Chapter 307: The Dissonance of Existence.

About two hours had passed since the training began in the empty room.

Iron sat on the bare wooden floorboards, legs crossed, maintaining a still meditative position. His breathing was steady, but beads of sweat were visible on his forehead.

Arsher was sitting nearby. Without directly interfering with his thoughts, he used his own magic to artificially "highlight" Iron's inner energy. Under its influence, the streams of mana flowing through the engineer's body were no longer a blurry haze. They had become clear, glowing lines.

At the same time, Arsher carefully guided Iron's consciousness, millimeter by millimeter, making him do more than simply observe the energy passively. He was teaching him to dissect its entire structure, from beginning to end. He taught him to perceive the direction of the flows, their density, temperature fluctuations, and the information they carried.

Iron's brain, faced with the need to process hundreds of parameters simultaneously at a microscopic level, was practically melting under the strain. His head was pounding, white sparks flashed before his eyes, and with every passing moment, he teetered on the brink of losing consciousness.

Arsher watched him closely, making sure Iron's mind didn't completely break down under the avalanche of new information.

His attention was being pulled in every direction. Thousands of energy flows were pulsing simultaneously, and his brain simply couldn't figure out which parameter to focus on first.

Unable to withstand the enormous mental pressure any longer, Iron let out a sharp breath, unclasped his fingers, and struggled to open his eyes.

"Ah, damn..." he rasped.

No longer able to keep himself steady, he leaned back helplessly and fell flat onto the wooden floorboards. His chest rose and fell with rapid, uneven breaths. Staring up at the empty wooden ceiling, Iron muttered in a low, weary voice:

"And here I thought I had decent control..."

Still breathing heavily, Iron finally managed to ask:

"Do I really have to develop this control?"

Without changing his position, Arsher calmly looked at Iron and answered in an even voice:

"Unfortunately for you, this control is the foundation of all stable magic. If you want to get rid of those constant headaches, mental overload, and learn to use your mana efficiently instead of just burning through your resources for nothing, you need to master this technique inside and out."

Arsher slowly lowered his gaze to the floor, going over the recent events in his mind. His thoughts returned to Iron's final battle against Arthur, when, at the most critical moment, Iron had used something completely destructive and abnormal.

"I've been wondering..." Arsher said thoughtfully, breaking the silence. "There's still something I can't quite understand. What kind of magic exactly did you use in your battle against Arthur? Right at the very end."

Iron was still lying on his back, staring up at the wooden ceiling. After a moment, he let out a heavy sigh, rubbed his tired eyes, then rolled over and pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"I don't even know how to properly explain it to you," Iron replied with a frown, trying to gather his thoughts. "...You could say it's an inverted nothing. The physical formulas are written in mirror image... And if you mean the geometric figures, they represent the multifaceted and multilayered nature of this structure. Unfortunately, according to my calculations, this ability is currently at level one, or just on the verge of reaching level two."

Arsher listened carefully without interrupting as Iron continued:

"The first time I used it... was against the golem."

"And how did you come up with creating it?" Arsher asked.

Iron shook his head.

"Well, at that moment, a thought just crossed my mind: simply hitting the golem with all my strength or trying to seal it wouldn't be enough to destroy it. I had to completely erase its very existence. And then my brain came up with the idea of turning the laws of physics inside out. That's why I named it 'Ssengnihton'."

"Ssengnihton..." Arsher quietly repeated.

Iron continued, tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose:

"Actually, this ability has a ton of potential properties and hidden branches. But right now, all I can use is 'Inverted Erasure'."

"Not just destroying an object, but erasing the very principle of its existence," Arsher interrupted immediately.

Iron raised his head and looked at Arsher.

"Yeah... but even that only works about half the time. Sometimes I fail to concentrate properly and only erase half of it. Other times, just the outer form disappears, while the core remains. The whole thing is held together by just a couple of rough formulas and figures. But I hope to develop Ssengnihton further, adding more formulas and variations."

Arsher listened very carefully, not missing a single detail. Then, after a moment of thought, he said:

"If you really manage to refine it... you'll be able to manipulate anti-existence, anti-determinacy, negation of negation, and much more."

Iron gave a crooked smile, placing his hands behind him and resting his palms against the floor.

"Yeah. But putting all of that into practice is a whole different nightmare... All this time, I don't think I've made even a single step forward."

Arsher shook his head slightly, speaking calmly:

"That's because things like that require excellent control. So come on, enough talking already."

Iron let out a heavy sigh, feeling a dull irritation building inside him, but didn't argue. Without saying a word, he returned to his original position, crossing his legs and settling into a meditative pose. Closing his eyes, he once again tried to feel out the right mana flows.

Arsher sat opposite him, carefully watching Iron's every movement, noticing how the muscles in his face tensed and how his eyelids trembled under the strain.

A barely noticeable smile briefly crossed Arsher's lips. Watching Iron, he found himself thinking:

After all, he's not limited to physics alone... I wonder if you'll be able to create dissonance...

About two hours had passed since Iron left with Arsher, and Abel had managed to complete a huge portion of the assembly on his own.

The tail section was one of the major components that still required precise work. Iron had already assembled its internal structural frame, but the protective outer plating was still incomplete. Through the open sections, the intricate network of main lines, power cables, cooling circuits, and glowing microchips could still be seen.

Abel hovered directly in front of the enormous tail. At the same time, a huge metal cone lifted off the floor — the final casing for the tail assembly.

With a couple of precise mental impulses, the massive titanium fairing smoothly aligned with the axis. It slid into the guide slots, settling into place with a deep, heavy resonance. A loud mechanical click followed as the locking mechanisms engaged, sealing the internal systems beneath a solid layer of armor.

Abel wiped the sweat from his forehead, hovered in midair, and looked over the finished tail with satisfaction.

The protective plating fit perfectly. But there was still half the neck, the massive head module, and the incredibly complex geometry of the wings left to assemble.