Ethan strolled toward the captured bird, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

He grabbed it by the scruff of its neck—if birds had scruffs—and let his power surge through his palm, flooding into the creature like a rising tide.

The bird convulsed violently, its iridescent feathers flaring and twitching in pain.

"You mentioned Sol'Rakka earlier," Ethan said, voice calm but carrying the weight of command. "Is that a place? Or the name of a ruler?"

He tilted his head slightly.

"And where did you come from?"

The bird was trembling now, terror etched into every twitch of its tiny frame. But some truths—it simply couldn't speak.

So it froze, silent and rigid, as if bracing for a sentence it already knew was coming.

"Not talking?" Ethan's brow furrowed.

He'd expected this thing to fold quickly. Instead, it had a spine.

Fine.

Power gathered in his hand again, sharper this time—like a blade being drawn.

He was ready to end it.

Whummm!

Before he could strike, the sky above them tore open in a blaze of color.

Another five-colored bird descended from the heavens—but this one was no fledgling.

The moment its presence hit the air, the entire sky seemed to buckle under its weight.

Rrrrummmble—!

Even the faintest ripple of energy from its wings distorted the space around it, warping the air like heat off molten steel.

Its voice rang out, thunderous and absolute:

"Release my brother—

Or I'll reduce you all to ash."

The threat hung in the air like a blade.

But no one at Emerald Castle flinched.

Instead, they lit up—power flaring from every corner of the courtyard, battle-lust rising like wildfire.

Clearly, they weren't intimidated.

To them, this was just a bigger, shinier bird.

And probably enough meat for a feast.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Just as the warriors were about to charge, Ethan raised a hand, halting them.

His own energy exploded outward, coalescing above him into a massive sphere of raw power, pulsing like a second sun.

The bird in the sky shrieked, fury igniting.

Its feathers flared with blinding light—

WHUMMMM!!!

BOOOOM—!

Its body expanded in a flash, transforming into a colossal celestial beast, wings stretching wide enough to blot out the sun. Power rolled off it in waves, a storm of color and force.

"You pitiful insects…

Die."

Its strength dwarfed its brother's—by far.

Ethan's heart clenched.

Even at his current Tier, the pressure bearing down from the sky was suffocating.

Without hesitation, he hurled the energy sphere.

Two colossal forces collided midair—

BOOOOOOM!!!

The air shrieked under the strain, and the sky twisted like fabric being wrenched into a whirlpool. Space itself buckled, the pull so violent it nearly dragged Ethan into the vortex.

Thank the gods Emerald Castle had been reinforced countless times over. If not, that single clash might've torn the entire region apart.

The massive bird in the sky reeled, clearly stunned.

It hadn't expected this man—this human—to survive a direct hit.

Its eyes flicked, calculating.

Then it did something unexpected.

It turned to flee.

A streak of five-colored light arced across the sky as it tore open a dimensional rift, wings already halfway through the portal.

But—

Zzzzip!

The portal collapsed in on itself with a sharp implosion, vanishing without a trace.

A deep hum rolled across the heavens.

"You think you can run from me?"

The voice came from above, laced with divine authority.

Andona had appeared in the sky, wings fully unfurled, a waterfall of holy light cascading behind her.

In her hand, she held a radiant golden sword, its blade trailing a comet's tail of brilliance as she raised it high.

"Die."

Her angelic power surged, swallowing the sky in sacred fire.

The once-proud bird—so arrogant just moments ago—now looked utterly terrified.

"W-Wait—!"

It tried to retreat, but the heavens were already sealed in light.

Andona gave it no room to breathe.

Her sword came down like divine judgment.

The air froze as the blade fell.

BOOOOOOM—!

The world turned white.

The bird barely dodged the first few strikes, but Andona's relentless assault drove it back, her power pressing down like a mountain of flame.

It tried to gain distance, but the angel's light spread like a net, covering the sky. No matter where it flew, it was trapped.

"You're not getting out of this," Ethan said, his voice calm but edged with steel.

He rose into the air, leveling with the massive creature, his gaze sharp.

"Your brother was stubborn. Wouldn't say a word.

But if you're willing to tell me—what exactly is Sol'Rakka—maybe I'll let you live."

It was a simple offer.

But it landed like a dagger.

The bird's breath hitched. Its wings trembled.

Something had shaken it—deep.

Then, in a move no one expected—

It drew a hidden blade from beneath its feathers and, without hesitation, plunged it into its own chest.

"What?!"

Ethan's eyes went wide.

The bird's body burst into a cloud of radiant mist, feathers scattering like falling stars.

At the same time, the smaller bird on the ground let out a piercing cry. Its energy flared wildly—then collapsed inward.

Crack!

It shattered its own heart.

Two brilliant corpses fell from the sky almost in unison.

Ethan inhaled sharply.

"…They really did it. Suicide. Both of them."

And in that moment, he understood—

Sol'Rakka wasn't just some distant power.

It was something else entirely.

A force so terrifying, even its agents would rather die than speak its name.

This wasn't fear of strength.

This was fear of something sacred. Something absolute.

A god you couldn't betray.

Ethan immediately pulled up the system map, fingers flying across the glowing interface.

A vast, sand-colored region bloomed into view—Sol'Rakka.

An endless desert, known to outsiders as the Sea of Death.

No oases. No life.

Just a gaping wound in the world, waiting to swallow the souls of the foolish.

The system's data confirmed the legends:

A powerful legion had once tried to explore it.

They vanished without a sound.

No bodies. No wreckage. No trace.

...