'Aidana.'
'Are you there?'
[Yes.]
'Explain this title.'
A brief silence followed.
[You really do ask increasingly difficult questions...]
Temorsth sighed.
'Great.'
Seeing his disappointment—
Aidana hurriedly continued.
[...I can't explain everything...]
[But I can tell you the basics.]
'Hm?' Temorsth noticed a slight change in Aidana herself, but this wasn't the time to ask on it.
[Ruler Titles are different from ordinary Titles.]
[Normal Titles can be earned by fulfilling certain conditions. But Ruler Titles...]
[...must first acknowledge you.]
[Darkness acknowledged you. That is why you possess the title.]
Temorsth nodded.
'I understand that much.'
Aidana continued.
[Once acknowledged...]
[Everything related to that concept strengthens your Authority.]
[Whether through understanding... Experience... Or actions.]
[The deeper your connection becomes... The stronger your Authority grows.]
Temorsth quietly considered her explanation.
'Then... Everything important has a Ruler?'
[Almost everything.]
'Weapons too?'
[Yes.]
'Then the Great God of Spear should possess the Ruler of Spears.'
[...No.]
Aidana answered almost immediately.
[But please don't ask further.]
[Speaking about Gods consumes too much of my Plausibility.]
'Sorry.'
Temorsth immediately dropped the topic. He long since realised she was shielding him from the information backlash.
After thinking quietly—
'I think I understand.'
[Hm?]
'That Great God wanted to fight me.'
His eyes drifted toward the blinking quest notification.
'If he challenged me... Then he probably isn't acknowledged by the Spear itself.'
Aidana froze.
'He's trying to use me. If I become acknowledged...'
'Defeating me would prove his own worth.'
...
For several long seconds—
Aidana said nothing, rather, inside her own realm.
'...I never thought of that.'
Temorsth simply nodded on her own screen, satisfied with his own deduction.
'Anyway.' Temorsth continued, 'That still doesn't explain why the title only activated once.'
Aidana recovered.
[Ruler Titles are always active. They're passive.]
'I know. So why didn't it react...'
Another silence.
[...I...]
[I don't know.]
'Hm?'
[I...]
[I don't possess a Ruler Title.]
...
Inside the mindscape—
Someone chuckled.
*Mhmhm...* Relatio put a hand over his own mouth.
Persona smiled and continued the conversation.
'So... You weren't hiding the answer.'
'You simply didn't know.'
[I know the theory.]
'Only the theory?'
[...]
Temorsth waited.
[...]
'...Aidana?'
[...Yes.]
Her voice had become so quiet it was almost inaudible.
'I only know what I was taught to.' She thought to herself.
*Mhmhm...*
Another suppressed laugh escaped Relatio, but this one she heard.
'Ugh...' Aidana pouted somewhere behind the System.
'Why do I feel like I'm getting bullied by someone so many times younger than me...?'
"Probably because you are." The words escaped her before she realized she'd spoken them aloud.
A habit she has taken on from Temorsth himself.
...
"Hm?"
Temorsth blinked.
The System window disappeared.
Before him—
His mother had already arrived.
"Baby! What happened!?"
Warm hands immediately grabbed his shoulders.
Golden-green healing energy flooded into his body.
Then—
"...Hm?" Elah frowned. 'Space... and Laws... simple healing doesn't work on this...' The healing energy turned, twisted differently.
"The injuries are already almost healed..."
Her gaze drifted toward the ruined ground.
Toward the shredded clothes.
Toward the blood staining the earth.
Her expression slowly darkened.
'This wasn't ordinary damage. It ignored life force...'
'The attack reached the body directly.'
'How did space and law get...'
She tightened her grip. "That's enough for today. The sun is already setting."
Temorsth shook his head.
"I'm close. I only need one more thing."
"You can continue tomorrow."
"No." His answer came immediately.
"I have to do it now. If I lose this feeling..."
