The first thing that crept into my consciousness as I emerged from the black void was not light, but the taste of salt mixed with ashes on my tongue, and the echo of my old cries reverberating like a wet fingerprint on the walls of my soul.

  Why don't I cut?

  Wasn't I cutting?

  Why did I stop?

  I screamed a soul-tearing scream:

  I must cut! I am sinful , the sin that deserves eternal punishment!

  As I shook with cries and tears, a faint message appeared:

  Understanding of emotions acquired. Current synchronization level: 30

  Note:

  An error occurred during the transfer of memories, so some data has been deleted.

  After I saw the message, the hand stopped cutting.

  I wondered:

  Who am I? Am I the sad heir Dio, who sees his end in every corpse? Or the cynical madman Hong Min, who enjoys this destruction? Or am I the cold void Dream, who watches both of them?

  I looked around and found a city burned to the ground. A city wrapped in despair like a rough cloth, filled with corpses, all with severed heads smiling. I felt like they were all aughing at me. Is this Loticia? Am I dreaming? Will Kayla appear?

  I didn't see Clara.

  Soldiers were shouting, enma ! enma !

  I looked to my side and saw a huge, scarred man with a majestic tiger tattoo on his neck.

  enma ! Are you okay?

  Why are you screaming and crying like a women?

  enma ?

  Who is this? I don't remember who enma is.

  I started shouting hoarsely again:

  Who are you?

  Ah! You're the gazelle! You're playing with my mind to stop me from cutting, aren't you?

  I drew my sword from its sheath and began to cut:

  I must cut! Cutting is not a punishment, but a necessary purification!

  For your sake, I will wear this eternal shame like a bracelet, and I will cut until time ends and hope is cut off!

  A man started speaking in strange words: I didn't care. I must cut! the man tried to stop me, grabbed my shoulder and shouted. With a single glance, I pushed him away. And everyone finally left me alone. The bleating gazelle left me alone. Fosh!

  Fosh! Suddenly, someone appeared in front of me. He was a giant, three meters tall. He had eyes as gray as the ashes of my sword, and hair as black as cold coal. He approached, looked me in the eye, and said in a frighteningly calm voice: The mission.

  You must find feelings. I shook my head violently: Feelings? But I have to cut! He turned his face in surprise: Cut? What will cutting add to the mission? But I am sinful! I have sinned and I am being punished, so I must cut! The mission comes first, then everything else.

  If you don't complete it, I will complete it for you. Then he reached out his hand to my brain. I felt the will of this entity imposing itself on me, a will as solid as a cosmic law. I felt him taking control of me, and as he did, I remembered: The mission is to find feelings! I must find feelings! The pain began to subside, until it stopped.

  The entity disappeared. I sighed and remembered: I was using the power of Soul Echo to enter Dio's memories. I looked around: I was in a room! Where am I? Why was he, the second elder, in front of me when I woke up? I started walking toward the camp, and on my way: I saw corpses with severed heads smiling, their hair black and their eyes black.

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  Clara... And I saw my brother Cairo smiling and laughing. Shouldn't I go back to the pieces? The mission comes first. I will complete my punishment after I complete the mission. Yes. Even if I'm not Dio, I'm still a sinner, I must be punished.

  These figures did not disappear. They stayed with me the whole way. When I arrived, I saw the soldiers moving away from me. I went to Lee Ho, who was sitting talking to the soldiers: How did I get here? He looked at me in surprise:

  After you went crazy, that's the first thing you ask me? I snapped and repeated my question. He sighed and said: Where do you want to know from? After we arrived in the city of Hili? The city of Hili ? Why am I here? I'll make it short, because I'm busy .

  A week ago, we took our asses and went to attack the city of Hili . When we arrived, you left us with no victory. You killed all the elders of the Yu clan by yourself. And after you killed them, you went crazy. And that's how we got to where we are now. Now, can you leave me to do my job? I started walking toward my tent, which a soldier pointed out to me.

  I thought, I don't remember this! How did I get here? As I was racking my brain, Hong Min appeared out of nowhere. He was cursing: That goat son, is he gone? Then he looked at me and said: You're finally back, you bastard! Do you know how much 404, the illusory world, enjoyed controlling your body? I realized everything that had happened.

  404, the illusory world, had taken control of my body when I used the Soul Echo ability. Suddenly, Hong Min shouted: Behind you! He's behind you! I looked behind me and found 404 sitting on a simple chair. He looked at me and said: Do you finally remember the mission ? I smiled coldly: Yes, thanks to you. That's why you can leave me alone now.

  Thank you for your service. He shook his head and said: Just as you have the mission to find feelings, I have the mission to find feelings. Therefore, the best option is for us to cooperate. I looked at him and asked: Will you control my body without my permission again? He calmly confirmed: When necessary. I nodded in agreement: Okay, then we'll cooperate with each other.

  good choice you still know what option are better for the mission . He began to recount calmly: I'll give you the details of what happened last week. When you used your soul echo ability, I took control of your body. I found that Ling Guo was waiting for me, and he was expecting me to take control. He told me that you were also searching for feelings. He told me that he could help me find feelings, on the condition that I cooperate with you and help him. That's what brought us here.

  After 404 give me the details he disappear .

