Apart from Advisor who said it...,
Every instinct he had was shouting the same word.
RUN.
He didn't think twice....
[ Advisor: "YUTO, DO NOT ENGAGE, YOU WILL DIE...MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!"]
"I KNOW!"
The air became unbearably heavy, as if an invisible hand pressed down on his entire existence. Breathing hurt. Thinking hurt. Even his spirit energy struggled to circulate.
This wasn't killing intent.
This was existence pressure.
Ven'rael's sealed presence alone dwarfed anything Yuto had faced so far.
The shadow inside the crystal shifted, one massive eye slowly opening, glowing crimson-gold.
"Too fragile…"
"Too soon…"
The voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
It echoed directly inside Yuto's soul.
Yuto's knees buckled.
HP dropped instantly.
HP: 100% → 67%
His vision blurred.
[Advisor: "Emergency override, SPIRIT CORE STABILITY FAILING, FORCE REVERSION NOW!"]
Blue-white light erupted from Yuto's body.
His physical form shattered into spirit particles, collapsing inward as his body reverted instinctively into his Spirit Core State, a condensed orb of radiant silver-blue energy hovering inches above the cracked floor.
Pain vanished instantly.
Pressure eased slightly.
But the terror remained.
"So… this is what an original Overlord feels like…"
Even reduced to spirit form, Yuto could feel Ven'rael's attention briefly settle on him.
The eye narrowed.
"A spirit…"
"Interesting."
Cracks spiderwebbed across the crystal.
Not breaking.
Not yet.
But weakening.
[ Advisor: "Yuto, listen carefully. The seal is degrading faster than expected. You cannot remain here. If it drops below critical integrity..."]
"I'll die."
[ "No. You'll stop existing."]
"…Great."
The tunnel behind him collapsed suddenly as corrupted energy surged outward, cutting off his escape route.
Yuto spun mid-air.
"Advisor, alternate path!"
[ Analysing..., found one, EXTREMELY UNSTABLE "]
"Take it!"
Spirit energy surged.
Yuto launched himself sideways just as a massive shockwave erupted from the crystal chamber, obliterating the spot he'd been hovering in.
The entire underground complex began collapsing.....
Yuto dashed through twisting tunnels at extreme speed, spirit particles trailing behind him like comet light.
The walls warped, corruption flooding in like liquid shadow. Ancient structures collapsed, entire sections of the ruins imploding behind him.
[Advisor: "This entire facility was built to contain Ven'rael's aura. Now that it's reacting to you, everything is failing."]
"So basically… I poked the wrong god."
[ Advisor: "You poked the apocalypse."]
A massive stone pillar crashed down in front of him.
Yuto split his spirit form, phasing through the debris and reassembling instantly.
[Spirit Mobility : Advanced Phasing.]
He burst upward as daylight finally appeared ahead.
With one final surge...
BOOM!
Yuto exploded out of the ground in a spiral of blue-white light, reforming his physical body mid-air and landing hard on one knee in the open wasteland beyond the corrupted zone.
He gasped, coughing violently.
HP stabilized at 71%.
MP… down nearly half.
Behind him..
The ground collapsed inward.
The entire underground seal structure sank, swallowing itself as corrupted mist leaked upward like black smoke.
And deep below..,
Something laughed.
Not loudly.
Just enough.
---
Miles away....
Nerulia haven, everyone felt the tremor...
Elira was now more worried about yuto,
" Oh please yuto, come back safe"
----
In Eridale City, windows rattled violently.
Guild members froze mid-conversation.
High-ranking knights turned pale as mana instruments went berserk.
A massive pressure washed over the region brief, but unmistakable.
"This feeling…"
"No way…"
"That can't be…"
At the royal palace, the king stood abruptly, gripping the balcony rail.
"Dragon-level mana… no, worse."
Even further...
In a crimson cathedral bathed in moonlight, a pale figure opened blood-red eyes.
"…Ven'rael stirred."
A smile curved slowly.
"So the spirit has arrived."
---
Back to Yuto...,
He pushed himself to his feet, body shaking, not from fear, but from exhilaration and rage mixed together.
His evolution meter flickered violently.
Evolution Progress: 72% → 73%
Then stabilized.
"…So that thing noticed me."
[Advisor: "Yes. And that is both extremely bad and extremely good."]
"How?"
[ "Bad because Ven'rael now knows you exist. Good because it didn't kill you."]
Yuto frowned. "That's… good?"
[ "For an original Overlord? That's mercy."]
Yuto clenched his fists.
The sky above him darkened slightly, clouds spiraling unnaturally.
Corrupted beasts howled in the distance.. responding to the awakening.
"They're moving."
[ Advisor: "Yes. Corruption activity across the region has increased by 38%. This was not isolated."]
Yuto exhaled slowly.
"So this is it…"
[Advisor: "This is the beginning."]....
He turned toward the horizon, toward Nerulia Haven.
Toward his people.
Toward Elira. Mimi. Seraphina. Zarek. Lyra.
Toward a city that wasn't ready for a god-dragon awakening.
"I need to get stronger. Faster."
[Advisor: "Agreed. Training parameters updated."]
Yuto's eyes hardened.
"Good."
He took one step forward,
Spirit aura flaring brighter than ever.
"Because next time…"
The wind howled.
"I won't be running."
---