While everyone's focus shifted toward becoming stronger, the Inscriber Wing quieted down.
The vast halls that once buzzed with hundreds of rune masters working on skill scrolls now echoed with emptiness.
Most of their duties had dwindled. There was no need to inscribe skill scrolls anymore, not when warriors could etch tattoos directly onto their flesh. The work that remained was maintenance, maintaining formations, and reinforcing the structural lattices of training zones.
Some inscribers left entirely, trading their brushes for blades. They joined the warriors, seeking strength through combat rather than symbols.
Even Selena, whose curiosity once burned only for runes, now walked the path of battle. She wanted to grow her strength, to comprehend gravity beyond mere inscription.
But in the midst of this exodus, Mira Veylan thought differently.
She was merely C-rank now, still weak by galactic standards. But she was no longer a child. Back when Adrian had still been on Earth, she'd already become one of the most gifted instructors. When Adrian and Selena both left, she became the Grand Rune Master, handling all the inscribers across humanity's forces.
When even Selena decided it was time to train her combat abilities, Mira chose a different path.
She focused on her inscriptions.
Adrian never said anything. No one blocked her from pursuing what she wished. In fact, Adrian gave her a knowledge sphere containing all his rune comprehension, even the structure of the main formation above the Origin Capital.
This was something Adrian rarely gave to anyone, not because he didn't trust them, but because of the importance of that formation.
Mira digested the knowledge bit by bit.
Even when forty years had passed, when humans like Kai and others from Earth kept ascending, Mira remained locked in the Inscriber Wing, which had very few members now.
And Mira was still C-rank.
Her father visited her once during the thirty-seventh year, concerned about what she was doing.
"Mira," Dorian said gently, standing in the doorway of her workshop. "You don't have to stay here. There are natural treasures and other resources available now. You could ascend to SSS-rank if you train harder."
Mira didn't look up from the formation diagram spread across her desk.
"I know, Father."
"Then why?"
Mira finally glanced up, her golden-brown hair tied back messily, ink staining her fingers. "Kai and the others are strong. Everyone has their own path father, and this is mine."
"Adrian and Grand Master Selena created so many things, I just want to contribute to this even if it's a little."
Her father studied her for a long moment, then nodded slowly.
...
Years passed bit by bit.
Even while Mira only focused on runes, the large number of years she spent again and again on particular concepts, and also due to the knowledge sphere and mana pool, she liquefied her mana.
Due to her father's request, she used a fire natural treasure to ascend SSS-rank.
Then something happened by the forty-third year that shocked many.
Mira had been analyzing the Origin Net deeply, studying how the Concept Link functioned. She traced the resonance patterns, the way nodes communicated across vast distances, the structure that allowed instant information transfer.
And then one day, she whispered to herself in the empty workshop, "What if… we link them?"
Using the Concept Link structure from the Origin Net, she modified the rune tattoos, embedding a resonance layer within them.
Her breakthrough was simple in theory, but revolutionary in practice.
The tattoos could now connect with each other.
She built a Resonance Network, allowing warriors to share mana between themselves.
The tests started soon.
Ten Origin Warriors stood in the arena, volunteers who'd agreed to help Mira test her theory. They bore the modified tattoos Mira worked on.
One warrior, a Duskbane veteran named Torvak, raised his hand. Fire essence gathered around his palm, condensing into a sphere.
"Ready," he said.
Mira watched from the observation deck, her heart pounding. "Activate the network."
The warriors focused. Their tattoos flared simultaneously, threads of light connecting them in a web of shared power.
Torvak's spell erupted.
A Stellar-level inferno bloomed in the center of the arena, flames so intense they scorched the reinforced walls. The heat washed over the observation deck, forcing even Mira to shield her face.
But when the flames dissipated, all ten warriors still stood.
Torvak grinned, "Two percent mana used."
Another warrior laughed in disbelief. "I barely felt it."
Mira's hands trembled as she checked the readings.
A Stellar-level spell had been cast, but rather than one warrior expending their reserve, the network had distributed the cost across all ten. Each had contributed only a fraction.
Everyone stared in silence.
And soon, everyone got to know about this.
Selena arrived within the hour from training. She found Mira in the workshop, surrounded by diagrams.
Selena knew Mira had been working hard to contribute even if it was something small, and now what Mira did changed things.
"You did it," Selena said, awe coloring her voice. "You actually did it."
Mira looked up, exhaustion evident in her eyes but satisfaction in her smile. "Grand Master Selena, I just added my idea on top of your tattoos. You gave them personal power, I just… gave them collective synergy."
Selena stepped forward and pulled Mira into an embrace. "You dummy, you don't understand how big a deal this is!"
This event became a turning point for the inscribers.
Even Selena had shifted to combat training, thinking there was very less to do on inscription for now, but what Mira discovered proved that no one should underestimate the value of inscription.
This was an eye-opener for Selena herself.
Following this, many who had moved to combat training returned.
The Inscriber Wing filled again, this time with warriors who wanted to learn both paths, combat and runes.
And because of this Resonance Network, the warriors again changed their entire way of training.
Warriors began adapting to the Resonance Network, learning to coordinate not just through tactics but through shared mana flow. Squads practiced casting synchronized spells, their tattoos glowing in harmony.
The Origin Clan's power multiplied exponentially.
...
When the eighty years finally ended, the Time Field shimmered and collapsed gently.
At the end of their training time, Origin's army was unrecognizable.
The once-uncertain Origin warriors, many of them refugees who'd fled broken worlds, had become blades of divine light.
The humans from Earth had become symbols of impossible growth. Dozens of SSS-ranks with combat mastery that rivaled veterans.
The Duskbane warriors, now bound to the Origin by respect rather than contract, called Adrian's name with reverence.
Every face carried confidence.
They no longer saw Drakthor as a graveyard.
They saw it as a proving ground.
Adrian stood atop the Origin Construct, gazing at the warriors assembling below. Hundreds of thousands filled the plaza, their tattoos glowing faintly with ready power.
His clan had changed beyond recognition.
When he first began, he stood alone.
Now, an army stood behind him.
Kaelith joined him on the platform, gazing out at the endless sea of warriors below.
"I've fought in seventeen Edge sieges," she said quietly. "But I've never seen an army this strong."
Adrian didn't respond immediately. His gaze swept across the gathered forces, the Duskbane veterans interspersed among Origin squads.
"They're ready," he said finally.
The drums of deployment echoed across the Origin Capital.
Warriors raised their fists in response, a unified roar that drowned out even the drums.