The night wind brushed softly across the ruined courtyard of the Sylver Hall. The torches flickered, casting long shadows over the ancient stones. Zero sat cross-legged before Master Sylver, his expression tense with curiosity.
The battle stories of Elyndra still echoed in his mind....three Masters, Demon Generals, Inner Sovereignty… it felt like his world was suddenly much larger than he ever imagined.
Zero exhaled and finally asked,
"Master… where did Inner Energy really come from?"
Sylver's white hair swayed gently as he raised his gaze toward the star-filled sky. A long silence passed before he answered.
"Zero… that question opens a history almost no one in this world knows. Even the Demon Race does not understand it. Only a handful of us do."
Zero leaned forward.
"Who?"
Sylver's voice lowered.
"Myself… Master Zeyn… and your master, Shadow Master."
The Past Reopens
Master Sylver closed his eyes.
For a moment, he looked younger, almost as though he had returned to the age he was about to speak of.
"Hundreds of years ago… we were your age. Arrogant. Talented. Untouchable."
Zero blinked.
Sylver? My age? Impossible.
Sylver chuckled as if reading his thoughts.
"Don't look so shocked. We were once geniuses too, you know."
Then his voice deepened...Becoming a narrator of his own forgotten past.
Three Young Masters of Zerath
"Back then," Sylver said, "all three of us had already reached Elemental Level 2 for every affinity we possessed."
He raised a hand, and a small flame of black fire flickered alive.
"Myself...Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning.
Master Zeyn...Water, Wind, Light, Lightning.
Shadow Master...Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Darkness."
Zero's expression hardened.
Those were the affinities of monsters.
"But even with all of that," Sylver whispered, "we still lost… to one man."
The Arrival of the Stranger
The fire in Sylver's palm extinguished. His eyes grew distant.
"One day, a young man appeared on Elydra Island. His clothing was strange. His aura unfamiliar. His speech...completely foreign. We couldn't understand him, and he couldn't understand us."
"What did you do?" Zero asked.
Sylver gave a bitter smile.
"We attacked him."
Zero froze.
"...Why?"
"Because we thought he came to steal the legacy of Zerath's predecessors. A foreigner speaking unknown words, standing on a sacred island? We assumed the worst."
His voice dropped.
"It was our biggest mistake."
Sylver clenched his fist, remembering.
"We unleashed everything.
Lava. Ice. Abyss.
The air shook. The ground split. Our elemental power reached the level of war."
"And the stranger?" Zero asked.
"He didn't move," Sylver said softly.
"Not even a step."
Zero's eyes widened.
Master Sylver lifted his hand.
"He raised an invisible barrier...pure inner energy.
Level 3.
Inner Sovereign."
Zero felt his spine stiffen.
"All our Level 2 elemental attacks… did nothing.
His shield didn't crack.
Didn't ripple.
Didn't even flicker."
Sylver chuckled breathlessly.
"We were fighting a monster from a completely different world."
"He then drew a weapon," Sylver said. "Small. Thin. Sharp. Not a sword. Like a dagger."
"What was it?"
"He call "Keris"," Sylver replied.
"Its name… was Taming Sari."
Zero muttered the name under his breath.
Taming Sari…?
An artifact from a foreign world. A weapon bound to Inner Energy.
"He didn't swing it," Sylver continued.
"He commanded it.
The Keris floated in the air and struck at us by itself, guided by his Inner Sovereign."
"You mean… telekinesis?"
"Same concept but even more powerfull. With absolute precision. And without elemental power. Only inner energy."
Sylver's voice softened.
"We were beaten so badly, we almost died."
Understanding Through Battle
"Eventually," Sylver said, "he began understanding our language… little by little. He told us the truth."
Zero leaned forward.
"What truth?"
"That he wasn't from Zerath.
That his world had no elemental power.
Only martial arts, Discipline… and Inner Energy."
Zero's heart pounded.
So Inner Energy didn't come from Zerath at all.
It came from another world.
Sylver nodded.
"We trained under him for years.
Day and night.
Meditation.
Mountain isolation.
Control of breath, mind, and spirit."
He laughed bitterly.
"Even after all that… we could only reach Inner Force (Convergence Cycle), Only Your Master reach Inner Force (Ascension Cycle).
And he told us that even Inner Soveriegn was still not the peak in his world."
Zero's eyes widened.
Even Inner Soveriegn isn't the peak? Then what kind of world does he come from?
"One day, he left," Sylver said quietly.
"Back to his world."
"Did he ever come back?" Zero asked.
Sylver shook his head.
"He only said one thing before he disappeared:
'I will return to Zerath someday.'
We don't know when.
Maybe in a hundred years.
Maybe in a thousand.
Or maybe… he already has."
Zero felt a chill.
The Demon General Comparison
"During the Great War," Sylver continued, "the Demon General was shocked when we countered his elemental attacks. They had never seen inner energy before."
"Which Demon General?" Zero asked.
Sylver narrowed his eyes.
"The old one.
Elemental Plasma (Ascension Early Stage).
Elemental Tornado (Foundation Cycle).
Elemental Lava (Convergence Cycle).
His physical endurance was monstrous."
Then he glanced at Zero.
"Very similar to someone you have already met."
Zero's heart skipped.
"…Voltraz?"
Sylver didn't answer.
But the silence was confirmation.
Zero's Revelation
Zero quietly whispered:
"At my peak… I had Four elemental powers that evolved into Level 3.
The others were still Level 2."
Sylver burst into laughter.
"Even with that, if you faced that man… you would be crushed instantly!
Absolutely, unquestionably!"
Zero's face flushed red.
Sylver looked at him strangely.
How did this boy learn Inner Energy so fast…?
We trained for years.
He trained for months.
Could he be… related to that man?
No… impossible. It's been centuries…
He shook his head.
"Forget it. The past is too far gone."
Sylver rose to his feet, his expression becoming sharp and commanding.
"Zero."
Zero stood immediately.
"Do you wish to train under me?"
Zero swallowed.
"Yes."
Sylver's aura flared gently, like a calm sun rising.
"I will teach you Inner Energy properly.
Not the crude version you've been using.
We will refine it, shape it, compress it,
until you can reach Inner Core…
if your body can endure it."
Zero clenched his fists.
"I can."
Sylver nodded.
"Good. Because a great war is coming soon.
And your strength… will decide who survives."
Sylver turned away, looking toward the distant mountains.
"When your training is complete…
I will bring you to a place ordinary people cannot step foot in."
Zero's breath halted.
"A place…?"
Sylver's lips curved slightly.
"There lies a treasure waiting.
If you are destined for it…
it will choose you."
Zero felt his heartbeat thundering inside his chest.
The path ahead was clear.
And terrifying.
And inevitable.