Veil of Aether

Ever since his first encounter with Hachi—and especially that near-fatal clash with Zeph—Kei Y had known one truth: strength was useless if you couldn’t react in time. Hermes had driven that lesson home again, proving how helpless he was when speed outpaced his reactions. No matter how much stronger he got, he never let it cloud his judgment. Compared to others at his level, he might have seemed far ahead, but every glance at that staircase in the sky—back in the Expanse—reminded him that his current strength wouldn’t be enough. Not even to handle the most mediocre creature on the second Expanse, let alone those above.

Every time he grew stronger, he logged it—meticulously. How much faster he could process movement, how much quicker his body reacted, how much sharper his instincts became. While he hadn’t reached any absurd, godlike level of reaction speed, he knew he was steadily climbing toward the upper limit of what a human—especially a Recruit Class participant—could achieve.

In other words, he was nearing the ceiling of what a normal Recruit Class fighter could ever hope to reach.

So now, as he wove through Dione’s blistering volleys of golden scale shots, Kei Y ran the numbers in his head. He had a rough idea already, but this was fresh, live data—refined calculations in real time.

And in this world?

Data was his greatest ally.

After one final barrage from Dione, his calculations clicked into place.

In that same instant, Kei Y surged forward, sprinting straight at her, ignoring her smug expression. A wave of startled gasps rippled through the arena.

“I don’t claim to be much of anything,” Kei Y said, voice calm but resolute. “But there’s one thing I’m confident about—my throwing capability.”

His every muscle moved with controlled precision. He had already mapped her scale shots—their speed, trajectory, angles, and timing—down to the smallest detail. He wasn’t dodging anymore.

He was maneuvering.

Each sidestep wasn’t random; it was calculated. He advanced step by step, intercepting incoming shots with perfectly-timed projectiles of his own, breaking apart Dione’s barrage mid-flight and closing the distance with brutal efficiency.

Dione stayed stuck in her arrogant posture until it was far too late—only realizing her mistake when Kei Y, fully healed and completely unscathed, stood right in front of her, gaze locked behind his mask.

Even then, her pride didn’t waver.

“You might be dangerous up close,” she scoffed, bracing herself, “but don’t think you’re the only one who knows how to fight up close.”

Golden scales surged into Dione’s hands, rapidly taking shape. An elegant golden spear formed midair, and before it was even fully solidified, she lunged forward, aiming to impale Kei Y straight through.

Kei Y’s mind sharpened in an instant—he’d made a mistake.

He hadn’t expected her to manifest a weapon so suddenly, giving him barely any time to react, let alone dodge. His options narrowed sharply. Without hesitation, he surged Healing Force into his fist, pushing it to the limit, while his other hand shot out a volley of projectiles. Lotus Bloom’s healing petals needed to be active as fast as possible, especially with the brutal injury he was seconds away from enduring.

But Dione had prepared for this.

She had been watching—closely. While Kei Y dismantled her teammates one by one, she hadn’t stood idle. She’d studied him, dissected his fighting patterns, and identified his lifeline: Lotus Bloom. She understood just how powerful it was, how it could turn seemingly fatal injuries into mere inconveniences, making him practically immortal against those unable to kill him outright.

So at the exact moment her spear pierced Kei Y’s fist—flesh burning and curling under the searing heat—his projectiles shifted mid-flight. Instead of supporting his escape, they curved unnaturally, as though bent by an unseen hand, slamming into the arena floor and detonating in bursts of petals and healing force.

Petals blossomed across the arena, but none formed near Kei Y.

His eyes widened behind the mask, realizing too late she had set a trap within a trap. His Lotus Bloom had been disrupted, redirected by her influence, leaving him without his critical regeneration field.

Kei Y staggered back, skin charred and arm spasming from the impact—but Dione didn’t relent.

The spear twisted in her grip as she pressed forward, golden scales flowing along the shaft like liquid flame, her assault relentless, her expression merciless.

Kei Y reacted instinctively, his Wing Chun erupting despite one arm being mangled and useless. He moved with ruthless efficiency—precise, snapping kicks hammered Dione’s stance, targeting her balance and disrupting her ability to draw strength from her footing. His remaining arm lashed out in sharp, redirecting jabs, parrying the spear just enough to glance it away from vital targets, while counter-jabs found their mark, striking through gaps in her defense.

