Theo’s entire body froze.

Sweat broke out everywhere as every instinct in him screamed at him to run.

Yet he couldn’t move.

His thoughts stalled, even his breathing stopping.

The moment that colossal eye opened, an overwhelming pressure descended upon the entire gray world.

All around him, strange tree-like shapes began to warp into existence. Some were made entirely of six-pointed cubes, others purely of spikes.

Even the ground began to rise into different shapes, some even flickering out of existence.

Theo’s heartbeat pounded wildly in his ears.

’Move...’

’MOVE!’

But nothing happened.

That’s when he finally noticed it.

The colossal eye had been staring at him this entire time.

Theo’s pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints, immense fear flooding his body.

For a split second, he felt something indescribable pass through him.

Before he even realized it, his body was floating off the ground.

It went straight up... until all Theo could see was the massive eye.

Then—

The force stopped.

For a moment, everything went silent.

That’s when Theo felt another indescribable feeling run through his body.

He instinctively looked down, his mouth wide open in shock and horror.

His hands had begun to wrinkle, even the skin on his arms rapidly drying out before cracking.

Long hair flowed down his body in seconds, then turned white before falling out completely.

"No..."

Theo let out a soft whisper as his body aged at a horrifying speed.

Before he could utter another word, cracks spread through his entire body.

The next second—

His arm collapsed into dust.

Theo’s breathing turned rapid, going into shock as panic flooded his mind.

His legs began crumbling next, turning into gray ash that scattered into the endless mist below.

Fear unlike anything he had ever experienced swallowed him whole.

As the rest of his body began fading away, the massive eye closed again.

Finally, his vision went black.

...

"FUCK!" Theo shouted, shooting upright.

His entire body trembled violently as he gasped for air.

Cold sweat completely drenched his clothes while his chest rose and fell uncontrollably.

Theo’s wide eyes instantly darted around the room.

The walls were stained, the floor was covered in dust, and the two metallic cases had completely rusted away beside him.

’B-back...?’

Theo’s pupils shook violently.

His gaze dropped to his arms and legs, finding both of them there again.

’I’m... back?’

His hands immediately moved across his own body, almost like he was trying to confirm he was truly alive.

But... nothing seemed out of place.

Theo began to truly doubt his sanity for a moment.

’Did I even leave?’ he thought. ’Was it all truly a dream?’

Yet the memory of his body collapsing into dust still felt horrifyingly real.

"No..." he muttered hoarsely. "That wasn’t normal..."

His gaze slowly drifted back to the room around him.

Then he swallowed hard.

Whatever had just happened... he knew it wasn’t entirely in his head.

For several long moments, Theo simply sat there in silence, trying to steady his breathing again.

Bit by bit, the violent trembling in his body slowly began calming down.

His racing heartbeat gradually slowed as the panic faded little by little.

Only after nearly a full minute did Theo finally manage to lean back against the wall behind him.

"Well," he muttered quietly. "I awakened my chaos affinity..."

The gray mass was quietly floating inside his core, making no further movements or spasms.

’As for whatever the fuck that other-world stuff was... I don’t even know? I guess I’ll toss it aside for now?’

There were so many questions going through his mind.

But he knew none of them were going to be answered anytime soon.

So, instead of focusing on those, he just relaxed himself for a moment.

"Another SSS-rank affinity, huh," he muttered, sitting down. "Wonder how long it’ll take me to get to Gold Core..."

It was rumored that this was where the first major leap would actually take place.

No matter how hard someone with an F, E, or even D-rank affinity tried, they wouldn’t be able to reach that stage before their prime cultivation years were over. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

’It’ll probably take me quite some time too,’ he thought, glancing up. ’Though I really wonder how the body transformation works...’

Just like the Bronze Core stage, one wasn’t supposed to get an affinity at the Gold Core stage.

Instead, their body would go through a metamorphosis of sorts, increasing its qualities immensely.

As he thought about it, he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

"Who knows," he mumbled quietly, "I might be able to get another affinity there too."

For a brief moment, silence filled the room again.

Theo simply sat there quietly, staring at the stained ceiling above him.

Despite everything that had just happened, a strange sense of excitement slowly crept back into his chest.

Slowly, he raised one of his hands.

A tiny stream of blue mana immediately gathered above his palm, forming a small floating water bubble.

The moment it stabilized, Theo’s expression changed slightly.

"...That’s it?" he muttered.

He couldn’t even feel the mana consumption. It practically felt like a single drop had disappeared from a lake.

"Insane," he said, shaking his head. "Absolutely insane."

Theo knew his core was far sturdier and larger than others, but to think it’d help him to this degree was a surprise even to him.

Flicking his fingers, the water ball slowly flew away from him.

’Now let’s see this chaos element.’

Gray mana surged through his body in uneven bursts, sometimes flowing faster and then suddenly slowing down.

But Theo kept it under control as he focused on the water ball.

Suddenly, the water ball sped up.

It shot through the room, colliding with the wall in an instant.

"Boom!" he said, standing up. "Just like Elise said!"

The amount of times he’d seen and asked her about it in training was in the dozens.

Her chaos element was the reason he’d even signed her as his teacher in the first place!

And now, it was all paying off.

’She’s going to be shocked, that’s for sure.’

Just as he formed a lightning bolt in the air—

Click!

The reinforced door suddenly unlocked with a soft sound.

Theo’s smile faded slightly.

His gaze snapped toward the entrance immediately.

"...?"

He frowned as the lightning vanished.

He’d specifically instructed David that no one could come in until he decided to leave himself.

Slowly, the door creaked open.

Then—

For what felt like the hundredth time today, Theo froze.

A bloodied figure stumbled into the room.

Theo pushed himself up immediately.

"David?!"