"Hey, Albion, let me ask, what is your ability? More precisely, Divine Dividing's ability?"
[Divine Dividing has the ability to halve the power of anyone you touch every ten seconds, and you can absorb part of that power, converting it for your own use, but it cannot restore stamina, rather it only increases your power temporarily.]
Albion revealed his ability without hesitation to Azlan.
(Halving the opponent's power every ten seconds, huh... Just hearing an ability like that, I can tell how terrifying it is. But...)
Thinking that, Azlan immediately asked his doubt, his voice calm but full of calculation.
"What if my body can't handle containing the power I seize from my opponent?"
[Good question, Azlan. Due to the physical body limitations of the host, Divine Dividing cannot absorb power endlessly. If not, the body wouldn't be able to withstand it.]
[Therefore, Divine Dividing will release excess power that cannot be handled by the host through its wings, thus ultimately limiting the host's enhancement.]
"Thank you for your good explanation, Albion."
[No need to be so polite. We are partners.]
(But you're still hiding something from me. You didn't say everything about Divine Dividing.)
That last thought wasn't spoken by Azlan. This was a test. His trust wasn't given easily, especially to an entity he had just met.
As mentioned before, Azlan knew that information about Divine Dividing's abilities consisted of flight, Divide, Balance Breaker, Half Dimension, Juggernaut Drive, Reflect, and Reduce—strange knowledge that appeared instinctively when he touched the mysterious ball of light.
However, Albion only explained one of his abilities, namely Divide. Inevitably, Azlan harbored doubts about him.
(Is the reason he's keeping Divine Dividing's complete abilities secret because he feels I'm not ready, or does he deliberately not want to tell me? Only time can answer all these questions. Hopefully it's the latter...)
Not showing his mood in his expression, Azlan tested Albion further, his tone calm.
"I admit Divine Dividing is very strong, but the ten-second cooldown is too long, which makes it somewhat bland. Isn't there a way to overcome this problem? After all, for high-level fighters, a difference of even one second determines victory and defeat, let alone ten seconds."
[You don't need to worry about that, Azlan. Once you master Balance Breaker, that ten-second limitation will be lifted. In that transformation, you can divide your opponent's power every second! How about that, a broken ability, right?]
Not aware of his host's hidden motive, Albion boasted about how great he was.
Remembering that Azlan was a layman, he didn't wait for him to ask, he took the initiative to explain the definition of Balance Breaker.
[As I said before, Sacred Gears evolve and grow by absorbing the thoughts and emotions of their users, and grow stronger over time.]
[They are driven by will, and their power is determined by conviction. And when the user's desire undergoes a dramatic transformation, when their thoughts become strong enough to defy the world's current, then the Sacred Gear reaches a completely new realm.]
[This realm represents the ultimate manifestation of Sacred Gear, an unholy deviation considered too dangerous for the balance of the world. This power is triggered by the intensity of uncontrolled emotions—joy, sorrow, excitement, despair, fear—all merging together.]
[A power considered a world-destroying force, something that must be sealed. This power is known as Balance Breaker!]
"Balance Breaker..."
As soon as that word was uttered from Azlan's lips, something miraculous happened. The pure white aura that was previously calm suddenly transformed into a tremendous wave of pure energy, enveloping his entire body like a shroud. That energy pulsed with ancient dragon power.
[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker]
The wings on his back emitted a voice exactly like Albion's.
*ZING!*
An armor radiating bright white light began to form on Azlan's body. Piece by piece, the armor crawled to cover his body perfectly, forming a smooth, flawless white armor that hugged every contour of his body.
The white light wings spread magnificently, radiating a dazzling gleam, and a pure white tail like chains appeared behind the armor, swaying nimbly like a whip ready to strike.
In an instant, Azlan transformed into a smaller white dragon figure. That perfect posture, that unblemished appearance was so sacred it made people doubt their own vision.
[What?! How is this possible!]
For the first time, Albion's voice sounded extremely astonished. In the history of thousands of years since his soul was sealed into the Sacred Gear, he had had many hosts. However, this was the first time anyone had mastered Balance Breaker in less than ten minutes since awakening it.
"So this is what Balance Breaker feels like. Amazing!"
Azlan felt intoxicating euphoria envelop him inside the pure white armor that now covered his body. Every cell was filled with overflowing energy, power he had never imagined.
"The phrase 'dangerous to the balance of the world' and 'world-destroying power,' that's not just empty boasting."
Inside the armor, he immediately felt a significant increase in all his parameters—speed, strength, endurance, even the sharpness of his senses.
If using a game analogy, he who was an ordinary person might be at Level 5; however, after activating Balance Breaker, his level shot up to Level 100 in the blink of an eye!
That difference was like comparing heaven and earth, the chasm separating ordinary humans and beings that transcend the limits of law!
"I—"
Before Azlan could try his new power, a sudden feeling of weakness approached him, like a heavy blanket pulled forcibly. The power flooding his body vanished as quickly as it came, and the pure white armor enveloping him faded into particles of light, disappearing without a trace.
"Hah... Hah... Albion, what's happening to me?"
Azlan staggered, knelt, then collapsed sitting weakly on the roof, his breath panting like someone who had just run a marathon.
His entire body felt completely drained, energy exhausted to the bone marrow. He asked about the abnormality in his body, confusion and slight irritation coloring his voice.
[There's good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first, Azlan.]
Albion's voice was heard again in his mind, now with a slightly more serious tone, no longer proud as before.
"The bad news."
Ignoring Albion's playful attitude that momentarily appeared, Azlan made a decision in an instant, he prioritized bad information as more important for him to know first.
[Ten seconds. That's your current upper limit for maintaining Balance Breaker transformation. Exceeding the time duration, Balance Breaker automatically disappears, as you just experienced.]
[Initially, activating this halving ability requires time. However, once you have entered Balance Breaker, this limitation is removed. It also allows explosive power increases, while allowing flexible activation to halve abilities without the ten-second limitation as initially.]
[Of course, this comes at a price.]
[Each activation of the ability will increasingly increase the user's energy consumption. The more often it's used, the greater the impact.]
[In addition, entering Balance Breaker also causes significant energy consumption. If someone carelessly uses their ability, they will eventually faint, unable to maintain Balance Breaker status anymore.]
[Therefore, generally, if a Sacred Gear user can avoid activating Balance Breaker, they prefer not to do so.]
"I see. In essence, I'm too weak to maintain Balance Breaker."
[Yes.]
Albion's agreement didn't make Azlan upset in the slightest. He acknowledged his weakness and was determined to become stronger. This extraordinary power was a goal he had to achieve.
"Then what's the good news?"