“You’ve grown too confident off your recent wins,” Dione sneered, forcing herself to stabilize despite the blows, spear rotating to regain control. “I’m not like my weak teammates—I’m the Crown Princess of the Greek Kingdom. I stand above them, above you. Your death won’t be quick. It’ll be slow… painful.”

Kei Y’s mask tilted slightly, the yellow glow of his eyes sharpening.

“For King Cronus to marry that bitch you call a mother… you sure seem proud of a title bought by your mother’s back-breaking ‘work,’” Kei Y replied coldly.

Her grip faltered.

Dione flinched—just a fraction of a second, but it was enough. Kei Y’s foot slammed into her ribs, golden scales fracturing under the force, sending her skidding backward.

Her expression twisted in shock. “What…?”

“You really think people see you as Cronus’ legitimate child?” Kei Y’s voice cut through her faltering composure like a blade. “Do you actually believe the Crown Princess of the Greeks would come from some side-court straggler your mother used her body to elevate?”

Dione’s breathing stuttered, fury mixing with something far colder—doubt.

Kei Y didn’t give her time to recover, already closing the distance, pressing the advantage.

A flurry of Wing Chun kicks and jabs hammered relentlessly against Dione’s golden scales. She struggled to regain her composure, her mind swirling with one question: how? How did he know she wasn’t King Cronus’s legitimate child?

For Kei Y, the answer was simple. In all of Greek mythology from his own time, there was no mention of a Dione or Thalia in the Greek Pantheon—ignoring the ridiculous fact that somehow Zeus ended up part of the Egyptian Pantheon and a blood relative of a God Spark, but that was beside the point. Dione and Thalia didn’t exist in any recorded myths, meaning either this Temporal Zone threw in extra figures to fill out the Pantheon for his and Silvie’s quest, or—more likely—Dione and Thalia were so insignificant that they died early and were erased from any meaningful record.

And if that was true, there was no way Cronus’s legitimate child would go unmentioned, no matter how minor her role. The same applied to that ‘Hippo’ of a woman who seduced her way into royalty. But Kei Y had no intention of explaining that to Dione. He’d let the thought burrow deeper into her mind while he continued breaking her defenses, strike after strike.

Still, he had to admit, Dione was troublesome—more than worthy of leading these so-called future gods. She could summon golden, dragon-like scales for defense and mold them into deadly offense. She generated searing, oppressive heat, and on top of that, she manipulated gravity, effectively nullifying the advantage of his throwing techniques.

“If Lotus Bloom changes depending on the force used… would the same be true for Whispering Breeze?” Kei Y mused silently, stepping around another strike. “I really need some better offensive skills.”

As kept the pressure on Dione, he reflected on his Whispering Breeze skill

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Type: Movement Skill

Force Alignment: Breeze Force (God Spark-Infused)

Class: Self-Created

Description:

Born from Kei Yuichi’s deep affinity with Breeze Force, Whispering Breeze is a high-level movement technique that turns subtlety into a weapon. It abandons brute-force speed in favor of untraceable motion, deceptive presence, and seamless flow. Like the wind, Kei Yuichi becomes intangible, inaudible, and unreadable—moving freely across the battlefield without leaving a reliable trail.

Core Properties:

1. Windfold Step

   Bend surrounding wind currents to move through them as a conduit, effectively folding space without alerting normal senses. This short-range "blink" keeps him hidden within the ambient flow, granting swift repositioning that leaves behind no footfalls, no aura spikes, and no spatial ripple.

   • Range: 5–10 meters depending on terrain airflow.

   • Cooldown: Brief; governed by your breath rhythm and local wind saturation.

   • Visual: A subtle distortion, like rippling air, seen only by high-tier perception users.

2. Phantom Echo

   An extension of Phantom Breeze. When moving, disperse your presence along false wind trails, tricking perception-based skills. Targets sense movement where there is none, hearing footsteps, pressure shifts, or breathing where only air stirs.

   • Effect: Confuses aim prediction and danger sense.

   • Duration: 3–5 seconds after movement.

3. Flowstep Drift

   Glide along natural air currents using precise Breeze Force control, enabling low-altitude repositioning with no friction or noise. Your body follows wind direction instead of muscle tension, granting near-effortless evasion and battlefield fluidity.

   • Allows aerial redirection, sideways dodges, or sudden dips mid-jump.

