Kyle never expected the Will of Steel to influence him this deeply.

When he first absorbed the blessing, he barely noticed any change aside from being able to converse with Aquilla and resonate with it more naturally.

But the moment he stepped into the domain of creators, a true smithery, he realized something within him had shifted.

He was seeing things differently now.

With a single glance, he could tell which weapons possessed it.

A soul.

A creator poured more than mere labor into a weapon. They poured emotion, intent, obsession, frustration, pride... pieces of themselves.

And as Kyle had just proven, the blacksmith Mile had failed to do that in many blades he personally considered masterpieces.

"I... don’t understand."

After the astonishing display of swordsmanship Kyle had shown, Tear was the first to break the silence.

"What does it actually mean to pour your soul into something? And why did Mile stop doing it with his finished blades?"

Kyle rested his hands on his waist and fell silent for a moment.

Then he turned toward Mile.

"Tell me something. What exactly dissatisfied you about this sword to the point you discarded it?" He lifted the blade slightly. "Because it definitely wasn’t a lack of skill. I can tell you’ve mastered your craft."

Mile stared at the weapon in Kyle’s hand for a long while before finally speaking.

"...It wouldn’t obey me."

The workshop fell silent.

His rough fingers slowly tightened.

"The balance kept changing every time I hammered it. The edge curved on its own. The aether flow remained unstable. Every correction I made only pushed it further away from the image I had in my head."

His eyes drifted toward the polished swords resting nearby.

"So I abandoned it and forged those ones instead. A cleaner version. A proper blade."

Kyle narrowed his eyes slightly.

"But?"

Mile’s jaw tightened.

"...But this one burned hotter."

That single sentence changed everything.

"I still remember every strike I made while forging it," Mile muttered quietly. "Every mistake. Every adjustment. Every hour I spent trying to force it into shape."

His gaze never left the discarded sword.

"...It frustrated me."

The blacksmith slowly clenched his fist.

"And somewhere along the way, I stopped trying to understand what the blade wanted to become."

The atmosphere shifted.

Because at that moment, smithing stopped sounding like mere manufacturing. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

It became creation.

Then Kyle finally spoke.

"You weren’t forging a sword anymore."

He raised the discarded blade slightly higher.

"You were trying to suppress it."

Mile lowered his head, shame written clearly across his face.

Tear tried to process everything she had just heard.

"So... you lost because of your pride." Her brows furrowed slightly. "You discarded strength and chose perfection instead."

There was frustration in her voice.

And Mile shared that same frustration, alongside an even heavier guilt.

Amanda, meanwhile, spoke in a quieter tone.

"Kyle... umm, how did that blade absorb so much energy without breaking?" She looked toward the sword curiously. "Doesn’t absorption depend entirely on the material used to forge the blade?"

Kyle genuinely appreciated the question.

"You’re right," he replied. "The ore used in a weapon determines how much Genesis it can withstand. And since both swords were forged from identical materials, this one should’ve collapsed the moment I poured that much power into it."

Kyle has served much more genesis into the blade that survived compared to the one which collapsed. So they had been curious and now they listened carefully.

At some point, they had stopped looking at Kyle as a young man who had entered a smithery for the first time.

Right now, he sounded like an actual expert.

Taking a slow breath, Kyle continued,

"But the real difference was acceptance."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"The first blade rejected me."

He lifted the warped sword slightly.

"But this one cooperated with me."

His fingers brushed along the uneven edge.

"And when my Genesis exceeded its limit, instead of resisting, it redirected the force into a single clean strike."

Kyle let out a faint scoff before adding,

"Honestly, I wasn’t even aiming for such a perfect hit."

His eyes remained fixed on the blade.

"The sword itself guided the strike for me."

Silence descended upon the entire workshop.

But it was not an awkward silence.

It was the silence of contemplation, of craftsmen and warriors alike trying to process the strange yet strangely logical explanation Kyle had just presented.

Mile scratched his chin thoughtfully before asking,

"So... you’re saying I need to listen to the weapon while forging it instead of obsessing over perfection?"

Kyle nodded.

