The previous day,
In the capital of the Moon Empire,
Within the Morningstar Clan,
"Tomorrow should be the day when that White Gate will appear somewhere within the Great Sun Empire. I must move as soon as possible," Diana thought, her gaze steady yet distant.
Her expression gradually hardened as a memory resurfaced, one that she could never forget.
It was the day when a catastrophic beast tide had erupted due to a dungeon break originating from a White Gate.
Five S-rank monsters, entities comparable to Sages themselves, had emerged from that gate, accompanied by thousands of A-rank and B-rank creatures.
However, that had only been the beginning.
Once the initial breach occurred, even the S-rank green dungeons began to collapse, triggering successive dungeon breaks. The balance of the world was shattered within days, and chaos spread like an unstoppable plague.
At that time, Diana had been only eighteen years old, yet she was already regarded as a supreme genius. She had reached the Epic rank as an assassin, standing merely one realm below the level of a Sage.
Because of her exceptional ability, she had been dispatched to participate in the suppression of the beast tide.
However, the enemy forces had been overwhelmingly powerful.
Among the twelve Sages who had stood as the pillars of humanity, six had fallen in that battle, including her grandfather.
And in the end, she herself had also perished.
Yet fate had not ended there.
She had regressed, returning to the moment when she had first awakened her abilities.
With the knowledge from her previous life, she had advanced rapidly. Within a single year, she had broken through to the Epic rank once again, though she had chosen to conceal her progress from everyone.
Over the next two years, she had devoted herself entirely to comprehension, eventually mastering the mythical-level skill that allowed her to ascend to the rank of a Sage.
Her unparalleled growth had been made possible by her unique constitution, the "Primordial Dao Body." This innate trait allowed her to synchronize with the laws and elements of the world as naturally as breathing.
Thus, at the age of eighteen, she had become a Sage, obtaining the title, "The Utimate genius of Ethereum".
Yesterday, she had departed for the Great Sun Empire.
According to the information she had gathered in her previous life, the White Gate had somehow evaded surveillance, leading to the catastrophic outcome she had witnessed in her previous life.
Determined to prevent that future, she had chosen to act alone.
She had not taken anyone with her, as she fully understood the terrifying strength of the five S-rank monsters. She refused to place others at risk.
After all, she was now the strongest Sage in existence, even though the world remained unaware of this fact.
Eventually, she had located the White Gate.
It had appeared beside an E-rank green gate, hidden within an unremarkable forest.
Without hesitation, she had entered.
Inside, she had fought a devastating battle.
Thousands of monsters had surged toward her, accompanied by the five S-rank entities.
The clash had been relentless.
She had killed them all.
However, victory had come at a tremendous cost. A deep gash had been carved across her abdomen, and she had exhausted every last fragment of her mana.
She had pushed herself beyond her limits because she remembered something the monsters had said in her previous life.
"This is only the beginning, humans. Our lord will soon be born, and we require human sacrifices. Prepare yourselves for annihilation. We are merely the vanguard."
...
At present,
The entire Blackwind City seemed to breathe with caution, as though even the air itself had become tense.
No one dared to create the slightest disturbance.
At that moment, three Sages were present within the same location, the highest authorities of humanity gathered together.
The President of the Federation, Arthur Ashborn, the ancestor of the Morningstar Clan, Elyndros Morningstar, and the youngest and most extraordinary prodigy of the world, Diana Morningstar.
"Did she tell you anything about why she came here?" Arthur asked, his tone wad measured yet serious.
"No, she did not. However, during the past few days, she appeared unusually restless," Elyndros replied, his brows furrowed with concern.
"We should channel our mana into her," Arthur suggested.
"But…" Elyndros hesitated.
"You understand that once one hundred percent of mana is depleted, potions become ineffective. She must naturally regenerate her mana before such remedies can function again, unless external mana is supplied," Arthur explained firmly.
"But our elemental affinities do not match hers. That could result in mana poisoning. We should call Lyria. Her mana element is darkness, just like Diana's," Elyndros responded.
"Very well. You remain with her," Arthur said before leaving the room.
Within Diana's body, the vast quantity of mana that Victor had transferred to her in the form of healing water had not been entirely consumed.
Victor's mana was uniquely aligned with all elements, including darkness.
Gradually, that residual energy began to circulate within her system.
As it moved, her own mana regeneration process was stimulated, accelerating beyond its natural pace.
Five minutes later,
Diana opened her eyes.
Her vision steadied as she recognized her grandfather sitting beside her.
"Diana, thank goodness. What happened to you, my dear? How did you deplete all of your mana? Please tell your grandfather. I am deeply worried," Elyndros asked urgently.
However, Diana did not respond immediately.
She was thinking.
She had been certain of her death.
Her mana had been completely exhausted, and the wound she had sustained had been fatal. There had been no possibility of survival, not even for a few minutes within that forest.
Then how had she lived?
"Grandfather, where is this place, and how did I come here?" Diana asked instead.
"This is Blackwind City. We are in a hospital. You were brought here by a young man, or so I have been told," Elyndros replied.
"Who?" Diana pressed further.
"I am sorry. I was too concerned about your condition and did not have the opportunity to identify him," Elyndros said apologetically.
"Did Lady Lyria heal me?" she continued.
"Heal you? No. There were no wounds on your body. You were only unconscious due to mana depletion," Elyndros answered, confusion evident in his voice.
"That is not possible," Diana said quietly. "Aside from Lady Lyria, whose mana is compatible with mine, no one should have been capable of saving me. And except a Sage, no one has that much mana either. And you said that a young man brought me here? I must find him."
She rose from the bed despite her weakened state.
At that moment, she noticed something unusual.
She was wearing an E-rank armor.
"Where did this armor come from?" she asked again.
"I do not know. It was already on you when you arrived. I was confused as to why you would possess such a low-rank item, but the nurse informed me that your clothes were torn, so she did not remove it. What exactly did you go through, dear?" Elyndros replied.
Diana's eyes widened.
Not only had that young man saved her life through some unknown means, but he had also protected her dignity.
"I need to find him. Call the person who saw that man," she said urgently.
She had to identify him at any cost.
...
Meanwhile, at the shop,
Rudi discovered Victor lying near the doorstep.
Victor's condition appeared extremely exhausted, as though he had pushed himself far beyond his limits.
"Victor, what happened?" Rudi asked in panic as he quickly carried him inside and placed him carefully on the bed.
After some time, Victor slowly opened his eyes.
"Brother, I saw an angel today," he said immediately, a faint grin forming on his face despite his exhaustion.