William stood in the center of the white room.
Countless luminous threads drifted around him.
Some connected.
Some separated.
Some vanished into distances beyond comprehension.
His hands moved instinctively.
A thread split.
Another was reconnected.
A third was strengthened.
Actions that had once required months of effort now felt natural.
Not easy.
Never easy.
But familiar.
The old man watched quietly from the side.
The silver-haired woman stood nearby as well.
Neither spoke.
Neither interrupted.
Eventually, Andrew broke the silence.
"William."
William looked up.
Something in the old man's tone immediately caught his attention.
It wasn't approval.
It wasn't criticism.
It was concern.
A rare thing for Andrew.
"What is it?"
The old man remained silent for several moments.
Then sighed.
A genuine sigh.
And somehow that worried William more than anything else.
"We have a problem."
William frowned.
A problem?
The old man rarely described anything as a problem.
"What happened?"
Andrew looked directly into his eyes.
"The tournament."
William immediately straightened.
"What about it?"
The answer came quickly.
"It begins in one year."
Silence.
Complete silence.
William stared at him.
Then laughed.
Surely that was a joke.
One year?
That was impossible.
The old man wasn't smiling.
The woman's expression remained calm.
William's smile slowly faded.
"...One year?"
Andrew nodded.
"One year."
The realization hit him immediately.
His mind began calculating.
Three years building the staircase.
Two years adapting to the white room.
Four years studying the threads of existence.
Nine years.
Nine entire years.
Gone.
William's eyes widened.
"NINE YEARS?!"
The old man nodded.
"Approximately."
William felt as though reality had just punched him.
"What do you mean approximately?!"
The silver-haired woman chuckled.
"Time was never your strongest subject."
William ignored her.
Nine years.
Nine years had disappeared.
Nine years of training.
Nine years of growth.
Nine years separating him from everything he once knew.
And now—
Only one year remained.
The old man stepped forward.
"Which means your final lesson begins today."
William immediately became serious.
"The final lesson?"
Andrew nodded.
"You have spent years learning yourself."
"Now it is time to learn your enemies."
The atmosphere changed.
The white room faded.
With a wave of Andrew's hand, countless lights appeared around them.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Each slowly taking human form.
William narrowed his eyes.
Projections.
Representations.
Candidates.
Future opponents.
Future monsters.
Andrew pointed toward the first figure.
A tall young man surrounded by countless streams of golden light.
The figure radiated brilliance.
Merely looking at him felt uncomfortable.
"Mark."
The image rotated slowly.
"Candidate of the Celestial Light Body."
William observed carefully.
The figure almost seemed made of light itself.
Andrew continued.
"His ability allows him to manipulate all forms of light."
"Visible light."
"Invisible light."
"Reflected light."
"Stored light."
"Even light traveling through space."
William immediately recognized the danger.
Someone like that would be terrifying in battle.
"What is his weakness?"
Andrew smiled.
"Good question."
The projection darkened.
Complete darkness filled the surrounding area.
Instantly Mark's figure became motionless.
Blind.
Deaf.
Unaware.
The old man nodded.
"If no light exists..."
"He perceives nothing."
William memorized the information.
Every detail mattered.
The next figure appeared.
And immediately William felt uncomfortable.
The figure seemed wrong.
Reality around it flickered.
Distorted.
Vanished.
Returned.
As though existence itself struggled to acknowledge its presence.
Andrew's expression became serious.
"This one is dangerous."
The figure slowly opened its eyes.
"Merito."
The room became colder.
"Candidate of the Eternal Nullified Physique."
William felt an instinctive chill.
Andrew continued.
"His ability is simple."
The old man paused.
"Too simple."
The figure raised a hand.
Everything around it disappeared.
Space vanished.
Light vanished.
Sound vanished.
Even perception seemed to disappear.
The demonstration lasted only an instant.
Then reality returned.
William's expression changed.
"What was that?"
"Cancellation."
Andrew replied.
"He can negate almost anything."
"Space."
"Time."
"Energy."
"Perception."
"Matter."
William felt his scalp tingle.
That sounded absurd.
Almost impossible.
"There must be a weakness."
"There is."
The old man nodded.
"He is slow."
The projection began moving.
William immediately noticed it.
Every motion appeared delayed.
Heavy.
As though Merito were constantly dragging an invisible mountain.
The old man continued.
"His power is overwhelming."
"But his mobility is terrible."
"If he cannot reach his target..."
"He cannot dominate the battlefield."
William nodded.
Yet inwardly he still marked Merito as one of the most dangerous opponents he had ever heard of.
One candidate followed another.
A woman capable of controlling gravity.
A warrior who manipulated probability.
A swordsman whose attacks accelerated through time.
A candidate capable of splitting his consciousness into thousands of independent minds.
Each one sounded terrifying.
Each one sounded impossible.
And each one possessed weaknesses.
Tiny weaknesses.
But weaknesses nonetheless.
William absorbed everything.
Every ability.
Every limitation.
Every detail.
Like a starving man gathering food.
Hours later, the projections vanished.
Silence returned.
Andrew looked at him.
"What did you learn?"
William answered immediately.
"No one is invincible."
The old man smiled.
"Good."
The silver-haired woman nodded approvingly.
Andrew continued.
"Power matters."
"Talent matters."
"Bodies matter."
His gaze sharpened.
"But understanding matters most."
William understood.
Because every lesson during the last decade had taught him exactly that.
Understanding.
The ocean.
The volcanoes.
The atoms.
The threads.
The white room.
Everything had been preparation.
The old man raised his hand.
Instantly the room transformed.
The projections returned.
This time they moved.
Attacked.
Reacted.
Fought.
Mark's light exploded across the room.
Merito's nullification spread through reality.
The gravity user bent space itself.
The probability manipulator distorted outcomes.
Andrew pointed toward them.
"Begin."
William frowned.
"Begin what?"
The old man smiled.
"Survive."
Before William could respond—
Mark attacked william.
And the final year of preparation began.