Chapter 195 – The Void, the Door, and the Blackstar Trauma
The explosion of **Omega Burst: Total Release** had swallowed everything.
Really EVERYTHING.
The Primal Nexus had become a formatted memory card: not a pixel, not a brick… just a luminous void still vibrating with residual energy.
Kae floated in meditation posture, looking grave… or at least as grave as someone who had just erased an entire domain by accident.
Oris snapped his runes to break the barrier that had protected him.
— **BOOM.**
— "Oops, sorry, maybe I put a little too much power…" said Oris, dusting off Kae even though there was literally no dust in the void.
— "…Thanks, I guess," Kae sighed.
Oris grinned.
— "Well done! I think we can consider Agni… how to put it… totally, absolutely, completely vaporized."
He dismissed his Zero‑Lock Fortress, stretched like nothing had happened, then said:
— "Ahhhh that feels good. Well, the portal should close now, let's go—"
He froze, seeing Kae staring very far away, very intensely, very *'oh no it's not over.'*
— "Uh, Kae? Why are you looking at the void like it insulted you?"
Kae pointed.
There, lost in an entirely erased universe, a gigantic door stood perfectly intact.
No scratch.
Not a speck of dust displaced.
Not even ruffled by the explosion.
— "…This is a joke," murmured Oris.
Kae said:
— "Remember what Agni said: 'I won't let you destroy my master's domain.'
That means this door leads somewhere. And probably… to his master."
Oris's eyes widened.
— "So… behind that door… it's worse than Agni?"
Kae:
— "Yup. And that sucks."
Oris frowned, feeling the void around them, and growled:
— "You feel it too, right? The void is trying to dissolve us… like we're soap. Luckily my runes stop it."
*The Effects of the void:
— It erodes all forms of existence.
— It tries to 'decompose' body, energy, thoughts.
— You feel a weird pressure, like the void wants to fold you into origami.
— In short: not fun.)*
Kae, of course, had the most dangerous idea of the century:
— "Could I consider the void… as energy, and absorb it?"
Oris looked at him like a mother watching a child about to lick an electrical socket.
— "I STRONGLY advise against it. If you want to end up as an abstract concept, go ahead, but otherwise… don't touch."
Kae sighed.
— "I really wanted to test it."
Oris:
— "Yeah well, no."
They flew toward the door, Kae like a straight rocket, Oris like *'I need to be elegant or I'll die.'*
Two wing symbols appeared on his back, then two magnificent black wings opened.
Oris posed mid‑air like he was doing a photo shoot.
— "So? Classy, right?"
Kae:
— "Meh. Why don't you just fly normally?"
Oris looked shocked.
— "Since when do you know me to think I do things normally?"
Kae chuckled, but something intrigued him.
He looked at Oris's eye, the one glowing with the inverted rune.
— "By the way… why didn't you use that rune back when we were at the guild?"
Oris looked away.
— "Uh… I'd rather not talk about it."
Kae:
— "Don't tell me someone forced you to deactivate your reflection power?"
Silence.
Oris:
— "…Maybe."
Kae:
— "But HOW? No one can beat you, your power reflects everything!"
Oris exhaled deeply.
— "Exactly… he didn't beat me. He traumatized me."
Kae's jaw dropped.
— "Wait… WAIT… it's not…"
Oris:
— "Yes."
Kae:
— "It's Blackstar?"
Oris held his head.
— "OF COURSE it's him! That lunatic put us all back in our place.
All the S, S+, SS, even some SSS hunters.
That guy is a walking career reset."
Kae:
— "I remember… he taught me respect. With respect punches."
Oris shivered.
— "He taught me fear. A brand‑new, polished respect."
Kae:
— "What did he do to you exactly?"
Oris:
— "No. No no no. I refuse to talk about it.
I still get flashbacks when I see a black star."
Kae burst out laughing mid‑flight.
— "And to think you wanted to flex in front of Agni…"
Oris:
— "I WILL FLEX UNTIL MY DEATH. Blackstar didn't win on that."
They landed before the gigantic runic door.
Dozens of ancient symbols covered its surface, pulsing slowly like a sleeping heart.
— "Wow… these runes are crazy ancient," said Oris.
Kae:
— "Yeah well, decipher them, I don't get any of it."
Oris suddenly adopted the gait of an 8,000‑year‑old archmage, hand on chin, pretending to understand everything, then declared with grave tone:
— "Mhmmm… Yes… Clearly… it says… Very Ancient Thing."
