Solaris's calm cyan eyes slowly began to change.
That familiar yellow color returned once again—quietly rising to the surface like something long buried inside him.
Then suddenly—
A violent burst of aura exploded from his body.
The air shook.
Cracks spread across the ground beneath his feet under an invisible pressure.
And everyone felt it instantly.
Hayami reacted first.
Her instincts screamed danger.
In a flash, she stepped in front of Reina and drew her sword halfway, her entire body shifting into a defensive stance.
"What's wrong with him?!" she shouted sharply.
Her eyes locked onto Solaris.
"Where all this mana coming from…?"
A cold chill crawled down her spine.
"…This doesn't feel human."
Her grip tightened.
"It feels more like facing a beast…"
But Reina—
The moment the pressure reached her—
Her body froze.
Then her knees suddenly gave out.
She collapsed to the ground, struggling to breathe as the air around her grew unbearably heavy.
"Hah…!"
Her vision blurred.
Her heartbeat pounded loudly inside her ears.
The pressure only kept increasing.
Every second felt heavier than the last.
Even the air itself started feeling solid.
Suffocating.
Hayami remained where she stood.
Not because she wanted to—
But because her body refused to move.
Everything inside her was warning her of the same thing.
They could not win.
Her voice dropped low.
"…We can't beat this thing."
Leonhart stood frozen nearby.
His eyes stayed locked on Solaris, wide with disbelief.
"…I knew you were strong," he muttered.
Then his voice cracked slightly.
"But this…?"
Meanwhile—
Solaris had completely changed.
His eyes were no longer cyan.
They had turned fully golden-yellow.
And slowly, his pupils narrowed into vertical slits.
A violent killing intent leaked from him naturally, mixed with crackling yellow lightning surging around his body.
The atmosphere grew heavier with every passing second.
Denser.
More dangerous.
None of them moved anymore.
Deep down, they already understood—
Doing anything now would be meaningless.
Then—
A voice suddenly echoed directly inside Solaris's mind.
"Master… please calm down…!"
The voice sounded urgent.
Desperate even.
"They're weak. They don't understand anything about you…"
A brief pause followed.
"Please… calm down."
And instantly—
Something inside Solaris snapped back into place.
His consciousness cleared.
The slit in his pupils slowly disappeared, returning his eyes to normal—
Though the golden color still remained.
"…Oblivient?" Solaris muttered quietly.
"…Is that you?"
Leonhart frowned in confusion after hearing the name.
"Oblivient…?"
The voice answered calmly inside Solaris's head.
"Yes, Master. It's me."
Then more seriously—
"Listen carefully. I'm here to help you."
Solaris frowned slightly.
"…Help me?"
The golden color in his eyes slowly began fading back toward cyan.
"As far as I remember," Solaris said dryly, "you've only caused me pain."
A small pause.
"So are you actually capable of helping?"
Oblivient immediately snapped back.
"Didn't I tell you to stop talking out loud, you idiot?"
His tone sounded genuinely irritated.
"They can't hear me—but they can hear you."
A deep breath followed, as if he was trying to calm himself.
"…Anyway. Listen carefully."
His voice became serious again.
"I only appear when you truly need me."
Solaris stayed silent this time.
Then Oblivient continued,
"I'm going to give you access… to a portion of your memories."
Solaris's brows twitched.
"…Memory access?"
The moment he spoke—
Pain struck him.
A violent shock surged through his chest as if something had grabbed his heart and squeezed it brutally.
"Ghh—!"
His body trembled violently.
Fragments.
Voices.
Memories buried deep inside him began forcing their way to the surface.
His vision blurred instantly.
And before he could steady himself—
His legs gave out.
Solaris dropped to his knees.
---
---
Solaris dropped to his knees.
The moment it happened—
Everyone saw it.
But no one moved.
Not Leonhart.
Not Hayami.
Not even Reina.
It was as if an invisible line had been drawn around Solaris—one none of them dared to cross.
The pressure in the air was still there.
Heavier than before.
Unstable.
Dangerous.
Hayami kept one arm protectively in front of Reina while gripping her sword tightly with the other. Her instincts screamed at her to stay alert.
