He was once a renowned rcenary, a na whispered with both respect and caution across the realms.
For over a millennium, he had carved out a reputation, not through reckless bravado or high-stakes battles, but through careful pragmatism. While others sought glory on bloody battlefields, he thrived on safety and certainty, choosing only the contracts he knew he could complete. For hundreds of years, his philosophy kept him alive, his wealth growing, and, most importantly, his family safe. Hidden away on a secluded island, far from the dangers of his trade, five generations of his bloodline lived in peace. He had built a sanctuary for them, a place untouched by the violence of the world.
But all it took was one mistake.
One mont of miscalculation. One contract he should have refused.
The mission had seed simple—another well-paying client, another task well within his expertise.
But it had gone terribly wrong. Soone important had died.
The retaliation was swift, erupting into a brutal battle that left him grievously wounded.
Soltz barely escaped with his life, but survival ca at a terrible cost.
They hadn't killed him.
Instead, they had uncovered his secret.
By the ti he reached his hidden sanctuary, it was already too late.
His ho was in ruins. Over three hundred lives, his entire bloodline had vanished. There were no bodies, no signs of a struggle—just emptiness, as if they had never existed. It was as if the universe itself had erased them.
Soltz had lost everything.
Wounded and broken, he vanished from the world of rcenaries. He no longer cared for wealth, power, or even survival. There was nothing left to protect, nothing left to fight for. His body deteriorated, the wounds from that fateful battle never fully healing. His soul had withered alongside it. For decades, he remained in obscurity, waiting for ti to finally take him.
Then, he t Ery.
At first, Ery was nothing more than a chance at survival—a ans to nd his failing body, to recover from the wounds that refused to heal. But as he watched Ery fight, watched him struggle against impossible odds, sothing stirred within Soltz.
Perhaps, in helping Ery reunite with his daughter, so part of Soltz hoped he could find peace with his own past.
These mories surged through his mind as Ery's soul entered the elder Grand Magus' body.
The process was unlike anything Ery had ever experienced. This was no simple possession—this was Khaos itself reaching deep into Soltz's soul, unearthing his buried pain, exposing his deepest regrets. Ery felt them as if they were his own, the agony of loss, the unbearable weight of failure.
"Help save my daughter." Ery's voice echoed in the darkness.
For a ti, Soltz resisted. The pain of his past, the fear of repeating his mistakes—it held him back. Slowly, the resistance faded. The two souls aligned under a shared purpose: Shinta had to be saved.
Ha Ron and Kingrig watched in astonishnt as the frail, aging Grand Magus before them began to change. His hunched form straightened, and his withered hands clenched into powerful fists. Cosmic energy surged through his body, veins glowing with new vitality. His hair darkened, his once-clouded eyes sharpened with youthful intensity.
A deep, reverberating voice echoed in their minds.
[Integration Completed]
[Grand Magus Realm - Three Cosmos, Second Layer]
Soltz, in his pri, was a force to be reckoned with—a level 8 cosmic expert. The power that now flowed through Ery was overwhelming. His divine sense extended far beyond its previous limits, his mastery over space magic amplified by Soltz's imnse cosmic power. "Let's go save her."
Without hesitation, Ery pulled Kingrig and Ha Ron back into his spatial pocket and tested his newfound abilities. A powerful combination of high-grade earth and spatial spells surged through him. With Soltz's knowledge, he cast a spell unlike anything he had done before.
Closing his eyes, he focused on the terrain beneath him. With a flick of his hand, golden-brown energy rippled outward, rging his essence with the very sands around him.
[Earth ld],
It was an advanced spell that not only concealed his presence but allowed him to phase through the ground itself. His body dissipated into dust-like motes, carried by the whispering winds as if he had beco one with the land. The sensation was surreal—his divine sense expanded, feeling every grain of sand, every subtle shift in the desert's flow.
He moved like a specter through the dunes, slipping past heavily guarded checkpoints unnoticed. Soldiers patrolled in shifting formations, so mounted on winged beasts, others wielding detection artifacts that pulsed with energy. But Ery, guided by Soltz's battle-worn instincts, weaved through the blind spots, adjusting his movents in perfect synchronization with the desert's natural rhythm.
Hours passed, and finally, he reached the outskirts of the Fey Forest.
"She has to be here."
The ancient trees lood before him, twisted and monstrous, their presence pulsing with powerful natural energy. Just as he took his first step inside, the ground beneath him shifted.
The forest ca alive.
A low, guttural groan echoed from the depths of the trees. The soil trembled, and suddenly, thick roots burst forth, writhing like the limbs of a vengeful entity. They struck at him with terrifying speed, their tips sharpened like spears. Ery leaped back, narrowly dodging as one root slamd into the ground where he had stood, splitting the earth apart.
More vines slithered towards him, not rely attacking but seeking to ensnare. They moved with intelligence, anticipating his movents, tightening the noose around him. He reacted instinctively, channeling cosmic energy through his hands. A pulse of dark energy blasted the approaching tendrils away.
But the forest did not relent.
From the dense undergrowth, figures erged. Tall and ethereal, their bodies were adorned with ancient runes that glowed a deep erald. Their presence radiated power, the kind that resonated with nature itself.
They were fey warriors.
x x x x x x
User Comments
0 comments from readers