Chapter 219: The Law of One Soul

(Place: Yuuta’s Apartment Yard)

The apartment yard had fallen completely silent.

Yuuta remained seated beneath the open sky, his legs crossed and his eyes tightly closed. His breathing had become so slow and steady that he almost looked asleep. More than an hour had passed since he entered meditation, yet he hadn’t spoken a single word.

Behind him, Isvarn sat with the patience of an ancient dragon.

One hand rested firmly against Yuuta’s back, continuously guiding his consciousness toward the Soul Realm. Throughout the entire process, Isvarn never allowed his concentration to slip. Every change within Yuuta’s body, no matter how small, was carefully observed.

Then...

Something changed.

A faint sensation suddenly traveled through Isvarn’s palm.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

It wasn’t mana.

It wasn’t ordinary aura.

It was...

Something else.

Something strangely familiar.

For a brief moment, Isvarn remained perfectly still as he carefully felt the mysterious presence flowing through Yuuta’s body.

Then the memory returned.

The same feeling.

The same unknown presence.

It was exactly what he had sensed on the day Yuuta had used that mysterious power to kill the dog.

A slow smile appeared across the old dragon’s face.

"There it is..."

He quietly murmured to himself.

"The power of a Superior Being."

Almost as though responding to his words, wisps of dark reddish aura slowly began leaking from Yuuta’s body.

The aura wasn’t violent.

It quietly drifted around him like smoke, spreading little by little into the surrounding air.

Isvarn watched without blinking.

He had seen this aura before.

It was the very same aura that had appeared when Yuuta unconsciously used Absolute Command against the dog.

He hadn’t been mistaken.

Not then.

Not now.

The more he observed Yuuta, the more convinced he became that something about the young man was fundamentally different. Even during their first meeting, when Yuuta had endured his aura far longer than any ordinary human should have, Isvarn had begun to suspect that something was hidden deep inside him.

That suspicion had only continued to grow.

Looking back now, Isvarn was genuinely glad he had swallowed his pride and chosen to give Yuuta a chance instead of dismissing him as an ordinary human.

A wider smile slowly spread across his face.

If he could guide Yuuta down the right path...

If he could help him understand and control the power sleeping inside him...

Then perhaps...

Yuuta really could change the future of the Atlantis Kingdom.

Deep within the Soul Realm, Yuuta remained kneeling before the mysterious figure.

The shadow continued extending its hand toward him without saying another word. It didn’t move closer. It didn’t force him. It simply waited, as though it already knew what Yuuta’s answer would eventually be.

Yuuta stared at the outstretched hand.

His own arm slowly rose against his will, stretching little by little toward the figure. The distance between them grew shorter with every passing second.

Yet...

The closer his hand came, the more terrified he became.

An indescribable fear wrapped itself around his heart. It wasn’t the fear of death. It wasn’t even the fear of an unknown enemy.

It was the fear of crossing a point from which there would be no return.

Yuuta’s instincts screamed at him.

Don’t touch it.

Stay away.

If you grab that hand... everything will change.

His breathing became uneven.

His entire body trembled violently as if every instinct inside him was rejecting the path before him. Deep inside, he knew that the moment their hands touched, his ordinary life would disappear forever. Whatever awaited beyond that hand... it wasn’t peace.

It was suffering.

An endless road filled with pain.

A destiny he wasn’t ready to face.

"No..."

Yuuta whispered through clenched teeth.

His fingers continued moving forward.

His body refused to obey him.

"No..."

His heartbeat grew louder.

Then...

Another feeling surfaced.

It was familiar.

Painfully familiar.

His body remembered this fear.

His soul remembered it.

It was as though he had once stood in this exact place... faced this exact choice... and experienced the same terror long before his memories had been erased.

But no matter how desperately he searched...

He couldn’t remember.

His fingertips came within inches of the mysterious figure.

Yuuta’s pupils shook.

A surge of panic burst from deep inside his chest.

"NOOOOOO!"

His scream shook the Soul Realm.

At that exact moment...

The scream escaped into reality.

Back inside the apartment yard, Yuuta’s body suddenly erupted with overwhelming force.

BOOOOM!!

A violent wave of aura burst from his body in every direction, creating a powerful shockwave that swept across the entire yard. Trees bent beneath the pressure, loose stones rolled across the ground, and dust exploded into the air until the entire garden disappeared beneath a thick cloud.

Isvarn’s eyes narrowed.

Without wasting a single second, he immediately teleported several meters backward.

Even he had no intention of standing inside that unstable eruption.

The aura leaking from Yuuta wasn’t under control.

It surged wildly like a raging storm, growing stronger with every passing moment.

Then Yuuta suddenly stood.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

His scream echoed throughout the apartment grounds.

The overwhelming pressure continued pouring from his body as though something buried deep inside him had finally broken free. His shirt could no longer endure the violent flow of aura and ripped apart into countless pieces, revealing the scars covering his upper body.

Streams of green aura wrapped around him like flowing flames.

The grass beneath his feet flattened.

The wind spiraled around his body.

Even the dust refused to settle, endlessly circling him beneath the overwhelming pressure.

Isvarn watched everything in complete silence.

His ancient eyes never left Yuuta for even a moment.

This wasn’t merely the awakening of aura.

Something far deeper was happening.

Something he had never witnessed before.

The violent eruption continued for several more seconds before the pressure slowly began weakening.

The roaring wind gradually faded.

The dust drifting through the air slowly settled back onto the ground.

Yuuta’s scream came to an end as his breathing turned heavy and uneven. His chest rose and fell rapidly while the last traces of green aura quietly flowed around his body.