Leonhart stood stiffly nearby, eyes fixed on Solaris without blinking.
No one spoke.
And from Solaris's perspective—
Everything suddenly went silent.
The forest disappeared.
The pressure vanished.
Even the sound of his own breathing faded away.
Then—
A memory surfaced.
The first day he met Leonhart.
The fight between them.
The strange feeling he had back then.
The way Leonhart moved.
The way he fought.
The way Solaris himself—an ordinary boy—dominated the Crown Prince of Eldrathis that day.
And slowly—
Things began connecting inside his head.
---
A few seconds later—
Solaris slowly stood back up.
The violent killing intent around him faded little by little.
The overwhelming mana pressure stabilised.
The yellow lightning surrounding his body disappeared into the air.
And finally—
His eyes returned to their usual calm cyan-blue color.
Leonhart noticed the change immediately.
He hesitated at first.
Then slowly called out,
"…Solaris?"
Solaris didn't answer right away.
He just stood there quietly.
Thinking.
Processing.
Then suddenly—
A grin appeared on his face.
Not arrogant.
Not threatening.
Almost amused.
"So that's how it is…?" he muttered to himself.
Then lightly—
He hit his palm with his fist.
Thump.
The simple motion alone released a burst of compressed air.
BOOM—
Dust exploded outward.
The ground beneath Solaris cracked slightly, and the shockwave pushed Hayami and Leonhart back half a step.
Both of them immediately raised their arms to shield their faces from the pressure.
Leonhart's eyes widened.
"…What the hell?"
Hayami ignored him completely.
She instantly turned around.
"Reina!?"
Reina was still there, tightly hugging Hayami's lower back with her eyes shut.
Aside from looking shaken—
She was unharmed.
The moment Hayami confirmed that, she finally let out a relieved sigh.
Inside Solaris's head—
A familiar voice shouted furiously.
"Restrict your energy, you moron!"
Solaris flinched slightly.
Then awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Oh… right. Sorry."
He looked toward the three adventurers again.
And immediately noticed something.
They were still tense.
Still wary.
Hayami remained standing protectively in front of Reina.
Leonhart's muscles were visibly stiff.
And on all three faces—
Fear remained clear.
Not normal fear either.
It was the kind of fear someone feels while standing in front of a dangerous predator.
Solaris understood instantly.
Then—
Without warning—
He bowed deeply.
"I'm really sorry, everyone!" he said sincerely.
"Please forgive my rude behavior!"
Silence.
Complete silence.
Leonhart blinked.
Reina blinked.
Even Hayami looked confused now.
The sudden shift in Solaris's attitude was so unexpected that none of them knew how to react.
Reina slowly leaned closer toward Hayami and whispered quietly,
"…Did he just apologise?"
Hayami kept staring at Solaris carefully.
"Don't lower your guard," she muttered seriously.
Then after a brief pause—
"…What I felt earlier…"
Her grip tightened slightly around her sword.
"…that wasn't human."
Solaris heard her.
And immediately looked embarrassed.
"Umm… I think you sensed my Void Beast Aura," he admitted awkwardly.
Leonhart's expression instantly changed.
"…Void Beast?" he repeated slowly.
"The Legendary Void Beast?"
Then he looked at Solaris again in disbelief.
"At fourteen years old?!"
Solaris quickly waved both hands.
"No, no—I didn't mean it like that."
He took a breath before continuing more carefully.
"My mother told me my bloodline is a little unique," he explained.
"And among noble families, unique bloodlines are pretty normal."
Then he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head again.
"When I get nervous… my energy sometimes changes on its own."
"It changes properties without me controlling it properly yet."
Inside his head—
Oblivient spoke again.
"…Nervous?"
The doubt in his voice was painfully obvious.
Solaris ignored him immediately.
Instead, he looked at the others sincerely.
"As far as I remember…"
"…my beast form has never hurt anyone."
The moment he finished speaking—
Everyone's expressions changed.
Hayami narrowed her eyes immediately.
Leonhart looked completely unconvinced.
Even Reina subconsciously tightened her grip on Hayami.
