Chapter 127 — The Road Without People

The forest was quiet.

Kael walked beneath the afternoon sun.

For the first time in years—

there was no artificial darkness above him.

No endless pocket-world sky.

No ancient prison.

No collapsing domains.

Only the real world.

Kael stopped.

He looked toward the horizon.

The sunlight felt strange against his skin.

Warm.

Natural.

Real.

The Shadow Lion's machine-gun form rested across his back.

The Verdant Serpent had become a layer of living armor across his body.

And the Bone Sovereign hung around his neck as a dark blue necklace.

Kael touched the weapon behind him.

“Are you awake?”

The machine gun answered immediately.

“I have been awake the entire time.”

Kael smiled.

“So you really don't sleep.”

“Neither do you when something is trying to kill you.”

The Verdant Serpent's voice came from the armor.

“That is not entirely true.”

Kael looked down.

The green armor moved slightly.

“You can talk through the armor.”

“Of course.”

The Bone Sovereign's voice came from the necklace.

“Your blood is also affecting my energy circulation.”

Kael raised an eyebrow.

“My blood?”

“The armor is designed to absorb blood.”

The Serpent corrected:

“Not merely blood.”

Kael waited.

“Battle.”

The armor tightened around his body.

“Every time you fight and the armor absorbs enough blood-energy from the battlefield, its structure becomes stronger.”

Kael activated the System.

A status window appeared.

Conscious Weapon Status

Shadow Lion

Form: Machine Gun

Energy Source: Sunlight

Ammunition: Self-Generating

Current Energy: 7%

Weapon Grade: Unknown

Verdant Serpent

Form: Living Armor

Energy Source: Blood

Current Durability: 81%

Adaptive Growth: Active

Armor Grade: Unknown

Bone Sovereign

Form: Necklace

Energy Source: Defeated Life Energy

Current Mana Amplification: 3%

Mana Growth: Active

Artifact Grade: Unknown

Kael stared.

“Only seven percent?”

The Shadow Lion answered:

“You were inside a dark prison for years.”

Kael looked at the sun.

“Then sunlight will recharge you.”

“Yes.”

“How long?”

“That depends on the intensity of the light.”

Kael nodded.

“That works.”

He looked at the armor.

“Eighty-one percent durability.”

The Serpent answered:

“My current form is already stronger than ordinary armor.”

“And it gets stronger.”

“Correct.”

Kael then touched the necklace.

“And you.”

The Bone Sovereign answered:

“Your mana reserves are already increasing.”

Kael opened his status.

[Mana: 61]

His eyes widened.

He hadn't noticed.

Before leaving the pocket world, his mana had been far lower.

Now—

the necklace was already increasing his effective reserves.

“How much can you increase it?”

A pause.

“There is no known fixed limit.”

Kael's expression changed.

“That sounds useful.”

The Bone Sovereign responded:

“It is also dangerous.”

Kael frowned.

“How?”

“If your mana grows faster than your body can circulate it…”

A pause.

“…your control will become the limitation.”

Kael smiled.

“That sounds familiar.”

The Empty Road

Kael continued walking.

He had expected roads.

Cities.

People.

Something.

Instead—

nothing.

The farther he traveled, the quieter the world became.

An old road appeared between the trees.

Cracked asphalt.

Grass growing through the surface.

No vehicles.

No lights.

No voices.

Kael followed it.

The road eventually disappeared beneath the forest.

Kael looked around.

“Strange.”

The Shadow Lion spoke.

“What?”

“There should be people.”

The machine gun remained silent for a moment.

Then:

“Perhaps they moved.”

Kael looked ahead.

“Or something happened.”

The Bone Sovereign answered:

“The real world may have changed during your absence.”

Kael nodded.

Four years.

A long time.

Even without disasters—

things could change.

But his System hadn't detected any human presence.

Kael continued walking.

The First Beast

A low growl came from the trees.

Kael stopped.

The Verdant Armor tightened around his body.

The Shadow Lion's machine gun shifted slightly.

The Bone Sovereign's necklace glowed.

Kael smiled.

“Finally.”

A creature stepped from the forest.

It looked like a giant wolf.

But unlike the monsters Kael had fought inside the pocket world—

this one was unfamiliar.

The System activated.

[Forest Fang]

[Level: 34]

[Grade: Elite]

[Traits: Enhanced Hearing, Burst Speed, Pack Hunter]

Kael's eyes narrowed.

Level 34.

Nothing compared with what he had faced before.

But the real world was different.

He needed to understand how monsters here had developed.

The wolf charged.

Kael didn't draw the Origin Blade.

Instead—

he reached behind him.

The Shadow Lion machine gun came alive.

Crimson markings glowed.

The barrel rotated.

RATATATATAT!

A continuous stream of ammunition tore across the battlefield.

The wolf dodged the first shots.

Then another burst followed.

The weapon corrected its own trajectory.

The Shadow Lion laughed through the gun.

“You are terrible at aiming.”

Kael grinned.

“That's why I have you.”

The wolf accelerated.

The Verdant Armor hardened.

Its claws struck Kael.

CLANG!

The armor held.

Green scales shifted around the impact.

The Serpent spoke:

“Absorbing.”

Kael stepped forward.

His armor became slightly thicker around his arm.

The Bone Sovereign spoke.

“Defeat it.”

Kael drew the Origin Blade.