Kae:
— "He will NEVER change 🤣"
Oris kept pacing in circles, hands behind his back, as if the door was taking an exam.
— "I confirm… very very ancient.
Very dangerous.
And very… 'we'll die if we touch it.'"
Kae sighed.
— "I knew you were freestyling from the start."
Oris:
— "Always."
Chapter 196 – The Door, the Expert, and the Infinite Vestibule
**Kae:**
— "Just open the door, stop acting like the expert here."
Oris placed his hand on the door with dramatic intensity worthy of an old manga master:
— "You don't understand… these are very ancient writings."
**Kae:**
— "You've been repeating that for ages. Just translate or open the door."
Oris rolled his eyes:
— "Okay, okay, stop yelling, breathe calmly. I'll show you."
He caressed the runes as if they were a museum painting.
— "Look at this calligraphy, it's syrup for the eyes…"
**Kae:**
— "But open the door. We didn't come here for you to play tour guide."
Oris ignored the remark completely and declared:
— "So… the story engraved here tells of the being who resides behind this portal.
This being existed before the First Breaths. An Architect born of Silent Nothingness.
He has no name, no stable form. They called him *The First Link*, for he created the first guardians to maintain balance between domains.
Agni was not his servant… but his fragment. A voluntary separation, an emanation of himself to stabilize the *Field of Primordial Fire*."
**Kae:**
— "Interesting."
He squinted.
— "Though all I see are illegible scribbles written by an uncontrollable child."
Oris, outraged:
— "You underestimate your big brother far too much. I retraced the entire history of Agni's master.
All of it. Even the bonus chapters."
**Kae:**
— "His story doesn't matter. Open the door."
Oris, disappointed like an otaku forced to turn off his anime:
— "You're not interested in this masterpiece? It's fascinating… such magnificent art…"
**Kae** sighed deeply:
— "Fine… okay. Continue. But quickly."
Oris, suddenly ultra‑excited:
— "Then listen to this divine tragedy."
He clapped his hands and began reading like a dramatic narrator:
— "The First Link created Agni to be his *sentinel flame*. A secondary consciousness tasked with preventing access to his domain while he slept to recover energy. But this flame… developed its own will. Loyal, yet stubborn. And it decided that anyone approaching the portal must be annihilated."
**Kae:**
— "Okay, cool, sad, whatever. Now open the door."
Oris had tears in his eyes:
— "Such a fabulous story… tragic… poetic…"
**Kae:**
— "OPEN. THE. DOOR."
Oris murmured more words in the ancient language.
**Kae:**
— "I don't know what you just said but I feel like you insulted me."
**Oris:**
— "What? Never. I'm just opening the door…"
*(in his head: of course I insulted you.)*
He continued chanting, the runes vibrated, and the gigantic door began to open.
---
**Behind it:**
Another world.
An endless world, like infinite space trapped inside a dream.
Violet and white light rippled constantly through the air.
Continents floated, chained to a luminous center.
The ground was made of a substance like liquid glass, yet solid beneath their feet.
**Name of the world:** *Aetheryon, the Infinite Vestibule.*
In the distance…
A titanic throne, so massive it made planets look like pebbles.
On this throne, a seated silhouette, eyes bandaged, astral chains around its wrists.
Agni's Master.
Around the throne…
Three colossal creatures, so huge Oris was the size of a mosquito on their ear.
Their names:
**The Primordial Eltarions.**
— Celestial lions made of light and magma, with six wings and horns shaped like constellations.
**Oris:**
— "This world is immense… it's insane, bro…"
**Kae:**
— "Don't make me say it."
**Oris:**
— "What do you suggest? They don't seem to know what happened outside."
**Kae:**
— "Yeah… let's avoid telling them we killed Agni or we'll end up roasted."
**Oris:**
— "So… peaceful discussion.
And given Agni's master's story, I don't want to add more trouble."
**Kae:**
— "Even though we LITERALLY erased his substitute son."
**Oris:**
— "Heeey… they don't know what happened in the Primal Nexus.
And you don't speak any language here.
Let the professional handle it."
Oris spread his stylish black wings and took off.
Kae followed.
An Eltarion turned its head.
Just the movement created a gigantic gust that made them tremble.
It spoke in the ancient tongue:
— "Who are you, little sparks?"
