally. His body broke down as his mind crumbled. He wasn’t able to withstand the burden of the process, perhaps I was being hasty, but now it seems the assimilation is going far better than I first expected.” It flexed my bond’s arm, as the entity smirked mischievously.

"And yet, he has made remarkable use of the system, despite its crude and simplistic design. I created this one system specifically for him, but my haste may have blinded me to its flaws. Perhaps in my rush, I overlooked its shortcomings, leaving it riddled with problems and overly simplistic. I regret that my creation has caused him so much trouble along his path." Its tone shifted suddenly, carrying a genuine sense of sorrow and care that caught me off guard. As my senses returned and my body began to recover, I couldn't help but find the change in its voice strangely disarming.

Just as it said, I saw a crack run along Jiwoo’s arm, climbing up his shoulder, the flesh wound expanding, as fresh blood spewed out, a moment later the gruesome wound stitched itself, but another replaced it, one after the other the cracks formed steadily, but they all patched themselves.

What’s happening to him? I thought as I heaved a breath, feeling my mana return as I felt the after-effects of the curse subdue, but barely.

A sigh rang in the air, as the entity looked down at Jiwoo’s arms with a look of pity and concern in its eyes. “It seems in my excitement of finally being able to move, I overexerted this vessel. It maybe strong, but still not strong enough to hold my existence and assimilate properly...yet.”

“W-why...” I mused, the taste of blood fresh in my mouth. “Did you help Jiwoo, because you wanted his body for yourself? Because you lacked a vessel?” I rasped, my eyes glared intently at it as pained seared away at my insides.

The wounds over Jiwoo's body healed slowly, as the entity looked at me with a coy smirk. “Don’t be mistaken, I’m not after Jiwoo just because I want his body. And the reason why you think I helped him is mistaken from its roots. Jiwoo has a far important purpose to fulfil in all of this...and that purpose aligns with my wishes and choices, so as an equivalent, I'm merely helping him achieve the results we both desire.” Its smirk turned more sorrowful and reminiscent, as if some burden weighing it down.

“And...” it started, its words like a brewed storm, each syllable laced with some uncertainty and desolation, but they were sincere, “I saved you because I had a promise I failed to fulfil. A promise I made with someone dear.” Its eyes remained solemn, but the depth and sorrow in its voice dug deeper then I could fathom.

“What? What do you mean—by that?” I asked, but the entity remained silent to my question, only the reminiscent look of loss fresh over its features.

With a breath all the emotions were whipped away from its face, as it said suddenly. “You may not be able to move for the next few minutes due to the restrictions of the curse and your wounds and fatigue. So, in that time let me give you a piece of advice—it's up to you to take it, or just wave it away like nonsense.”

“But you never were someone to quietly listen and adhere to what someone told you.” Its hand moved, and the mana coalesced around me, thick chains confined me to my place as I struggled but gave up as I focused on channeling my mana.

I furrowed my brows, my chest heaved for breath, my mana returning, but my veins remained bugled and protruded near my heart and neck as the curse clawed at my insides.

"There's an old saying, Mordian: the more power you gain, the smaller the world around you becomes. With every step toward greatness, the vast expanse of life narrows, and what once seemed infinite becomes suffocatingly finite."

The entity stood solemnly in front of me, its demeanour somewhat unnerving, its shadow stretching sharp against the swirling light of the setting sun. The silence between us stretched thin, humming with unspoken weight. I didn’t press the entity. It spoke when it wanted to, and anything forced from it seemed more worth less than silence—but even then, its words held certain truths obscured in shadows, I couldn't grasp.

After what felt like an eternity, it finally broke the stillness. Its voice was calm, deliberate, yet carried a strange air of detachment. "Have you ever thought about what it means to believe in something, Mordian? To call something ‘true’? People don’t realize how tightly they cling to what they think is real. They take the shape of their beliefs and call it reality, as though it’s some immutable law."

I narrowed my gaze but said nothing. It wasn’t asking me to answer, and I knew better than to interrupt as I focused on my recovery. The entity’s words ran deeper than they seemed on the surface—as if it wanted me to dig deeper and find the reason and meaning behind its words.

