The world around me crumbled as the Ten Thousand Demonic Statue''s fists hammered relentlessly at the ground where I had fallen. Each impact sent shockwaves through the Academy''s foundation, copsing walls and bringing down chunks of ceiling.


    "Is he dead yet?" I heard Dominic''s eager voice from above.


    "Keep striking," Bancroft ordered coldly. "I want nothing left of him."


    The statue obeyed, pounding the rubble where Iy buried. Pain coursed through my body – broken ribs, internal bleeding, my consciousness fading. Isabelle''s weak voice calling my name was the only thing keeping me from surrendering to darkness.


    I couldn''t die here. Not like this. Not with her still in their clutches.


    Something stirred within me, a power I''d only touched once before. The ancient energy my father''s pendant had awakened in me – raw, primal, and desperate to be unleashed.


    "Enough," I whispered, then louder: "ENOUGH!"


    Golden light erupted from beneath the rubble, sting stone and debris in all directions. The statue stumbled back as I emerged, my body enveloped in radiant energy that expanded outward, forming a colossal golden figure around me.


    My Cosmic Form.


    I stood nearly as tall as the statue now, a giant made of pure golden light. Through this amplified body, I could feel my wounds healing, strength returning. The pain remained but became distant, manageable.


    Gasps echoed from above. Even Dominic''s smug expression had morphed into shock.


    "What is this?" Bancroft hissed. "What manner of technique—"


    I didn''t give him time to finish. With a roar that shook the remaining foundations, I charged the statue. My golden fist connected with its chest, sending cracks spiderwebbing across its stony surface. The statue retaliated, but I caught its massive arm, the impact sending tremors through the floor but leaving my Cosmic Form intact.


    "Impossible!" someone shouted from above.


    I twisted the statue''s arm until stone cracked and crumbled. The monster howled – a sound like a thousand souls in agony – before swinging its other fist. I blocked it with my forearm, then countered with a palm strike that sent the colossus staggering back into a support column.


    The ceiling above groaned dangerously. If this continued, the entire Academy might copse.


    "Guild members, evacuate!" Bancroft ordered. "Technicians, secure the subject!"


    "NO!" I roared, seeing them move toward Isabelle.


    With newfound speed, I grasped the statue by its misshapen head and mmed my knee into its chest. More cracks formed, deeper this time. The statue''s movements grew erratic, desperate. It grabbed at my golden form, trying to tear it apart, but the light simply reformed wherever it touched.


    Blood trickled from my nose within the Cosmic Form. This technique was draining me rapidly, but I couldn''t stop now.


    I lifted the statue bodily and hurled it against the far wall. The impact demolished what remained of the structure, opening a path to the exterior grounds. Sunlight streamed in through the newly created hole.


    The statue rose again, more slowly this time. Half its face had crumbled away, revealing the tortured souls trapped within – countless human figures, their faces frozen in eternal agony.


    "You want to keep going?" I challenged, stalking forward. "Thene on!"


    It rushed me with a roar, both arms outstretched. I met its charge head-on, our collision sending shockwaves that shattered every remaining window in the Academy. My golden hands closed around its throat as we crashed through another wall, tumbling into the Academy''s central courtyard.


    Above us, students and faculty fled in terror. Guild members tried to maintain order while evacuating the building. Through it all, I could sense Isabelle – her energy signature weak but still present.


    The statue bucked beneath me, trying to throw me off. I drove my fist into its chest, again and again, each impact shattering more of its stone body. Cracks spread outward from the impact points, light pouring from within.


    "Die already!" I growled, raising both fists above my head and bringing them down with all my might.


    The statue''s chest caved inward. Light erupted from the wound – not my golden energy, but a sickly green glow. The statue convulsed, its limbs thrashing wildly.


    I sensed danger and leaped back just as the statue exploded, sending deadly stone shrapnel in all directions. My Cosmic Form shielded me, but I felt each impact like a knife against my real body inside.


    When the dust settled, nothing remained of the Ten Thousand Demonic Statue but scattered rubble and eight crumpled forms – the Veridia Twelve members who had been controlling it.


    Blood poured from their eyes and ears. Threey motionless, clearly dead. The others writhed in agony, their connection to the statue severed violently.


    I turned my attention upward, to the partially copsed ceremonial hall where Isabelle remained captive. With a single leap, my Cosmic Form carried me back inside, golden light illuminating the dusty interior.


    Dominic Ashworth stumbled back in terror at my approach. Others fled, screaming. Only Bancroft stood his ground, watching with calcting eyes.


    "Impressive," he said, as ifmenting on a mildly interesting demonstration. "But ultimately futile."


    I ignored him, moving toward the altar where Isabelley. She looked up at me with wide eyes, recognition dawning despite my transformed appearance.


    "Liam," she whispered. "It''s really you..."


    I reached for the tubes connected to her body, intending to sever them with a single swipe.


    "I wouldn''t do that," Bancroft warned, stepping forward. "Remove them improperly, and she dies instantly."


    I hesitated, my golden hand hovering above Isabelle''s frail form.


    "Step away from her," I growled, my voice resonating strangely through the Cosmic Form.


    "You''ve grown powerful, Knight," Bancroft acknowledged, "but you''re still a child ying with forces beyond your understanding."