Inside Solaris's mind—
Even Oblivient sounded speechless.
Then—
Almost all of them reacted at once.
"…Really?"
Solaris blinked.
Confused.
Not because they doubted him—
But because he genuinely believed what he said.
Hayami slowly lowered her stance slightly but kept her sword drawn.
"Then explain something to me," she said seriously.
"That killing intent earlier…"
Her expression darkened slightly while remembering it.
"Anyone could feel it."
She pointed toward Reina.
"Even she felt it."
"Reina can't sense mana properly. But even she reacted."
Hayami's grip tightened again.
"Those eyes…"
"That presence…"
"And that ridiculous mana density…"
Her voice became heavier.
"Even if that really was some bloodline aura…"
"…I still refuse to believe a human can contain that much violence inside them."
A brief silence followed.
Then Solaris scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"I mean…"
"If I saw your Status Screens correctly back then…"
He glanced between Hayami and Leonhart.
"…weren't both of you around the same level?"
Hayami frowned instantly.
"Then what?" she shot back.
"If we're the same level, what does that prove?"
Behind her, Reina gently pulled her sleeve.
"Hayami… let him finish first."
Hayami clicked her tongue but stayed quiet.
Solaris nodded thankfully.
"Okay."
He took a small breath.
"If I remember our first meeting correctly…"
Then he pointed directly at Leonhart.
"…Don't get angry."
A pause.
"But Leonhart is honestly kind of below average in terms of fighting."
Silence.
Leonhart froze.
"…Huh?!"
Reina looked equally stunned.
"The strongest sixteen-year-old in the realm…"
"…looks below average to you?!"
Then suddenly—
"…Pfft—"
Hayami covered her mouth.
Her shoulders started shaking.
A second later—
"HAHAHAHAHA—!"
She completely lost control.
Clutching her stomach, she burst into loud laughter while pointing directly at Leonhart.
"He called you below average! A weakling! Hahahaha—!"
Leonhart's face darkened instantly.
"…That makes you a weakling too, dumbass."
Hayami's laughter stopped immediately.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
She turned toward Solaris.
Then started walking toward him step by step with narrowed eyes.
The atmosphere became tense again.
Reina immediately looked nervous.
"Hayami…?"
But after a few seconds—
Hayami suddenly laughed again.
This time quieter.
More relaxed.
"Hahaha…"
She shook her head slightly.
"Compared to what you showed earlier…"
"…yeah. I guess, I really am below average."
Leonhart stared at her for a moment.
Then unexpectedly—
He also started laughing.
"Hahaha…"
He rubbed his forehead tiredly.
"Compared to him…"
"…I'm probably below ordinary too."
Reina covered part of her face helplessly.
"…And somehow I'm the only normal person here."
Solaris looked at the three of them.
At Reina's exhausted expression.
At Hayami laughing openly.
At Leonhart finally relaxing.
And without realising it—
He laughed too.
A small, genuine laugh.
For the first time since meeting each other—
The tension completely disappeared.
No fear.
No suspicion.
No pressure.
Just laughter.
And quietly—
Without any of them fully noticing—
The distance between them disappeared.
But the peaceful moment lasted only a few seconds.
And then suddenly—
The ground shook violently.
BOOOOM—
Everyone froze instantly.
"What—?!"
The earth beneath them trembled hard enough to disrupt their footing.
Trees across the forest swayed unnaturally.
Birds scattered into the sky.
Dust rose everywhere.
And slowly—
They realised something horrifying.
It wasn't just their surroundings shaking.
The entire Second Territory—
All 250 kilometres of forest—
Was trembling violently.
Cracks spread across the earth.
The atmosphere itself felt unstable.
And for the very first time since all this began—
Solaris showed genuine shock on his face.
"…What's going on?!"
---
---
🌟Explain
Oblivient, "Lady Isolde knows Solaris very well, and for that reason, she only taught him partial knowledge about himself—for his own good.
Solaris is now aware that under certain conditions, he can transform into the Void Beast form. However, he still has no understanding of what actually happens during that transformation.
And yes… Solaris still has no memory of the Bloodline Collision Arc."
---