"...I might never find it again."
Elah's grip tightened. "Please... Don't."
Temorsth slowly turned toward her.
"...Mom."
"..."
"Please let me go."
She hesitated.
For several seconds—
Neither moved.
Then—
"Dad would've—"
The words stopped halfway.
His eyes widened.
"..."
"...Dad..."
A memory surfaced.
Not words.
Not movements.
Darkness.
The feeling surrounding that impossible step.
"It wasn't..."
Temorsth whispered.
"It wasn't the step."
His breathing slowed.
"It was..."
"...the darkness."
"The way his darkness..."
"...covered the world."
Everything suddenly connected.
He raised one foot.
One quiet step.
[Notice: You are imitating the Darkness of a powerful being.]
[Notice: Requirements fulfilled.]
[Ruler Title activated.]
*BOOM.*
The ground exploded beneath his foot.
*Tear. Slash.*
His clothes split apart.
Deep cuts instantly opened across both his legs.
Blood splashed across the shattered earth.
"...Yes."
Temorsth smiled.
"This time..."
"...I did it myself."
No Heart Wood Spear. It still lay on the ground beside him.
No borrowed power.
Only him.
Elah's immediate healing knitted him back together.
He slowly lifted his foot again.
"Baby! No! What if next time it cuts something vital!?"
Elah's voice trembled.
Temorsth looked back only briefly.
"...You'll heal me."
Then—
He stepped.
*BOOM.*
The ground burst apart again.
Fresh wounds ripped across both legs, traveling even further up.
Golden light immediately wrapped around them.
Heal.
Elah silently restored everything.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Each step became stronger.
Each wound deeper.
Each healing spell arrived only moments later.
Hours...
Watching him—
A familiar image slowly resurfaced in Elah.
Young Xalier.
Standing alone.
Destroying his own body over and over while creating this very same technique.
"..." A helpless smile appeared on Elah's face.
'Why...'
'Why are you exactly like your father...?'
She should have stopped him.
She wanted to.
Yet...
Seeing those determined eyes—
She couldn't.
Instead—
Pride quietly replaced fear.
'You'll surpass him.'
'I'm certain of it.'
...
The night was long, for them who witnessed his steps, but for him...
It was just a step, and morning was already here.
And again, the night was already near.
*Step.*
*BOOM.*
Blood scattered.
Another step.
*BOOM.*
The trail behind Temorsth gradually turned crimson.
Each movement stretched his already tired muscles beyond their limits.
Tiny cracks spread through his bones.
His body screamed.
Yet—
He continued walking.
Inside—
Brilliance replayed every memory again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Searching.
Comparing.
Discarding.
Until—
"...Found it." Brilliance's accomplishment made him use the body to speak.
Making Persona stopped mid-step.
'Hm?'
Brilliance slowly raised his head.
"...The technique... isn't creating something."
"It's removing something."
'...Removing?'
"The space."
"The matter."
"The path itself."
Everything stopped.
Temorsth's raised foot slowly lowered.
"...Slash..."
"...the space..."
"The shadows..."
"...use the shadows to split space..."
"...!"
"...Slash space?"
Persona took control back, quietly repeating Brilliance's conclusion.
"...?"
Hearing Temorsth whisper to himself, both Elah and Antanasia looked over.
Antanasia's expression slowly stiffened.
'Space...?'
'He wants to tear space itself?'
Her heartbeat quickened.
Learning a Unique Ability for days, even in a trance, wasn't unusual.
Many cultivators spent decades—or even centuries—trying to reproduce another person's technique.
Failure was normal.
That wasn't what frightened her.
Transcendence was.
Before reaching that realm, a cultivator simply wasn't capable of enduring the pressure of space itself.
'The wounds until now...'
'Those only appeared because he was brushing against space.'
'But if he actually tears it open...'
Her gaze fixed on Temorsth.
'There won't be anything left to heal.'
Only blood.
And dust.