Oris replied calmly (miraculously):
— "We are only humans. We just want to understand the situation here."
The creature blinked its stellar eyes, surprised:
— "You speak our language…"
Then it lowered its head slightly.
— "What brings you before the Throne of the First Link?"
**Kae, whispering:**
— "(He understood word for word, I'm shocked.)"
**Oris:**
— "(Always underestimated.)"
Chapter 197 – Reflection, Flex and Cataclysm
Oris continued speaking with the Eltarion, focused as if his entire life depended on a single word.
He spoke in the ancient tongue, a language so old even dust would ask for a translation.
— "Reading what's inscribed on the entrance door," said Oris, touching the runes, "these ruins… even if they don't tell the full story of the First Link, I'm intrigued. Fascinated even. It's art. I love it."
The Eltarion shuddered.
— "Do I even have the right to divulge the story of the First Link to a human?"
Kae, beside him, looked at the two as if they were exchanging alien cooking recipes.
— "Oris please… I want to know his story. I *need* to know. You can't leave me in ignorance like this!" said Oris, completely invested.
Another Eltarion stepped forward, its voice rumbling like an earthquake.
— "Human… we are forbidden to speak of His Majesty to a mortal. And given the casual way you address us… I doubt you respect His Majesty."
Oris raised his hands, dramatic.
— "And what do you want me to do to convince you? If I wasn't interested in your king's story, do you really think a human like me would have stayed here without causing a scandal?"
The Eltarion frowned.
— "You are right. In fact, I'm surprised you've remained this calm. Normally, you would already have been exterminated."
He said it as if announcing the weather.
Oris exhaled.
— "So… are you going to tell the story, yes or no? Otherwise I'll go straight to the First Link and ask him myself."
The third of the Primordial Eltarions suddenly turned its head toward him.
— "Stay still. Don't you see the First Link is sealed?"
Its gaze fell on the silhouette bound to the throne, and a sad silence passed through its stellar eyes.
Oris softened for a moment.
— "You're right. Then… explain to me. Why is he like that? How long has he been sealed?"
The Eltarion sighed, heavy as a millennium.
— "He is not sealed. He is… extinguished. What you see is only a shell, devoid of life and will."
Kae blinked.
— "…What are they saying?"
No answer. Ignored like never before.
Oris's eyes widened.
— "Wait. You're telling me this is just… an empty shell? No consciousness. Nothing?"
— "Yes. Our master was gravely damaged by someone. A monster. The one called *Death.*"
The mere mention of the name made everyone tremble.
— "He was sent by Vael. To annihilate our master. Simply because Vael decided his time had come."
Oris flinched.
Kae was still lost, but he vaguely sensed the subject was heating up.
The Eltarion continued:
— "But our master had sensed this long ago. So, on Earth, he observed a young man… a human full of talent. Black hair. Nova.
He was ambitious, determined. He learned the arts of the sword very young. Even after the death of his human master at ten, he continued to train alone, again and again, until perfection."
Oris murmured:
— "I didn't know that…"
— "Our master divided himself. In two. And transmitted half of his essence to Nova, without Nova ever noticing."
The air trembled at what followed.
— "Then… Death arrived. The incarnation of the end itself. With his smile, his red eyes beneath the hood, his scythe shining like a sentence… *'Your time has come.'*"
Kae shivered without knowing why.
— "I don't like his voice even when I don't understand it."
— "Our master fought. With all his strength. But Death was not an opponent. He was a finality. Even gods cannot escape him.
Death shattered our master's true essence. The abstract. The indestructible. Even that, he split.
Then he left. Perhaps because he knew that even immortal, our master would not survive his strike. Or perhaps because Vael had ordered him to leave an intact shell, so we could contemplate our own helplessness."
A silence froze the air.
— "Our master had already transferred everything. To Nova. Before sealing himself inside his own body.
When Nova was fifteen, and mortally wounded, the white silhouette that saved him that day… the being with white hair… that was him. The remaining half."
Oris murmured, shocked:
— "And from that shell… Agni was born."
The Eltarion nodded.
— "Today, his empty body still maintains the domain. Only by the lingering echo of what he once was."
Oris remained silent for a moment.
Then:
— "I understand better… it's sad. But why did Vael do this? What's his goal?"
The Eltarion did not answer.
Even the giants seemed to ignore the question.
Oris ran a hand through his hair.
— "I knew Nova, from the Black Eclipse guild of Liora. But I never imagined he… carried an entity within him."