   • Can be layered with Windfold Step for near-untrackable movement patterns.

Reflecting on the nature of the skill, Kei Y had a sudden realization regarding Shima Edgecraft. He never needed to understand the force variant of the skill—Wind Force took its own effect, Thunder Force took its own effect. Even when accessing other people’s force alignments, their unique force naturally took over and shaped the skill accordingly. He had no understanding of how Moon Force worked—how coldness or illusions factored in. The only thing he grasped was the gravity aspect, yet he was still able to use Lotus Bloom with a Moon Force variant.

“Are self-created skills able to adapt toward the person who created it? Is there any chance I can pass this skill over and teach it to others? I wonder if Whispering Breeze would change and adapt as well…”

His mind raced quickly.

Meanwhile, Dione seemed to have recovered, and the look on her face showed she was more pissed than before—and her actions proved it. In an instant, the temperature of the floor soared. Kei Y didn’t know the reason why, but he wasn’t in the mood to find out with his body on the line.

He immediately delivered another kick to her face, using the impact to push off and dodge from the spot where he had just been standing. As he twisted in the air, he took a quick glance back—just in time to see a golden spear tear through the ground, intense heat trailing behind as it stabbed upward through where he had once stood.

“Of course she can do that too…” Kei Y rolled his eyes at the scene.

And as if that wasn’t enough, more and more golden spears began materializing from both the ground and the air, generating intense heat. The oppressive temperature was the only real giveaway of their presence, but it didn’t make them any less troublesome.

Using his good arm, Kei Y loaded his atlatl with ammo and fired it forward while weaving through the barrage of incoming golden spears. As expected, the gravity around Dione distorted, veering his shot off course, but he didn’t pay it any mind.

He focused solely on his movement, body gliding and shifting through the gaps while his thoughts circled back to Whispering Breeze. With each dodge, he continued loading his atlatl, firing off more shots from a distance—testing the angles, and the spacing.

Dione stared at him icily, her tone razor-sharp. “You seem to know far too much… and you’ve genuinely pissed me off.”

As she spoke, the summoned spears in the air and ground began to distort the space around them. The gravitational pull twisted violently, dragging Kei Y’s body in several directions at once, forcing him into the pathway of the emerging spears.

“You act like this is all some joke,” Dione continued, her voice cold, “but regardless of how I claimed the title of Crown Princess, my talent alone makes me more worthy of it than mere bloodline ever could.”

Kei Y, muscles tensing against the pull, grunted. “I don’t get you.”

His mask tilted slightly, irritation seeping through his tone despite the chaotic pull of gravity.

“Did I ever give you the impression I cared about your feelings or your ego?” Kei Y scoffed, eyes narrowing behind the mask. “I’m going to make you regret living… and then I’m going to kill you. All that self-righteous drivel? None of it has a thing to do with me.”

Dione raised her hand high, gravity swirling violently at her fingertips as she glared down at him. “Good,” she said, her voice dropping to a frigid whisper. “I hope you hold onto that arrogance in your final moments… Don’t cry when you realize you should’ve feared me.”

In that moment, all the golden scales covering Dione’s body flew into the air, gathering together in a circular formation, forming a full-drawn rune. From within the rune, a colossal golden spear began to materialize, its tip emerging with an oppressive presence. The spear radiated blistering heat and an overwhelming gravitational field that crashed down on Kei Y’s body, pressing against his bones, locking his muscles in place.

But he persisted.

Despite the suffocating pressure, Kei Y forced his body to twitch and struggle. Seeing this, Dione adjusted her approach. She halted the formation of additional smaller spears, commanding most of the remaining golden scales to ascend into the rune in the sky. With every scale added, the pressure of the giant spear increased exponentially, slamming down on Kei Y with enough force to halt him entirely.

Yet Dione wasn’t without cost. The giant spear devoured her aether reserves at an unsustainable rate. She could feel it—her reserves were almost depleted, dangerously close to zero. This was her final gambit. After this strike, she would be drained, helpless. A part of her couldn’t help but wonder—how was that masked brat still moving, still fighting after everything, as if his aether supply was bottomless?

Not that it mattered.

She intended to kill him here and now.

Kei Y’s body trembled under the increasing pressure, every muscle screaming in protest. But instead of focusing on the terrifying weapon forming above him, his eyes remained locked on Dione.