"...Slash the space before me..."
Temorsth's voice barely rose above a whisper.
"I need to stop him..." Antanasia instinctively took a step forward.
"...?" A hand gently stopped her.
Elah.
"Don't."
"He's creating a Unique Ability."
Her voice carried absolute confidence.
Antanasia hesitated.
'Unique Abilities are the representation of the orders and laws of the world breaking and bending.'
'He might be fine...' She looked over Temorsth.
'But still... I'm not sure, will this succeed?'
Slowly...
She stepped back.
Even so—
Her eyes never left Temorsth.
'This is insane...'
'No...'
'This entire family is insane.'
Meanwhile...
Temorsth no longer noticed the world around him.
"Dad..."
"His hands..."
"They were empty..."
"It wasn't his hands."
"It was..."
"...his step."
"The darkness..."
"The shadows..."
"...they cut space."
The memory slowly became clearer.
"A blade..."
His dark energy answered.
Black flames rose around his leg.
At first, they burned wildly.
Then—
They began changing.
The flames stretched.
Straightened.
Sharpened.
They still danced like fire...
Yet every tongue of flame now resembled the edge of a blade.
[Notice: You are attempting to command Darkness.]
[Congratulations: Your Authority over Darkness has slightly increased.]
Temorsth ignored the notification completely.
"A blade..."
"...that cuts."
"...that cuts even space."
The black flames continued shifting.
Not perfectly.
They still wavered.
Still behaved like an ordinary fire.
"...Not enough."
Even so—
He stepped.
The instant his foot touched the ground—
Everything stopped.
No sound.
No movement.
Even the flames froze.
Then—
A voice echoed from nowhere.
'I refuse.'
Temorsth's eyes widened.
"...?"
'I will not acknowledge you.'
The world trembled.
"No!" Antanasia screamed.
Purple fractures erupted across the earth.
The ground split apart.
The air cracked.
Space itself shattered into countless tiny fissures.
"Heal!"
Golden, green, and white light burst from Elah.
Healing.
Barriers.
Reinforcement.
Protective enchantments.
Spell after spell surrounded her son.
Until now, she had deliberately avoided interfering.
Her mana would've disrupted his understanding and flow.
Not anymore.
*SCREEEEEECH—*
A piercing scream erupted from the torn space itself.
Then—
*Pop.*
The sound vanished.
Only for Temorsth.
Warm blood trickled from his ears.
"...Uh..."
An overwhelming pressure crashed into him.
*Crack.*
His bones fractured.
His insides turned over.
Even through multiple barriers—
The pressure was unbearable.
Invisible cuts spread across his body.
His clothes tore apart.
Blood erupted from dozens of wounds.
Muscles opened.
Skin split.
Every injury healed almost instantly—
Only to be torn open again.
Temorsth couldn't move.
Not because he lacked the will.
His body simply couldn't keep up.
Then—
The voice returned.
'I reject the Light.'
Temorsth froze.
"...Light?"
Only then did he notice it.
Warm sunlight.
It rested against his face.
"...Morning?"
His eyes widened.
'It was night...'
'Wasn't it...?'
He had become so absorbed in the technique—
He'd completely lost track of time.
*Cough!*
Blood spilled from his mouth.
"I..."
"...have to hurry."
His father would return today, even if Temorsth didn't know it had already been two days.
He wanted to show it to his father.
He had to hurry.
He slowly straightened.
Every muscle screamed.
Every breath hurt.
Yet his determination only deepened.
"One more."
He raised his foot again.
Behind him—
Elah watched silently.
Then—
To Antanasia's horror—
She dispersed most of the protective barriers.
"...!?"
'Has she lost her mind!?'
Antanasia nearly shouted.
'That's your child!'
But when she saw Elah's trembling eyes—
The anger caught in her throat.
This wasn't cruelty.
It was trust.
Painful...
Heartbreaking...
Absolute trust.
"AGH!"
