The moment the front door closed behind the newly arrived heroes, Tessandra folded her arms and stared at every single one of them.
An uneasy silence settled over the room.
Denma instinctively swallowed. Gene quietly looked away. Kimotsu remained expressionless. Faith smiled awkwardly.
Jess shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
Kaelen immediately sensed what was coming.
Without warning Smack!
Tessandra slapped Kaelen on the back of the head.
Before anyone could react Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Every one of them received the same treatment.
Tessandra pointed toward the entrance with narrowed eyes.
"Take off your shoes!"
The six heroes immediately hurried back to the doorway and removed their shoes before returning inside.
Only after they were seated did Tessandra finally nod in approval.
"Much better."
Alzwalt leaned comfortably against the couch before studying the six heroes one by one.
He eventually stood and walked in front of them.
"So…You are the heroes."
His golden eyes calmly swept across every face before a faint smile appeared.
"Good. In this war…you could at least put up a fight."
Several of the heroes stiffened.
Britanya immediately sighed before lightly hitting Alzwalt's shoulder.
"Stop scaring them."
Alzwalt simply shrugged.
"I was complimenting them."
Kaelen ignored the exchange and instead looked toward his master.
"Master…There's a war coming?"
Tessandra nodded.
"Yes."
Kaelen's expression became serious.
"What about humanity?"
Tessandra answered without hesitation.
"They will be fine."
Alzwalt silently observed Kaelen.
A small smile crossed his face.
"Good kid…Humanity is the first thing you think about.…The path of a Savior, huh?"
Relief appeared on Kaelen's face.
"That's good."
John, who had remained silent until now, finally stood.
"All six of you…Come outside."
He looked toward Kaelven.
"Kaelven. Come and watch."
Everyone followed him into the open courtyard.
The morning breeze drifted peacefully through the trees.
As John stepped onto the grass, darkness flowed around his body.
His familiar black suit materialized over his clothes.
A pristine white mask covered his face.
Faith's eyes widened immediately.
"The King of Karveth…John Merciless?"
John glanced toward her.
"You've heard of me? Good. I need no introduction."
He slowly opened his left eye.
"Koketsu."
The pupil narrowed into a vertical slit.
Immediately, the world around him changed.
His gaze passed over every hero.
"Kratos…"
His eyes rested on Denma.
"Morpheus…"
Gene.
"Idun…"
Faith.
"Nemesis…"
Jess.
"Futsunushi…"
Kimotsu.
Finally…His gaze settled upon Kaelen.
Within Kaelen's very existence, John clearly saw three powers perfectly merged into one.
The Heart of Alyth, The Eye of Time and A miniature Black Hole.
John nodded.
"Kaelen. Step forward."
Kaelen obeyed while everyone else quietly sat nearby.
John looked directly into his eyes.
"You are the only one who hasn't activated your true Circuit Embodiment because you don't yet know what you represent."
He slowly raised one hand. Using the Soul Circuit, he imagined gravity itself.
A sphere of distorted space appeared above his palm.
Then Time gathered beside it. The surrounding air visibly slowed as another sphere materialized.
Finally…The radiant heart of Alyth emerged.
All three powers floated separately for only a brief moment.
Then…They merged. Everyone watched in amazement as gravity, time, and the Primordial Dragon's Heart fused into a completely new existence.
John calmly explained.
"The merged Time, Gravity, and the Heart of a Primordial Dragon created something extraordinary. Instead of simply controlling three separate concepts…they fused into a single authority over space-time through draconic supremacy."
He looked at Kaelen.
"It created what's known as…The Origin Dragon."
Kaelen stared at the phenomenon.
"So…Why can't I transform into it?"
John answered calmly.
"You haven't accepted it yet."
He pointed toward the ground.
"Sit and cross your legs."
Kaelen immediately obeyed.
John nodded approvingly.
"You took longer to control this because you're walking a special path but now that you're a true Stage Seven…you're ready."
He spoke slowly.
"Take a deep breath."
Kaelen inhaled deeply.
"Now…Control your breathing."
The world gradually became quieter.
John continued.