Only then...

Did Isvarn finally see him clearly.

The old dragon’s smile disappeared instantly.

His violet eyes widened.

For the first time since beginning Yuuta’s training...

Isvarn looked genuinely shocked.

It wasn’t amusement.

It wasn’t satisfaction.

And it certainly wasn’t what Isvarn had expected.

It was pure shock.

Isvarn almost forgot to breathe.

Even after thousands of years...

He had never seen anything like this.

Yuuta stood before him with his upper body exposed, his newly awakened aura flowing naturally around him in gentle streams of green light. There was no doubt about it anymore. The young man had successfully awakened his own aura. Even without understanding what had happened inside the Soul Realm, he had crossed the first and greatest hurdle.

But...

That wasn’t what shocked Isvarn.

The aura before him...

Wasn’t the one he had felt only moments ago.

The overwhelming presence that had burst from Yuuta’s soul, the one that carried the pressure of a Superior Being, had vanished completely. In its place remained only an elf’s aura pure, calm, and alive.

"No..."

Isvarn whispered under his breath.

The dark crimson aura vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, replaced by gentle streams of emerald-green light.

"That’s impossible..."

Without wasting another second, he rushed toward Yuuta.

Yuuta, however, remained completely unaware of Isvarn’s thoughts.

He stared blankly at his trembling hands, his breathing rough and uneven as fragments of the Soul Realm continued flashing through his mind.

The giant tree.

The faceless elves.

The mysterious shadow.

Then...

His eyes widened.

"The shadow..."

"Where is that shadow?"

Fear instantly crawled back into his heart.

He hurriedly looked around, his eyes searching every direction as if expecting the mysterious figure to appear behind him at any moment. His heartbeat quickened, and the terrifying feeling from the Soul Realm returned so vividly that, for a brief moment, he forgot where he was.

Then...

Warm sunlight touched his face.

Yuuta instinctively looked upward.

The bright afternoon sun shone above him, its warmth pulling him back to reality.

He blinked several times before slowly looking around.

The apartment buildings.

The familiar trees.

The grass beneath his feet.

The peaceful garden.

Relief slowly spread across his face.

"...I’m back."

He never thought the ordinary apartment garden would feel so comforting.

He let out a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

For a moment, he had genuinely believed he was still trapped inside that strange world.

A cool breeze brushed against his skin.

Yuuta frowned.

"...Huh?"

He lowered his gaze toward himself.

His eyes immediately widened.

"...My shirt?"

His eyes widened.

"...WHERE’S MY SHIRT?!"

He hurriedly covered his exposed upper body with both arms.

"W-Wait..."

"I’m half naked!"

Embarrassment instantly replaced the fear lingering inside him.

As he awkwardly tried to cover himself, he suddenly paused.

Something...

Felt different.

Yuuta slowly unclenched his fists before clenching them again.

His muscles hadn’t become larger.

His body looked exactly the same.

Yet...

Something was flowing inside him.

He could feel it clearly.

A strange warmth traveled through every vein in his body, moving as naturally as blood itself. It wasn’t painful.

It wasn’t uncomfortable.

Instead...

It felt powerful.

Alive.

Yuuta slowly raised his hand before staring at his palm.

A smile naturally appeared across his face.

"So..."

"This..."

"Is aura."

His voice carried excitement.

After failing countless times...

After doubting himself over and over again...

He had finally succeeded.

Before he could enjoy the moment any longer—

A pair of hands suddenly grabbed both of his shoulders.

Yuuta was violently shaken.

"No!"

"It can’t be!"

Isvarn’s voice was filled with disbelief.

"Where is it?"

"Where did it go?"

Yuuta blinked repeatedly as his body was shaken back and forth.

"G-Grandpa..."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Wait a second!"

Isvarn completely ignored his confusion.

His violet eyes scanned Yuuta from head to toe as if searching for something hidden beneath the flowing aura.

His expression gradually became more serious.

"This..."

"This is an elf’s aura."

His brows tightened.

"It isn’t the aura I felt."

"I know what I sensed."

"There was another aura."

"A Superior Being’s aura."

"I felt it."

"I know I did."

Yuuta stared at him in complete confusion.

He couldn’t understand a single word.

"Grandpa..."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don’t understand."

Isvarn didn’t answer immediately.

His grip tightened around Yuuta’s shoulders as countless thoughts raced through his ancient mind.

According to the laws of the universe...

Aura originated from the soul.

One soul.

One aura.

That was an absolute law that had never been broken.

If Yuuta had awakened an elf’s aura...

Then the overwhelming aura Isvarn had sensed earlier should never have existed.

But...

He refused to believe his own senses had deceived him.

He had felt it.

He was absolutely certain.

Then...

little by little, his expression calmed. He released a slow breath as another possibility surfaced inside his mind. He had almost forgotten the most important fact of all.

A realization suddenly struck him.

His grip slowly loosened.

"...Of course."

He muttered quietly to himself.

"I almost forgot."

Yuuta wasn’t born like every other living being.

He...

Was created.

If there was anyone capable of breaking the laws that governed every soul in existence...

It would be the young man standing before him.

Isvarn slowly exhaled, forcing himself to calm down before looking directly into Yuuta’s eyes once again.

"I’m going to ask you something."

His voice was calm, but every word carried undeniable weight.

Yuuta instinctively straightened his posture and lowered his head.

"Yes, Master."

Isvarn looked directly into his eyes, studying every subtle change in his expression before asking the question that would decide whether his suspicion was real... or whether everything he had sensed had been nothing more than an illusion.

"What exactly happened..."

"...inside the Soul Realm?"

To be continued...