It continued, as if speaking to the air itself. "But truth…it’s not solid. Not fixed. It shifts depending on where you stand, who you are, what you want to see. One person’s truth could just as easily be a shadow for someone else. And yet, they’ll swear by it, as if swearing makes it real."

“Your bond is similar to this. His understanding of things is broken, rudimentary, but he has only recently started to look at things from a different angle, allowing him the use of demonic energy. But, he always stuns his own growth by his lack of understanding and insight, over‐complicating things, even when he has all the answers in front of him, he doesn’t look at them in the way he should, he always complicate things due to his insecurities and the war ahead of him—using them as an excuse. Confining his mind to the patterns of his previous life.”

Its words curled around me like smoke, intangible but clinging to my thoughts. I glanced at Jiwoo, trying to read my bond’s expression, still searching for some recognition, but his face was as obscured as the entity's words.

“What are you getting at?" I asked carefully, my words levelled, curiosity barely scrapping at the edge of them.

It tilted its head slightly, its tone almost amused, though it lacked any true mirth. "You think I’m explaining something, Mordian? Maybe I’m just wondering aloud. Or maybe I’m reminding you of something you already know." It paused, its eyes still fixed ahead, though they seemed distant, as if looking at something only it could see. "The edicts…they’re not what they seem, are they? They don’t speak in absolutes. They whisper in riddles, leaving you to decide what to take and what to leave behind. Maybe they’re just a mirror, showing you the truth you want to see—or perhaps even an illusion you want to believe.”

The words lingered in the air, unsettlingly open-ended. I frowned, the weight of its insinuation pressing against the back of my mind. "You’re saying the edicts aren’t absolute?" I ventured, though it felt more like a question aimed at myself than at it. “Then doesn’t it make it that everything is an abstract. That even regression could be possible, as Jiwoo has told me?”

Jiwoo’s lips curved faintly, but the smile was unreadable. "I’m not saying anything, Mordian. I’m just wondering…If you saw something in that mirror, would you trust it because it felt real, or because you decided it was real?" It finally turned its head toward me, shifting its gaze from the far distance, its gaze sharper than I expected, cutting through the haze of my mind and locking onto me. "Everyone shapes their own reality, in the end. The only question is whether you’re the one doing the shaping…or if you’re just letting something else do it for you."

Its words left a crack in my thoughts, something I couldn’t quite piece together but couldn’t ignore either. As it turned back to the horizon, silent once more, I found myself staring at it, the weight of its voice echoing in my mind. It didn’t give me answers. It never did. But somehow, it always managed to leave me with something far heavier: questions only I could answer.

“Tell me...did the dragons really have the strength to bend time to their will or is it just a false rumour going around since Mordain's time? Through enough insight, can time be reversed or changed?” I asked, feeling my tone turn desperate.

Without a moment's hesitation, it answered. “Yes, Mordain was the first and final dragon to have the capabilities to bend time, but that was only until he chose certain descendants to inherent his insight and strength. Your mother was one of them, Mordian. Sylvie possessed the capabilities of using the edict of time—but her immense talent didn’t restrict her to only the use of one edict. So, I sought and taught her, only providing guidance from time to time, which your father later found out about as well.”

I found his words somewhat astounding, as I reeled along each of his words, finding certain truths even now about my parents and race.

"Allow me to answer your question with another: Why do you assume time can be reversed? That notion, at its foundation, is flawed. Time is relentless, a stream that only flows forward, yet it is not unyielding. It can warp, contort, and ripple when subjected to the right forces—subtle or immense. These distortions are not reversals but intersections, delicate junctures where countless futures branch from a single moment. A trivial action—a glance, a breath, a word—can unravel the threads of inevitability, redirecting time's current toward a destiny already woven, waiting for the world to catch up. The question isn’t whether time can change—it’s whether we can comprehend the forces that compel it to."

