The Shadow Authority Evolvs

Chapter 115 — The Shadow Authority Evolves

Aether left the valley before sunrise.

The deaths of the Blackridge cultivators didn't bother him.

They had attacked him.

They had tried to take his power.

They had known the consequences.

That was enough.

He continued deeper into the mountains.

His Origin Sense expanded.

A Stage 7 beast.

A Stage 8 beast.

Several smaller creatures.

Aether chose the Stage 8.

“Blackfang.”

The wolf emerged.

“Ironhide.”

The bear followed.

The beast appeared from behind a cliff.

It resembled a gigantic eagle with metallic feathers.

Its wings spread.

A powerful storm of Origin Energy swept across the mountain.

Aether immediately moved.

Blackfang disappeared into the darkness.

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Ironhide anchored itself against the ground.

Aether used Shadow Step repeatedly.

The eagle attacked from above.

Blackfang struck its wings.

The beast screamed.

Ironhide jumped.

Its enormous fist struck the eagle's chest.

The creature fell.

Aether appeared above it.

His fist descended.

BOOM!

The eagle crashed into the mountain.

It attempted to rise.

Aether didn't allow it.

Blackfang attacked.

Ironhide followed.

The eagle's body collapsed.

[Stage 8 Origin Beast defeated.]

[Origin Points +90.]

[Origin Points: 830 / 1,200.]

Aether extracted its imprint.

[Compatibility: 89%.]

He stored it.

Then he sensed another presence.

Stage 8.

Aether smiled.

“Again.”

The second beast was a massive armored rhino.

The battle lasted longer.

Ironhide took the front.

Blackfang attacked from behind.

Aether targeted its joints.

Eventually, the rhino collapsed.

[Stage 8 Origin Beast defeated.]

[Origin Points +100.]

[Origin Points: 930 / 1,200.]

Aether continued.

He wasn't obsessed with killing everything.

But whenever a powerful beast attacked him, he killed it.

Whenever an enemy deliberately came for him, he killed them.

There was no unnecessary mercy.

By evening, he had accumulated another hundred points.

[Origin Points: 1,030 / 1,200.]

Aether sat beneath a cliff.

Blackfang and Ironhide rested inside his shadow.

Aether began another synchronization session.

The connection deepened.

[Shadow resonance: 48%.]

Then—

[49%.]

Aether opened his eyes.

The shadows beneath him suddenly moved on their own.

Blackfang emerged.

Ironhide followed.

Their bodies looked different.

More solid.

More refined.

The System appeared.

[Origin Shadow Authority resonance threshold reached.]

[Authority evolution conditions partially fulfilled.]

Aether's eyes narrowed.

A second notification appeared.

[Additional Origin Shadow manifestation capacity approaching.]

[Current capacity remains: 2.]

[Further resonance required.]

Aether smiled.

“So close.”

He looked at the two shadows.

The path had finally begun moving again.

He still couldn't create a third shadow.

But the restriction was weakening.

And once the Authority advanced, the Stage 9 imprint waiting inside his Origin Core would finally have a chance to become something greater.

Aether stood.

His Origin Points were now only 170 away from his next breakthrough.

His shadow resonance was approaching another threshold.

Everything was progressing.

He looked toward the dark mountains.

“Just a little more.”

Blackfang and Ironhide stood behind him.

Aether walked forward.

The darkness followed.

And somewhere within his Origin Core, the powerful Stage 9 imprint remained silent.

Waiting for the moment when the Origin Shadow Authority became strong enough to give it form.