"Divine power… huh."
Link instinctively looked toward the painting of the goddess hanging on the wall. After a brief moment of thought, he slowly nodded.
"I think I understand what you mean, Mentor."
With that, Link took a deep breath and closed his eyes, allowing both his body and soul to fully relax.
"I, Tier-1 esper Link, hereby swear this oath upon my soul…"
The moment he began to speak, Ryze, standing nearby, immediately noticed wisps of starlike particles begin to rise from Link's body.
These translucent soul fragments shimmered like distant stars—so faint and pure that ordinary people couldn't see or even sense them. Only espers who had themselves made a Soul Oath could perceive their existence.
Then, Ryze heard Link's voice begin to chant:
"Doom is approaching. From this day forward, I shall stand watch—until death and beyond."
"My body is the shield. My blood is the wall. My life is the beacon."
"Any threat birthed by darkness, any claw sent by foreign races—shall fall to my blade and break upon my bulwark."
"I dedicate my life, my honor, and every ounce of energy within my cells to the prosperity of the human race. So it shall be tonight, and every night thereafter."
As Link's final word fell, the entire room became utterly silent, as if even the air dared not disturb the sanctity of the moment.
A soft, golden light descended from above, landing gently upon Link's head. At that moment, he looked like a divine figure—an angel graced with celestial purpose.
In the distance, the faint sound of horns and bells echoed as if the heavens themselves bore witness to the oath.
Ryze stood motionless, completely transfixed.
Though he had awakened the Soul Oath talent decades ago and had seen countless others swear their vows, he had never witnessed anything remotely as powerful—or as awe-inspiring—as this.
At the center of the miraculous display, Link seemed unaware of any of it. He remained on one knee, fists clenched before him in solemn prayer, carefully reviewing the vow he had just made, making sure every word and intent was exactly as he wanted it.
After a while, the holy phenomena surrounding him began to fade, the golden light receding into nothingness.
The radiance that had descended upon his head flowed down his body and settled in his chest, where it etched itself into his skin in the form of a radiant cross.
Link finally returned to full awareness. When he saw the talent information floating before his eyes, he could no longer contain his excitement. He sprang to his feet and turned to Ryze.
"Mentor! The Soul Oath I just made… it granted me a tenfold amplification!"
Ryze smiled and gently ruffled Link's hair without saying much.
What was there to say? The Soul Oath Link had just made was so grand, so all-encompassing, that even Ryze himself felt humbled in its presence.
To stand as the sentinel of humanity, to defend against the tide of extinction until one's final breath…
Ryze knew in his heart—he could never do such a thing himself.
Just as he had once told Link: Espers are judged by their deeds, not their hearts. For if we judged hearts, there would be no saints.
Though Ryze was widely respected and held in high regard across the entire human race, even he, in the dead of night, could not avoid certain dark thoughts. Such flaws were simply part of human nature—few could truly resist them.
As he thought about this, Ryze looked at Link again—his eyes carrying a subtle shift.
It wasn't just that this young man had uttered a vow so noble that it made even him, a seasoned esper, feel small.
It was also the fact that, only moments ago, Link had casually joked about a truth far heavier than most could bear.
In order to prevent humanity's extinction, to ensure that every decision led to the best possible outcome… just how many times had this boy come face to face with death?
Countless deaths meant endless suffering.
Immortality always sounded glamorous. But to Ryze, who had seen too much, a talent like Death Replication felt more like a curse.
It condemned the wielder to endure the agony of dying over and over—while never being allowed the peace of forgetting.
While Ryze stood silently, hands behind his back, lost in thought…
Link, the one who had just made such an earth-shaking vow, wasn't nearly as contemplative.
Now that he had gotten this close to Headmaster Ryze—someone with such stature and wisdom—there was only one question on his mind.
"Mentor… have you ever heard of someone named Gano?"
"Gano?"
Ryze rubbed his temple and thought deeply for a long while. But eventually, he shook his head.
"I'm afraid I don't recall anyone by that name."
Link sighed quietly. "It's alright, Mentor. It's not a pressing matter. Just… if you ever do hear anything about him, please let me know right away, okay?"
Ryze nodded. "Of course. But I still want to ask—why are you looking for this Gano? From your expression, it seems like he's very important to you."
Link didn't know how to explain.
That day, when he was flipping through the notebook left by his future self, he had caught a glimpse of a name—Gano—scribbled in tiny red letters in the farthest corner of the last page.
It was as if his future self hadn't wanted him to find it… but had been compelled to leave the information anyway.
Link had a gut feeling that Gano was probably a dangerous person. Otherwise, his future self wouldn't have gone to such lengths to hide the name.
That was why he brought it up to Ryze—to see if he could uncover more.
After a long silence, Link finally replied, "It's really nothing…"
Then, as if to shift the conversation, he asked a new question.
"Mentor, aside from Gano—do you know of any espers who are around Tier 8 in strength… and are also veteran berserkers?"
Ryze chuckled lightly. "I'm surprised—you sure seem to know a lot of people for someone your age."
Link wasn't in the mood to joke. He furrowed his brows and said seriously, "Mentor, I'm not playing around. I need to find this person—because I believe they may have betrayed humanity."
"What?! Betrayed humanity?!"
Link's words struck Ryze like thunder.
If what he said was true, then identifying this traitor was a matter of utmost urgency.
"Alright… let me think."
Ryze's expression grew grim. He even stood up and began flipping through the old journals and records on the bookshelf behind him.
Ten minutes later, he pointed at a specific passage in one of the books.
"I've got it. Him—Dragan Sion. The second son of the Sion family."
"Back when he first enrolled, he displayed an exceptional berserker talent. He's technically your senior by quite a few years."
"Dragan…"
Link silently committed the name to memory. Then he asked, "Do you know where he is now?"
Ryze looked a bit uncertain.
"Hmm… that I'm not sure of. When Dragan was still in school, you were probably just learning how to walk. I haven't been in contact with him for years."
"Wait… I did hear something a while ago. One of his former mentors mentioned that he retired from the front lines and returned to his hometown in New City. Supposedly, he took up the position of Supreme Commander of the local Dark Watchers."