Solfea entered a period of relative peace following the defeat of the Demon Prince.
For an entire month, the Solaris House devoted itself wholly to rebuilding what had been lost in the battle. Orphaned children were given new hos, shattered districts rose once more from rubble, and even the scorched lands beyond the city walls were tended to through large-scale reforestation.
With steady donations and manpower supplied by the Hyades Republic, the wounds carved by the Demon Prince slowly began to close.
Just as telling was the Demon Empire's silence.
Solfea was left untouched, its borders untested, as the demons redirected their campaigns toward the weaker, fractured cities of the Republic.
The reason was simple.
Neither the Hyades Republic nor the Demon Empire wished to provoke Amon Solaris.
He was the man who had single-handedly saved Zephys from annihilation when a teor fell from the heavens. The man who had slain the Demon Prince—an enemy no other human alive could have hoped to confront, let alone defeat.
His existence alone had beco a deterrent. And so, for the first ti since the war began, Solfea was granted sothing precious: respite.
A fragile but genuine peace.
More importantly, it granted Amon and the others the rare opportunity to train without interference… and the results were damning.
The realm trembled under violent surges of mana, spatial fissures tearing open across the already fragile dinsion. And yet, despite the scale of the disturbance, not a single inhabitant so much as flinched.
They remained calm, as though such phenona were little more than background noise to their daily lives. After all, every one of them was consud by their own path of cultivation.
The mbers of Eldorin, in particular, radiated newfound vigour.
Their bodies had undergone an unmistakable transformation.
Physical warriors such as Fenric and Venya displayed dramatic increases in strength, their muscle density refined to an almost terrifying degree. Not that they had ever been weak, but now, they stood at the very pinnacle of human physical potential. More importantly, their mana had grown serene and disciplined, flowing with a precision that matched their increasingly refined techniques.
The mages were no different. While their physical forms had strengthened, the true evolution lay within their mana. Arcane knowledge no longer felt learned; it coursed through their veins, instinctive and ever-present.
They were no longer rely wielders of power, but conduits capable of commanding its rapid growth with ease.
Even those who weren't human showed signs of progress.
Bawi, the granddaughter of the Sword Saint, and Manon, the Sky Spear, demonstrated startling improvents. Their techniques sharpened, their control deepened, and their mastery approached heights previously thought unattainable for them.
Yet among all of them, those who exhibited the most dramatic change were the Solaris Knights.
Aside from the Sword Saint himself, who had secluded himself entirely, refining his vessel in preparation for the audacious act of stealing a Titan's divinity, the greatest growth manifested within the ranks of Solaris House.
Alrock, the Solaris Lord, along with the Solaris Commanders, had followed Yue into a hidden realm so secretive that even Amon was barred from entry.
Bound to silence, they didn't breathe a word of what happened within that secret realm.
But the aftermath spoke louder than words.
Carn, Gallahad, and two other Commanders erged with their Eighth Sun fully condensed, placing them on equal footing with the Solaris Lord himself. Their bodies bore the unmistakable mark of divine solar mana—denser, purer, and far more resilient than before.
The power flowing through their veins radiated imnse pressure, hovering at the threshold of evolution toward sothing greater… only limited by the restraints of humanity.
As for the Solaris Lord himself… He hadn't attained the elusive Ninth Sun yet… but his power had balanced out, and his mana had beco far purer than any other Solaris Knight. If not for Amon, he would have a solid claim as the greatest under heaven.
Even the younger generation who tagged along into the secret realm had evolved into greater versions of themselves.
Gale, Adelia, Lydia… even Amon's sister Arya… They were now becoming a new version of a Solaris Knight. One that didn't just fight with mana… but an energy akin to divinity.
And most importantly, the helplessness that once lingered in their golden eyes was gone.
In its place stood unwavering conviction.
They had glimpsed the summit of the world once more—and this ti, they had found the resolve to pursue it relentlessly. Their minds were no longer fractured… they were ready.
As Alrock exited the secret realm for the last ti, he approached Yue, who was seated lazily on a rock while observing the entrance of Amon and Leon's training facility.
"Those two young'uns still at it?"
"Yeah," Yue yawned without caring about propriety.
