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…
Chapter 199 – Astral Vision and Pressure Play
Blackstar advanced calmly through the Ether Cyclone, his steps resonating as if the wind itself parted for him.
Aeris, just behind, was already sweating. Not from heat—just from the sheer presence of the man he was walking with.
One of Blackstar's eyes suddenly glowed.
**Blackstar:**
— "Astral Sight: Lumen Overwatch."
A second, gigantic spectral eye appeared in the sky, turning slowly, scanning the entire cyclone.
Nothing could hide. Nothing.
Even Aeris turned toward the eye like a student caught under a teacher's gaze during an exam.
**Aeris (murmuring):**
— "Uh… is it watching me too?"
**Blackstar:**
— "Yes. If you miss another step, it judges you."
Aeris panicked for no reason.
Deep within the cyclone, Blackstar detected several creatures beyond the Storm Wardens:
- **Vortexus Reavers** — ether beasts made of compact spirals, limbs of slicing winds and unstable gravitational cores.
- **Tempest Fangs** — wolf‑like beings of wind, except instead of drool they had arcs of electricity ready to erase you.
- **Aether Goliaths** — massive, heavy, condensed ether forms. Breathing near them practically required a permit.
Blackstar raised **Orion.**
— "Let's start simple, hmm?"
He opened a portal in front of him.
Another portal behind a Reaver.
Then fired an **Echo‑Wave Blast**, a vibrating shot that entered the first portal and exited the second…
…turning the creature into a puzzle in 0.3 seconds.
He teleported behind a Tempest Fang, calmly placed his hand on its skull—
— **Boom.**
The head exploded as if someone had pressed "Delete."
Aeris was speechless.
**Aeris:**
— "You… you're really… really…"
**Blackstar:**
— "Yes. I know. Stylish."
The astral eye began spinning faster.
**Blackstar:**
— "Full vision… Astral Sight: Synaptic Panorama."
(It sounds omniscient, but don't worry—it's not. Just very, very aggressive perception.)
He crossed **Vesper** and **Orion**, then—
**Blackstar:**
— "Stellar Cadence – Harmony of the Void."
The pistols fired at monstrous cadence, millions of micro‑stellar shards raining like aggressive starlight, vaporizing Tempest Fang, Reaver, and Goliath alike.
Orion vibrated like a cosmic speaker, its shots compressing monster matter until they disintegrated into molecules.
Simple. Clean. Blackstar‑approved.
Aeris was already on the verge of fainting.
**Aeris:**
— "It's… it's too much for my heart… I… I think I'm melting…"
**Blackstar:**
— "Breathe."
(He patted his head.)
— "Or don't. You'll get used to it."
Blackstar deactivated his astral vision.
— "I've cleared the entire zone.
But I sensed something… far away. Very powerful. Not clear. The kind of thing with an oversized ego."
Aeris blinked.
— "If even you say it's powerful… I… I think I'm going to die here…"
**Blackstar (smiling):**
— "Don't worry. It's powerful… but it doesn't impress me."
Aeris nearly collapsed.
Suddenly—
Several immense spheres of energy appeared above them, swirling like furious moons.
They were called: **Aetherfall Cataclysms.**
Aeris turned pale. Even his hair looked washed out.
— "W‑w‑we're doomed… doomed… doo—"
**Blackstar:**
— "Relax."
He spun **Vesper** and **Orion.**
Then—
**Blackstar:**
— "Stellar Cadence – Fortissimo."
The shots exploded toward the Cataclysms, slowing their descent.
Then he pointed **Vesper** skyward.
An immense orb of energy gathered at the cannon, concentrating raw stellar force.
**Blackstar:**
— "Stellar Ray: Nova Breaker."
A colossal beam erupted, streaking through the sky like an inverted comet, pulverizing all the spheres.
The entire cyclone vibrated.
And in the distance…
A silhouette seated on a throne appeared.
Its aura crushed the air.
Aeris choked, hand over his mouth. Even breathing had become a combat sport.
But the silhouette suddenly felt a cannon at its neck.
Blackstar was already behind it.
Holding Aeris by the waist like a poorly stored sack of rice.
His gaze was glacial, devoid of the slightest trace of humor.