Chapter 51: The Third Magic Source! Open

Location: Time Rift Core – Floating Realm of Origins

Time itself bent as Ultear and Escanor emerged on the central floating stone—an ancient island suspended in the void of the Time Rift. Towering above them, humming with cosmic resonance, floated the crystallized R System—its sheer size defying comprehension, like a heart that pulsed with forgotten gods' breath.

Ultear's voice, low and solemn, echoed across the stone's silence.

"Escanor, the Third Magic Source... it's your future's key—but one misstep, and you'll vanish into nothing. Not even I would dare this."

"Even so…" Escanor replied, golden light flickering behind his irises, "The path I walk now permits no hesitation."

Ultear hesitated… then nodded.

"Then listen well. What you must do is release every drop of your life force. Let the universe see who you are."

A deep breath.

Suddenly—BOOM!

A roaring surge burst from Escanor's core, washing across the floating stone like a sun-born hurricane. Light—dense, golden, sacred—whirled into a gaseous aura that coiled like divine mist. Even Ultear gasped as the miracle unfolded before her.

"This vitality... it's like the first sunrise…"

As Escanor radiated pure existence, Ultear inhaled—her internal wounds began to heal. Just standing near him was curing her. Her expression trembled with quiet awe. This man… no, this being… I chose right.

Ultear raised her hands to the sky.

"Oh Time—answer my plea! Let us witness that singular future!"

"Time, God, Art: Deification!"

From her body burst spirals of temporal law—cosmic gears and serpentine glyphs swirled in the void, wrapping around Escanor's light. Her hands moved with divine complexity, forming seals that could twist eternity.

As the laws of time merged with Escanor's body, he collapsed to his knees.

"GHAAAH!"

Pain surged like endless suns collapsing inward—his muscles crushed, bones reassembled, and soul re-shattered in infinite permutations. Sweat flooded his body. Black blood burst from his lips, sizzling like acid, screaming as it hit the ground.

"UNNGHH—!"

From that blood… a black mist began to rise.

"Impossible…!" a voice hissed from the shadows. "That fragment was meant to bind you. Who let you sever it?!"

It was Ankhseram's soul shard, forcefully expelled from Escanor's being. A shadowy mass of hatred took form, lunging toward Ultear—who couldn't move without ending the ritual.

"Ultear—!"

Suddenly, a beam of golden light erupted from Escanor's heart, slicing the black mist in two.

"Aghhhh—!!!"

The soul shard disintegrated, screaming as it vanished.

Far away, in a realm of pitch darkness, a robed figure coughed blood. Ankhseram, the God of Death himself, staggered.

"Someone… destroyed my fragment? Who—?!"

Before him lay the black dragon—AcnoLogia, reborn in terror. Bone spikes erupted from his flesh, and black fire burned his scales. He twitched in his slumber, his evolution continuing under Ankhseram's cursed magic.

"Soon… they will all regret this."

Back in the Rift…

Ultear wiped her brow, relieved but focused.

Escanor's body, though battered, now shimmered with living chains of cosmic law. They spun around him, vibrant with power. The two original magic sources—one from his soul, one from his magic—hovered near him like twin stars.

Then—a third point of light emerged.

It expanded slowly, forming a triangular constellation with the first two. The third magic source... was being born.

Then—Escanor's soul was pulled from his body. Floating. Watching.

Eyes wide, he saw it all: Ultear, channeling power into him… His own body was glowing, radiant, and still.

"What… what is this state?"

He moved his hand in the spirit plane—and the world moved with it. Streams of time energy curled with his command.

Ultear gasped mid-cast.

"The temporal density here is... multiplying?"

Unaware of her awe, Escanor reached out. His soul connected with the law chains, and a surge of absolute divinity filled him. In that instant, he felt it:

I am the sun. I am the storm. I… am a world.

The chains wrapped around him and pulled him back.

Fwoom!Escanor's soul slammed into his body, and a final flare of light erupted from within.

The Third Magic Source awakened.

A golden orb floated in the center of the triangle. Magic flowed into it endlessly—pure, infinite.

Escanor peered inside with his consciousness.

"A void… so quiet. So… mine."

It would be nice if… there were a sun.

And just like that, in the heart of the void—a blazing sun ignited, casting warmth through chaos.

The cost? Half his magical power, drained in a heartbeat.

"I won't be reckless next time..."

Back outside, Escanor's eyes opened slowly.

"Esca—!"

Before he could speak, Ultear hurled herself at him, embracing him with every ounce of joy, relief, and love in her heart.

"You idiot! You really did it…!"

Escanor smiled faintly, arms wrapping around her waist.

"Of course I did. You guided me, Ultear. This power… is ours."

She trembled against his chest, heart pounding like thunder.

But their peace lasted only moments.

The R System crystal began to dissolve, violently.

Ultear's eyes widened.

"The devouring force… It's awakening again!"

Before she could react, chains of law burst from Escanor's body, soaring into the sky—piercing space.

And far, far beyond, something impossible began:

The sun itself was being drained.

Solar fire, once eternal, bent toward Escanor. A solar eclipse fell upon the earth, unannounced, uncharted—causing panic among wizards and seers alike.

The magic world trembled.

"A Demon King must have returned!" cried the frightened.

But it wasn't a Demon King.

It was the birth of a new god.