The Boy Who Walks Beyond The End-Chapter 66: Demi-Human: Final Ascension

PART IV: "Demi-Human: Final Ascension"

Trial Beyond Light – Final Phase

Location: The Fractured Core – Deep within the Ruined Sanctum

___ ___

A low rumble echoed across the vast crystalline chamber, pulsing with violet energy. The fractured heart of the dungeon loomed at the far end—an ancient gate sealed by writhing chains of flame and shadow. Around it, the air shimmered unnaturally, distorting with heat, pressure... and something deeper.

The three remaining teams stood before the gate. Zen's team. Arisella's. Fiora's.

And silence.

Fiora stepped forward, her blade resting against her shoulder. "This place... It's heavier than it should be."

Arisella nodded, her gaze calm but sharp. "This is no longer a test. This... this is a sealed battlefield."

From behind Zen, Lyra tilted her head. "So... any plan, mysterious prince?" she teased, nudging Zen's arm.

Zen didn't answer right away. His red eyes watched the gate. He could feel it—something ancient, something not of this world. Then:

[ SYSTEM ]: "Hehehe~ Boss Detected! Warning: This one's a spicy nightmare, buddy. Estimated difficulty: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—oh wait, you're serious? Then I'm scared too."

Zen narrowed his eyes. "Can you analyze it?"

[ SYSTEM ]: "Sure, if you're into horror shows. Analyzing Dungeon Boss...

Designation: Magmablood Sovereign

Race: Unknown (Hybrid Infernal-Class)

Size: Too big for comfort.

Strength: Breaks mountains.

Weakness: None detected.

Mood: Angry divorced volcano dad.

Good luck!"

Before anyone could react, the gate split apart with a thunderous scream, vomiting out molten mist. A colossal figure emerged, forged from crimson armor, magma veins glowing like a dying star. Its helm twisted into horns, its weapon a molten greatblade longer than a carriage.

It roared—and the world shattered.

Flames surged outward in waves. The three teams scattered. The battle had begun.

---

Phase One: Chaos and Flame

Zen, Lyra, and Sylvia darted right as the boss slammed its sword down, causing the stone floor to explode upward. Arisella led her team to the left, Fiora leapt straight up, her Aether blades spinning around her in a defensive ring.

Zen landed beside Sylvia. "Status."

Sylvia's ice sword shimmered. "I can suppress the heat. I'll keep it under control."

Lyra, a short distance away, raised a barrier. "You do that. I'll make sure we don't get roasted."

[ SYSTEM ]: "Team chemistry? Sizzling~ Now would you like some boss-flavored barbecue?"

Zen moved first, slicing through the molten air. The ground hissed with every step. He slashed upward—clang! The Sovereign blocked it with ease and swatted him back. But it was enough.

Sylvia raised her hand. "Frozen Wall!" A massive wall of ice burst forth, dousing the heat and giving Lyra cover.

Lyra closed in, her staff glowing. "Divine Pulse!" She struck the boss's arm with light magic, blinding it momentarily. But it wasn't enough. It roared again, swinging in all directions.

Nearby, Fiora and Elvren were pushed back. Arisella teleported behind the boss, her sword slicing a chunk of its armor. But even together, it wasn't enough to bring it down.

Zen was panting, blood on his lip. "It's too much... this thing's not just a monster—it's a disaster."

Then he heard it.

[ SYSTEM ]: "Zen... It's reacting. That thing... it's not just pushing your limits—it's pulling something out of you."

He froze. Deep inside his mind... the fog returned. Thick. Heavy. Black.

A low whisper. Then a scream.

---

Phase Two: Everyone Falls

With a sudden scream, the Magmablood Sovereign erupted in flames. A single blow smashed Elvren into the wall—he fell unconscious. Sylvia tried to block a molten strike—her ice shattered, and she hit the ground with a cry.

Arisella's barrier cracked. Fiora dropped her blades. Lyra screamed.

Then—darkness.

Zen barely stood, breathing hard, clutching his side. Everyone was down.

Everyone... but him.

[ SYSTEM ]: "...Zen. I'm getting signals I've never seen before. Mana distortion is—off the charts. Something's waking up inside you."

The black fog curled around Zen's boots, rising. His vision blurred. His mind screamed.

And the Sovereign raised its sword.

Lyra, bloodied, crawled toward Zen. "Z-Zen, don't...!"

But the blade never came down.

Because—

The air snapped.

Time slowed.

Zen's eye gleamed.

His left eye—crimson, glowing.

---

Demi-Human Form: Born in Silence

A windless silence fell. A dark smoke twisted unnaturally around him.

