"Ughh."

Cael’s eyes snapped open as he sat upright in the medical bed.

His chest heaved, and his breath came fast and shallow, each one straining against the tightness in his lungs.

He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to calm down, to slow the pounding of his heart.

To push away the remnants of the vision still clinging to his mind like cobwebs that would not tear.

After a few minutes, his breathing steadied. His thoughts stopped racing.

Only then did Cael notice where he was.

It was the medical room. Again, under the white ceiling.

Faint glow of healing inscriptions along the walls, pulsing slowly like a sleeping heartbeat.

His hands were covered in fresh bandages, wrapped tight from his fingers to his wrists.

The fabric was clean and white, but he could already feel the stiffness settling in.

It had only been a few days since he removed his bandages. Now he had them again.

He recalled the situation before he fell into resonance.

The laughing people, and the unknown energy that is pressing down on everyone.

Seraphina’s stiff expression, and his hand was cracking, blood dripping onto the white floor, each drop landing with a soft, wet sound.

He reached over and pressed the call button beside his bed.

Minutes passed. The door opened. Seraphina walked in.

"What happened?"

Cael asked, his voice still rough from unconsciousness.

Seraphina crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe.

Her amber eyes were calm, but there was a tension in her shoulders that Cael rarely saw.

"The situation is strange,"

Seraphina said as she continued,

"Just after you lost consciousness, the unknown energy dissipated as if it had never existed. The only proof it ever existed is the people who experienced it."

Cael nodded slowly and asked,

"Then what is the plan?"

Seraphina shook her head and answered,

"I erased everyone’s memories. I deleted all records and evidence."

Cael was puzzled.

"Why?"

Seraphina did not answer immediately. She looked out the window, her amber eyes distant, fixed on something he could not see.

The evening light caught her profile, casting half her face in shadow.

She said quietly.

"I had a feeling that as more people become aware of this, the more people will be dragged into it."

Cael nodded.

"I see."

Seraphina paused, and for a moment, as she recalled Cael’s cosmic purple eyes. But she said nothing.

"Things are getting out of control."

She said instead.

"The situation at the borderlands is worsening day by day. If this continues, there is a high chance that even [Silver] rankers will be dragged to the battlefields."

She turned her gaze back to him, sharp and searching.

"And now this unknown energy. Cael, do you know something?"

Cael did not answer for a few seconds.

The silence stretched between them, filled only by the soft hum of the healing inscriptions.

Then he said,

"I believe I do. But I do hope I was wrong."

Seraphina muttered softly,

"I see."

Her skill, Wrong Eye, did not activate. Cael was not lying.

Just as she was about to ask for more details, Cael added,

"I will look into it."

Seraphina wanted to refuse. Her lips parted, and Cael could see the denial forming in her eyes.

But when she saw Cael, who always behaved as if everything was a burden, a chore, something to be avoided, now taking the initiative, she only nodded.

In her view, this was a good thing.

The idle fellow had gained some motivation.

That said, she would naturally not allow him to dance in the fire. And she asked,

"Tell me what you know."

Cael smiled and shook his head.

"Actually, all I have is a suspicion."

Seraphina urged him.

"Then tell me that suspicion itself."

Cael sighed. He wanted to lie, but even if he lied, the truth would reveal itself to Seraphina through Wrong Eye.

If he kept his mouth shut, she would keep pestering him.

So, he said,

"I believe that unknown energy is used by... higher beings."

Seraphina’s expression did not change. But her eyes sharpened.

...

It had been a few hours since Cael met with Seraphina.

Currently, he was walking through the academy streets.

The evening light was soft, casting long shadows across the stone paths.

Students walked past him in groups, laughing, talking, unaware of what had happened in the medical dormitory, unaware of the unknown energy that had nearly consumed them.

As for his injuries, he had simply drunk healing potions.

The bitter liquid had burned his throat, but the effect was immediate. The cracks on his hand had fully sealed.

