The world had fallen into silence.
Not because Hollow Zero had gone quiet—but because, in that instant, all sound had been devoured.
Winds raged violently, yet there was no roar to accompany them.
Zane stood high in the sky, his short hair and sleeves whipping wildly in the shockwave tearing through everything.
Even the ruins of buildings floating above the Hollow were being pushed away, unable to remain stable.
In Zane's eyes, brilliant colors danced, their halos casting vivid reflections across his face.
Far ahead of him, a massive sphere of swirling color was rapidly expanding—at least a hundred meters in diameter. Streams of Ether energy twisted along its surface, forming a spiraling dome of light.
It looked like a gorgeous, alien planet crashing into the earth.
The winds howled on.
But the world remained eerily silent.
Zane could feel it—Ether in this area had thinned drastically, like it had been drained dry.
And the cause of it all... was that silver bullet from earlier.
Suddenly, the colorful sphere began to warp. The Ether energy around it twisted into chaos, and in just a few seconds, it shifted into a blinding gold-white hue.
Then, it erupted.
Light flooded the world.
The golden-white brilliance enveloped everything, Zane included. Around him, there was nothing left—only endless, blinding light.
Then—an instant later—a deafening boom shattered the silence.
The return of sound was so abrupt, Zane blinked in disorientation.
It wasn't a sharp noise, but a deep, resonant thunder, muffled like lightning wrapped in dark clouds—or war drums pounding before armies clashed.
It shook the heavens.
A few breaths later, the white light faded. As Zane's vision returned, the ruins and collapsed buildings that once filled his view were completely gone.
Everything had been erased.
In their place was a massive crater, hundreds of meters wide. Perfectly circular, its curvature was almost too precise.
As if some divine artist had carved it by hand.
Zane stared in silence, eyes alight.
One phrase surfaced in his mind.
From a world-ending disaster... humanity claimed the power to end worlds.
...
"Form up defenses! Stay away from the blast center!"
"Fall back, now!"
"Armored units, cover the flanks—secure the retreat!"
Orders rang out across the ground forces.
As per their original plan, they were retreating from the battlefield to regroup and establish a second defensive line—one from which they could wipe out the remaining Ethereals.
But the residual Ether energy was already converging again inside the Hollow. Vivid, dreamlike tornadoes of energy swirled through the air, connecting heaven and earth.
The high-risk Ethereal on the ground had been surrounded by lesser Ethereals at its center. Because of that, the Staff Army had kept its distance, and thus wasn't caught in the silver bullet's blast.
But the Ether tornadoes born from the aftermath now posed a serious threat.
Just as they braced against the turbulent currents and prepared to withdraw, a sharp alarm blared from the Ether detection systems.
"Wait—what is that?!"
A technician stared at the readout in shock. The Ether signature, which had dropped to nearly zero, was suddenly spiking again.
And the epicenter... was the heart of that crater.
The core Ethereal was still alive!
The news spread quickly through the Obol Squad. Section commanders made their calls—abort the retreat. They would hold their ground and observe.
Layer upon layer of defense shields deployed. Armored vehicles braced against the storm. The Obol Squad stood ready.
At one defensive outpost, Soldier 11's long hair whipped in the gale. She squinted at the distant crater—but the terrain limited her view.
Nearly half the pit was obscured from her position. She couldn't tell what was happening inside.
Trigger beside her was just as blind. The buildings that once offered height had mostly collapsed from the battle and earlier shockwave. If not for the durability of their vehicle, she might've been buried under the rubble herself.
"What's going on? That thing's strong, sure—but after taking a hit like that, there's no way anything could survive in the center!"
Soldier 11's tone was grim. Her long blade, damaged in the previous fight with the Ethereals, trembled slightly. This unknown situation was a clear and present danger to the Staff Army.
"Beats me. That weapon was beyond powerful. How could the Ethereal possibly still be alive?"
Trigger was equally baffled. If she had been at ground zero, she'd be nothing but dust.
"So what now?"
She was about to say more when a transmission came through her earpiece. She listened closely—then nodded.
Looking to Soldier 11, she said,
"Major Xin is on her way here."
Soldier 11 naturally recognized the name. This whole operation had been orchestrated by Xin after the rebel intel surfaced. She nodded, her expression settling slightly.
Their teammates remained alert. Trigger, in charge of monitoring, moved to access the lift on their vehicle—then paused as she spotted a black dot in the sky.
Frowning, she adjusted her recon goggles to zoom in. When she saw what it was, her expression shifted to disbelief.
"It's him?!"
Yes—that guy. She and Soldier 11 had brought him here. With things like this unfolding, he'd definitely step in.
But what about the White Star defectors? Wasn't he supposed to be dealing with them?
Noticing Trigger frozen, Soldier 11 leaned in and whispered, sensing something was up.
Trigger came to and replied softly,
"The Fire Picker is here."
In this situation, openly saying Zane's name wasn't ideal. "Fire Picker" was neutral enough—no risk if overheard.
"He's at the center of this battlefield? Why would he come here?"
Soldier 11's shock was clear. This place was in ruins—not a place he should be.
"Who knows? We'll just have to wait and see..."
"Besides, Major Xin's on the way. You know how she feels about the Fire Picker. Who knows how this'll go."
Trigger shook her head, gazing at the multicolored storm blotting out the sky. She pushed her wind-blown white hair down and sighed.
Hearing that, Soldier 11 nodded silently.
She didn't notice the small black orb in her breast pocket trembling slightly.
...
"It's clearly dead—so what's with these energy spikes? That's what's got me curious..."
High above, Zane had already taken on his Ethereal form, descending rapidly across platforms of Ether crystal.
His gaze never left the crater, filled with intrigue and confusion.