The first heaven awakens

[KEN'S POV]

I stood, barely able to breathe. My chest burned with every inhale, and my ribs felt like glass grinding beneath my skin. Pain radiated from my back and arms, and even through my advanced battle suit, I could tell—I was broken. My HUD confirmed it: multiple fractures in my ribs, a shattered left arm, and micro-fractures along the right. But I didn't lower my sword.

My trembling hand kept the blade pointed straight at him.

The mage began to walk toward me, his purple eyes glowing with an ominous light. Magic surged around him like a storm held barely in check. He spoke with cold indifference, "You'd be dead if not for your friend. And yet, you still point that blade at me… as if you think you can win."

I swallowed the pain and said, voice steady, "It's not about what I think I can do. It's about what I must do. An Inquisitor's duty is simple—eliminate any mage who poses a threat to the Empire."

He paused, staring at me with something between disdain and curiosity. "Then you're not afraid of death?"

I looked him in the eye, unwavering.

"Of course I'm afraid of death… but I fear failing my duty even more."

His expression flickered. A beat of silence passed between us. I could see it—he didn't expect that.

[MAGE'S POV]

I studied him. This boy… he wouldn't back down. Not even now. I focused energy into my eyes to read his essence—my unique skill: TRUE VISION should've peeled back every layer of his soul.

But I saw nothing.

Where his spirit should've been, there was only blackness. A void. A blank spot in reality.

How strange. I've seen through thousands of warriors—cowards, heroes, murderers—but this boy? Nothing.

A void is far more dangerous than a lie.

No matter. He'll be dead soon.

[KEN'S POV]

Suddenly, the mage's body exploded with a surge of magic. The very air cracked and screamed around him. My lungs seized. I dropped to one knee, eyes swimming. Then—he vanished.

BOOM!

He appeared beside me like a demon out of nowhere and slammed a fist into my ribs. I barely managed to throw up a barrier, but it shattered on impact. The punch launched me into the air. My HUD blinked red.

Critical damage detected.

I nearly blacked out—but I bit down on my lip, hard enough to draw blood. Stay awake… stay awake…

Before I could recover, he cast a spell.

"MIRROR MAGIC: Echoing Barrage of Light!"

Mirrors surrounded me in midair, each one firing a beam of purple light. I twisted, slashing the one headed for my face. Another from the side—I turned my wrist and cleaved through it. One from behind—I flipped my blade overhead just in time.

But I was too slow for the last.

It struck my chest.

CRACK.

I went flying. Again.

In the sky, time seemed to pause. I saw him—already there. He appeared midair, kneed me in the back, then punched me into the dirt with enough force to shake the trees. Blood burst from my lips.

He didn't stop. A brutal kick sent me crashing into a tree. Bark exploded. My body screamed.

This... this wasn't a normal mage. His control over both martial arts and spellcraft... his body-enhancing techniques... He's like a Paladin.

No. He is one.

A heretic paladin.

My thoughts spiraled, but I forced myself to stand, limbs trembling. He landed in front of me like a thunderclap.

"Stay down."

"I don't know how," I gritted.

There was no arrogance in his voice. Just... sorrow.

"Then die with pride."

He raised his hand—and then paused."but before I kill you","I'll answer three questions. Then, you die."

My mind whirled. Why now? Why this mercy?

Still, I wasn't about to waste it.

"Who are you people?" I asked.

"We're a shadow organization. The Black Ravens."

Black Ravens?

"What do you want with the Starnite Crystal's?"

He smirked. "i don't possess the answer to that question."

"Last question," I said, my voice low. "Do you know of any paladin with a rising sun crest on their suit?"

His face changed.

Like I'd said the name of a demon.

His jaw clenched. "What do you want with the Solar Knight Order?"

My hand tightened around my blade. My voice dropped into a whisper—sharp, cold.

"Seven years ago… I was ten. It was a peaceful night. Quiet. Too quiet."

I remembered it all.

"The explosion came first. Then the screams. A paladin descended upon us. Not a demon. A man. Wearing the crest of the rising sun. He butchered my colony because we were citizens to the Imperial Empire."

The air thickened with my psychic energy, rage bleeding out of me.

"My parents hid me underground. I watched through a crack in the wood as he cut them down. I still remember my mother's blood dripping onto my face as she covered the hatch with cloth."

Her final words echoed.

"My baby boy… survive. Live a happy life…"

"I lived," I said, voice trembling. "But happiness died that night. And I swore—I'll find that paladin, and tear him apart. Piece by piece."

[MAGE'S POV]

So… that's what fuels him.

The fury, the pain… I could feel it in his voice.

He wants vengeance. Against them.

"Even if you trained for two hundred years," I said, "you wouldn't scratch the surface of the Solar Knights. If you pursue this… they will make you suffer a fate worse than death."

I raised my hand, forming a blade of pure magic. "So I'll end your pain here."

(Ken's POV)

He vanished.

I didn't see the motion—I felt it. The rush of magic, the killing intent.

Time slowed.

Then something clicked in my mind.

My brain enhancement.

After the combat exam, I had one right. One enhancement apart from the standard enhancement. I picked my brain. But I never knew how to activate it.

Now, instinct took over.

Milliseconds began to stretch.

999… 998… 997…

Everything around me was molasses. The blade was inches from my heart.

My brain raced through old memories—flashes of Academy days.

Instructor Knicks. Holograms.

966… 965…

He spoke of the most difficult technique in the empire. The Nine Heavens Thunder Blade.

"The hardest blade technique of the Inquisitors," he said. "It converts psychic energy into lightning—nine stages of overwhelming power. Each stage, a Heaven."

800… 799…

No one had reached the Ninth, most inquisitors stop at the fouth Heaven

Only one had reached the Eighth in the empire history.

Sir Chen Feng ,the seventh sit of the death Knights, he also goes by a different name,The Thunder God.

600… 500…

I tried it once.

Nearly killed myself.

I gave up.

100…

But Knicks had said it could work with any blade.

And mine… had no technique of its own.

10… 9… 8…

My body flared.

Psychic energy surged from my core.

3… 2… 1…

Snap.

Red lightning exploded around me.

The mage's blade never reached me.

Instead—he blinked.

And I was gone.

He felt a sting on his cheek—a cut.

[MAGE'S POV]

He vanished.

A flash of red lightning. A sharp pain.

A cut on my face.

I turned—and there he stood.

Covered in lightning. Blade crackling. His eyes were no longer those of a wounded soldier.

They were the eyes of a demon.

[KEN'S POV]

My breath was steady. My body no longer felt broken.

"So… this is the First Heaven," I whispered.

The surge of power—it was intoxicating.

I faced him. "Round two."

I lunged.

My blade moved so fast, only red flashes remained in my wake.

Clang!

He blocked. Our blades collided—lightning against magic—and the ground beneath us shattered.

The forest trembled.