Antanasia clenched her fists.
She had nowhere to direct her frustration.
Temorsth stepped.
*BOOM.*
The world shook again.
'I reject you.'
The pressure became even heavier.
Blood poured from his nose.
His ears.
His eyes.
His mouth.
He collapsed onto one knee.
"I..."
"...can..."
"I can do this..."
The voice thundered once more.
'I will never acknowledge your Light.'
Something clicked.
"Mine...?"
Temorsth slowly lifted his head.
"...You."
Hatred flooded his eyes.
"You..."
"...dare reject my Light?"
Even Elah froze.
She had never heard that tone before.
It wasn't childish anger.
It wasn't frustration.
It was an absolute conviction.
Temorsth slowly stood.
His entire body trembled.
Blood dripped from every wound.
His hands clenched so tightly—
*Crack.*
Every finger broke.
Still—
He didn't loosen his fists.
The black flames surged.
White light erupted beside them.
Neither consumed the other.
Instead—
Both burned together.
"If you reject it..."
His voice echoed across the shattered landscape.
"...Then so do I."
"I reject you!"
"I deny it!"
The white radiance of Light flared around him.
Golden-white flames burst from his body.
Red-black flames of Darkness didn't disappear.
Instead—
They welcomed the Light.
Two completely opposite forces burned together around him without rejecting one another.
"If you reject one..."
Temorsth slowly lifted his foot.
"...then I reject you."
His expression completely changed.
Until now, he had been copying his father.
Trying to reproduce Xalier's technique.
Trying to imitate his understanding.
Trying to imitate his Step.
"...No."
He quietly shook his head.
"This isn't ours."
"It never was."
His flames changed.
The blade-like shape surrounding his leg dissolved.
The sharp edges disappeared.
The imitation vanished.
What remained—
Temorsth's original thought.
Not even the one Brilliance comprehended.
"Slash the shadows..."
Simply Darkness.
And Light.
"Open the shadows!"
The notion of shadows...
The absence of light.
The existence of darkness.
The two exactly as they wished to exist.
"I'll take..."
"...my own step."
"With a step."
"I will open the world!"
He brought his foot down.
*BOOOOOOM!*
The earth exploded.
The entire space shook.
Then—
Everything became silent.
No wind.
No sound.
No movement.
Temorsth blinked.
"...?"
Unlike before—
Nothing resisted him.
No pressure.
No rejection.
Only silence.
Then—
The voice returned.
'A chance.'
It no longer sounded hostile.
'I will give you one chance.'
Temorsth remained silent.
'Tell me.'
'Why do you wish to cross the world?'
"..."
He frowned.
"...Who are you?"
No answer came.
Only the same question.
'Tell me.'
Silence stretched between them.
Finally—
Temorsth answered.
"...For them."
"My parents."
"I'll become strong enough..."
"...to destroy everyone who stands against them."
The voice answered immediately.
'No.'
'Not their purpose.'
'Yours.'
Temorsth's breathing slowed.
"...Mine..."
He had never thought about it.
Not truly.
Even in his previous life—
He had never put it into words.
Yet now...
The answer surfaced naturally.
Not because he searched for it.
Because it had always existed.
"I..."
A smile slowly appeared.
"I am the Ruler of Light..."
"...and Dark."
The twin flames around him roared.
"I refuse to choose one over the other."
"I'll master both."
"I'll stand above both."
"I'll cross Heaven..."
"...and Earth."
"I'll walk wherever I wish."
"And no one..."
"...will decide where I can or cannot step."
The silence lasted several long seconds.
Then—
The voice laughed.
Not mockingly.
Not cruelly.
It sounded...
Satisfied.
'Very well.'
'Then...'
'Speak my name.'
The world trembled.
'Make my name!'
'Claim your path!'
At that exact moment—
Another voice echoed through the frozen world.
"Say its name."
Temorsth's eyes widened.
"...Dad?"