  I continued walking until I reached my tent, then my strength gave out. I started screaming and screaming as I remembered Clara's face. Then I cried and cried as I remembered my brother Cairo's face. Then I laughed, then endless sadness.

  My heart is torn! How will I continue with the mission now? I am broken! I no longer know who I am. But now I see stars in the sky. Did someone create an illusion? Am I dreaming? I was lost. I saw my spare sword hanging at my waist. I began to cut. Fosh! Fosh! I felt relief.

  I no longer saw my brother's laughter and Clara's head. I am still sinful, but I have a mission. I will finish it and continue my sin. I cut, I forgot everything. I forgot the passage of time, I forgot where I was, I forgot my sin, I forgot my mission. Then suddenly, he came in and shouted: Come on! We're going back to Chang'an! I shouted: I have to cut! I mustn't stop! He exploded with anger and shouted: Didn't you boast that you wanted to find feelings?!

  I froze: That's right! Feelings. I nodded my head: Okay. Then I hugged him: Thank you, Jose, for reminding me. He was surprised, but he said nothing and walked away from me. The march back was majestic. We were like tens of thousands of tigers.

  I was walking at the front alongside three elders from the Go clan. You fool! Ho Ran, the red-haired elder, began: I thought you were weak. Why didn't you tell us you were this strong? I looked at her and said: You rabid star of the sky, Izabella, I never said I was strong.

  They were just weak. jose laughed after what i said and said : rabid star of the sky, what is your response to his words? Ho Ran shouted: teacher! And you, you bastard, don't call me that name again, or I'll kill you! Surely, rabid star of the sky.

  At night, we rested near a lake that reflected the stars. Was all of what happened just a bad dream? Izabella and José are back alive. But where is Clara? I haven't seen her anywhere, and Cairo's laughter in background disappear , why can't I hear it?

  If Izabella is here, definitely my star! My woman is here! I went to José , who was sitting by the lake cleaning his sword, and said to him: José, do you know where Clara is? José looked at me, smiled, called one of the soldiers, and whispered in his ear.

  The soldier's expression turned grim and he said: Yes, sir, I'll tell her to go. Jose smiled and said: Go to your tent, she'll come to you. I thanked him and turned around. After I took my first step, Jose said: Wait. I turned around and said: What? I'm in a hurry, I don't want Clara to wait. He smiled and said: I'm getting old, you know, so … what was your name again ?

  I laughed coldly as my golden eyes stared into his: Really, Jose, is your memory like Alessandro's? Then I continued in a decisive voice: Don't let it slip your mind this time. I am Dio, the star of change. Jose smiled strangely and said: All right, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. Go to your tent now. I turned around, puzzled by his strange smile.

  I entered my tent. Clara was not there. My voice rose in anger: Did Jose lie to me? Don't tell me my dream is real! Is Clara dead? Impossible! But it was only a dream, because at that moment my star opened the tent and entered. She was a bright star, shining in the sky, a shadow of her shadow. I approached and embraced her. She was nervous. Why?

  Perhaps because we hadn't seen each other in a long time. It didn't matter. I carried her and laid her on the blanket, kissed her, and began to gently undress her, kissing every part of her star-lit body. She was crying. Her tears were not water; they were too precious to be anything but liquid stars.

  I stretched out my fingers and wiped those stars from her rosy cheek, tasting them. They were salty like the sea, but not my sea. I whispered to her, my sharp tone becoming like the rustling of feathers:

  Don't cry, my star.

  If you cry, I will cry too.

  Core Concept: The Echo of Creation The universe is saturated with a chaotic, primordial energy known as the "Echo of Creation." This energy is pure white light, containing within it all possible energy spectra.

  The Soul Gate: The Body's Prism Every living being is born with a unique "Soul Gate," located in the solar plexus area (upper abdomen). This gate acts as a personal prism that purifies and filters the raw Echo of Creation.

  The Results: The Purified Spectrum Colors When the Echo of Creation (white light) passes through the unique Soul Gate, the gate filters it to allow only one specific color to emerge, determining the type of energy:

  

  
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    Ri (Red): Sharp, explosive, and physical energy. Ideal for physical combat (used by Murim warriors, such as the Gu Clan).
  
    


  
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    Mana (Blue): Flexible and mysterious energy. Ideal for forming spells and constructs (used by Mages).
  
    


  

  Training and Strengthening Willpower Training in martial arts (such as swordsmanship or magical skills) is not an end in itself, but rather a means to refine Willpower.

  

  
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    Combat as a Crucible: The more a warrior fights, and the more they push the limits of their abilities in mortal conflicts, the sharper, stronger, and more solid their will becomes, and consequently, the stronger they become.
  
    


  

  Mechanism of Action and Training

  

  
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    Permanently Open Gate: Once purified for the first time, the Soul Gate remains constantly open, continuously processing the surrounding Echo of Creation.
  
    


  
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    Energy Reserve: Every individual is born with a specific capacity to contain and utilize the purified energy.
  
    


  

  Power Progression and Levels: Will Determines Rank Ascension in power is measured by the extent of the individual's will's dominance over the world itself. As their willpower increases, their strength increases, allowing them to rise through the Realms (which, in this context, serve as the metric for a person's strength of will).