Chapter 205: Good Will

Adam drifted in darkness, the exhaustion from his breakthrough pulling him deeper until even his thoughts slowed. Then, without warning, the darkness shifted, giving way to soft light and endless clouds stretching in every direction.

He was floating.

The clouds felt real beneath him, dense yet soft, supporting his weight like a calm sea. The sensation was comforting, almost enough to make him forget everything, two years, the breakthrough, even himself.

For a moment, there was peace.

Then the temperature changed.

At first, it was subtle. A faint warmth brushing against his skin. But within seconds, it intensified rapidly, spreading through the clouds until the entire space began to heat up unnaturally.

Adam’s eyes opened.

A massive sun loomed directly in front of him.

It wasn’t distant. It was close, far too close. Its presence dominated everything, filling his vision as waves of heat rolled outward, turning the once peaceful clouds into a burning expanse.

And he was moving.

Slowly at first, then faster.

Pulled toward it.

Adam felt the heat rise against his body, pressing against him from all sides. The air grew heavier, harder to breathe, as the environment shifted into something closer to an inferno.

Yet his expression didn’t change.

He remained calm.

“Who are you?”

The moment the words left his mouth, everything shattered.

The heat vanished and the clouds disappeared. The overwhelming presence of the sun collapsed into nothingness as reality snapped back into place.

Adam’s eyes opened sharply and the white ceiling returned as his body lay on the bed, the familiar room surrounding him once again. For a brief second, everything felt normal, until he turned his head slightly.

Someone else was there.

A man stood quietly within the room, his presence calm yet overwhelming in a way that didn’t need to be shown. Long golden hair flowed down his back, paired with sharp brows and piercing golden eyes that seemed to see through everything.

He wore a simple black robe.

The man observed Adam silently for a moment before speaking, his tone steady, almost curious.

“When I heard about you, I didn’t believe it.”

His gaze sharpened slightly.

“But you really are… strange.”

Adam didn’t respond immediately.

He studied the man instead, his mind already connecting the pieces. The timing, the presence, the way he carried himself, there was only one person it could be.

Saint Julius Nova.

Still, Adam didn’t look impressed.

“I thought you’d look older.”

Silence fell instantly.

For the first time since entering the room, the Saint didn’t respond.

****

Silence lingered after Adam’s comment, but it didn’t last long.

Julius Nova remained still, his golden eyes fixed on Adam with a depth that carried centuries behind it. He wasn’t just any Martial artist. He was a Saint, one of the few still alive from five hundred years ago.

Back when essence first flooded Erdes.

Time had shaped him into something beyond normal understanding. Very little surprised him anymore. Or at least, that was what he had believed until now.

Looking at Adam, that belief shattered.

And I thought that girl was a monster…

His thoughts flickered briefly toward Remedy. Her existence alone had already pushed his expectations. But Adam was different. Something about him didn’t fit into any framework Julius understood.

With him… we might actually have a chance.

The idea settled heavily in his mind.

“Why would you think I’d look older?”

Julius finally spoke, breaking the silence as his curiosity surfaced. His tone remained calm, but there was a clear interest now, a shift from before when he had only been observing.

Adam didn’t hesitate.

“Because the older you look, the stronger you are.”

The answer came out simply, like it was obvious.

Julius paused.

For the first time, he was genuinely caught off guard. His brows lifted slightly as he processed the logic behind the statement, clearly not expecting something like that.

“How did you come to that conclusion?”

Adam leaned back slightly against the bed, completely relaxed despite sitting in front of a Saint. His expression didn’t change as he gave his reasoning without overthinking it.

“Most of the old people I’ve met are strong. And they just keep getting stronger as they age.”

It wasn’t a theory built on deep knowledge.

It was experience.

A single example, repeated enough in his mind to become a rule or simply put Adam was just BSing since the only strong old person he had met was the commander back at sector 418 that is until now.

Julius studied him more carefully now.

“But you’re not old,” he pointed out, his voice steady.

“Why doesn’t your logic apply to you?”

Adam shrugged lightly, as if the question didn’t matter much.

“I stopped following that rule two years ago.”

Julius went silent again.

For a brief moment, his expression turned serious, his gaze sharpening as if trying to see something deeper within Adam. Then, without warning, the tension broke and he laughed.

“The girl made a good choice choosing you.”

Adam gave a small nod in response, accepting the statement without pride or hesitation.

****

Adam’s calm wasn’t accidental.

The moment he noticed Julius Nova, he had already activated Connect. It wasn’t a planned move. It was instinct. A dangerous one too. If the Saint noticed even a trace of probing, Adam might not even realize how he died.

Still, he did it anyway.

And what he saw, was overwhelming.

Julius’s soul burned with a brilliance Adam had never witnessed before. It wasn’t just strong. It was vast, layered, almost like it existed on a higher plane entirely. The closest comparison he had was Remedy’s.

But even that fell short.

This was different.

For a brief moment, Adam forgot everything else.

The structure of the soul, the density, the sheer presence, it wasn’t something he could fully understand yet. It was like staring at something beyond his current level, something that shouldn’t even be visible to him.

And yet, he could see it.

More importantly, he could feel it.

There was no hostility.

The Saint’s soul flame burned steadily, carrying a clear sense of control and something else Adam didn’t expect goodwill.

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