Chapter 19 — After the Shattered Heavens
The explosion swallowed the world.
For several endless seconds, nothing existed except blinding golden gravity and silver lightning consuming the skies above Imperial Soul Academy.
Mountains vanished.
Clouds evaporated instantly.
The atmosphere itself trembled beneath the collision of divine forces.
Students inside the shelters screamed as shockwaves tore through the academy city again, but this time—
The destruction stopped before reaching them.
Because at the center of the explosion—
A gigantic golden gravity barrier surrounded the academy like a celestial shield.
Bali's manifestation protected them.
High above the battlefield—
Varikon's collapsing singularity shattered apart under the combined attack of Reskin and Seraphina.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!
Purple gravity cracked violently.
The unstable core split into thousands of fragments before exploding into harmless cosmic dust across the night sky.
The pressure vanished instantly.
The gravity storms disappeared.
And slowly—
The heavens became calm again.
For the first time since the battle began—
Silence returned.
Then—
Reskin's body started falling.
The golden aura surrounding him faded rapidly while the enormous manifestation of Bali disappeared from the skies.
His body looked terrible.
Deep gravity fractures covered his skin while blood floated around him weightlessly.
He had nothing left.
Absolutely nothing.
Seraphina immediately caught him before he crashed toward the battlefield below.
The moment she touched him—
Her expression changed.
"He's freezing…"
Reskin's soul energy had nearly vanished completely.
Inside his soul world—
Darkness spread rapidly.
The cosmic realm continued collapsing while shattered gravity symbols drifted endlessly through the void.
Bali stood silently beside Reskin now.
The ancient GOD-HORSIKEN looked exhausted for the first time.
His gigantic form had become partially transparent.
"You overused your divine synchronization."
Reskin laughed weakly despite barely remaining conscious.
"…We survived though."
"Yes."
Bali slowly looked upward into the dark soul sky.
"Varikon is gone."
Silence followed.
Then unexpectedly—
A strange sadness spread through the soul world.
Because despite everything—
Varikon had once been Bali's closest companion.
Reskin quietly looked toward the ancient beast.
"…Are you okay?"
Bali froze slightly.
As if nobody had asked him that question for millions of years.
Finally—
The GOD-HORSIKEN answered softly.
"I do not know."
Outside—
The battlefield resembled the end of the world.
Entire mountain ranges had vanished.
Half the academy sectors were destroyed.
Massive craters covered the land for kilometers.
Yet somehow—
Imperial Soul Academy still stood.
Students slowly emerged from shelters staring upward in disbelief.
"…It's over?"
"We survived?"
Then cheers erupted everywhere.
Some students cried openly.
Others collapsed from relief.
Instructors laughed weakly despite their injuries.
Because the impossible had happened.
An ancient catastrophe capable of destroying nations—
Had been stopped.
And the person responsible—
Was an orphan boy who arrived at the academy with nothing.
Meanwhile, Kaizen slowly walked through the ruined battlefield while staring toward Seraphina carrying unconscious Reskin.
His expression looked complicated.
"…That kid really changed everything."
Nearby instructors nodded silently.
But several also looked worried.
Because tonight revealed something terrifying too.
Reskin's power.
The golden gravity authority.
The manifestation of Bali.
Many powerful people across the world would eventually learn what happened here.
And not all of them would come as allies.
Far away—
Hidden beneath the academy—
The shadow-covered observers continued watching silently through ancient crystal screens.
One figure slowly spoke.
"The synchronization exceeded expectations."
Another voice answered calmly.
"And the vessel survived."
The crystal zoomed toward unconscious Reskin.
Golden gravity still flickered faintly around his body.
"The GOD-HORSIKEN core is stabilizing faster than predicted."
Silence filled the chamber briefly.
Then—
"What about retrieval?"
The first figure remained quiet for several seconds.
"…Not yet."
Its glowing eyes narrowed slightly.
"He still needs time to mature."
The hidden chamber slowly darkened again.
"But prepare the Celestial Hunters."
Cold silence followed.
"Others will begin moving soon."
—
Hours later.
The sun slowly began rising above the destroyed academy.
Golden morning light spread across broken buildings and ruined mountains.
Emergency healers worked everywhere helping injured students while instructors stabilized damaged sectors.
Despite the destruction—
Life continued.
Inside the academy medical wing—
Reskin finally opened his eyes slowly.
Pain hit him instantly.
"…Ugh…"
Every bone in his body felt shattered.
His meridians burned painfully.
Even breathing hurt.
"You're awake."
Reskin turned slightly.
Seraphina sat quietly beside the bed near the window.
Morning sunlight reflected softly through her silver hair.
For once—
She looked tired.
Not like the overwhelming instructor from battle.
Just… human.
Reskin blinked weakly.
"…Did we win?"
Seraphina stared at him silently for a moment.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
Relief spread through Reskin instantly.
Good.
That was enough.
But then—
Seraphina suddenly flicked his forehead hard.
"Ow—!"
"You reckless idiot."
Her calm expression cracked slightly with frustration.
"Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?"
Reskin rubbed his forehead weakly.
"…A little."
"A LITTLE?"
Even hearing her raise her voice felt shocking.
"You forced divine synchronization with a GOD-HORSIKEN while your meridians were collapsing!"
Reskin looked away awkwardly.
"…Sorry."
Seraphina sighed heavily.
Then quietly added—
"…Thank you."
Reskin froze slightly.
Her golden eyes softened.
"You saved everyone."
Silence filled the room briefly.
Then Reskin scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"No problem."
Seraphina almost smiled at that.
Almost.
Suddenly—
The medical room door burst open.
"RESKIN!!"
Dugu rushed inside dramatically before immediately freezing.
"…Whoa."
Reskin blinked.
"What?"
Dugu pointed toward him accusingly.
"You became a flying gravity god and almost destroyed the sky!"
Several other students crowded behind him excitedly.
"Bro fought a world-ending monster!"
"You're famous now!"
"People are calling you the Golden Gravity Hero!"
Reskin immediately looked horrified.
"…That sounds terrible."
Dugu laughed loudly.
Meanwhile, Seraphina quietly stood from beside the bed.
"I'll inform the academy headmaster that you recovered."
Before leaving—
She paused briefly near the doorway.
Then without turning around—
"Rest properly."
And for some reason…
Her voice sounded gentler than usual.
Dugu immediately smirked after she left.
"Oho…"
Reskin frowned.
"What?"
"That was definitely special treatment."
"Shut up."
The room filled with laughter for the first time since the battle ended.
But unknown to everyone—
Far beyond the academy—
Danger had already begun moving.
Inside a massive floating fortress hidden above the clouds—
Several figures stood before a gigantic crystal screen displaying the battle between Reskin and Varikon.
Golden gravity illuminated the room silently.
One armored figure slowly spoke.
"So the rumors were true."
Another nodded.
"A GOD-HORSIKEN has awakened."
The crystal image froze on Bali's gigantic manifestation across the heavens.
Silence spread through the chamber.
Then the leader finally spoke.
"Send the Celestial Hunters."
Cold killing intent filled the room instantly.
"We will claim the divine successor before the other factions discover him."
Far away in the academy medical wing—
Reskin suddenly felt chills run through his body.
Inside his soul world, Bali slowly opened his glowing eyes.
"…Troublesome."
Reskin blinked internally.
"What happened?"
The ancient GOD-HORSIKEN looked toward the distant darkness beyond the soul realm.
"…The world has noticed you now."
Outside the window—
The peaceful morning sun continued rising.
But the real storm had only just begun.