In the Void Realm, on an isolated island of legacy, a raging inferno spread across the battlefield.
"Flames shall consume, and ashes remain!"
The armored battleaxe sorcerer roared as his entire body ignited. Fire flared in his pupils, molten lava seeped from his armor's cracks, and when he exhaled, it was a fiery breath. His battleaxe, engulfed in flowing flames, transformed into a fiery weapon of devastation.
With a mighty shout, he swung his axe, forcing Sonia to retreat swiftly. In a sudden maneuver, the sorcerer rolled to his left, transforming his battleaxe into a sword mid-motion. The flaming blade lunged at Ash, who had been sneakily attacking with his Heart Sword.
Reacting quickly, Ash plunged his sword into the ground, activating two of his soulbound miracles, Ground Blade and Wind Wall, to create a fusion miracle: Swordwind Bastion.
A radiant yellow barrier formed, encapsulating Ash like an unbreakable fortress.
Clang!
The fiery blade collided with the barrier, sending a piercing shockwave through the air. But even as the blade's flames were eroded by the swirling winds of the bastion, Ash held firm. The defensive miracle, anchored by a two-wing soulbound miracle, remained unyielding—a fortress of impenetrable might in the Sea of Knowledge.
The sorcerer growled, his fiery eyes blazing hotter. He thrust his flaming blade into the bastion, releasing bursts of molten lava with every strike.
"Rage and sorrow, let them fall to dust!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each fiery impact exploded against the barrier, draining Ash's soul energy like a waterfall. The once-brilliant Swordwind Bastion dimmed, flickering as if on the verge of collapse.
"Maiden of the Sword!" Ash shouted desperately.
Sonia, ready at last, charged forward. Her wooden sword gleamed with a metallic sheen as it sliced effortlessly through the sorcerer's armor, like butter under a hot knife.
At that moment, her blade unleashed a whirlwind of razor-sharp arcs, each slicing through the air in expanding spirals. The sorcerer's body was shredded into dozens of pieces by the relentless storm of cuts.
Since obtaining her Cleaveblade soulbound miracle, Sonia had finally perfected her Riftwave Slash. The powerful combination of Wave Sword's impact and Split Sword's expanded attack radius turned her attack into a deadly mid-range miracle. Previously, the lack of cutting power had left it underwhelming. But with Cleaveblade's edge added, her miracle became devastatingly effective, perfect for a one-wing sword sorcerer.
The only downside was the time it took her to prepare. Sonia needed a few moments to assemble the components of her miracle, which was why she hadn't used it earlier—until Ash had distracted the sorcerer long enough for her to strike.
Whether or not she had deliberately let Ash take a beating for her convenience was a matter best left unspoken.
"Compassion is fleeting, and suffering abundant…"
With a final lament, the flaming sorcerer extinguished, leaving behind four soulbound miracles and a sorcerer's manual.
But neither Ash nor Sonia moved to claim the spoils just yet. Ash eyed Sonia curiously. "You've been unusually quiet tonight. Is your throat sore?"
From the moment they'd entered the Void Realm, Sonia had been uncharacteristically silent. Even after the battle, she offered no snarky remarks or strategic evaluations—a stark departure from her usual behavior.
Ash's thoughts spiraled. Normally, she would point out her contributions to the fight, critique his mistakes, and somehow leave him feeling simultaneously inadequate and indebted to her…
Wait a minute.
Was this some kind of psychological manipulation? Had the Swordmaiden been using her words to subtly suppress him, building his dependence on her all along?
Before he could delve deeper into this unsettling epiphany, Sonia shook her head in frustration, puffing her cheeks and gesturing at Ash and then at her mouth.
"Oh," Ash realized. "You're saying it's because of the Random Miracle Summoning Card? You're in the middle of the summoning ritual and can't talk?"
Sonia nodded.
"You could write it out instead. Just use the sand here to write down whatever you want to say."
Her eyes lit up with realization. Using her wooden sword, she scrawled a few words into the sand:
"Observer, I curse you, you chatterbox!"
Ash chuckled, while Sonia glared at the words in betrayal. "I guess I can't lie with my mouth—or with writing."
Through a series of irate and profanity-laden explanations, Ash pieced together the situation. Sonia's summoning ritual for the Sincerity soulbound miracle required her to be entirely truthful—no lies, no deceit.
To most people, this ritual would be trivial. But for Sonia, a social butterfly, her inability to lie was catastrophic.
"I can't believe my luck!" Sonia fumed. "The next few days will be a nightmare. I'll offend everyone at this rate!"
"Well," Ash said with a grin, "if the people you're offending are less valuable than mastering a heart-soul miracle and reaching the Silver Wing Realm, then the trade-off is obvious, isn't it?"
Sonia froze. Was she really willing to sacrifice her relationships for personal power?
Before she could dwell on this revelation, Ash continued, "And anyway, I can't stop the ritual. Once your weekly plan is set, not even I can change it."
Sonia shot him a venomous glare. "Useless! A petty weakling who only knows how to control me with sneaky tactics!"
"Correct." Ash smirked. "But remember, the one controlling you isn't me. It's Aurora, my gift from my past life."
Sonia sighed, realizing once again that Ash's control over her likely stemmed from some ancient legacy rather than his current abilities. If anything, his success depended on making her stronger—only then could her growth reflect back to him.
Still, she wasn't above using her predicament against him.
Just as Sonia began probing for more information, Ash suddenly asked, "Hey, Swordmaiden… do you hate me?"
Without hesitation, Sonia replied, "No."
She clamped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with fury.
"One more question," Ash teased, his grin widening.
"If you ask me anything personal," Sonia warned, her tone deadly, "I will hate you forever."
Ash raised his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, my bad. As an apology, you get first pick of the spoils."
But as they turned to the loot, the soulbound miracles were already swarming Ash. A particularly cheeky cat-shaped miracle nestled under his arm, rubbing against him like a needy pet.
Sonia raised an eyebrow.
"Uh… I used a Soulbound Ecstasy Potion," Ash admitted sheepishly. "It's even stronger than the one you drank earlier."
"Does it make miracles come to us?" Sonia asked.
"Not sure, but it does make them like us more, so… maybe?"
As Sonia sifted through the spoils, Ash noticed something odd in the fallen sorcerer's manual.
"Hey, Swordmaiden, take a look at this."
"If it's more weird soulbound miracles, I'm not interested," Sonia retorted. "Unlike you, I don't attract everything that moves."
Ash ignored the jab, pointing to a specific section.
"See here? It explains how to trigger vortexes."
Sonia's eyes lit up with excitement. "Wait… trigger vortexes? You're saying they're not random!?"
Ash nodded. "According to this, vortexes are a deliberate mechanism of the Void Realm."