Deep in his chamber, Gudan lay trembling beneath the gold plates the demon had forced onto him.
But something else stirred.
A vibration.
A pulse.
A pressure building inside his chest.
He heard Sys's voice — faint, muffled through stone walls and distance — but clear enough to reach him.
"…the indomitable will of humanity…"
"…expanding the bubble of energy…"
"…your willed state…"
Gudan's eyes widened.
He understood.
Not with his mind — but with his body.
His willed state didn't expand from his brain like a mage.
It expanded from his skin, his bones, his blood.
A second layer of energy wrapped around him, tightening, compressing, reshaping.
The gold demon paused, tilting her head.
"Oh? What's this…?"
Gudan didn't answer.
He couldn't.
His entire body was cocooning itself — energy wrapping around him like threads, sealing him inside a glowing shell.
A pupa.
A transformation.
The gold demon clapped her hands, delighted.
"Ooooh! You're changing! How beautiful!"
Gudan couldn't scream.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
But he could evolve.
---
Three days after the kidnapping, Sys led Hope and Corr out into an open field.
Hope's eyes were still swollen from crying.
Corr rolled beside her, silent.
Sys stopped in the center of the grass.
"There is more," he said quietly. "Follow me."
He lowered his hood.
For the first time, they saw his slicked‑back blond hair, his human‑like face, his tired eyes.
Hope whispered, "Sys… what are you?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he raised a hand.
"When you create your bubble, it forms as a sphere. That is the default shape of a willed state."
A glowing bubble appeared above his palm.
"But what if you create a different formation?"
Hope blinked. "Different… shape?"
Sys nodded.
"For melee fighters, the best formation is called Hisma."
The bubble reshaped — stretching into a form that wrapped around the arms, legs, and head.
"It enhances strength, speed, and intelligence."
Corr leaned forward. "So that's how melee specialists get so strong…"
Sys continued.
"But mages use the bubble. A sphere. Simple. Efficient."
The bubble returned to a sphere.
"But if we use any three‑dimensional shape…"
The bubble twisted in Sys's hand.
Folded.
Shifted.
Rearranged itself like a puzzle solving its own geometry.
"…we gain more sides. More defense. More power."
The bubble snapped into place.
A glowing 3D hexagon, rotating slowly in the air.
Hope whispered, "That's… incredible."
Sys nodded.
"This is the foundation of advanced willed states. Shapes. Structures. Forms. Not just raw energy."
He stepped back, letting the hexagon hover.
"And this," he said quietly, "is what William and Gudan are beginning to discover on their own."