"Pretty much." He lifted the so-called failed blade slightly. "It’ll take time, and honestly, my explanation might sound completely nonsensical after failing over and over again. But if you truly have faith in your craft, I’m sure you can create something like this."

Mile slowly nodded in return.

Taking a deep breath, he said,

"I... truly appreciate your advice."

For the first time, the stubborn blacksmith sounded sincere.

"Truthfully, I’ve always felt dissatisfied with my creations. And now you’ve finally shown me why."

Kyle nodded in understanding before extending the sword back toward him.

Only for Tear to take it first.

Mile turned toward the woman in confusion, but Tear simply said,

"Forget the old blades and start anew."

Mile parted his lips as though he wanted to argue, yet after a moment, he merely scratched the back of his head and gave a helpless nod.

"...Alright. I understand."

Without another word, he returned to his forge.

But this time, his steps felt different.

Not defeated.

Determined.

Tear then turned toward the others.

"I would appreciate it if everyone returned to their stations. We still have a consignment to finish."

The workers exchanged glances before quietly dispersing back to their duties.

Soon, only a few people remained.

Tear let out a slow sigh before shifting her attention back toward Kyle.

Then she raised the sword and held it out toward him.

"Here."

Kyle blinked in surprise.

"Hmm? Why me?"

Tear answered without hesitation.

"You were the one who discovered its potential."

Her gaze briefly shifted toward the blade.

"It would be unfair to hand it over to anyone else, including its creator, who failed to understand what it truly means for a weapon to possess a soul."

Kyle slowly accepted the sword and tilted his head.

He was never good with blades...but could he try changing something now? Well, he could try at least.

Just then, Amanda asked, "Tear, about his gear."

Tear exhaled a sighed and contemplated for a moment. Crossing her arms she said, "I would have offered to make something from the scratch but I fear being rejected because I didn’t pour my soul into it."

Kyle grimaced at the intended jab delivered with a devilish grin.

Amanda chuckled silently on the side before the two heard Tear say, "Come, I will bring you to a place where I have stored my prized creations. My elite babies that may catch your interest."

Kyle smiled at that. He was looking forward to it.

....

Kyle felt like he had stumbled upon far too many secrets in a single day.

Another door slowly parted open after several layers of security procedures, allowing the three of them to step into a darkened chamber.

Tear quietly walked ahead.

Then, in the very next moment—

Warm lights flickered to life across the room.

The darkness vanished, revealing the collection Tear had kept hidden from the world.

"Woah..."

Even Amanda looked genuinely stunned. It was clearly her first time entering this place as well, making it obvious that Tear rarely allowed anyone inside.

The chamber wasn’t overflowing with countless weapons and armors, yet every single item displayed there carried an undeniable presence.

Different designs of weaponry lined the walls alongside armors, strange gadgets, and creations Kyle couldn’t identify.

Kyle slowly looked around the room, his eyes sweeping across the displays mounted along the walls.

And almost instantly, he realized something.

None of these were ordinary creations.

Tear spoke calmly as she looked around the chamber.

"I crafted every single piece here with my own hands."

Her fingers lightly brushed against the nearest weapon.

"None of them have a price because I never sell them." Her tone carried quiet pride. "I only hand them over to people I deem worthy."

Her stance was clear.

The opinion she now held of Kyle was vastly different from the impression she had when they first met.

Amanda glanced around curiously, unable to hide her fascination.

"Who was the last person to receive something from here?"

There was also a trace of disappointment in her voice, realizing she had never even known this vault existed.

Tear simply replied,

"I can’t tell you that."

Then, after a brief pause, she added,

"But you do know them."

Amanda’s eyes widened instantly.

"The Commander?"

Tear merely smirked faintly.

As expected, she had no intention of revealing the person’s identity.

Then she turned toward Kyle.

"Alright."

Spreading her arm slightly, she gestured toward the entire vault.

"Go ahead and choose whatever you want."

Her gaze sharpened.

"You awakened something within the creator in me today."

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"So I’ll allow you to take any one item from this place."

"No questions asked."

Kyle smiled faintly. Now this was something that genuinely made him happy.

Looking around, he told the system, ’Activate God’s Eye. I want to pick the best.’

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Drop a comment if you are enjoying the story so far.