Raon stood on the balcony of the Tower's upper sanctum, the city of Neo-Seoul sprawled below him like a slumbering beast. Light from broken billboards flickered in the distance, while airships patrolled the crimson-tinted skies. The wind bit at his skin, but he barely noticed. His thoughts were elsewhere.
Behind him, Kira leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her dark red coat fluttering.
"You haven't slept," she said.
"I can't afford to," Raon replied. "Not after what we saw in the Vault. Not with Kael'Rax walking free."
She didn't argue. Instead, she tossed him a data chip.
"What's this?" he asked, catching it.
"Council surveillance. One of our drones tracked Kael'Rax's energy signature north of Mount Gariwang. He's building something. We don't know what."
Raon inserted the chip into his system interface. A grainy holo-image appeared: a skeletal structure rising from the mountain's heart. It pulsed with corrupted mana, black and violet veins spreading through the forest like a disease.
[Threat Classification: Unknown]
[Suggested Action: Suppression Squad Deployment – Level 30+ Only]
"He's making a Crucible," Raon muttered. "A field generator that warps evolution itself."
"That's not the worst of it," Kira added. "I pulled some system records from the Archives. Kael'Rax used to be a Guardian—one of the first humans chosen to wield the Evolution System. Until he betrayed the Towers during the Azure War."
Raon's hands clenched. "He's planning to overwrite the system with his own version. One where he decides who evolves… and who burns."
"And if he finishes the Crucible," Kira said, "he'll be able to forcibly awaken anyone—regardless of their compatibility or humanity."
Raon stared at the image again. He saw the outlines of containment pods, dozens of them, filled with human bodies. Many were still alive. Some were children.
"Get Yuna, Han Ji-Woo, and the other awakened. We're ending this before it starts."
The air around Mount Gariwang reeked of rot and ozone. The once-pristine mountain was now corrupted by unnatural energy—birds no longer sang, and the trees wept sap that glowed like molten amber.
Raon's team stood at the edge of a crater, their forms blurred by active stealth fields. Yuna scanned the area while Han Ji-Woo assembled a collapsible rail-cannon.
"Perimeter guards: ten mutated Disciples, two winged aberrants. Crucible core is still under construction—estimated 74% complete," Yuna reported.
"Time window?" Raon asked.
"Twenty-two minutes before completion. After that, full activation."
Raon activated his Dragonbone Armor, the silver-blue glow intensifying across his limbs. His aura pulsed like a heartbeat—stronger now, fiercer. Level 14, but fighting like a mid-20s Hunter.
"Then we strike now."
They moved like shadows—no sound, no hesitation.
Raon reached the first Disciples and unleashed a blast of azure fire, incinerating two instantly.
[Killed: Aberrant Disciple – EP Gained: +120]
[Killed: Aberrant Disciple – EP Gained: +130]
Kira followed behind, cutting down mutated guardians with fluid grace. Her dual blades shimmered with system energy.
Han Ji-Woo's cannon roared, sending shockwaves through the Crucible's scaffolding. Support beams collapsed. Machinery sparked.
"Core destabilizing!" Yuna shouted. "But Kael'Rax is here—I just pinged his signature!"
Then the sky darkened.
From the heart of the Crucible, Kael'Rax emerged—his cloak burning with ghostly flame, the dragon mask fused into his flesh now. His presence alone disrupted Raon's interface. Notifications glitched. Systems flickered.
"You came too early, Heir," Kael'Rax hissed, voice echoing in strange harmonics. "The world isn't ready to be saved."
Raon stepped forward, fire wreathing his body. "You're not saving anyone. You're twisting everything."
Kael'Rax raised a hand, summoning a circle of corrupted mana. From it, a colossal creature emerged—ten meters tall, with obsidian scales and a mouth filled with spiraling teeth. A Voidspawn.
Yuna paled. "That's not from this world."
"No," Raon said grimly. "It's from beyond the System."
The beast lunged.
Raon met it head-on, striking its chest with a dragon-forged punch. The impact shook the entire mountain, but the creature barely flinched. Its tendrils wrapped around him, draining his energy.
[Warning: Energy Drain – 5% per second]
Raon gritted his teeth and activated his new skill.
[Skill Activation: Azure Nova]
A massive shockwave of blue flame erupted from him, severing the tendrils and launching the Voidspawn backward.
Kira joined the fray, slicing through the beast's legs. "Weak points on the knees and underbelly!"
Han Ji-Woo provided covering fire, sniping corrupted nodes on its back. Yuna cast a system shield over the team, redirecting mana flow into Raon's core.
"Boosting output—NOW!" she cried.
Raon surged forward, every strike heavier than the last. Every kill brought him closer to something deeper.
[Level Up: 14 → 15]
[EP: 11,400]
[System Shop Update Unlocked: Tier 2]
He heard the ping but ignored it.
He wasn't done yet.
With a final burst of fire, he tore through the Voidspawn's core, splitting its chest with an upward strike.
The monster fell, dissolving into black mist.
Kael'Rax watched with amusement. "Impressive. You're adapting faster than expected."
"I'll kill you next," Raon growled, stepping toward him.
But Kael'Rax raised a device from his arm—a beacon glowing with unstable light.
"You win this round," he said. "But the Crucible is only a prototype."
With that, he vanished in a pulse of voidlight, leaving behind only scorched ground and echoes.
Raon stood there, breathing heavily, staring at where his enemy had stood.
Later, back in the Tower, the team debriefed. Yuna uploaded data scans. Kira sharpened her blades. Han Ji-Woo cleaned her rifle in silence.
Raon opened his system menu.
[EP: 11,400]
[Level: 15]
[System Shop – Tier 2 Unlocked]
Available Items:
Azure Wings (Active): Grants limited flight and high-speed dashes – 9000 EP
Bluefire Catalyst (Passive): Enhances all fire-based attacks by 30% – 7500 EP
Serpent's Instinct (Passive): Boosts evasion and perception – 6700 EP
Raon considered for a moment, then selected Azure Wings.
[Purchase Confirmed – 9000 EP Deducted]
[Skill Acquired: Azure Wings]
Two glowing spectral wings erupted from his back, flickering with dragon sigils.
He felt the power surge. The wind itself bent around him now.
Still, his heart was heavy.
Kael'Rax was planning more.
And worse—Min Seo's synchronization had paused again. The corruption was adapting.
Raon stood by her bedside again that night.
"Whatever's coming," he whispered, "I won't let them take you."
Behind him, Kira approached quietly. "We'll need allies."
Raon nodded. "Then we start building a faction. One that doesn't kneel to the Council. One that doesn't follow the dragons. We carve our own path."
Kira smiled faintly. "Rebels with a cause."
Raon looked out over Neo-Seoul, his wings spreading behind him.
"No," he said. "We're the evolution they never wanted."