The bricks trembled. The entire pir glowed, burning under the heat of hispression. Ike pushed down on it, forcing the pir down and pressing in on it from all sides. Compressing it like a diamond, forging it into something stronger—or shattering it.


    Do or die. This is it. If I fail here, I''ll have to take all the time over again. I don''t want to do that. No, I can''t do that. I need to break through right here, right now, with this pir. It''s my way forward. My step into Rank 3!


    The pir trembled. It shook, on the verge of falling apart. Ike gritted his teeth and kept going, continuing topress it. As he did, he called out more strongly to the Body Reforging Art. This was the moment. Now was the time!


    The bricks began to glow. They resonated with each other. If any one brick cracked, the pir would crumble. There was no space for mistakes.


    But he''d made no mistakes. Their aether and their framework called out in one cohesive voice. One after another, the bricks lit up, until the entire pir glowed.


    Ike''s eyes narrowed. He pushed every bit of aether he had into the pir. His core whirled. Aether poured into the pir. The pir was already fullypressed. Alreadypletely full of aether. But he pushed more in anyways. He kept breathing in the sm he was processing in Rosamund''s head, continuously refilling his core.


    I don''t care if it''s already full. I''ll fill it twice!


    The pir bulged. It struggled, trying to contain all the aether Ike sent into it. All at once, it bulged. The pir burst upward. It pierced through Ike''s core and all the way through his body. Surging up his spine, it rooted itself in his head.


    Ike''s eyes widened. He gasped, struggling to contain the urge to vomit. At the same time, pure power surged through his body. His core expanded—no, that wasn''t it. His core expanded, but the pir had transformed him in a fundamental way. His spine was now part of his core, in a way of thinking. A primary aether conduit surged from the base of his spine to its tip, more strongly feeding aether throughout his entire body and all his mana passages. His entire body heated up as all his reforged cells sang with the new aether conduit. If he hadn''t reforged his body to use aether, it would have copsed. Instead, his power burst forth. He reached the limit of Rank 2, then pushed past that. Beyond it. From Rank 2, to the very bottom of Rank 3.


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    And his power kept climbing. Aether inundated his body. All the cells he''d strengthened continuously filled with aether. Every piece of him, organs, muscles, bones, and skin, filled to capacity with aether. It reinforced every part of his existence.


    At Rank 1, he''d been a mortal with a few skills. Rank 2 had heightened him to a true mage, with an enhanced body. Now, he had begun to merge with the aether. Aether''s existence and his existence were inextricably entwined. He could no longer live without aether. But in return, he could no longer bepared to a mortal. From his handsomeness, to his strength, to his lifespan; he knew instinctively that everything had changed. Every part of him was stronger. Different. More than merely human.


    A mage.


    Ike breathed out. He opened his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he stood.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Down below, the town came to a standstill. All the upants stared at him. Motionless. Still.


    Ike lifted his hand. He called forth a Tempest. The energy swirled around his hand. It grew stronger and stronger, but he held onto it. Condensing it. Waiting.


    The sky grew dark. Clouds churned overhead. Lightning flickered through the clouds, threatening, pulsing in time with the Tempest growing in Ike''s hand.


    At Rank 2, it hadn''t been a usable skill. It had taken every iota of aether he''d had. At Rank 3, even at his very entry into Rank 3, it only took one third of his aether. He looked down at the townsfolk, or rather, the empty husks of what had once been townsfolk.


    "Today, I set you free." Ike unleashed the Tempest, dropping it on the town. The small blue ball dropped downward. It sunk slowly, as if it understood the gravity of what it was. All the townsfolk''s eyestched onto Ike. Not the ball, but Ike. They understood what he was doing. What he had done.


    The Wisp puppet suddenlyughed. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "I''ll see you soon, Ike."


    "Huh—Wisp?" Ike startled. "Wait—"


    The Tempest struck down. Wind and water sted out from where it struck. Roofs stripped off the buildings. Windows shattered. Doors flew in. The walls fell in on themselves, then blew away. The people vanished, swept away by the powerful storm. Tempest swept everything away. Even the building under Ike''s feet was stripped away by the winds. He fell,nding on his feet with a thump.


    Tempest dissipated. Nothing remained. Barren earth stretched to the distant walls. Ike stood alone, save one thing.


    A castle. Far in the distance, high atop the hill in the town''s center, a lonely, dark stone castle loomed. Lightning shed behind it, illuminating its spires for but a moment. A ragged dark g hung from its highest point.


    "So that''s where you are," Ike murmured. He marched forth, his eyes locked on the distant castle.


    "I''ming, Wisp."