A few minutes earlier, while Rey was hunting inside the factory within the dream world... the real world was quiet.
In the white room, Aiden stirred awake.
Floating lazily toward the window, he watched the first rays of sunlight break the horizon.
Rey still hadn't returned.
Still trapped in the trial, Aiden thought, eyes narrowing. Concern gnawed at him.
He hesitated, then sighed.
"…Guess I'll have to check."
In a blink, his body disintegrated into particles of light and merged into Rey's consciousness.
Moments later, Aiden materialized in the skies of Rey's dream world.
He immediately sensed it.
Something's wrong.
A presence.
Something foreign.
Something that shouldn't exist here.
Frowning, Aiden opened Rey's death attempt log.
Only 24.
Aiden's eyes widened.
He had expected Rey to fail over fifty times before understanding the nature of the trial, yet the boy was already closing in on completion. That was… unexpected. Impressive, but worrying.
Aiden swept his gaze across Rey's house below. Inside, Rey's mother and sister lay asleep.
But Rey wasn't there.
Then Aiden noticed something else.
A corpse.
Teleporting into the kitchen hall, he found the body of Agent Seven—the assassin Rey had killed earlier.
His brows furrowed.
The method was clean. Professional.
'When… did Rey learn to kill like this?' Aiden wondered.
Waving his hand, he summoned a replay screen of Rey's past attempts.
He watched, silently, as images flashed by.
At first, his expression shifted between pride and concern.
But when the 23rd attempt played—the massacre—Aiden's eyes darkened.
In that attempt, Rey had lost all reason.
He had become a pure killer.
A mindless monster.
Aiden watched, horrified, as Rey slaughtered his family, friends, and strangers alike. The boy's expression had been devoid of humanity.
If the Eternal Omniverse System hadn't intervened...
He would've never escaped.
The system had forcibly pulled Rey from madness, showing him a path to clear the trial. Without it, Rey would've been lost forever.
Aiden closed the replay.
He let out a shaky breath.
'Good thing the system stepped in… or I would've lost him.'
But still, worry lingered.
That dark seed was inside Rey now.
And Aiden wasn't sure if guidance alone would be enough to save him.
He teleported again.
This time, to the factory.
High above, invisible, he watched Rey move.
He heard the boy muttering to himself—cursing Aiden for his earlier teachings, yet ironically using those exact techniques now to kill.
Aiden facepalmed.
'Ungrateful brat. I'll deal with that later.'
He enlarged the monitoring screen.
And then... his body tensed.
Rey stood atop a mound of corpses.
But more importantly… Aiden saw it.
Mana.
No—something worse.
Law energy.
And not just any Law.
A Superior Law.
A power far beyond what a Rank Zero body should be able to channel.
His warning panel flashed:
LAW-EMOTION MERGE DETECTED.
IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION REQUIRED.>
"Shit."
Aiden didn't hesitate.
He dived in.
Within Rey's soul space, Aiden labored to separate the leaking Law from Rey's spiraling emotions.
The two were merging—corrupting.
If left unchecked, the backlash could shatter Rey's mind. Or worse... crack his soul.
He worked quickly, burning through his own reserves.
'A basic Law would've been manageable… but this? What the hell's inside this kid?!'
Six seconds.
That's all he could allow.
He stabilized the merge temporarily, giving Rey partial control.
But even as he worked, Aiden felt it.
A presence.
Watching.
Not from Rey.
Something else.
A presence of Rank 6 or higher.
Something divine.
He froze.
No… impossible.
This world wasn't strong enough to sustain such a being.
Had it just been his imagination?
Or was something truly invading Rey?
He didn't know.
But one thing was clear:
If anything tried to seize Rey's body again… Aiden would obliterate it.
No matter the cost.
He forced the foreign presence back, sealed the leaking Law, and restored Rey's body to equilibrium.
By the time he finished, he was drained.
Panting softly, Aiden pulled back.
"I hope you're paying attention, kid," he whispered. "Because next time, I might not be able to save you."
Back in the white room, Aiden materialized on the familiar sofa.
Exhausted, he collapsed.
"Finally… rest."
He was seconds away from sleep when two presences entered.
Victor and Zero.
"Look who's back," Victor said dryly. "The mind manipulator himself."
Aiden groaned, not even bothering to open his eyes. "What do you want, Victor?"
"Just here to admire the great commander's exhausted face," Victor replied, summoning a bottle of water and taking long swigs, his clothes drenched with sweat.
"Ugh… You two are seriously annoying."
"That's friendship, Aiden," Zero chirped cheerfully as she spun lazily in a chair.
"We're not friends," Aiden and Victor replied in unison.
But Aiden finally sat up, glancing at Zero.
"Wait… since when does the cold queen hang around here? The sun rise from the wrong direction today?"
Zero smiled faintly. "I… didn't have anything to do. So I came."
Aiden arched an eyebrow.
Victor leaned forward, intrigued. "You're… different. Why?"
Zero hesitated.
"I think… something's missing," she said softly, gesturing toward her body.
Aiden's gaze sharpened.
He summoned her status window.
[2/3]
"Ah… so you're incomplete."
Zero nodded. "Yes. That's why I feel emotions now. A part of me—the part that should suppress them—is missing."
Aiden and Victor exchanged glances.
"And when you recover that missing piece?" Aiden asked carefully.
Zero smiled, but her eyes glinted with resolve.
"Even if it returns, I'll be dominant. That old part… will be assimilated."
Aiden nodded slowly.
Victor let out a long breath.
"Well… that's a relief."
"Now," Victor said, "what about Rey?"
Aiden glanced at the floating screen.
"He's… doing well."
Victor's expression darkened.
"Is he?"
"Huh?" Aiden frowned. "Victor, I know you don't like the kid, but—"
"No," Victor interrupted sharply. "I'm not saying he's weak. I'm saying he's too strong."
Both Aiden and Zero blinked.
Victor's voice was grim.
"In just 24 tries… you've created a half-monster."
Aiden's smile faded.
"Look at him. In attempt 23, he went berserk. Slaughtered everything. No battle art. No proper training. Just pure… instinct."
Victor's words hung heavy.
"He's standing on the edge, Aiden. One step further… and he won't be human anymore."
Zero watched silently, her expression unreadable.
"I didn't think he'd grow this fast," she whispered softly, still munching on conjured popcorn.
Aiden swallowed.
"Show me."
Victor pointed at the screen.
Aiden fast-forwarded the feed.
And there Rey stood.
Atop a hill of bodies.
Expression blank.
Eyes empty.
A dagger dripping with blood.
His status screen flickering beside him.
And behind him, the silent, looming shadow of something neither human nor beast.
Aiden said nothing.
Victor said nothing.
Zero said nothing.
The silence lingered.
Because none of them knew whether Rey would survive his next step...
Or lose himself forever.
-->To be continued…