"In order to rise…you have to detach from whatever is holding you back. The doubts, The hate, And even the love, Let it all go…Be free, Be yourself. Don't be restricted by your mind. You are in control."
Kaelen remained completely still.
John's voice echoed once more.
"Stop worrying about whether or not you can save anyone. Just be determined to do it. Be like water, You can take the shape of anything, You can take any form, You can be calm…and you can rage."
Silence followed.
Then Kaelen heard it. A single drop of water. Drip…A brilliant blue light descended from the heavens and enveloped his body.
The heroes instinctively stepped back. Kaelen slowly began rising into the air.
Light surrounded him completely. A massive white cocoon formed around his body. Minutes passed. No one spoke.
Then..Crack. The cocoon split apart.
An overwhelming draconic aura flooded the surroundings.
A colossal white dragon emerged.
Its brilliant white scales reflected the sunlight. Magnificent white wings spread across the sky. Two elegant white horns curved backward from its head.
Its blue eyes shone with ancient majesty. Everyone looked upward in stunned silence.
Kaelen's deep voice echoed across the courtyard.
"Primordial Dragon Physique."
The giant dragon dissolved into streams of white light.
Moments later Kaelen stood once more in his Dragon Bearer State.
Two white wings extended proudly from his back.
A white tail swayed gently behind him. Two white horns crowned his head.
John nodded.
"This…is your Circuit Embodiment. The Origin Dragon."
He turned away.
"Go figure out your powers and get used to them…just like the others did."
Kaelen slowly looked at his own hands.
Knowledge flooded directly into his mind.
He smiled.
"I have all kinds of abilities now…"
"Primordial Dragon Physique—Nearly indestructible body, limitless stamina, immense regeneration, and immunity to most poisons, curses, and diseases."
"Temporal Existence—You naturally exist slightly outside the normal flow of time, making aging almost impossible and making time-based attacks less effective."
"Gravity Aura—Your mere presence bends space, causing weaker enemies to kneel or collapse."
"Dragon King's Pressure—A terrifying aura that weakens the will and abilities of dragons and lesser beings."
"Chrono Gravity Crush—Increases gravity around a target while slowing their personal time. To the victim, every second feels like hours while being crushed."
"Black Hole Dragon Breath—A dragon breath attack that creates a miniature black hole. It devours matter, energy, magic, and even light."
"Temporal Singularity—Create a gravity well where time nearly stops. Enemies entering the zone become almost frozen."
"Age of Extinction—Accelerate a target's time by thousands or millions of years. Living beings wither, weapons rust, and structures collapse."
"Dragon Fang of Eternity—Form a spear or claw that ignores conventional defenses by attacking the target's position across time."
"Event Horizon Barrier—A shield of warped gravity that bends incoming attacks away."
"Time Reversal—Reverse your body to the state it was in a few seconds or minutes earlier, instantly healing wounds."
"Gravitational Distortion—Bend space so attacks never reach you."
"Warp Step—Fold space to teleport."
"Time Skip—Skip several seconds into the future."
"Dragon Flight—Fly by manipulating gravity rather than relying solely on wings."
He paused briefly before continuing as more knowledge flowed into his consciousness.
"Primordial Dragon Dominion—Inside this domain… I completely control gravity. I decide how fast or slow time moves. Space bends according to my will and my dragon aura suppresses enemy abilities. Even my attacks can become impossible to dodge because distance itself no longer matters."
"I can do things like…Genesis Collapse—Compress an entire mountain, city, or even a planet into a singularity before erasing it."
"Endless Time Prison—Trap an enemy in an infinite time loop where they relive the same moment forever while no time passes outside."
"Dragon God's Judgment—Summon a colossal phantom of the Primordial Dragon. Its roar creates gravitational waves that distort reality while freezing time around everything except me."
He slowly raised his gaze toward the endless sky.
"And finally…Eternal Singularity—Create a black hole that not only devours matter but also absorbs time, memories, mana, and even concepts tied to the target."
"My Primordial Sovereign Form—My ultimate transformation: Infinite dragon vitality. Absolute control over gravity within my perception. Near-complete mastery of time. Space bends instinctively around me. My body radiates cosmic dragon energy that can collapse stars and withstand universe-shattering attacks."