One movement.

The wolf fell.

The necklace pulsed.

[Mana Amplification: 3% → 3.4%]

Kael's eyes widened.

“It already works.”

The Bone Sovereign answered:

“Yes.”

The Shadow Lion added:

“And my ammunition increased.”

The machine gun's barrel glowed.

[Sunlight Energy: 7% → 11%]

Kael smiled.

“This is going to be useful.”

Learning the Real World

Kael examined the surrounding forest.

The monster had been strong.

But not unusually strong.

It had fought intelligently.

That mattered.

The pocket world had taught him to expect insane enemies.

The real world seemed—

different.

He opened the System.

[World Scan.]

The interface flickered.

Then:

[World status: Incomplete.]

Kael frowned.

“Incomplete?”

[Insufficient regional data.]

“Then scan the area.”

A map appeared.

Mostly blank.

Only a small region around Kael was visible.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

The real-world System had far less information than the pocket-world systems.

That was expected.

The pocket world had been an ancient controlled environment.

The real world was huge.

Unmapped.

Chaotic.

Kael looked at the map.

“No cities.”

No roads.

No human signatures.

No settlements.

Only wilderness.

He continued moving.

The First Night

By sunset—

Kael had reached a small valley.

He found a natural cave beneath a stone formation.

Perfect.

He entered.

The Verdant Armor loosened slightly.

The Shadow Lion remained on his back.

The Bone Sovereign rested against his chest.

Kael sat down.

For the first time since returning—

he allowed himself to rest.

He looked at the Space Ring.

Three eggs.

Still dormant.

Kael's eyes softened.

“Soon.”

The Shadow Lion spoke.

“You're going to hatch them immediately?”

“No.”

“Why?”

Kael looked at the three eggs.

“Because they're new.”

The Verdant Serpent answered:

“Correct.”

“They've spent thousands of years waiting.”

Kael shook his head.

“They shouldn't be born into a battlefield.”

The Bone Sovereign's voice became quiet.

“Wise.”

Kael stared at the cave entrance.

“I want them to see the world first.”

The Shadow Lion was silent.

Then:

“They may not be like us.”

Kael smiled.

“They shouldn't be.”

The Eggs

Kael opened the Space Ring.

The three eggs appeared inside the cave.

The Shadow Lion egg pulsed faintly.

The Verdant egg glowed green.

The Bone Sovereign egg emitted a quiet blue light.

Kael looked at them carefully.

They were completely different.

The Shadow egg felt energetic.

The Verdant egg felt calm.

The Bone egg felt strangely quiet.

Kael placed them gently into the ring again.

“Not yet.”

The Shadow Lion spoke.

“Good.”

Kael looked at the weapon.

“Why?”

“Because they are not replacements for us.”

Kael nodded.

“They're their own lives.”

The Serpent added:

“Exactly.”

The Bone Sovereign said:

“Let them choose what they become.”

Kael smiled.

“That sounds like the Fifth Path.”

Silence.

Then the Shadow Lion laughed.

“You're learning.”

Something in the Distance

Kael suddenly opened his eyes.

The atmosphere had changed.

The three conscious weapons sensed it too.

The Verdant Armor hardened.

The machine gun shifted.

The Bone Necklace released a faint pulse.

Kael stood.

“What is it?”

The Bone Sovereign answered:

“Mana disturbance.”

“Monster?”

“No.”

“Human?”

Silence.

Then—

“Unknown.”

Kael immediately became alert.

He stepped outside the cave.

The valley below was empty.

No movement.

No sound.

But in the distance—

the sky briefly flashed.

A faint blue light.

Then disappeared.

Kael activated Soul Sight.

Nothing.

Administrator Authority.

Nothing.

Fifth Path.

A slight response.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“That wasn't natural.”

The Shadow Lion said:

“Then don't approach it.”

Kael smiled.

“I wasn't planning to.”

The Verdant Serpent spoke:

“You were absolutely planning to.”

Kael laughed.

“Fine.”

He looked toward the distant light.

“But not tonight.”

He turned back toward the cave.

There were still too many unknowns.

The real world.

The monsters.

The missing humans.

The strange energy.

His three eggs.

His new weapons.

And the ancient entity sleeping inside his Space Ring.

Kael placed a hand over it.

The vessel remained silent.

For now.

A New Beginning

Kael sat near the cave entrance.

The moon rose.

The forest became darker.

The Shadow Lion slowly absorbed the sunlight stored in its weapon core.

The Verdant Armor settled around Kael's body.

The Bone Sovereign silently increased his mana capacity.

Three ancient beings.

Three conscious weapons.

Three new eggs.

And an entire world Kael barely recognized.

He looked at the stars.

Four years had passed.

He was no longer eleven.

He was fifteen.

His old family was gone.

His old world had continued without him.

Kael closed his eyes.

Tomorrow—

he would travel farther.

He would learn what had happened while he was gone.

He would raise the three new Legendary Beasts.

And eventually—

he would find the place where he had once lived.

The thought made his chest tighten.

Kael opened his eyes.

Not yet.

Tonight—

he would rest.

Far away in the darkness—

another creature watched from between the trees.

Not human.

Not one of the monsters Kael had encountered.

Its eyes glowed faintly.

Then—

it disappeared.

Kael didn't notice.

He simply watched the stars.

And for the first time in four years—

he slept beneath the real sky.