Ethan halted mid-step, hovering just above the surface of the blue-violet magma.

The power rising from the depths below slithered up his spine like a cold, skeletal hand. Instinctively, he took a step back.

He summoned his system interface. A translucent screen flickered to life before his eyes, peeling back the layers of energy in the surrounding area, scanning them one by one.

—This wasn't just any Inversion Zone.

He braced himself, ready for a fight.

But then Kaelira moved.

She shivered, just slightly, as if something ancient had brushed against her soul. Then, slowly, she began to walk forward.

"Kaelira?" Ethan's brow furrowed. A sharp edge of unease cut through his gut.

And then—

A burst of pink light exploded around her, radiant and dangerous, like a halo made of thorns. It clashed with the icy blue-violet magma beneath her feet, creating a swirl of colors that shouldn't exist together. The magma churned, as if it recognized her voice—no, her presence—and began to gather toward her.

For a moment, Kaelira's eyes gleamed with something wild. Obsession. Awe.

She whispered, "I've finally found it… the true source of Sol'Rakka. Do you understand, Ethan? This magma—it's the power everyone dreams of."

Ethan froze.

The energy in the magma—it reeked of corruption. Cold, invasive, wrong. The exact opposite of Kaelira's pink aura.

But then the system's scan results hit him like a punch to the chest.

Buried deep within that dark, twisted energy… was a massive reservoir of pure pink power.

Identical to Kaelira's own.

"No wonder she could sense it…" he muttered, a flicker of excitement rising in his chest despite himself.

Kaelira didn't stop.

She raised her arms, as if embracing the entire world, and unleashed her power. Pink light poured from her palms, reaching into the depths of the magma—and the magma answered.

—Sssshhhrrrk.

The pink energy, sealed beneath layers of corrupted force, began to thaw. It surged upward, racing along the energy veins, flooding into Kaelira's body.

Ethan watched as glowing runes lit up across her skin, one after another.

Her Tier—

Climbing fast from early 25Tier, racing toward the mid-tier threshold.

"This is insane…" Ethan murmured, taking a step closer, hand half-raised, drawn to the raw, luminous power radiating from her.

But then—

BOOM!!!

The entire domain shuddered like a gong struck by a god. The tremor shot up from the magma floor to the cavern's ceiling.

A deep fissure split open in the center of the magma field.

And from it, something rose.

Not a creature. Not really.

It was a grotesque amalgam—dried bones, rotting flesh, and black mist barely holding it together. Its eye sockets burned with a violet light that stabbed straight into the soul.

It roared, voice cracked and furious: "DIE! ALL OF YOU—DIE!! THAT IS… MY POWER!!!"

With a sweep of its hand, the entire magma field convulsed. The liquid rock surged into a towering wave, exploding outward in a spiral of death.

Kaelira's eyes snapped open. Her face had gone pale.

She was at the critical point of her Tier ascension—

If she stopped now, it wouldn't just fail. Her entire power foundation could collapse.

"Damn it—I can't move! If I stop now, I'll—!" she cried out, panic breaking through her voice.

Ethan was already in front of her.

He didn't let her finish.

His figure stood like a pillar of stone, unshakable, shielding her from the surge of corrupted energy. Golden power erupted from within him, wild and blinding.

"Keep going, Your Majesty," he said, glancing back at Kaelira with a calm, lopsided smile. "This one's mine."

BOOM—

The sound hit like a warhammer slamming into the heart of the world.

Ethan's power exploded outward in a golden storm, engulfing the twisted figure rising from the blue-violet magma.

The creature clearly hadn't expected anyone to charge it head-on.

It hesitated—just for a breath—then thrust out a hand. A tide of black-violet energy surged from its palm, boiling the magma around it into thick, sloshing waves of fire.

Ethan didn't budge.

He raised his right hand, condensing his power into a sphere of light—like a star plucked from the sky—and hurled it forward with the force of thunder.

But—

The moment the light touched the creature, it vanished. Swallowed into nothing, like it had never existed.

Worse, a violet halo flared around the puppet's body, radiating a pressure so intense it clawed at the mind.

Ethan's chest tightened. A second later, he was hurled backward like a ragdoll, slamming into the stone wall with a bone-snapping crack.

"Shit… this thing hits like a goddamn mountain," he muttered, coughing, already pushing himself out of the rubble.

Now wasn't the time to fall back.

Kaelira was still mid-ascension. If he could destroy this puppet—this vessel of Vaedoroth—Sol'Rakka's allegiance would be theirs.

And that meant Emerald Castle's power would skyrocket.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Ethan charged again, golden energy clashing head-on with the violet storm. The air between them cracked and screamed.

He quickly realized—

This thing wasn't alive. It was a puppet.

No thoughts. No emotions. Just an endless flood of power.

"Damn it," Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing. That kind of strength wasn't natural.

He pulled up the system scan. The interface flickered—and his breath caught.

—Dragon energy.

But not any kind he'd seen before. The color, the structure—it was warped, unfamiliar. Alien.

No more hesitation.

He opened his devour ability, pulling the violet energy into himself.

And deep inside him, Idra stirred.

Her presence surged up from his soul like a tide, hungry and electric.

"Father…"

Her voice trembled with awe and excitement.

"This dragon energy… it can evolve my body! It's a higher-tier source!"

Ethan's pulse spiked.

This was it. A chance he couldn't afford to miss.

He unleashed everything, devouring the power like a storm swallowing lightning. Inside him, Idra grew—visibly, tangibly—her presence sharpening with every pulse of energy.

The puppet sensed the shift.

It suddenly plunged a hand into its own chest and ripped out a crystal core the size of a clenched fist—glowing violet, veins of energy writhing across its surface.

Then it hurled it skyward.

The core cracked, energy thrashing inside like a beast about to break free.

If it detonated, the entire cavern would be reduced to dust.

Ethan moved.

A golden streak tore through the air—he was there in an instant, hand closing around the core.

Its power tore at his arm, trying to shred him from the inside out.

He didn't flinch.

He pulled it into himself.

Inside, Idra let out a sharp, crystalline cry—like a hatchling dragon breaking through its shell. With every surge of energy, her form solidified, her presence deepened.

Ethan's power spiked—violently. The air around him rippled, warped, trembled.

WUMMM—WUMMM—WUMMM—

The energy reverberated through the entire domain.

From her place above, Kaelira glanced over, heart clenched tight—but once again, Ethan's sheer defiance of the impossible left her stunned.

"This man…" she whispered, "he doesn't even seem human."

...