Chapter 180 – The Wind and the Star
The Abyss Gale portal loomed before them, a vortex of black air, streaked with invisible blades of wind that hissed like hungry beasts.
Aeris swallowed hard. The sound alone made him tremble.
Blackstar stretched as if he were about to enter a spa.
— "Alright, Aeris. Rule number one: if something tries to slice you, you dodge. If you can't dodge, you scream. And if you can't scream…"
He placed a hand on his shoulder.
— "…I'm here."
Aeris felt a reassuring breath stir in his chest.
They stepped through the portal.
---
**Inside the Dungeon – Abyss Gale**
They emerged into a completely insane landscape:
a desert suspended in midair, floating islands battered by colossal cyclones, flashes of pure wind splitting the void like transparent whips.
Aeris blinked.
— "I-it's… incredible…"
— "Welcome to your first S+," said Blackstar, resting his hands on Vesper and Orion.
— "Here, gravity only exists when it feels like it, storms obey no one… and incidentally, everything alive wants to kill you."
Aeris paled even more.
Blackstar smiled.
— "Alright. Show me your skills."
Aeris inhaled deeply, raised his hand, and a gentle breeze condensed into a precise, controlled spiral.
— "Wind control… up to a certain intensity."
He lifted his gaze to the sky. His eyes narrowed.
Aeris could see every shift of air, every fluctuation, every vortex.
— "And my aerial perception… it lets me read currents like a real-time map."
Blackstar nodded, impressed.
— "Not bad at all. And in combat?"
Aeris blushed.
— "I can… slow projectiles. Deflect light attacks. And… guide my own strikes with the wind."
— "Aha, so you're a controller-support hybrid."
Blackstar patted his shoulder.
— "You're going to work miracles. Trust me."
Aeris hesitated.
Then asked softly:
— "Do you think… someone like me could reach S rank one day?"
Blackstar stopped.
He turned to him, very serious.
— "Listen carefully. Rank isn't a wall. It's a door."
Aeris widened his eyes.
— **"There are two ways to pass that door:
1. Awaken directly above it, like Valor, Nova, Elyon, or a few monsters like me.
2. Or… hit the door so hard it decides to open."**
Aeris swallowed hard.
— "And me…"
— "You?" Kaelo smiled.
— "You're a door-opener. I can feel it."
Aeris felt his heart leap in his chest.
---
**A roar tore the sky apart.**
Aeris flinched and stepped back instinctively.
A massive current of air descended like a hammer, smashing a floating island beside them.
The island exploded into dust.
Blackstar looked up.
A colossal silhouette, made of storm incarnate, descended toward them…
Two wings of wind spinning like turbines.
A body almost ethereal.
Eyes white as thunder.
— "A Storm Warden," said Blackstar with a predatory grin.
— "S+ confirmed."
Aeris trembled.
— "I… I'm not sure I—"
Blackstar placed a hand on his head, calming him like a panicked child.
— "Aeris."
He pointed Orion at the monster.
— "Rule number two: trust the duo."
— "The duo…?"
Blackstar spun Orion and Vesper in a fluid motion.
— "You and me."
He winked.
— "And today, we're going to show this dungeon that wind and stars dance very well together."
Aeris inhaled.
He raised his hand.
The breeze around him sharpened, clearer, more confident.
The Storm Warden descended on them like a living tempest.
Blackstar murmured:
— "Come on, Aeris… show me the air you breathe."
And they launched into battle.
---
The Storm Warden dove like a living tornado, its wings of wind screaming in a cacophony that twisted the air. Aeris staggered, breath stolen.
Blackstar, meanwhile, wore the smile of a man who had just found an amusing challenge.
— "Astral Sight… on."
His eyes glowed with sidereal violet.
Suddenly, the wind flows, the air vibrations, the monster's internal structure—all became readable, like a luminous score.
Kaelo thought calmly:
*"I'll only use part of my abilities… otherwise Aeris won't learn anything."*
He raised Orion.
The pistol resonated.
— "Astral Burst."
**BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM—**
Fractured resonance projectiles fired in succession, too fast for the air to follow. Each impact compressed the atmosphere and shook the storm incarnate.
Then he whispered softly:
— "Moonseal."
A white mark appeared on the Storm Warden's shoulder, pulsing like a lunar rune carved into the flesh of wind.
Aeris widened his eyes.
— "W-What is that…?"
— "A damage amplifier," Blackstar replied.
— "In short: I opened the door. Now you enter."
The Storm Warden roared, enraged at being marked as prey.
Aeris's heart pounded.
But Blackstar gave him a small signal:
— "Show me what the breeze can do."
Aeris inhaled.
Again.
Again.
Then his gaze locked.
The wind answered his call.
— "Wind Step."
Aeris moved as if carried by a mastered gust. His silhouette blurred, agile, almost intangible.
Blackstar raised an eyebrow.
— "Oh? That's clean."
The Storm Warden gathered a concentrated tempest to strike.
Aeris lifted his hands.
— "Airbreak!"
The air fractured around him.
The blast deflected as if it had struck an invisible angled barrier.
Kaelo frowned, surprised.
— "Air-deflection technique… at your level? Interesting…"
Aeris charged, a spiral of wind around him.
An unstable blade of air formed in his hand.
He aimed at Moonseal.
— "Wind Pierce!"
The impact detonated the mark.
The Storm Warden was hurled through a floating island, which shattered under the force.
Blackstar whistled, impressed.
— "Okay. You didn't just hit. You kicked the door open."
Aeris froze.
— "I… I did it?"
The monster rose again, limping, wounded.
Blackstar placed a hand on his shoulder.
— "You earned respect from an S+. And that doesn't happen by accident."
Then he drew Vesper.
— "We finish it together."
Aeris nodded.
— "Duo, ready."
— "Duo, ready."
The Storm Warden gathered a gigantic storm.
Blackstar placed his hand on Aeris's head.
A yellow astral glow enveloped the young mage.
— "Stay close. I've shielded you: what comes next… isn't for a normal human body."
Aeris swallowed hard.
— "K-Kaelo… what are you going to do…?"
Blackstar didn't answer.
He smiled.
Astral tattoos appeared on his throat and around his mouth, like luminous fangs.
Aeris felt a cosmic shiver.
Blackstar spoke to him mentally:
— "Prepare to finish the Storm Warden.
Me, I'm going to… tear the wind from it."
Kaelo inhaled.
His aura vibrated.
The air twisted.
Then he roared:
— "ASTRAL ECHO: STARHOWL!!!"
The astral roar ripped the skies apart.
The sound was not a sound.
It was a wave of stellar echo, a vibration so powerful it threatened to disintegrate the Abyss Gale itself.
The floating islands cracked.
The storms scattered like leaves.
The Storm Warden was slammed to the ground, crushed, unable to move, its form trembling like torn wind incarnate.
Aeris, immune thanks to the yellow protection, stared wide-eyed.
Blackstar pointed Orion at the monster.
— "Aeris."
Aeris raised his wind blade.
— "Finish it."
The combo was perfect.
Chapter 181 – The Sleeper of the Abyss
Portal B — the *Dark Abyss* stretched before them, a black spiral from which icy breaths and indistinct whispers escaped.
As if the void itself were trying to speak… or devour someone.
Seline was still hurling insults at Kronn, who listened to absolutely nothing.
— "ARE YOU INSANE OR WHAT?! YOU DON'T JUMP INTO A PORTAL WHILE SLEEPWALKING!"
Kronn, eyes closed, head drooping forward:
— "…zzzz…"
He finally set her down on the ground.
Seline wanted to hit him.
But Kronn, without even opening his eyes, took one step, then another, still half asleep, still completely calm…
…straight toward the portal.
— "WAIT FOR ME! I'M NOT DYING ALONE!" Seline screamed.
She ran after him and dove into the vortex just in time.
---
**Inside the Dark Abyss**
A wave of cold struck them the instant they crossed.
Then, slowly, the scenery appeared…
A landscape entirely swallowed by darkness.
But it wasn't empty blackness: it was living black, layered, composed of shifting shadows.
Jagged cliffs floated in the void, suspended by threads of darkness that slithered like sleeping serpents.
Each cliff breathed faintly, as if the stone itself were an organism.
Cyclopean columns, collapsed or twisted, jutted from the infinite chasm beneath their feet.
They seemed built by something that had never seen light.
Specters of shadow glided silently between broken arches, their warped silhouettes stretching like inverted liquid.
And above…
A fractured sky:
cold white fissures streaked the darkness, as if the ceiling of this world was waiting to collapse.
The wind here did not blow.
It tickled the ears with a low, indistinct voice.
Seline shivered.
— "…What is this place? It's literally a nightmare in 4K."
She turned.
Kronn was still asleep.
Eyes closed.
Mouth slightly open.
Shuffling gait.
— "…zzzz… portal… dark… zzzz…"
Seline gaped.
— "Wait wait wait. YOU'RE STILL ASLEEP?!"
He stepped onto a rock…
Which began to move, revealing a massive shadow‑eye beneath.
Seline screamed:
— "KROOOOONN!!"
Kronn raised an arm, still asleep, grabbed the creature by the head…
…and spun it like a giant top before hurling it into the infinite abyss.
Still asleep.
— "…zzzz… noisy… annoying… zzzz…"
Seline froze.
Then covered her mouth.
— "Oh… my god…"
— "My partner is a sleepwalking nuclear bomb."
She took a deep breath.
— "Alright… okay Seline. You can survive. Just stick to this sleeping titan until the dungeon empties. Easy. Easy. EAS-Y."
A dark rumble echoed from the depths of the abyss.
Seline paled.
— "…I don't like this."
Kronn, still asleep, raised his fist.
— "…zzzz… second round… zzz…"
---
They walked.
They were on a platform of black stone, floating above an infinite void.
Roots of shadow descended from an invisible ceiling, like petrified tentacles.
The ground pulsed faintly, as if something beneath… was breathing.
Cyclopean columns vanished into the darkness.
Sometimes, a spectral eye opened in the distance… before closing again.
Seline shivered.
— "Charming. Truly charming. I love this kind of traumatizing atmosphere."
Beside her, Kronn… still snored standing.
Standing.
SNORING.
Standing.
— "You're unbelievable…" she muttered.
She gave him a small tap on the shoulder.
No reaction.
Seline sighed, took a deep breath.
Then she screamed:
— "KRONN!!! WAKE UP, SUNDAY GIANT!!!"
The biological titan opened one eye… slowly… like a cat disturbed.
— "Hm… where are we…?"
— "In an S+ dungeon, idiot! You dragged me here while asleep!"
Kronn yawned.
The ground shook.
Stones fell from a distant column.
— "Sorry… I was tired…"
— "YOU STILL ARE!!" Seline shouted.
Suddenly, a deep roar echoed from the abyss below.
Silhouettes emerged from the shadows: *Gouffrures*, creatures of darkness made of floating jaws and eyes.
Seline immediately took position, silver aura rising around her.
— "Alright… Kronn, listen carefully: I know you sleep all the time, you're completely out of it, but right now we've got S+ MONSTERS in front of us, so if you could avoid falling aslee—"
She stopped.
Kronn was asleep.
Already.
Standing.
Again.
— "…I'M GOING TO LOSE IT."
The Gouffrures charged.
Seline inhaled deeply, her voice turning crystalline:
— "Harmonia — Resonant Heart!"
A sonic wave burst from her throat, vibrant, perfect, shaking the entire cavern.
The creatures slowed.
Then some were hurled back by the force of the chant.
Seline continued, eyes shining:
— "Harmonia — Silence of the Abyss!"
A bubble of energy vibrated around her, nullifying incoming shadow attacks.
Massive beasts emerged — *Gorgoliths*, hulking monsters covered in living rock, their jaws steaming with corrosive black vapor.
They roared in unison, shaking the cavern.
Seline inhaled deeply.
— "…Kronn. If you don't wake up now, they'll attack us…"
Kronn didn't move.
She sighed.
Then snapped her fingers.
The vibration of her Harmonization Song resonated in the air, a clear, almost celestial sound… but the shockwave behind it was cosmically violent.
The three Gorgoliths were ripped from the ground, slammed against the walls, then pinned down as if crushed by a colossal force.
The echo of her chant faded in a gentle breath.
Kronn scratched his head in his sleep.
— "Mmnh… not now… I'm eating…"
Seline paused.
— "…Are you dreaming while talking?"
He snored again.
But the Gorgoliths rose slowly, trembling, eyes glowing with murderous light.
Seline cracked her neck.
— "Okay. No problem."
She inhaled.
Her aura suddenly spread, covering the cavern in a soft… yet crushing light.
The ground vibrated, the air thickened, the rock itself recoiled under the pressure.
— "Phase 2: Celestial Pressure Song."
A sonic impulse, finer than a needle, struck the monsters.
All three collapsed at once.
The cavern fell silent again.
Seline raised her finger.
— "AND THAT'S HOW WE— wait—"
A gigantic shadow detached from the ceiling.
A black golem, nearly thirty meters tall, crashed down toward her, a rocky arm ready to crush.
She had no time to scream.
She didn't need to.
Kronn opened one eye.
Just one.
He raised his hand without looking, grabbed the golem's arm, then…
…pushed it back with a single lazy shove.
The entire golem staggered several meters, its feet dragging trenches in the stone.
Seline froze.
Kronn kept sleeping upright.
— "…What…?"
Then the golem roared and charged again.
This time, Kronn stepped forward — still asleep — and his fist swung in a sluggish, utterly casual motion.
The strike tore through the air like an earthquake.
The golem exploded into thousands of fragments, raining down as black dust.
The titan shook his head. His aura spread like a raw biological wave, the very structure of the dungeon vibrating.
— "How long was I asleep…?"
— "…Four seconds."
Kronn lifted his gaze toward the dozens of monsters approaching.
He cracked his fingers.
The sound echoed like thunder.
— "Alright… we clean up, then I go back to sleep."
He stepped forward, each footfall shaking the entire platform.
Seline smiled faintly.
She resumed her stance, ready to harmonize with the titan's power.
— "Perfect. I'll support you. Let's go."
Kronn charged, a rampaging biological titan.
Seline followed, her voice illuminating the darkness.
Chapter 183 – The Fractured Sanctuary
Veyra and Dervan arrived before the Fractured Sanctuary.
The portal, planted in the middle of a temple split in half like a badly cut watermelon, pulsed softly with a mauve glow.
Veyra let out a long, dramatic sigh.
— "Well… let's go in, Pretty Boy," she said, giving him a pat on the back that, for a normal human, would probably have displaced three vertebrae and part of their consciousness.
Dervan tried to maintain his dignity.
— "…Do you have to call me that in front of a dimensional portal?"
— "Yes."
She followed close behind, but the moment he crossed the threshold, he vanished instantly.
— "Hey! Not without me! You think I'm going to let you play hero alone?!" she exclaimed, rushing in after him.
---
**Inside…**
The scenery shifted abruptly.
They found themselves in a vast hall… that looked like a mix between:
- an overturned ancient temple,
- a cosmic cave,
- and the bedroom of a chaos architect who doesn't know what tidying up means.
Shards of stone levitated everywhere, sometimes forming bridges… then disintegrating as if they'd changed their minds.
Luminous lines ran through cracks in the floor, drawing symbols that redrew themselves every two seconds.
A cold breath slid in loops, as if the place itself was breathing.
Veyra looked around.
— "Wow. This is… stylish. Looks like Elyon's living room after a party."
Dervan raised an eyebrow.
— "You've been in his living room?"
— "No, but I know how to recognize a place where physics has given up."
A floating rock drifted slowly above them.
Veyra followed it with her eyes, squinted, and said:
— "If that stone falls on me, I'll dismantle this sanctuary."
— "The sanctuary is alive, Veyra…"
— "I'll dismantle it anyway."
Dervan sighed.
A mission with Veyra was always a mix between a dangerous dungeon and an improvised stand‑up show.
— "Alright, Pretty Boy," Veyra said, stepping forward confidently, "let's find out who dares to make a portal vibrate like this in OUR dimension."
— "Can you stop calling me 'Pretty Boy'?"
— "No."
And she strode deeper into the sanctuary, a predatory smile on her lips.
Dervan followed, thinking that no matter what they were about to find…
The sanctuary would probably regret it.
They had barely taken a few steps when the ground vibrated beneath their feet.
**CRAK‑CRAK‑CRAK.**
Countless skeletal hands burst from the floor as if the sanctuary had decided to open a buffet "special adventurers."
Skeletons hauled themselves out of the fissures, eyes glowing with turquoise light, rusty weapons raised.
Veyra raised an eyebrow.
— "Seriously? You don't even get up to say hello?"
Without waiting, she crushed the air around her.
**BOOM.**
Gravity spiked brutally, pinning a hundred skeletons to the ground like leaves under an invisible anvil.
— "There. Down."
Dervan didn't even give the others time to react.
He grabbed one skeleton by the skull with one hand, spun it like a sack of laundry, and slammed it to the ground.
**CLONK.**
— "One," he said.
Then, without warning, he became a lightning bolt.
He tore through the group, striking each skeleton in his path with speed so great the blows were almost invisible.
Bones flew in every direction, but never touched Veyra — as if the air itself rearranged to avoid annoying her.
