Chapter 138: Progress
One month later. Just before summer vacation.
The dojo was quiet, the lingering scent of incense barely clinging to the air.
Soft sunlight streamed through the wooden slats of the windows, casting long shadows on the polished floor.
Nero stood in the center, sword sheathed, eyes closed.
His breathing was steady, his presence unnaturally calm, as if he had dissolved into the flow of the world itself.
Mu and Zen observed him from the edge of the room, their gazes sharp and thoughtful.
For months, they had watched Nero refine his techniques, push past limits they hadn't thought possible.
And now, something had fundamentally changed.
"I can't feel a single trace of Void. It's not leaking from him anymore," Zen muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, brows furrowed in disbelief.
Mu nodded, arms crossed. "He's contained it."
In the month since Nero had first seen the wisps of Void Principle, he had poured every waking hour into refining his mental barriers.