She was bare.

No scales, no armor.

All of it had been consumed by the spear.

His gaze flicked upward, noting how the pressure intensified with each scale added.

“So… that’s how it works,” Kei Y mused, a faint grin forming under his mask. “Perfect.”

A plan formed instantly.

“This gravity…” his grin widened slightly, “I can finally force my body into the first stage of physical cultivation—Washed Body Realm.”

He had struggled to make the breakthrough even during Auserre’s harshest training. While others had advanced, Kei Y remained stuck just short of the threshold—close but never quite there. But now? His recent battles had pushed him to his limits. His body had been stressed, battered, and now with this immense external force pressing down on him, the opportunity was here.

And that wasn’t the only reason his grin widened.

All his frantic dodging earlier hadn’t been random.

Every evasive maneuver, every shift through the spears, every adjustment—it had all served a dual purpose. In that chaos, Kei Y had finally unraveled the workings of the Healing Variant of Whispering Breeze. He felt the knowledge solidify within him.

Dione, unaware of his breakthrough, pressed on.

She wanted to be thorough. She wouldn’t risk him surviving. She would pin him in place before unleashing the final blow.

A golden spear materialized beside him.

And with a sharp, vicious motion, it shot forward—piercing straight through his torso, erupting from his back.

Dione’s lips curled into a triumphant smile.

Her efforts had worked.

Or so she thought.

[Soothing Drift Breeze]

Type: Movement-Support Hybrid

Force Alignment: Healing Force

Class: Self-Created Variant of Whispering Breeze

Description:

Soothing Drift Breeze was forged through Kei Yuichi’s understanding of healing aether and evasive combat. Rather than raw healing output, it channels regenerative force through constant motion, allowing Kei Yuichi to mend wounds while remaining elusive. This technique transforms evasion itself into a survival mechanism, rewarding flow and precision over stagnation.

Core Properties:

Vital Current Step

You manipulate gentle healing currents around your body, every directional movement stimulating minor tissue regeneration and stamina recovery. Extended sprinting, dodging, or Flowstep Drift pulses accelerated healing, granting brief boosts to vitality after sustained movement.

• Passive Healing: Low-grade regeneration per second while moving.

• Active Surge: Enhanced burst heal upon executing Windfold Step or Flowstep Drift (scales with distance traveled).

• Visual: Subtle jade-green afterglow trailing briefly behind Kei Yuichi, visible only in slowed perception.

Pulseflow Flicker

Every successful dodge (or disengagement using Windfold Step) releases a pulse of regenerative wind in a short radius, cleansing yourself from minor debuffs (bleed, burn, minor poisons) and healing superficial wounds.

• Cooldown: 5–8 seconds.

• Radius: 2 meters.

• Effect: Cleanses minor status ailments, small instant heal, refreshes stamina.

Phantom Mending Echo

An evolution of Phantom Echo, instead of confusing enemies, you leave behind momentary false healing zones. These afterimages can trigger enemy misfires (attacking empty zones), while providing minimal area healing to himself or allies who pass through them.

• Effect: Upon movement burst, leaves lingering 1-second ‘phantom spots’ that heal Kei Y or allies slightly.

• Max: 2–3 echoes at a time.

• Use Case: Enables baiting enemies while sustaining self-healing during constant repositioning.

Additional Trait – Aether Balance Drift:

When staying in motion for a prolonged period (10+ seconds), you naturally clears force disruptions (temporary force suppression, mild aether exhaustion), allowing continued combat endurance in long engagements.

Seeing the pierced figure dissolve like an illusion, Dione’s heart dropped. Panic surged through her as she instinctively recalled several scales to her position, trying to rebuild her defense—yet it was too late.

A fist rocketed towards her face, slamming into her with devastating force and sending her flying backward. The recalled scales scrambled after her, failing to form a proper barrier in time. She crashed hard into the arena floor, the impact rattling through her bones. Her mind spun—not just from the blow, but from confusion.

How…?

How was he moving so effortlessly under the crushing gravity of her Giant Spear?

How did he leave behind an afterimage under such pressure?

She couldn’t understand it.

Unknown to her, Kei Y had already solved this puzzle mid-fight. His reflection on his own abilities—his unique connection to the forces of others—had provided the answer. Earlier, he had recovered multiple arrows from Artemis, and one still remained. That small detail proved decisive.

