The Extra's Rise

"Show me these records," I said, following Ren toward the chamber walls where the historical inscriptions were carved into the impossible stone.

As we approached, the patterns began to glow with soft light that made the symbols easier to read. But these weren't written in any normal script—they were carved in a combination of ancient text and magical notation that seemed to convey meaning directly into our minds rather than requiring normal reading comprehension.

"Here," Ren said, pointing to a section that pulsed with brighter illumination. "This is where it explains how the facility was created."

I pressed my hand against the carved symbols and felt knowledge flow into my consciousness like water breaking through a dam. Images, sensations, and understanding that belonged to someone else flooded through my awareness, showing me events that had taken place two centuries ago.

Liam Kagu stood atop a mountain peak, his fists wreathed in spatial distortions as he faced the writhing mass of corruption that was the Heavenly Demon. The First Calamity had been a being of immense power, its influence spreading across continents and threatening to consume all of human civilization.

The battle had raged for days, with Liam's combination of fist fighting and space-time magic matching the demon's raw destructive power. His eyes glowed with the distinctive purple light of the God's Eyes—the Kagu family's bloodline ability that allowed perfect perception and analysis of magical phenomena.

Time dilated around his strikes as he compressed seconds into microseconds, allowing him to land dozens of blows in moments. Space folded to his will, letting him appear behind the demon even as it tried to retreat. Gravity amplified his attacks, each punch carrying the weight of collapsing stars.

"He was high Radiant-rank," I said with growing understanding. "Stronger than Gideon, but still within normal power classifications."

"But watch what happens next," Ren replied with grim intensity.

The carved symbols pulsed with new information, showing me the moment when Liam realized victory would cost him his life. The Heavenly Demon's corruption had spread too far through his body during their extended battle. Even as he landed the killing blow, he was dying.

But worse than his own death was what he witnessed in the demon's final moments. As the Heavenly Demon's physical form dissolved under his space-enhanced fist strikes, Liam's God's Eyes revealed something horrifying—the entity wasn't truly dying. Instead, it was fragmenting itself, dividing its essence into separate aspects that scattered in different directions.

"He saw it splitting apart," Seraphina said with awe as she touched another section of the wall. "Mind, Body, and Soul—three distinct pieces of the original Calamity."

The implications were staggering. Liam hadn't just faced a powerful enemy—he'd confronted a being whose nature made permanent victory nearly impossible. The Heavenly Demon could be defeated, but its fundamental essence would always seek to reunify.

"So in his final moments, he made a choice," I realized as more understanding flowed through the carved records. "Instead of simply dying, he used his remaining life force and spatial magic to create this place."

The knowledge showed me Liam's final technique—a combination of space-time manipulation and his own life essence that created stable dimensional anchor points. Using his mastery over spatial magic, he had folded reality around his dying moments, creating a pocket dimension that could exist outside normal time flow.

"This entire facility exists in compressed space-time," Ren said with growing excitement. "Powered by Liam's final use of his spatial magic and sustained by the dimensional techniques he developed."

I moved to another section of the wall where the symbols seemed to resonate with my own spatial abilities. When I made contact, a flood of information hit me about Liam's space-time magic techniques.

The records showed me how Liam had developed methods that seamlessly blended martial arts with space-time manipulation. His punches could strike across folded space, his defensive movements could redirect attacks through temporal shifts, and his footwork could manipulate gravity to enhance mobility.

"His fist unity," I said as the knowledge crystallized. "He achieved perfect integration between his fighting style and his spatial magic. Like my sword unity, but focused on hand-to-hand combat."

But what made him truly formidable was the combination of these techniques with his bloodline Gift. The God's Eyes weren't just enhanced vision—they were a complete magical analysis system that could perceive the fundamental structure of any magical phenomenon, exclusive to the Kagu bloodline.

"The training platforms," I realized, studying the knowledge transfer systems with new understanding. "They're designed to teach Liam's space-time magic methods. And for you, Ren, they can help develop the God's Eyes since you have the bloodline."

"Not just teach," Ren corrected with appreciation for his ancestor's foresight. "They provide direct experience of how those abilities should function. Compressed learning that would normally take decades."

I studied another section of the records that dealt with the threats Liam had foreseen. The fragments showed creatures and entities that operated on scales similar to the Heavenly Demon—demons whose power could corrupt entire continents, beings whose influence transcended normal reality.

"He wasn't just preparing for the Heavenly Demon's return," Seraphina observed. "He was preparing for the larger demonic forces that the Calamity's resurrection would herald."

The weight of that revelation settled over us. The Heavenly Demon wasn't an isolated threat—it was the vanguard of something larger. Its return would signal the beginning of conflicts involving entities that required space-time magic and enhanced perception just to comprehend, let alone fight.

"The God's Eyes will be crucial for Ren," I said, studying the techniques Liam had developed. "For understanding threats that operate beyond normal magical theory. And his space-time magic methods will help all of us."

"The bloodline inheritance is mine to claim," Ren said with growing understanding of his responsibility. "But the space-time magic techniques can benefit everyone."

I looked at the training platforms with new appreciation. These weren't just knowledge transfer systems—they were direct inheritance of the Kagu family's most advanced techniques, preserved in the moments before the First Hero's death.

"How long do you think we have?" Seraphina asked. "Before the threats he was preparing for actually arrive?"

"Not long enough," I replied, though I couldn't shake the feeling that Ren being brought here now meant the countdown had already begun. "The facility activated for a reason. Something must have triggered its detection systems."

"Then we'd better start learning," Ren said with determination. "If Liam thought these techniques were necessary for facing demons, then we need to master everything he left behind."

I nodded with agreement, feeling anticipation for what we might discover. Advanced space-time magic and fist unity methods for me, while Ren could access both those techniques and the God's Eyes bloodline inheritance that was his birthright.

But more than techniques, we had the opportunity to understand what it meant to face cosmic-level threats with preparation and wisdom rather than just raw power.

The First Hero's legacy was waiting, and it was time to prove worthy of the knowledge he'd preserved for us.