The stiffness in his bandaged fingers had faded instantly.

Cael did not have the patience to lie in bed for a few more days. He had bigger things to think about.

One was that Lucian Vayne, the protagonist of the novel, the savior of the world, had left the academy.

And the words "pathway" and "Sovereign" were not new to Cael.

He knew them well. In the novel, the author made Elowyn disappear and return as the Sovereign of Red Heart.

The author stated that Elowyn had entered a pathway during those two years.

He remembered it clearly because Elowyn became the strongest character in the novel.

Stronger than Lucian. He had hoped Lucian would surpass her in the final volume.

Cael had assumed the lore about pathways and Sovereigns would be explained in the last volume.

But before Cael could read it, he died and transmigrated.

Now, the information he had was lacking.

Not to mention the strangeness with Luke.

Cael already suspected Luke might be a transmigrator or close to that.

After all, he had gained the Death element from copying one of Luke’s skills.

In the novel, Luke never had anything to do with death.

That raised many questions.

But after the resonance, Cael had gained some understanding.

A pathway was a trial, a test, to become a higher being.

Sovereigns were higher beings. Perhaps Monarchs as well.

The Sovereign of Eternal Flames, a higher being, had called Varelia "we."

So, Monarchs were also considered higher beings, right?

But Sovereigns were greater and more powerful than Monarchs.

The Sovereign of Eternal Flames had promised to bestow the fate of a Monarch upon Varelia.

Cael’s steps paused.

What if the one who transmigrated him had given him that so-called Monarch’s fate as well?

After all, his class name was Iridescent Monarch.

Then the one who transmigrated him had the power of a Sovereign.

But the Sovereign of Eternal Flames had told Varelia that what kind of Monarch she became was her own choice.

Cael shook his head. He felt that he was overthinking.

He was not the type to prejudge and act recklessly. Not that he had the power to do so anyway.

Thinking along those lines, he could not help but shudder, recalling the Sovereign of Eternal Flames’ gaze.

At that moment, Cael had felt as if he was standing directly in front of the Sovereign of Eternal Flames.

As if she could see him without any problem.

If she had truly looked at him across time and space, then the power of Sovereigns was absolutely not underestimated.

This day, Cael’s worldview was completely shattered.

Up until now, he had thought [Origin] rankers were the strongest existences.

What a joke. In front of Sovereigns, [Origin] rankers were helpless ants. Perhaps even Monarchs could sweep through them.

Cael sighed and shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside.

Just then, he saw a light blue-haired girl walking ahead. Her golden eyes were downcast, her shoulders slumped.

It was Mirena Virella. Luke’s fiancée. Mira.

Cael was puzzled.

The Mira he knew was proactive, bright, energetic, and full of life.

But now she was gloomy. Her steps were slow.

Her gaze was fixed on the ground as if she were searching for something she had lost and could not find.

Cael assumed her mood was due to Luke’s departure. He was about to greet her when he saw it.

The evening sun rays fell on Mira as she walked. The light caught her back, illuminating something that should not be there.

A single gray wing.

It sprouted from between her shoulder blades, its feathers dull and lifeless, its edges frayed as if it had been torn from something larger.

The wing swayed gently with her steps, but it did not cast even the faintest shadow on the ground behind her.

It did not flap. It did not fold. It simply existed; a dead thing attached to a living body. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Cael’s breathing slowed as he recalled the Sovereign of Eternal Flames’ words to Valeria,

"Become my wing and my will."

Under Cael’s horrified eyes, the gray wing dissipated.

The feathers crumbled into dust, scattering in the evening breeze like ash into nothingness.

The light passed through empty air. The wing was gone as if it had never been there.

Mira paused as she saw Cael.

She smiled softly, though the warmth did not reach her eyes.

Her golden gaze was hollow, distant, as if she was looking at him from somewhere far away.

"Hello, Cael. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?"