As the Giant Spear’s gravity bore down on him, Kei Y calmly retrieved the arrow and channeled his pristine aether through it. The Moon Force within the arrow surged to life—stronger, purer, and far more refined than anything Artemis herself could wield. Kei Y didn’t merely resist the gravity—he canceled it out to a significant degree, nullifying its pull just enough to move freely, using Moon Force’s gravitational manipulation as his own countermeasure.

Then, in the same moment the spear was about to pierce through him, a fading illusion manifested. He had activated Phantom Mending Echo, leaving behind an afterimage.

Dione had been fooled—she struck only empty air while Kei Y flanked her.

At the same time, the immense pressure pressing against his body pushed him to the threshold of his physical cultivation, bringing him to the cusp of breaking through into the Washed Body Realm. His body strained, muscles ready to evolve to the next level.

But he held back.

Instead of triggering the breakthrough, he pushed forward, using his raw, existing strength, and barreled straight into Dione, smashing his fist into her face, cratering her deep into the arena floor.

In that same moment, pulses of healing currents radiated from his steps as Vital Current Step activated. The healing currents pulsing along his mangled arm, healing it with great efficiency.

Standing tall over her, Kei Y flexed his newly healed arm—freshly regenerated with with the help of Vital Current Step and Healing Force—and looked down at the defeated crown princess.

“You got any more tricks up your sleeve?” Kei Y asked coldly. “If you’re gonna die, you may as well do it without regrets. Go all out… wouldn’t want you having last-minute excuses.”

Above them, the colossal golden spear continued descending, pressing down with enough gravitational might to pulverize him completely.

Dione gasped, her battered body trembling, still unable to comprehend how he remained standing, seemingly unaffected by the crushing weight.

Then her eyes dropped to his hand—Artemis’s arrow glowed brilliantly, radiant as the moon itself—and it clicked.

She remembered now… Kei Y had used the Light Force in Apollo’s arrows, the Moon Force in Artemis’s arrows… borrowing powers that should’ve been impossible to wield. Her pupils shrank as she screamed in desperation, rage consuming her, and with a final screech, she commanded the spear to descend.

The Giant Spear hurtled toward Kei Y like divine judgment.

And yet…

Kei Y didn’t move.

He stood tall over Dione, his healed arm flexing experimentally, his breathing calm. But he wasn’t even looking at her.

No—his gaze was locked onto the audience.

Specifically, toward the royal viewing platform—where Queen Thalia sat.

Dione’s shrieking faded into the background as Kei Y’s presence shifted. His body was relaxed, but his intent was sharper than ever. His calm posture, the dismissive attitude toward the spear descending on him… it was all directed at her.

Queen Thalia.

Her knuckles whitened as she crushed the armrests of her seat, her heart hammering in her chest. She could see it—he wasn’t just fighting her daughter.

He was sending a message to her.

Dione’s last-ditch effort didn’t matter. Her daughter was already beaten.

And that masked boy—no, that monster—stood there, unbothered by death looming above him, staring at her.

It wasn’t just confidence.

It was humiliation.

Thalia glanced desperately toward the Amunar platform, toward King Pharaoh, seeking an intervention, some act of mercy or judgment.

But Pharaoh didn’t look her way.

He sat calmly, arms folded, a faint smile tugging at his lips, pride glimmering in his gaze—not for Thalia’s daughter, but for the one defeating her.

No help would come.

Kei Y stood above Dione, defiant, victorious… and although his face was hidden, Queen Thalia could feel it—he was smiling at her.

Smiling at her fear.

At her panic.

And enjoying every second of it.

And as he stood over Dione, a murky, ink-black sludge began to drip from Kei Y’s body in small, sluggish droplets.

Despite the situation she was in, Dione couldn’t help but gag at the atrocious stench assaulting her senses—a smell so vile that if the masked bastard didn’t kill her, the smell surely would. It was the most revolting thing she had ever experienced, and not even the looming threat of death could distract her from the overwhelming stench.

“Hurry… descend…!” Dione stared frantically at the Giant Spear above, her voice trembling with desperation as the suffocating smell closed in on her.

But unknown to her, that stench would soon be the least of her worries.

Kei Y had held back his breakthrough for a reason.

And now, Dione was about to regret ever being born.