Echoes Within the Soul

When political tensions were rising inside the kingdom, on the other side, deep within the forest north of Fantom City, Victor was training his new subordinates together with Clara and Lane. The morning sun had already risen high above their heads, its golden light piercing through the dense canopy of trees and scattering across the forest floor like countless fragments of molten gold.

The air carried the scent of damp earth, crushed grass, and sweat.

Wooden swords collided repeatedly.

Steel rang sharply.

The sound of heavy breathing mixed with the distant cries of birds hidden deep within the wilderness.

Clara wiped the sweat dripping from her chin as she tightened her grip on her sword again. Her long blonde hair was tied behind her, though several loose strands clung to her flushed cheeks. Her purple eyes burned with stubborn determination while she exchanged blows with Lane.

Clang!

Lane pushed Clara backward with a sharp swing before gracefully stepping aside. Even during combat, her movements carried an elegant rhythm. Her black dress swayed around her thighs as she exhaled softly.

"You’re hesitating again," Lane said calmly.

Clara clicked her tongue.

"I know."

"No," Lane corrected while adjusting her stance, "you know after it happens."

Clara frowned.

That irritated her because it was true.

Nearby, Eon was practicing movement techniques under Brinda’s supervision. The monstrous build man moved swiftly between trees, trying to suppress his presence while maintaining balance across uneven ground.

"Too loud," Brinda said coldly while crossing her arms beneath her chest. "Your feet are announcing your location before your body even moves."

Eon bit his lip slightly before nodding.

He immediately tried again.

His body shot forward once more.

Leaves rustled beneath his boots.

Brinda sighed.

"Again."

Despite her harsh tone, there was visible improvement compared to before. Eon himself could feel it. Ever since meeting Victor, his life had changed completely. The false arrogance of power that once consumed him were slowly being replaced by real power.

And strangely enough...

Excitement.

Because every single day near Victor felt like standing near a storm powerful enough to change the entire world.

Meanwhile, a short distance away from everyone else, Victor sat cross-legged quietly atop the grass.

His black shirt fluttered gently beneath the morning wind while rays of sunlight illuminated his sharp features. His golden eyes remained closed, his breathing slow and steady.

Unlike the others, he was completely motionless.

Yet somehow...

He felt more dangerous than everyone combined.

Even Clara occasionally glanced toward him during training.

Not because he was doing anything.

But because his silence itself carried pressure.

Victor was also training by looking into his soul.

At his current state, gaining more mana wasn’t possible since he had already reached the limit of what his immature human body could handle. To strengthen himself further with mana, Victor had no choice but to wait for his body to mature. Only when his body fully developed could he store more mana, refine it properly, and strengthen it further.

Right now, he was finding ways to make himself stronger without waiting for his body to grow.

Victor disliked waiting.

Especially when the world itself was beginning to move faster.

His instincts told him something enormous was approaching.

War.

Chaos.

Or perhaps something even worse.

That was why the only thing capable of making him stronger at the moment were techniques.

Currently, the only techniques from his demon lord days that his body could withstand were limited. Using stronger abilities recklessly would simply tear apart his current human vessel from the inside.

Victor slowly exhaled.

A faint wave of mana spread outward from his body before disappearing into the air.

He wanted more.

Not more mana.

More understanding.

More control.

More ways to kill.

More ways to survive.

He wanted to learn more moves from those powerful people in his visions. The majority of those figures were human, which meant they surely possessed techniques suitable for his current human body.

That was why Victor kept searching his soul.

Because he knew those people were somehow related to it.

Still, Victor wasn’t certain whether the people in his visions were directly connected to him as a being... or whether they were simply ancestors tied to his current human identity.

No matter how long he thought about it, the answer never came.

Fragments.

Only fragments.

Broken memories soaked in blood and battle.

A man standing atop a mountain of corpses while laughing toward the heavens.

A swordsman splitting apart storms with a single strike.

A silver-haired warrior walking calmly through divine flames.

Sometimes Victor wondered if those memories truly belonged to him...

Or if his soul itself was simply broken.

The thought lingered briefly before fading away.

In the end, speculation was meaningless.

Answers could only be obtained by going deeper.

Victor concentrated harder.

The sounds of the forest gradually disappeared.

The laughter nearby faded.

The clashing of swords vanished.

His consciousness slowly sank inward.

Deeper.

Further.

The world around him dissolved into darkness.

Then—

A pulse.

Victor’s brows twitched slightly.

The darkness around him suddenly shifted.

Countless faint lights floated within the void like stars drifting through endless space. Some flickered violently while others remained dim and distant.

Victor could feel immense presences hidden behind those lights.

Ancient.

Powerful.

Monstrous.

A cold sensation crawled across his spine.

Not fear.

Excitement.

His instincts screamed that every single presence here possessed strength capable of overturning kingdoms effortlessly.

Victor pushed forward.

The deeper he went, the heavier the pressure became.

It felt as if invisible mountains were pressing against his soul.

Yet he continued moving.

Then suddenly—

A voice echoed through the darkness.

An arrogant voice.

Familiar.

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

It sounded exactly like the man who fought the champion of the Universal Emperor within his visions.

"Hey what do you think you’re doing, you weakling? Do you want to cheat or something?"

The moment the voice echoed, the entire dark void trembled violently.

Victor slowly lifted his head.

A grin gradually appeared on his face.

Because unlike ordinary people...

Victor enjoyed meeting monsters.

Especially arrogant ones.

The darkness ahead suddenly cracked apart like shattered glass.

A massive pressure exploded outward.

Far away in the real world, Clara suddenly froze mid-swing.

Her pupils shrank.

"What was that...?"

Lane also immediately turned toward Victor.

The grass around him had begun moving despite there being no wind.

A faint golden aura leaked from his body.

Even Brinda’s calm expression changed slightly.

"This pressure..."

Eon instinctively stepped backward.

For a brief moment, everyone felt it.

A terrifying presence.

Ancient.

Violent.

Like something sleeping deep within Victor had slightly opened its eyes.

Yet Victor himself remained seated calmly beneath the sunlight.

Inside his soul, however—

The darkness continued splitting apart.

And from within it...

Something laughed.