The air trembled. The clouds cracked open like fractured glass. From the mountains to the edges of the distant forest, beasts fled in primal fear. The sky no longer looked like the sky—it was bending, folding, and descending, like the heavens themselves had been pulled down into the mortal realm.
"Why does it look like the sky is falling?" Harlez whispered, his voice barely audible over the thunderous pressure. "I... I cannot believe my eyes. Is this the fight of a Heavenly Realm expert?"
Beside him, Uncle Leon stood motionless, his eyes glowing faintly with awe.
"Harlez," Leon said, placing a steady hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Look carefully at your grandfather. Watch his stance. Feel the energy. He is gathering Heavenly Aura into his blade. He is preparing to end this fight with one strike."
Harlez's eyes widened. "One strike?"
Leon smiled. "Isn't it incredible? One slash... that might rewrite the legends. Remember this moment. You will reach this realm one day, no—you will surpass it. Your talent is far beyond even your grandfather's."
"Thanks for the compliment, Uncle Leon," Harlez replied, but his voice trembled. Not from fear, but reverence.
Nalaeom, standing not far behind, leaned forward, concern in his voice. "But Sir Leon… can Lord Yalos truly defeat a Divine Realm beast with a single slash?"
Leon did not blink. "Defeat? You'd better hope Lord Yalos doesn't destroy the entire region. That's how much power he's about to unleash."
A silence fell. Even the wind dared not move.
Harlez turned again. "Uncle Leon, what is Heavenly Aura, exactly?"
Leon's expression turned solemn, a teacher's pride in his gaze. "Listen closely, Harlez. You know the sword path is divided into 14 realms. Sword Beginner is the first. Sword God is the last."
Harlez nodded.
Leon continued. "In the beginning four realms—Sword Beginner, Sword Trainee, Sword Adept, and Sword Warrior—you can only use basic energy to coat your blade. It makes your strikes faster, sharper, but still limited. However, once you reach Sword Master, you can summon Aura—it enhances your senses, boosts your speed, increases your strike force. A proper Aura slash can cut through iron like silk."
He paused for a moment, then said, "This continues till the Sword Grandmaster stage. After that, the aura becomes denser, more alive. We call that Enhanced Aura. It's so potent, it can slice through mithril without even touching it. Just the air pressure can kill."
Harlez's jaw clenched in amazement.
Leon's voice deepened. "From Sword King to Sword Unrestrained, warriors rely on Enhanced Aura. But once you enter the Divine Realms, your body begins to generate a new energy—one that flows from the soul and beyond. This is called Divine Energy. When this fuses with aura, the result is something 10 times more powerful than anything below it."
"And then…" Leon pointed to Yalos, whose form now glowed like a sun suspended in place, "there is the Heavenly Realm. Here, warriors channel the energy of the heavens themselves. This is Heavenly Aura. It defies nature. It bends space. It doesn't just cut—it unravels."
Harlez blinked, overwhelmed.
"But…" Leon's tone shifted to a whisper, "above even that, there is a final aura. One that comes not from our world, not from our gods, but from the stars. The Cosmic Aura. Only two beings have ever wielded it—Artemis, the Dragon God, and Eleric, the God of War."
Harlez sucked in a breath. "Uncle Leon… is there a realm greater than the Celestial Realm?"
Leon paused, his eyes clouding with the weight of history.
"We don't know for sure. But some ancient records speak of a realm above all others. They call it the God Realm. For ten thousand years, not a single soul has reached it… but maybe—just maybe—you will."
Nalaeom stepped forward. "Sir Leon speaks the truth. Young Lord Harlez, your potential surpasses everyone I've seen in a lifetime. Even Lord Yalos says so."
Harlez bowed slightly, gratitude shining in his eyes. "Thank you, Lord Nalaeom. Uncle Leon."
Leon smiled. "Enough talk. The beast has started to move. Watch now… this will be something only seen once in a thousand lifetimes."
BOOM.
The Divine Beast—a nightmare draped in golden-black scales, its eyes like pits of molten gold—roared. Its breath warped the terrain, and its claws left craters with every step.
Harlez pointed. "Uncle Leon! Is Grandpa about to attack?"
Leon nodded, slowly. "Yes. He's gathering it all—every thread of Heavenly Aura—into that blade. This next move... may even tear the fabric of this world."
Suddenly, the skies darkened completely. Not like dusk. Not like night. This darkness was absolute—like the universe itself had stopped.
And in the center of it all…
Yalos moved.
He lifted his sword. Not above his head. But horizontally.
As if to cleave the world in half.
The ground cracked. Space itself rippled. The very concept of sound was lost. Everyone watching instinctively dropped to one knee—even Nalaeom, a veteran warrior of the Divine Realm, was forced down by sheer pressure.
"Above the heavens…" Leon whispered. "He's using that move."
The Divine Beast screamed, its instincts finally sensing death. It charged—claws glowing, teeth bared, the full force of a Divine Realm monstrosity unleashed.
But it was too late.
Yalos moved.
No light.
No sound.
Just a flash—like the universe blinked.
Then…
Silence.
The beast stood still.
A line appeared through its chest. Not a wound. A division.
Its massive body split into two, not with a gush of blood, but with a gentle slide—like two pieces of paper drifting apart in the wind. Its eyes, filled with rage just moments ago, now looked confused… then hollow.
A moment later, the sky stitched itself back together, as if apologizing for daring to bear witness.
The body of the Divine Beast disintegrated into golden particles—its existence erased from reality.
Harlez could no longer speak. His mind, young and gifted as it was, struggled to comprehend what he'd just witnessed.
Leon stood with reverence. "That… was the One Slash of Above Heaven."
Nalaeom was on his knees, trembling. "What kind of sword technique… can erase a Divine Beast like that?"
Leon's voice carried both pride and awe. "That wasn't just a technique. It was the will of a man who surpassed mortality, who wields heaven as a weapon."
Harlez looked up at the fading figure of his grandfather.
"Grandfather…"
And as if he had heard him, Lord Yalos turned his head, just slightly.
And smiled.
In that smile was the weight of generations.
In that smile was a message.
Your turn will come.
---