From the smoke, Zen rose—but not as the others knew him.

A long, dark wing unfurled from his left side, sleek and jagged like the night sky. His left eye glowed blood red, burning like a curse sealed for centuries.

Dark marks slithered down his neck like veins of shadow.An oppressive aura exploded from him—thick, suffocating. The very air trembled. Dark Fog bled from his body, rippling with eerie motion, like it had eyes watching from within. The ground cracked beneath his feet. Darkness coiled around him like a living thing, and every breath he took warped the space around him.

Lyra, half-conscious, stared—awed and shaken.

> "Zen...?" she whispered.

[ SYSTEM ]: "Yohoho~ Welcome to the high-tier club. Transformation: Demi-Human [Form 1: Ember of Wrath] — Complete.

Warning: Temporal threshold reached.

Skill Unlocked: Freeze Time

[System Notice]: Skill [Freeze Time] has evolved into [ChronoFreeze].

New Skill : Chronofreeze – Realmwalker's Step

Status: Stylish as hell."

The Sovereign charged, roaring thunder.

Zen didn't flinch.

He launched upward, clashing mid-air with a shockwave that cracked the air like glass. Sparks danced from each blow. The Sovereign swung its colossal blade, but Zen vanished—reappeared behind it, slashing with precision.

His blade—Abyssonox—sang through the sky, each arc leaving a trail of glowing runes that hissed against the heat.

> "You're slow," Zen muttered, his voice deeper, cold.

The Sovereign spun and breathed flame—

Zen flew through it, wing shielding his form, diving like a shadow comet. They met above the fractured core, swords clashing a dozen times per breath.

Then—Zen whispered:

> "Let me show you something... rare."

He stabbed Abyssonox into the air. A ripple spread out from the point of impact.

> ChronoFreeze

Time. Froze.

The Sovereign halted mid-swing. Magma froze mid-drip. Ashes suspended in the air like stardust.

[ SYSTEM ]: "Chronofreeze successful. You've got 6 seconds. Do your thing, drama king."

Zen rose above the frozen battlefield. His wing flexed. Abyssonox's edge began to burn a new color—midnight violet. A rune core lit up in its hilt.

> "New art... just for you."

[System Notice: Skill Unlocked]

Zen shot downward, blade drawn back. Time resumed in a single beat.

The Sovereign's eyes widened—but it was too late.

SLASH!

The blade struck—not the body, but the very concept of movement in the Sovereign.

Abyssonox shattered its core.

A pillar of darkness and violet energy exploded upward, and the Magmablood Sovereign screamed—not in pain, but erasure.

It froze over—crimson flames sealed in violet frost.

Then shattered into a million ember-shards.

Zen landed on the fractured platform, one knee down, wing folding behind him.

[ SYSTEM ]: "Boss: DEFEATED.

Style Points: Off the charts.

Zen? Buddy? You okay—?"

Zen's form flickered. His wing began to dissolve. His eye dimmed. And then—

He collapsed.

A trail of violet smoke curled upward as the ruins trembled into silence.

Only Lyra, barely awake, crawled toward him.

> "...You idiot... you did it," she whispered, tears burning in her eyes.

Darkness swallowed the chamber.

The world faded.

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Abyssonox, glowing faintly , hovered near Zen's unconscious form. The battlefield—scarred by the sovereign's wrath—stood silent.

And then...

A strange resonance—vibrating through the void, like a whisper crawling through time.

[ Only Zen (unconscious) + Nex can hear it]

> "So... the winged one awakens."

A voice. Not a voice. A presence. Ancient. Vast. Unseen.

> "Chosen not by destiny... but by defiance. You walk where no bloodline dares, child of ash and silence."

Nex blinked midair, frozen like a cube caught in static.

> [Uhh... who the hell are you, creepy narrator man?! This isn't part of my script! Who authorized spooky monologues?!]

The voice ignored him.

> "The Trial Beyond Light is complete. But your path... lies deeper still."

> "Zen. No, Zerith EI'seren. The world will not remember your name... but we will be watching."

A faint ripple echoed. Reality stilled.

And then... nothing.

The wind returned. The battlefield remained.

No one else heard it.

No one else could.

Only the unconscious Zen... and the ever-panicking Nex, now spinning in the air like a confused, sarcastic compass.

> [Okaaaay what the heck was that?! Should I log that? I feel like I should log that. Or maybe just ignore it and pretend we dreamed it. Yeah. Let's do that. Great idea, Nex. Ten outta ten.]

Fade to black.