Not that Alrock cared. After witnessing what Yue was capable of within the secret realm… Alrock ca to the brutal realisation… It wasn't just Amon that he couldn't defeat. This little lass right before him, who seed too frail to bend tal, was also a monster that could trash him around if she so wished.
"How long more until they're done?"
"Should be soon," Yue stretched while attempting to rub off so fatigue.
She'd barely slept this entire month, given how much training she had the Solaris Knights undergo. Not only that, she had to maintain the dinsion all this while, which expended a huge amount of her mana.
"My mana is running dry soon, and Amon probably sensed it. He should be out by the end of the hour. Tch, he'd better pamper in bed for a month straight after all my hard work!"
"Y-Yeah…"
Alrock's eyebrows twitched as he felt sorry for his precious disciple who was about to be sucked dry by the succubus before him.
And as if on cue…
BOOM!!!
A final explosion reverberated through the dinsion, its force shaking the very ground beneath Alrock and Yue's feet. The surrounding space failed to withstand the pressure, and with a deafening crack, the fabric of reality itself tore apart.
For the first ti since the training began, everyone froze.
From the Solaris Knights to the mbers of Eldorin, all activity ceased.
One by one, they gathered within the main amphitheatre, eyes fixed on the cavern where Amon and Leon had secluded themselves.
Alrock and Yue were already waiting at its entrance. They had been preparing to depart regardless, but the sudden upheaval left them montarily stunned.
Only when Yue lazily waved her hand did the tension ease. Silence fell, thick with anticipation. Minutes passed. Then, at last, two silhouettes erged from the depths of the cavern.
Yue's ruby eyes shimred as she leapt down from her perch, as she earnestly awaited the return of the one she wished to see most.
The others followed suit, their attention drawn to the first figure to step into the light.
Leon erged.
Blonde hair frad sharp blue eyes, his clothes torn and ragged from relentless training. Yet his body was nothing short of subli. muscle and sinew refined to absolute perfection, as though sculpted from living stone.
Where once there had been a hint of youthful immaturity in his fra, it had been burned away entirely. He now stood at the peak of physical refinent, the ideal embodint of a Solaris Knight.
And it wasn't rely his physique.
Leon's presence alone was overwhelming.
Having only just ascended to a more transcendent state and lacking the ti to rein it in, his aura pressed outward without restraint. Several of the weaker onlookers found their breathing falter, chests tightening under the invisible weight.
None collapsed; every individual present was an elite in their own right.
Still, the fact that even they struggled to endure his presence spoke volus of Leon's advancent.
In stark contrast, the man beside him felt… absent.
If not for his physical form standing there, no one would have noticed him.
And that was far more terrifying.
For those who stood at the edge of humanity's limits, the implications were clear.
There were only two possibilities: either the man had lost all his power… or he had transcended so completely that even they could no longer perceive him. Given that the man was Amon Solaris, the conclusion was obvious.
Amon showed no outward change in physique—he had long since reached the apex of physical growth. Yet the refinent of his mana and divinity had entered an entirely new realm.
At first glance, even Yue could not grasp just how far he had advanced.
But she knew one thing.
Her lover had grown stronger.
And that was all that mattered.
"Amon!"
"Yue…"
Amon smiled as he received Yue's firm embrace. Their month-long separation hadn't been painful for just Yue. Amon too yearned to sleep next to her, to embrace her and enjoy her fragrance.
"I see that everything has gone well?"
Amon remarked as he observed the others in the dinsion. The Eldorin mbers notwithstanding, the Solaris Knights had improved by leaps and bounds, sothing that Amon was glad to see. Yes, Eldorin was his own Order, but he wished to see his family mbers grow at a similar rate.
And when Yue asked him to entrust their training to her, he hesitated at first.
But looking at their overall advancents… it was foolish to even doubt her for a second.
"Yeah, and your side seems to have gone smoothly, too."
"Well, it was idealistic for us to think that Leon could reach eighty-one Suns within a month, but…"
Amon stared to his left, where Leon was already embracing his mother and lover. The mana within his soul was bubbling out as he found it hard to control it, so Amon and Yue could see clearly how many Suns orbited within his soul.
"Sixty-four Suns is good enough."
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