Dev flew freely through the endless sky, his wings cutting through the still air while his mind remained sharply aware of the danger inside his own body, because his soul core had already been damaged for half a core , leaving him surviving on barely half the oxygen he needed, every breath shallow and controlled, every second pulling him closer to collapse as he searched for a hunt an animal useful enough to sustain him and weak enough to kill quickly, since Dev was still human, not an Awakened capable of ending soul beasts instantly, armed only with the short sword Derek had given him and a long sword he had not yet used, knowing that the short sword was lighter, sharper, and far more reliable than the heavy and unwieldy long blade.
There was no day and no night in this place, only an endless, unmoving sky that never changed, making time meaningless unless measured, which was why Dev relied entirely on his pocket watch, carefully remembering the exact day he had entered and the day he would need to return, because on the final day all participants were required to gather at the Awakened Altar to awaken themselves, a moment that would decide whether they would rise or disappear forever.
The thought of awakening dragged his mind into memory, back to the day he received the token of the Shade family, when Dev had been reading quietly while Helena sat nearby sewing clothes, the room calm and ordinary until a sudden knock echoed through the house, firm and deliberate, prompting Helena to stand and open the door, revealing a man who appeared to be in his late teens yet carried the presence of someone far older, dressed in clean white clothes with neatly kept white hair, unmistakably the butler of the Shade family.
The man asked whether this was the residence of Kenzo Shade, and when Helena confirmed it, he stated calmly that by order of the clan head, her child Edward Shade was invited to attend the Awakening Ceremony of the Heavenfall Empire Academy, a declaration that did not surprise Helena in the slightest, as if she had been expecting it for a long time, accepting the token he presented before the butler thanked her for her time and departed without another word.
Helena turned back to Dev, looked at him steadily, and told him that he must go to the Awakening Ceremony, her voice firm and unyielding.
The memory faded as Dev's senses sharpened, finally catching movement below where he spotted a wolf, smaller than normal and clearly weakened, its body thin and its fangs broken, roaming alone near a fallen tree stained with dried blood and scattered remains, feeding on prey killed by another beast, making it the most suitable target he had seen so far.
Dev descended slowly from the air, carefully controlling his wings as he landed without a sound behind the wolf, lowering his presence and advancing with extreme patience, like an assassin stalking prey, while his attention remained fixed on his soul core, which now had 15 minutes, 00 seconds remaining before total destruction.
As he closed the distance, the wolf suddenly lifted its head, sensing danger, causing Dev to drop flat against the ground and completely stop breathing, his body frozen in place as time crawled forward, until 10 minutes, 00 seconds remained and the wolf, seemingly unconcerned, resumed eating.
Dev began moving again, inch by inch, reducing the distance until he was close enough to strike, fully aware that in this world all living beings were survivors, where the weak died without mercy and only those who endured continued to exist, and when he finally attacked, the wolf reacted faster than expected, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow, though Dev still managed to slash deeply into one of its legs.
They faced each other as the wolf roared and lunged forward repeatedly, attacking with relentless ferocity while Dev dodged left and right, narrowly escaping each strike as seconds bled away, his oxygen rapidly depleting until only 4 minutes, 00 seconds remained, forcing him to abandon caution and take control of the fight.
Tightening his grip on the short sword, Dev stepped forward and deliberately offered his arm as bait when the wolf leapt again, allowing its broken fangs to tear into his flesh as pain exploded through his body, yet in that same instant he activated his wings and ascended rapidly, dragging the wolf upward with him while enduring the agony of its grip as they climbed higher and higher into the air.
While airborne, Dev stabbed downward into the wolf's neck, forcing it to release him mid-air, and as the beast fell toward the ground below, Dev followed without hesitation, landing moments later and driving his blade into its body again and again without pause, stabbing relentlessly until the ground beneath them was soaked in blood and the wolf finally stopped moving.
Dev checked his pocket watch.
50 seconds remaining.
Without wasting a moment, he tore open the wolf's body, ripping through flesh and organs as he searched desperately, his movements urgent yet precise, until 10 seconds remained and he spotted the soul core lodged between the stomach and the liver.
Ruby's warning echoed in his mind.
Never touch a soul core directly.
With 6 seconds left, Dev tore cloth from his own body, with 4 seconds he wrapped his hands tightly, and at 2 seconds his original soul core shattered completely, leaving him without oxygen as he forcibly held his breath and ripped the new soul core free from the corpse.
Dev immediately sat down, crossing his legs, closing his eyes, and began absorbing the soul core, knowing that the storage-type core he previously possessed could not be absorbed, unlike this one, which poured power into him, forming an invisible protective layer around his body that did not restrict movement but instead reinforced him, strengthening his flesh and increasing his power by leaps and bounds.
When it ended, Dev collapsed onto the ground and stared up at the reddish sky, laughter escaping his lips as he lay there
unaware that a group of figures had been watching the entire battle from afar, smirking quietly as they observed what they had just witnessed.