Then after a heartbeat, which felt like an eternity, it spoke again, its words solemn and sharp, as if telling me something of the greatest importance. “This world, however, dangles precariously from a fragile tether, its existence perpetually threatened by the weight of causality. Entropy. "It said with a solemn tone. "What you’ve witnessed is no mere anomaly, but the effect of a tempering—a disruption in time’s flow so severe that it pushed reality into a self-correcting state, the cracks so deep in the time-line that they can never be fully recovered—similarly, these unknown factors are like a dominoes effect. Your bond has walked a path diverging from his past life in countless ways, yet some threads have twisted back into alignment, as though time itself insists on mending its fractures. That is the inevitability of time—it does not always shift or break. Instead, it reels and writhes, striving to restore itself, correcting every anomaly, no matter the cost or action required. That is Entropy."

I thought hard on its words, but they seemed too extreme for me to put my belief in them. But then came the question of what this entity had just shared? Would I decide for myself or let it decide what reality for me to believe in.

Then how could Jiwoo had regressed in time? What about his experiences? It couldn’t all be a mistake.

“You should be able to come to an understanding shouldn’t you? Or would you continue to delude yourself?” The smirk over its face returned, but my mind remained under deep contemplation, the chains of pure mana grew rusted like the ones bounding my mind, as they cracked and crumbled and it pushed into a stance and gestured me to take one.

I didn’t know if this fight had been against an enemy, which now seemed more like a lesson with a mentor.

I looked to my left, and felt several strong signatures of mana rising, demonic energy radiating unrestrained around them, several of them, but the reinforcements remained strong, they fought, the shockwaves of their fight travelled even here.

“It seems Amanises wasn’t stupid enough to come here alone. For the worse case she had brought along several strong demons with her in case she needed to flee.” The smirk over its face twisted slightly as it added. “But it seems her fortune wasn’t as favouring to her today.”

Then it shrugged, its face wore a sigh as it spoke. “Anyway, let’s resume our fight.” It said as I rose to my feet finally, as I lunged forward and clashed with the entity head on, seeing all my strikes turn against me, as I tried everything to strike it.

Then its arms struck me in my ribs, as I crashed on to the ground, feeling my wounds recover painstakingly slow, but the damage done was unbearable.

***

Park Jiyoung

The porcelain white sword in my hand slipped from my grasp as my mana dimmed, my arms losing strength as my muscles gave out under the force of practicing the Samarthyang style, each movement left a heavy burden over my body, and while I'd only recently began to achieve control over the first movement, I knew I lacked control and power, feeling my shortcomings through each movement and mistake I made.

My speed was the only think I was confident in right now. The Samarthyang style appeared a far bigger burden I could only hope to master with enough time and resilience, but through each technique, each movement, each motion, I knew I was learning something new, allowing me to create a Samarthyang only unique to myself, like my father.

He tutored like he had promised since our meeting, he took precious time out of his schedule and helped me train in the martial arts of our family.

I chuckled, as I remembered seeing his exhausted state after such a long time. But, through our time spent together during training, I was once again reminded about who my father actually was. After he had broken through to the rank, his strength and influence had increased far more than before, solidifying his position further and his hierarchy among the high-rankers of the World-Union.

I picked up the porcelain white sword which I'd found inside the basilisk dungeon, feeling the cold handle against my skin as I straightened, moving the blade in my hand. After obtaining this item, I had only used it during training sessions or sometimes during duels, but the material with which it was made was extraordinary, it seemed equal to a rare rank item.

Its strength and durability was something which other items paled in comparison with, and while the rank difference between us wasn’t that far, I didn’t have a hard time maintaining the best applications when using the blade.

I continued repeating a single set of movement for another thirty minutes, feeling sweat trickle down my sides as I felt each movement bring a sense of satisfaction to me, making me feel thrilled as I tried to follow along what my father had taught me so far.

Each sting in my muscles, the frustration of failing again and again and rising back up felt fulfilling, this fatigue I felt was definitely the signs of my growth, but I knew that if I wanted to even touch his shadow I still needed to do more.

I stopped performing the movements and sat crossed legged after a quick breather, using the breathing forms Jiwoo had taught in the basilisk dungeon, as I meditated, feeling the mana coalesce around me faster.

I nudged at the status window as it bloomed in front of me.

__________

【NAME】: 『Park Jiyoung』

【RANK】:

【PROFESSION】: Swordsmanship 【LV.3】: Martial Arts 〔Samarthyang Surta Style〕

【STRENGTH】:

【STAMINA】:

【AGILITY】: