The arena was gone.
Only fragments of stone floated in a vast, dark void—massive shards suspended by glowing veins of mana and divine pressure. The entire training ground had collapsed under the strain of Yuu's last resurrection.
He stood shirtless on the highest platform, body wrapped in scars that spoke of death defied and pain embraced. Each mark was a memory—a record of survival carved into flesh.
The air wasn't air anymore. It was spiritual pressure made tangible, colliding and scraping like blades drawn across the sky. The battlefield itself trembled with tension, as if waiting for something it couldn't understand.
The Goddess appeared at the far edge of the floating field, silent and unamused. For once, there was no smile, no teasing light in her eyes.
"This isn't training anymore," she said.
Yuu flexed his fingers, feeling the weight of the moment settle deep into his chest. "Then what is it?"
Her gaze drifted upward, beyond the stars. "A creature born from the souls of broken gods. A failed experiment. The Divine Chimera."
Thunder cracked through the void. Shadows twisted, unraveling into form.
From the edge of existence, the creature rose—thirty feet tall, plated in celestial bone and veiled in writhing black flame. Three heads—lion, serpent, and dragon—each radiating a distinct divine aura that warped space around them. Its heartbeat alone shattered smaller stones, reducing them to dust.
The Goddess's voice came softer this time. "It wasn't supposed to survive the forge. But it did. And now, it waits… just like you."
Yuu's eyes hardened. "Do I have permission to kill a god?"
"No," she whispered. "It's beyond gods."
He raised his sword and smirked faintly. "Perfect."
The Chimera moved first.
One instant it stood still—then it roared, and the void itself screamed back. The lion's head opened its maw, and a divine beam tore through the air, vaporizing stone and sound alike.
Yuu vanished.
Phantom Step blurred reality, and in the blink of an eye, he was behind the monster, swinging his blade upward. Sky Sever collided with the beast's spine in a burst of force that cracked the atmosphere.
But it didn't cut.
The strike rebounded, and the echo of the impact crushed Yuu's shoulder. The beast's serpent tail lashed out, too fast to react.
He raised his arm to block.
Crack.
Bone shattered. Pain flared white-hot. Blood sprayed through the void as he fell onto a lower fragment of stone.
The dragon head inhaled deeply—then exhaled a torrent of black mist. Everything it touched dissolved into nothing.
Yuu leapt from the collapsing platform, the void detonating behind him in silence too deep for sound. His lungs burned. His heart raced. He hadn't even scratched the thing.
The Goddess's voice cut through the haze. "You're not strong enough to cut it. Not yet."
Yuu looked up, eyes sharp, teeth bloodied. "Then make me stronger."
For a moment, she didn't move. Then she raised her hand, summoning a scroll made of pure soul-light.
"Then forge your weapon—the reflection of your sin, your purpose, your will."
The scroll ignited in her hands. Light devoured him.
The battlefield vanished.
Yuu found himself standing in a world of fire and memory. Shadows of his past self surrounded him—each death, each failure, each pain that made him who he was.
The Goddess's voice echoed faintly. "Shape your weapon. Name it. Bind it to the moment you decided you would never lose again."
He walked through the flames. Faces of himself turned to watch as he stepped to the anvil, its surface glowing molten red.
He placed his hand on the searing steel and spoke with quiet certainty.
"I name it… Celestial Edge."
Light erupted.
When the world returned, he was back on the floating battlefield. His hand gripped a new blade—black and silver, singing with divine resonance. Its edge shimmered like a wound in the world itself.
The Chimera roared, shaking the heavens.
Yuu dashed forward, eyes blazing. Celestial Edge cut through the air, trailing light and death.
The lion's head lunged.
Yuu's blade sliced through its eye. A fountain of divine blood erupted, raining light across the void.
The Chimera screamed. The serpent head struck again, snapping like a whip.
Yuu ducked beneath it, stepped on the scaled snout, and propelled himself upward. The dragon head gathered annihilation magic and released it in a spiral of chaos.
He spun his sword, muttering under his breath. "Gravity Veil."
The air buckled. Sky Sever burst forth, cleaving the spell apart.
Light collided with darkness. The explosion tore the void open.
Yuu emerged through the smoke, bleeding but unbroken. The Chimera staggered, one head blinded, yet its aura didn't weaken—it smiled through the agony. It was learning.
Yuu clenched his jaw. He couldn't afford to lose momentum.
He charged again. Celestial Edge clashed with the creature's claws, sparks flooding the space like meteors.
He cut the dragon's throat—it healed. He stabbed the serpent's eye—it screamed and coiled around him. Bones cracked. Breath left his lungs. But he still swung.
The blade's glow intensified, burning from within. Every death he'd suffered poured into it. Every failure. Every resurrection.
Yuu roared, leaping over the Chimera's spine, driving Celestial Edge straight into its back. The sound was like the world ending.
All three heads turned toward him.
And then, together, they exhaled—flames, acid, lightning. A trinity of destruction converging into one inferno.
The world vanished in brilliance.
But in the center of it all, Yuu whispered, his voice steady as steel.
"Eclipse Arsenal… First Gate—Open."
Celestial Edge exploded with blinding light. Black and silver energy spiraled around him, forming a dome that bent reality itself.
The three divine breaths struck at once.
And the universe screamed.
When the light finally faded, silence fell.
The Goddess stood with her eyes closed, the brilliance reflected on her skin. When she opened them, the battlefield was gone.
The Chimera's corpse lay still, divine ichor dripping into the endless void.
And Yuu was kneeling before it—one arm shattered, his blade still embedded in the monster's heart.
The Celestial Edge slowly dissolved, turning into particles of starlight.
His mana core pulsed—no longer fractured, but reforged into something greater.
The Goddess descended beside him, her tone softer than ever. "That wasn't mortal strength."
Yuu looked up, eyes glowing faintly. "No… it was mine."
Her expression wavered for the first time. "You've surpassed what you were meant to be. You're not human anymore, Yuu."
He stood, barely, his breathing heavy but eyes unbroken. "Then I'll keep going. Because I haven't protected anyone yet."
For the first time in days, she smiled. "Then rest. You've earned it."
The void dimmed. His body finally gave in. And in that silence, for the first time since he entered the dimension, he felt peace.
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