A skeleton tried a surprise attack from behind.
Dervan dodged without even turning, a sidestep so fluid it looked like a dance… then smashed its skull with a backhand.
**CLACK.**
— "Two."
A skeleton mage appeared, staff glowing, and launched a fireball.
Dervan sighed.
— "No."
He swept the spell away with a simple punch in the air.
The fireball dissipated like a candle blown out.
Then he leapt at the mage and tapped its head like flipping a switch.
He turned to Veyra, half‑proud, half‑teasing smile on his face.
Veyra shook her head as if watching a child break a toy.
— "It's cute when you pretend this takes effort."
She pulled a skeleton toward her with gravity, yanked it close, and crushed its skull with a flick of her wrist.
— "Hop."
Then she activated her acceleration.
A blur.
Kicks.
Bones spiraling through the air.
The skeletons didn't even have time for a dramatic scream: they were already down.
In the middle of the chaos, Dervan leapt so powerfully he created a small shockwave.
Several skeletons literally lifted off, whirling like dead leaves caught in a tornado.
He intercepted one with a kick, sending it flying into a floating column.
Then landed beside Veyra, arms crossed, as if returning from a casual stroll.
— "Are we done?" he asked.
— "We're done with them," she replied, pointing to a darker corridor, from which a deep rumble rose.
Veyra smiled.
— "Looks like the Sanctuary really wants us to feel welcome."
Dervan smiled too, a little too confident.
— "Good. I love when a dungeon tries its luck."
They advanced together…
And behind them, the skeleton bones trembled slightly.
As if something — or someone — hadn't yet said its last word.
Chapter 183 – The ether in a storm
Aeris took a deep breath.
The flow of air around him began to vibrate, swirling against his skin.
— *You could've used that technique to wake Kronn…* he muttered.
Blackstar rolled his eyes.
— *Did you see the state he left the portal in? If I made a cyclone like that at HQ, Lysandra would lock me in a punishment dimension. A week. Without light.*
Aeris swallowed hard, then readied himself again.
— *Alright… here I go. I can't fail. Blackstar is counting on me.*
Blackstar placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
— *Go on, Aeris. I know you can do it.*
Aeris closed his eyes.
The wind tightened around him, forming a sharp, compressed spiral.
Even Blackstar felt the pressure shift.
✦ **Name of the attack: "Implosive Aerial Spiral"**
**Mechanism**
Aeris violently compresses the air into a cylinder around him.
He releases it all at once: the implosive air creates a double shock, first pulling in, then exploding outward.
Perfect for breaking the defenses of the Storm Warden who manipulates chaotic winds.
Aeris unleashed the technique.
A muffled BOOM erupted.
The Storm Warden was sucked into the center, then hurled backward as if folded by a miniature tornado.
Blackstar whistled in admiration.
— *Not bad at all, Aeris.*
He ruffled Aeris's hair briefly — Aeris turned red as if he'd been sunburned.
— *Come on, let's keep going.*
They walked a few more steps.
— *Blackstar… how many abilities do you actually have?*
— *No idea. All tied to the stars and echoes. I'm still discovering them.*
Aeris looked at him with admiration.
— *I've admired you since my awakening… You know… you're super cool. Handsome. And sometimes I wonder how a human can be that strong.*
Blackstar shrugged softly.
— *You just have to believe. And work like crazy.*
— *Do you think I can make it?*
— *Yes. You've got potential. The rest depends on you.*
Aeris nodded, determined.
— *I'll do my best to reach rank S!*
— *I know you can. Don't let yourself get discouraged—*
He didn't have time to finish: several Storm Wardens appeared around them.
Blackstar smiled, raising Orion and Vesper.
Two echo portals opened: one before him, the other in the sky.
— *Rain of Star Echoes.*
Orion released projectiles of fractured resonance.
Vesper fired stellar shards.
The two streams crossed between the portals, falling like a rain of light that pierced the Storm Wardens from all sides.
Vaporized. Instantly.
Aeris stood speechless.
Blackstar sheathed Vesper and said:
— *Alright. The next one's yours, okay?*
Aeris leapt with joy and ran toward him.
---
Meanwhile…
Kronn crushed another grogolith as if he were smashing a cardboard box.
— *SONG OF HARMONIZATION! PURIFICATION!* shouted Seline.
A luminous wave swept across the area: several grogoliths disintegrated instantly.
Others were drawn toward Kronn, who reduced them to pulp in a monstrous crash.