#051. White Sun (1)
The time had come, but nothing happened.
No tremendous light burst through the hole in the ceiling, nor did any ear-splitting roar echo.
But Ray knew.
Inside, a mana storm of unimaginable scale—spanning the entire abandoned factory—was raging.
"......"
The screams of mana reached him.
The sound of mana twisting and shattering echoed in his ears.
To Ray, who perceived mana far more acutely than ordinary mages, this was more intense and violent than any disaster he’d ever witnessed.
How much time had passed?
Finally, the mana settled.
‘…It’s over.’
He glanced around.
Pale sunlight filtered through the ceiling, and a breeze carrying the metallic tang of rust brushed past.
The ordinary scenery made the events inside the factory feel like a lie.
But it was real.
His sweat-drenched body, the fresh scratches, his torn clothes, and the thick layer of dust—all proof of the plan’s success.
Creeeak───
Ray opened the door.
The first thing he noticed was the complete absence of mana inside the factory.
As if a storm had swept everything away.
Through the open door and ceiling hole, external mana now trickled in to fill the void.
"......"
Today alone, he’d witnessed two unprecedented phenomena:
The disappearance of the man’s vessel.
The erasure of atmospheric mana.
‘I’ve heard atmospheric mana can amplify magic circles.’
Ray tilted his head slightly.
The light from the ceiling hole illuminated the floor in a perfect circle, like stage lighting.
To be precise, mana wasn’t entirely absent.
Where the light fell—at eye level—a crimson thread of mana floated lazily in the air.
Beneath it lay scattered remnants of the man’s clothing.
And his ring.
But the man himself was gone.
Ray instinctively understood: the mana thread had been extracted from him.
It unraveled from one end, spiraling into the ring until nothing remained.
Thud. Thud.
The boy picked up the ring.
‘A Bloodstone.’
The gem flashed violently, its red light nearly blinding.
He felt the absorbed mana merging with the stone itself.
As the old man had said, sacrificing a life couldn’t refine mana into a ring—it could only enhance tools.
Whoosh─
The ring ceased flashing, returning to normal.
His task here was done.
All that remained was to rest, then investigate the man’s basement for clues about Mercrad and the Rainbow.
But first, he wanted to test the gem.
The man hadn’t been weak.
The Bloodstone’s power must have grown exponentially.
‘The mana’s quality has changed, too.’
Perhaps it could rival his own ring’s mana.
The thought stirred something primal within him.
Ignoring his fatigue, Ray channeled the gem’s red mana into his palm.
Whoosh─
The crimson energy surged into his hand.
…It exceeded expectations.
Though still inferior to his ring’s mana, its quality had improved manifold.
He finally understood why the man had sacrificed lives to strengthen it.
Whoosh─
As the red mana traveled up his arm, a foreign memory struck him:
“I-I’m sorry! Please—don’t hit me! Agh!”
Daily kicks from a drunken orphanage director.
“G-get away! This bread is mine!”
Street thugs robbing him as casually as breathing.
Retrieving hardened bread from gutter water, his hatred for the world festering.
A lifetime craving strength.
‘Not my memories.’
These were the man’s.
The rage permeating them mirrored Cedric’s past—the night he’d sobbed his story out.
No wonder the man had understood and manipulated Cedric’s despair so deeply.
Ray felt the man’s fury battering his emotional barriers, demanding to be felt.
After a moment’s pause, Ray ignited a flame using the gem’s mana.
Fwoosh!
A dazzling mix of red and crimson bloomed in his palm.
"......"
Though his face remained blank, his eyes glazed as he stared at the fire.
A thought surfaced: How large could this flame grow at full power?
He dismantled his emotional barriers.
The man’s rage flooded in instantly.
“I’ll kill them all. I’ll become so strong… no one will ever look down on me again.”
Fwoosh!
The flame quintupled in size, radiating blistering heat and vivid color.
Still, it felt inadequate.
To maximize the gem’s potential, he needed more.
Ray recalled that rain-soaked night:
The blood pooling beneath a collapsed tent.
Niles’ chest pierced open.
A golem with a crushed torso crawling toward him.
Like the Elton River overflowing that day, fury deluged his mind.
Fwoosh!
The flame swelled again, now large enough to engulf a man’s upper half.
Without mana protection, his skin would have charred instantly.
"......"
The anger fueling this fire was purely his own now—the man’s rage had been overwritten.
‘So this is its limit.’
The experiment was complete.
He could’ve suppressed his emotions again.
But he didn’t.
‘Why block feelings?’
His hazy mind rebelled.
His head and chest burned—not from the flame’s heat, but from the fury itself.
Blocking it would erase the pain, but unleashing it promised an addictive release.
He knew exactly how to channel this condensed wrath.
‘Destroy everything.’
People. Objects.
Anything in sight.
Flames erupted across his body.
“Is he okay…?”
Veronica’s whisper trembled.
“He’s fine. If another fight had started, we’d hear it.”
Philip adjusted his glasses, though anxiety flickered in his eyes.
“But what if something went wrong inside…?”
“The magic circles are there, right? Ray asked you to tweak them. He’s already won—we just need to wait.”
Philip took a steadying breath.
“Ray doesn’t make sloppy plans.”
Veronica’s tension eased slightly.
The two hid behind scrap metal piles, ten allies scattered nearby.
2:29:21 PM.
No signs of movement since Ray re-entered the factory.
Veronica recalled his words two days prior:
“I’m fighting someone here.”
“Using magic circles.”
“Might die.”
Each syllable had chilled her.
After tracking down Philip through street kids, she’d begged for help.
Philip had canceled all plans, gathering Cedric and trusted Hotel members.
Now they waited, ready to drag Ray to safety if needed.
“Our leader’s tough. He wouldn’t lose,” a boy muttered.
Philip glanced back.
“He’ll come out soon. Just wait a little longer.”
“...Okay.”
Veronica nodded, though the white sun in her vision remained.
Then—
Creeeak───
The factory door opened.
