Godslayer's Legacy: THE PATH TO SUPREMACY

It had been four days since Rui's conversation with Fenrir and Kovar in the Observation Chamber. The weight of those words, of the expectations placed upon him, still lingered like a heavy fog in his chest. But Rui wasn't the same person he had been four days ago.

The days had been filled with silence, solitude, and relentless focus. The Council had given Rui the space he needed, understanding that the burden he carried couldn't be forced—it had to be earned.

Rui stood at the edge of an open-air training platform suspended high above the Sovereign Spire. The sky stretched endlessly before him, painted in hues of soft lavender and gold as the sun dipped below the horizon. The wind howled through the open expanse, tugging at his black training tunic and sending faint ripples across his silver hair.

His eyes—those glowing silver irises etched with intricate runes—were fixed on the distant clouds. They weren't aimless. They were focused. Calculating.

Behind him, Kovar hovered near a crystalline console, observing Rui's vitals and mana flow displayed on floating golden runes.

"You're improving, Rui," Kovar said softly, his pale eyes flickering as streams of data cascaded over his glass brain dome. "Your mana control is… transcendent. Even among SS-ranked individuals, I've never seen something like this."

Rui didn't respond immediately. He closed his eyes, letting his breathing slow. The mana threads that coiled and danced around him seemed to hum faintly in response.

"I've stopped fighting it," Rui said finally, his voice calm yet firm. "Before, I used to force mana to obey me—like shackles around a beast. But it doesn't work that way."

Kovar tilted his head slightly, intrigued. "And now?"

Rui opened his eyes, and the faint glow of mana flickered to life around his fingertips.

"Now I guide it," Rui said. "Mana isn't just a resource—it's alive, it's aware. It wants to flow. You just have to listen."

He took a deep breath, extending his hands slightly outward. The mana around him began to shift, threads glowing faintly as they coiled upward, spiraling around his body in thin streams of light. They clustered around his back, forming faint translucent shapes—almost like wings made of shimmering mana threads.

Kovar's glass brain dome flickered wildly with cascading data. "The stabilization… it's holding. You're maintaining equilibrium without external focus. Rui, this level of control—it shouldn't be possible after just a week."

Rui ignored Kovar's astonishment. His glowing silver eyes locked onto the open sky before him.

Slowly, carefully, Rui took a step forward—and then another. The ground fell away beneath him as mana threads lifted him into the air, cradling his form with delicate precision.

He wasn't fast. He wasn't soaring. But he was flying.

The wind rushed past him as he hovered several meters above the platform. His hair whipped around his face, but his body remained steady, controlled. The mana didn't tremble, didn't waver—it obeyed because Rui didn't force it to.

For a long moment, Rui simply hovered there, his silver eyes staring out into the endless horizon.

Kovar's voice crackled slightly through a floating rune communicator.

"How does it feel?"

Rui exhaled softly, his breath fogging slightly in the chill air.

"Like breathing."

Two days had passed since Rui first achieved sustained flight. Each day since had been spent refining his control, stretching the limits of how far and how fast he could move while airborne.

The training platform was now littered with faint burn marks etched into the marble from concentrated mana pulses. Above the Spire, faint threads of mana wove through the air like ghostly ribbons, tracing Rui's path as he practiced gliding, accelerating, and stabilizing mid-air.

High above the platform, Rui hovered once again, sweat glistening on his brow, his black tunic damp from exertion. His silver eyes scanned the distant towers of the Central Capital, the faint hum of mana vibrating through his bones.

He adjusted his stance mid-air, spreading his arms slightly to adjust the flow of mana threads around him. With a burst of silvery light, Rui propelled himself forward in a sharp arc, the mana threads bending like elastic bands to absorb the recoil.

The speed wasn't impressive—not yet—but the movement was precise, controlled, and effortless.

Below, Fenrir stood with his arms crossed, watching Rui's flight path with his sharp predator's gaze. His voice boomed across the platform as Rui landed softly on the marble surface, his feet barely making a sound.

"You're getting better, boy," Fenrir said gruffly. "But you're still slow. A sky predator would've had you for breakfast twice over."

Rui wiped sweat from his brow, offering Fenrir a faint smirk.

"Good thing I'm not fighting sky predators… yet."

Fenrir let out a low growl that might have been amusement.

"Control first. Speed will come later. You've done something no one else has, Rui—don't lose sight of that."

Kovar stepped onto the platform, his glass brain dome flickering with analysis data.

"Your trajectory was smooth. Mana recoil is minimal, and stabilization is almost flawless. But Fenrir is right—raw speed still evades you."

Rui nodded, his breathing steady as he closed his eyes briefly.

"I'm not trying to be the fastest. Not yet. Right now, I'm trying to be perfect."

Both Fenrir and Kovar exchanged a glance, something unspoken passing between them. Rui's dedication, his focus—it was becoming something that neither of them had seen before.

Night had fallen over the Sovereign Spire, and Rui stood once again at the balcony of his personal chamber. His glowing silver eyes scanned the city below, where preparations for tomorrow's speech were already well underway. Banners with his name and silhouette hung from tall towers, projection crystals flickered in the streets, and faint cheers echoed in the distance.

He could see it all—the hope, the fear, the expectation.

Behind him, Elyra Valeheart approached softly, her azure robes trailing behind her like liquid silk. She stopped a few paces away, her pale hands clasped in front of her.

"You've been training tirelessly these past few days, Rui," she said softly, her voice carrying over the night wind. "But tell me—are you ready for tomorrow?"

Rui didn't turn around. His eyes remained locked on the horizon.

"I'm as ready as I can be," Rui replied quietly. "But readiness doesn't change what's waiting out there."

Elyra stepped beside him, her piercing gaze studying his profile.

"Perhaps not. But readiness isn't always about certainty—it's about resolve. And you, Rui, have resolve in abundance."

The two stood in silence for a moment, staring out into the city below.

"When you step out onto that stage tomorrow, millions will be watching you. Their hopes, their fears—they'll all rest on your shoulders. But don't carry them all, Rui. Speak from your heart, and let your actions carry the rest."

Rui finally turned to look at her, his glowing silver eyes catching the faint starlight.

"I won't let them down," he said softly. "No matter what happens."

Elyra nodded, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

"I know you won't."

As she turned and walked away, leaving Rui alone on the balcony, the weight of tomorrow settled once more on his shoulders.

Far away, in the endless darkness of the Abyssal Ravine, something ancient stirred.

But Rui stood unshaken, his silver eyes reflecting the distant stars—ready to face the dawn.