    With deliberate slowness, he reached into his robe and withdrew an object wrapped in ck silk. As the covering fell away, I saw a ruler-like object made of gleaming gold and jade, inscribed with countless tiny symbols.


    "Do you know what this is?" he asked, holding it aloft. <kbd ss="story-note-vis">Hеlp us оut by rеаding оn М|V|LЕМ5РYR.</kbd>


    Before I could answer, the ruler began to glow with blinding white light. I felt my Cosmic Form shudder in response.


    "The Prajna Ruler," Bancroft announced, his voice carrying a hint of reverence. "One of the Guild''s most sacred treasures, forged by the first Martial Saint at the dawn of our order."


    The light from the ruler intensified, sending pulses of power that made my golden form waver.


    "A Martial Saint Weapon," I realized aloud.


    Bancroft smiled thinly. "Indeed. And now you''ll understand the difference between true power and whatever parlor trick you''re employing."


    He swung the ruler in a casual arc. The air split with a crack, and an invisible force mmed into my Cosmic Form with devastating effect. Golden light shattered like ss, and I was hurled backward, crashing through what remained of the altar.


    Pain exploded through my body as the protective energy dissipated. I tried to reform the Cosmic Form, but the ruler''s power had disrupted the flow of energy through my meridians.


    Blood poured from fresh wounds as I struggled to my feet. My vision blurred, muscles screaming in protest.


    "This is the inevitable oue when someone of your stature challenges the Guild," Bancroft said, approaching slowly. "You may have talent, Knight. Remarkable talent, even. But youck the foundation of centuries."


    I spat blood, forcing myself to stand straight despite the agony. "Let her go."


    "Or what?" he asked, genuinely curious. "What can you possibly do now?"


    In answer, I lunged forward, sword drawn. The de gleamed with thest vestiges of my golden energy. I was fast – faster than most Martial Marquises – but Bancroft merely flicked the ruler again.


    Another crack split the air. My sword shattered mid-swing, and I was thrown sideways into a marble column. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs, fresh blood spraying from my mouth.


    "Liam!" Isabelle cried weakly, trying to reach for me despite her restraints.


    Bancroft nced at her with mild irritation. "The subject appears to retain more awareness than expected. Increase the sedation."


    "No!" I pushed myself up again, knowing I had only moments before they would render Isabellepletely unconscious.


    I staggered toward her, ignoring Bancroft for the moment. If I could just cut the tubes, get her out of here...


    I reached her side, my trembling hands closing around the main extraction tube. Blood – her precious, unique blood – flowed through the transparent material.


    "I''ll get you out," I promised, voice barely above a whisper.


    Before I could pull the tube free, another st from the Prajna Ruler sent me tumbling across the floor. This time, when I tried to rise, my legs refused to support me.


    "Stubborn," Bancroft remarked, approaching with unhurried steps. "Admirable, but foolish."


    I needed a defense – anything to buy time. With thest of my strength, I reached into my spatial ring and summoned the only artifact I had that might stand against a Martial Saint Weapon.


    "Venerable Fifth Mountain, aid your master!" I gasped, drawing the ancient bell from my storage space.


    The mountain-shaped artifact materialized before me, glowing with protective energy. It had never failed me before, standing firm against even the most powerful attacks.


    Bancroft paused, genuinely surprised. "The Fifth Mountain? Where did a mongrel like you obtain such a treasure?"


    He studied the artifact for a moment, then shook his head. "No matter. Against the Prajna Ruler, even the legendary mountains must bow."


    He raised the ruler again, this time holding it vertically with both hands. The symbols inscribed on its surface began to glow one by one, from bottom to top.


    "With this sixth marking, I cleave the heavens," he intoned.


    The ruler descended in a perfect vertical strike. Light zed from its edge, striking the Venerable Fifth Mountain dead center. For a heartbeat, the mountain''s protective field held.


    Then, for the first time since it came into my possession, the artifact failed. The Prajna Ruler''s light cut through it like paper, cleaving the mountain in two. The pieces fell to the floor with a dull ng, their protective glow fading to nothing.


    Horror washed over me. My ultimate defense, shattered like cheap pottery.


    "Now you understand," Bancroft said, standing over me. "This is the gulf between us, Knight. You were never meant to challenge the Guild. No one is."


    He raised the ruler once more, its light now blinding in intensity. "This final strike will end you. Be grateful – few receive the honor of falling to a Martial Saint Weapon."


    I couldn''t move, couldn''t defend myself. My body had reached its limit, my energy reserves depleted. Isabelle''s face swam in my fading vision, tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched helplessly.


    "I''m sorry," I thought. "I wasn''t strong enough."


    The Prajna Ruler descended, its edge aimed directly at my heart. In that final moment, desperation gave me onest idea – a terrible, desperate gambit.


    My hand plunged into my spatial ring once more, fingers closing around not weapons or treasures, but something I had collected during my darkest days. Something I had never intended to use.


    As the ruler''s deadly edge neared my chest, I pulled two male corpses from my spatial artifact, positioning them as a shield before me.


    Bancroft''s eyes widened in shock at the macabre defense. "What in the—"


    The ruler struck the corpses instead of me, its power tearing through dead flesh rather than my living body.


    Whether this desperate gambit would save me, I didn''t know. But as darkness closed in around my vision, one thought remained clear – I would fight to myst breath to save Isabelle, no matter how hopeless it seemed.