The mission request sat on the guild board longer than most.
Not because no one wanted it.
But because everyone who understood it… hesitated.
Location: Ashen RiftThreat Level: ExtremeObjective: Eliminate a corrupted apex beast and recover its coreNote: Previous three teams failed to return
Ryn read it twice. "That thing's not a hunt. It's a grave."
Soren folded his arms. "And yet… the reward is high enough to change everything."
Darian's voice was quiet. "A core from a beast like that could push one of us to evolve. Maybe more."
Rielle looked at Phael.
He did not look at the board.
He was already thinking beyond it.
They had grown stronger.
But not enough.
Not yet.
He could feel the wall ahead of him.
Level Thirty was close—but unreachable.
Not because he lacked power.
Because he lacked something deeper.
Understanding.
Experience.
The kind that only came when you stood at the edge of death and refused to step back.
"We take it," he said.
No one argued.
The Ashen Rift was nothing like the zones they had cleared before.
The land was dead.
Cracked black stone stretched endlessly beneath a red-grey sky, the air thick with unstable mana that made every breath feel heavier. Heat rose from the ground in waves, warping the world into something unreal.
Even Ryn was quiet as they moved.
"This place… it doesn't feel like it belongs to our world."
Soren knelt, touching the ground. "The mana here is broken. Anything living in this zone… won't follow natural rules."
Aeris tightened her grip on her staff. "Which means healing will be harder."
Darian's shadow flickered restlessly. "And death will be closer."
Phael walked at the front, senses sharp.
Fire burned steadily within him.
Water flowed quietly alongside it.
Not mastered.
But no longer distant.
Rielle stayed close.
Her summons moved ahead in silence, her hawk circling high above, scanning for threats.
Then the ground shook.
A sound rolled through the Rift.
Not a roar.
A presence.
Something massive was moving.
The beast emerged from the broken terrain like a living nightmare.
Its body was a fusion of stone, ash, and warped flesh. Cracks glowed with molten light beneath its armored hide. Four massive limbs dug into the ground, each movement cracking the earth beneath it.
An apex.
Not just evolved.
Corrupted.
Ryn whispered, "That thing… that thing isn't meant to exist."
Soren's jaw tightened. "And we're standing in front of it."
The beast turned.
Its eyes locked onto them.
And it charged.
The impact shattered the ground.
Ryn met it head-on, his reinforced body colliding with one of its limbs in a thunderous clash that sent shockwaves through the Rift. He held—for half a second—before being thrown backward like a broken weapon.
"Ryn!" Aeris cried.
Soren and Darian moved instantly, striking from both sides. Blades cut into warped joints. Shadows bound its legs. But the creature barely reacted.
It swung.
The force tore through the battlefield, throwing Soren and Darian aside.
Myra raised her hands, time stuttering around the next strike just long enough for Rielle's hawk to dive, blasting energy into the beast's head.
It roared.
The sound alone shook the Rift.
Phael moved.
Fire ignited around his fist—tight, controlled.
Water wrapped his other arm—flowing, adaptive.
He struck.
The blow collapsed inward, cracking the beast's armor.
For the first time—
It reacted.
But it did not fall.
Instead, it turned its full attention to him.
Rielle's voice trembled. "Phael… it's locked on you."
Good.
He stepped forward.
The battle became chaos.
Ryn forced himself back into the fight, blood running down his arm as he struck again and again, refusing to fall.
Aeris worked without pause, healing what she could, forcing broken bodies to keep moving.
Soren's blades flashed as he cut into weak points that did not stay weak.
Darian burned through his shadows, holding the beast's legs just long enough for others to strike.
Myra nearly collapsed from the strain of slowing time repeatedly.
Rielle's summons fought like soldiers, not beasts—her wolves tearing at its limbs, her hawk striking again and again at its core.
And Phael—
Phael stood at the center.
Fire burned with precision.
Water flowed in defense.
But the deeper the fight went, the clearer it became.
They were not strong enough.
Not yet.
The beast adapted.
It began to ignore damage.
Its corrupted core glowed brighter.
Then it struck.
A single blow caught Rielle's wolf and shattered it into fading light.
Another wave slammed into Myra, sending her crashing into stone.
Ryn was driven to one knee.
Aeris screamed as she was thrown back, her staff skidding across the ground.
And then—
The beast raised both arms.
The air itself seemed to compress.
Phael felt it instantly.
This was not an attack.
It was annihilation.
"Everyone—fall back!" he shouted.
They tried.
They were too slow.
The force came down like the world itself was collapsing.
Phael stepped forward.
Not because he thought he could stop it.
But because he would not let it reach them.
Fire surged.
Water flowed.
He did not force.
He did not dominate.
He moved.
He let the water receive the impact.
Guide it.
Soften it.
The ground exploded beneath him.
Pain tore through his body as he was driven backward, skidding across broken stone.
His vision blurred.
His breathing stopped.
For a moment…
He could not move.
"Phael!"
Rielle's voice cut through the haze.
He saw them then.
His team.
Bleeding.
Broken.
Still standing.
Because they believed he would.
Something inside him tightened.
Not power.
Will.
He pushed himself up.
Fire burned.
Water flowed.
But this time… something was different.
The two no longer felt separate.
They did not fight.
They did not compete.
They answered the same intent.
Not dominance.
Not control.
Purpose.
He stepped forward.
The beast roared.
And Phael struck.
Fire collapsed inward.
Water guided the force.
The blow did not explode.
It pierced.
Straight into the beast's core.
The corrupted light inside it shattered.
For a heartbeat…
The world went silent.
Then the beast collapsed.
Its massive body crumbled into ash and stone.
The Ashen Rift fell still.
No one spoke.
They simply stood there.
Breathing.
Bleeding.
Alive.
Ryn finally laughed weakly. "That… was insane…"
Aeris dropped to her knees, exhausted. "I thought… we were done…"
Soren leaned on his blades. "We were… almost."
Rielle rushed to Phael's side.
"You—" Her voice broke. "You almost didn't get up…"
He met her eyes.
"But I did."
They looked at the fallen core glowing faintly in the ash.
A core of immense power.
The kind that could change everything.
And yet—
Phael felt it clearly.
Not in numbers.
Not in rank.
But in his soul.
He was close.
So close.
But not there yet.
Level Thirty was within reach.
Not crossed.
Not yet.
They returned in silence.
The guild recorded the mission as a miracle.
Aelira said only one thing when she saw the state they were in:
"You have touched the wall."
That night, Phael stood alone outside the outpost.
Rielle joined him quietly.
"We survived," she said.
He nodded.
"But we didn't break through."
She watched the distant horizon.
"…Yet."
He looked at his hands.
Fire steady.
Water flowing.
Almost aligned.
Almost enough.
Far away, in a land untouched by the academy or the guilds, a woman watched a battlefield through a floating crystal.
Her hair was dark.
Her presence… overwhelming.
Delyra.
The one who had hidden Phael when he was a child.
The one who had shaped his survival in silence.
The one once known across the world as—
The Shadow Dragon.
"So…" she murmured. "You've reached the edge."
Her lips curved faintly.
"Still standing. Still choosing your own path."
The crystal shifted.
Another figure appeared within the projection.
Aelira.
Delyra's eyes sharpened.
"…Aurelion."
Aelira's voice carried through the projection. "You always knew this day would come."
Delyra smiled slightly. "And you always knew he would need more than an academy to cross what comes next."
Silence followed.
Then—
Aelira spoke quietly.
"He nearly reached Level Thirty today."
Delyra's gaze softened.
"…Then it's time."