Volume 1, Chapter 5 — "Lessons in Power, Shadows in the Wind"
[Opening Scene]
The Cosmic Organization HQ — Training Grounds.
> Narrator (Mahad):
"In a world beyond the understanding of even the greatest minds, two boys are beginning to grasp the gravity of the cosmos they've stepped into. But knowledge… comes at a cost."
The training yard buzzes with a strange intensity today. After recovering from their near-death experience at the cosmic black hole, Jiwoo and Kayden are now under direct mentorship of a figure known only by his title—Shogun.
---
[Scene 1: Shogun's Lesson Begins]
Shogun steps in, his sword shimmering faintly with a silver-blue light—pure life force. His presence is calm, but commanding. Jiwoo stands with wide eyes. Kayden, arms crossed, smirks with confidence but listens.
> Shogun:
"You two have power—but not knowledge. That makes you dangerous… mostly to yourselves."
He draws his blade slowly, and in a flicker, it transforms—armor begins to ripple over his body, then disintegrates, then reforms into a giant spectral phoenix—all made from life force.
> Shogun:
"Life Force. Everyone has it. It's the universal energy that defines will, instinct, emotion. You can turn it into a weapon… armor… teleport with it, fly, shape it into beasts, barriers, whatever your soul allows."
He looks directly at Jiwoo.
> Shogun:
"Your flame—it's not just fire. It's you. Your soul burns like it. Same for Kayden. Your gravity and antimatter force isn't a power—it's your very being."
> Jiwoo (confused):
"So… wait. It's like everyone has their own style of superpower based on their personality?"
> Shogun (nodding):
"Exactly. That's life force. But Element Forces? That's a whole different tier. That's a source. You don't use them. You become them."
He forms a tiny orb—then it explodes into a miniature realm of rotating light and darkness, expanding infinitely before being snapped back into nothingness.
> Shogun:
"Only a few in all of reality can control Element Forces. The seven elements… they are natural supreme forces. If life force is the sea, then Element Forces are the universe's ocean floor. You don't run out of it. It's infinite."
---
[Scene 2: Cosmic Alarm Rings]
Suddenly, the training session is cut short. Sirens blare. An ancient cosmic alarm—only ever triggered in the event of a Pillar-level threat.
> HQ Officer (screaming):
"Something just ripped through our outer multiversal defenses—IT'S COMING THROUGH!"
Across the sky, a shadow descends—massive, tall, and unreal in its presence. The sun disappears. Stars vanish.
Jiwoo freezes. Kayden instinctively reaches for his eyes—still sealed.
> Mahad (narrating):
"Something… no, someone… has arrived. Something that shouldn't exist. A mistake of creation."
Out of the shadows, a dark, impossibly tall figure appears, walking silently through the army base. It moves like a phantom—but every step shreds reality. Buildings twist. Time fractures.
> Soldier 1 (terrified):
"That's… that's the Third Pillar."
> Officer:
"Deploy all forces! We can't let it reach Hasira!"
They charge at him—hundreds of soldiers, cosmic beasts, elite captains. Not one survives a second.
With a wave of his hand, all of them disintegrate into shadows—and their screams echo across dimensions.
> Narrator (Mahad):
"But they were wrong. It wasn't the Third Pillar himself… just a shadow clone. And even that… was too much."
---
[Scene 3: Hasira Stands Alone]
The clone walks straight through the destroyed base. Standing at the top of the headquarters tower, Hasira, the Element of Matter and Molecules, stares down.
> Hasira (calmly):
"You've walked far enough, shadow."
The clone stops. Time around it freezes—but it speaks without moving its lips.
> 3rd Pillar Clone:
"You are in my way."
> Hasira (summoning a glowing core):
"Then move me."
Darkness begins to swirl. Molecules in the air start collapsing. A god-level battle is about to erupt.
---
[Ending Scene: Jiwoo, Kayden, and Shogun watching from afar]
> Kayden (weakened, leaning on a wall):
"Who the hell is that…?"
> Shogun (whispers):
"One of the Four Pillars… the Third. Or something like him."
> Jiwoo (fearfully):
"Then why does he feel like the end of everything?"
[CUT TO BLACK]
> "To be continued…"