Kae sighed.
— "Bro… are you going to translate all this or am I staying in the dark?"
He received only murmurs in the ancient tongue in response.
Chapter 198 – The Three Eltarions and the Ether Cyclone
Oris sighed, placed his hands behind his head, and said calmly to the Eltarions:
— "At first, me and Kaé came here just to close the portal. Simple, quick, efficient.
But after everything you've told me… I don't feel like doing that anymore.
Honestly, I'm sure you're good guys. You're not going to go out and smash humans for fun, so there's no need to close the portal."
He lifted his eyes toward the gigantic silhouette of the First Link, enthroned, eyes bandaged, chained like a sacred relic.
— "Woooow…" said Oris.
"This… this is a living relic? You mean his body literally maintains this entire domain? That's giga‑level."
Kaé groaned behind him.
— "Are you seriously going to keep me in ignorance with your weird ancient languages? I don't understand a thing, I'm just stuck playing the role of the lost guy here!"
— "Wait a bit, it's almost over," said Oris, raising his hands. "I'll translate in two seconds."
Then he turned to the Eltarions.
— "Before we leave… can I have your names? And if one day you want to explore the human world, just… take a human form and it's done."
The three Eltarions looked at each other, nodded, and with a surge of aura, their titanic forms condensed, folded, folded again… until they became three perfect human silhouettes.
— "My name is Elthérian," said the first, with black hair streaked with blue highlights that rippled like electric waves.
— "I am Solmeryon," said the second, with white hair and a calm gaze like eternal snow.
— "And I am Rhazakel," said the third, with red hair like a coal ready to explode.
Oris applauded as if it were a performance.
— "Magnificent! Perfect! Don't move!"
He drew in the air, and three phones appeared by magic in a flash of light.
He handed them over:
— "Here. If you need me, call me.
But… uh… you need to know how it works, okay?"
The three Eltarions looked at the phones as if they were forbidden artifacts from primordial Nothingness.
— "How… does it activate?" asked Elthérian, tapping the screen with the force of a bulldozer.
— "Hey, easy! They're not made to survive titan fingers! Look… like this.
Swipe. Tap. Don't crush!"
He showed them how to answer, how to call, how to take a selfie (just in case), and even how to put it on silent mode.
— "Remember this: nowadays, having powers is normal.
But not knowing how to use a phone… that's weird. So practice."
They nodded as if divine knowledge had just been passed down.
Oris saluted them one last time, then flew off with his black wings. Kaé followed behind, grumbling.
— "You're still going to leave me in ignorance, Oris?"
— "Of course not 🙂↔️.
Wait… I'll explain everything."
And as they flew, he recounted bit by bit what the Eltarions had said.
Kaé, mouth wide open:
— "So all that… REALLY happened? A cosmic madness…"
— "Shhh! Keep it down! Come on, let's head back to the Northern Pantheon guild."
---
**Meanwhile… in the Ether Cyclone, S+ portal**
A vortex of blue energy roared like a raging hurricane.
In the middle, two silhouettes advanced calmly:
**Blackstar**
and
**Aeris**, a rank A hunter, discreet, timid, specialized in wind magic and aerial perception.
Blackstar walked casually, hands in his pockets, as if he were shopping.
Aeris barely dared to breathe.
A roar erupted.
Several **Storm Wardens** appeared, massive monsters made of lightning and tormented clouds.
Blackstar snapped his fingers.
An astral portal opened violently in the middle of a Warden… then closed instantly.
**CRACK.**
The monster was literally cut in two by space itself.
Blackstar raised **Vesper**, his astral cannon, and fired a burst of stellar shards that vaporized the other Wardens like steam.
— "Your turn, Aeris. Show me what you're worth."
Aeris swallowed hard, inhaled deeply.
The wind swirled around his arms, his eyes turned turquoise.
He raised his hand.
— "Aerial Sever – Typhon Sigma!"
A gigantic blade of wind formed, twisted, then expanded like a controlled typhoon before slicing a Storm Warden in two, leaving behind a gale that blew the clouds themselves away.
Blackstar nodded, a faint, almost invisible smile.
— "Not bad.
One more effort, and you'll stop trembling when I talk to you."
Aeris blushed, stammered a "Y‑yes! Master!" while Blackstar continued walking toward the heart of the cyclone, eyes fixed on something dangerous only he seemed to perceive…