Before Sunny stood his look-alike. Its body flickered between existence and absence, like a shadow that refused to obey the laws of light. Its edges blurred, dissolving into thin strands of pale energy, only to reform moments later.
But its eyes—
They were absolute.
Deep. Endless. Layered with something far beyond human comprehension.
And when it spoke, the voice did not travel through the air.
It echoed directly within Sunny's mind.
"I am Zerath."
The words pressed gently, yet carried an undeniable weight.
"I am the Mind Weaver… the Divine Mind Controller… faithful servant of the Dragon King."
Sunny tried to move.
He couldn't.
Not because he was restrained, but because something deep inside him had gone utterly still.
"My mark rests in your soul."
At those words, a strange sensation stirred in Sunny's chest. Not pain. Not pressure.
Recognition.
As if something ancient within him had just awakened.
"I am now one with you."
Zerath stepped forward. The distance between them didn't shrink—it simply ceased to exist.
Then Zerath moved through him.
Not like a force. Not like an attack.
Like a whisper.
A quiet merging of two existences.
Sunny felt it pass through his body, his mind, and something deeper than both—
And then…
It was over.
The presence vanished. The stillness shattered. The world rushed back in.
Sunny stood there, breathing steadily.
He blinked once. Twice.
He looked down at his hands. They were unchanged.
He clenched them slowly.
No surge of power. No dramatic transformation. No overwhelming force flooding his veins.
Nothing.
"…That's it?" he muttered.
For something that called itself Divine, it felt… underwhelming.
Too quiet. Too ordinary.
Then—
A whisper.
Cold. Mechanical. Ancient.
"You have received: Zerath God Body."
Sunny froze.
"Duration: Three seconds."
A faint pulse echoed within him.
"State: Dormant."
Sunny's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Three seconds…"
At first, it sounded almost like a joke.
Three seconds of power?
But as he focused inward—
He felt it.
Beneath the surface.
Something vast. Something compressed into an infinitesimal point.
Not active… but waiting. Hidden within him like a sealed cataclysm.
Sunny exhaled slowly.
"…So I can become Zerath… for three seconds."
Curiosity flickered in his eyes.
What would happen during those three seconds?
What would he see?
What would he become?
And more importantly—
Would he still be himself afterward?
He closed his eyes.
And the moment he did—
The world shifted.
This time, it did not force itself upon him. It simply opened.
He stood within an endless expanse. Dark… yet not empty. Threads of faint light stretched across the void, forming intricate patterns that connected everything to everything else.
And before him—
Doors.
Countless doors, floating in the vastness. Some small. Some massive. Some ancient. Some newly formed. Each carried a distinct presence.
Sunny stepped forward slowly.
He recognized this place. It was his soul. Or something very close to it.
His gaze drifted toward a familiar cluster of doors. They felt… known. Resonating with memories he had already claimed.
"…Mordret."
The name came unbidden.
These doors held the fragments he had collected. Power hidden within experience.
One door stood slightly ajar. Darkness seeped through the gap like living shadow. He could enter it. Relive it. Absorb more.
But he didn't.
Something else tugged at his attention.
Far beyond those doors—
At the very edge of perception—
Stood another set.
Different.
Ancient.
They did not float. They stood rooted, as if anchored to the very foundation of this space itself.
Sunny frowned.
"…Those aren't mine."
He knew it instantly. These doors were not memories he had gathered. Not fragments he had earned through conquest. They were sealed. Untouched.
And yet—
They called to him. Not with force, but with quiet persistence.
Sunny began to walk toward them. Each step grew heavier—not in body, but in spirit. Like approaching a threshold beyond his current existence.
The first door towered before him. Massive. Its surface was no ordinary material; it shifted with living runes—symbols that twisted and reformed the instant his eyes tried to focus on them. Alive. Vigilant. Anticipating.
Sunny slowly raised his hand. He hesitated.
"…Zerath."
The name resonated differently now. Closer. Not external— but intrinsic.
These doors… belonged to Zerath. Or what Zerath had bequeathed.
Sunny placed his hand on the door.
The moment he touched it—
It trembled.
A faint pulse surged through his arm, into his chest, into his mind.
And then—
A whisper.
Not words. Not language. Pure meaning.
Incomplete. Fragmented. Perilous.
Sunny yanked his hand back. His breathing had grown heavier.
"…Not yet."
Understanding flooded him without explanation. These doors were not ready to be opened. They demanded strength. Control. Insight. Perhaps all three.
Opening them now wouldn't empower him.
It would devour him.
Sunny took a step back. His eyes remained locked on the ancient doors.
"…So this is what I gained."
A God Body.
Three seconds.
And access—potential access—to something far greater.
Something primordial.
Something perilous.
Something that transcended the present era.
Excitement stirred within him. Controlled. Focused.
Because this…
This was only the beginning.
Sunny turned away. The soul space dissolved. The doors faded. The threads of light unraveled.
And he returned to the academy. To the world. To his body.
Everything appeared unchanged.
But it wasn't.
He clenched his fist slowly.
"…Three seconds."
A small limit. But not insignificant.
Even a single second—if wielded perfectly—could alter the course of fate.
Sunny's eyes sharpened. Determination rooted deep within his core.
He would grow stronger.
He would master Zerath.
He would unlock those doors.
And one day—
Three seconds would no longer confine him.
Because deep within his soul…
Something ancient had awakened.
And it had only just begun to stir.