Arthian did not choose a place to hide.

  He chose a point where the world *could not be still.*

  Turbulent energy currents cut across each other like torn wounds of dimension.

  The roar of instability sounded without pause.

  *This was a place no one wished to approach.*

  Because it did not kill immediately.

  But it erased *the continuity of existence* — little by little.

  "This place suits me," Arthian said quietly.

  Eline looked at him. "Why?"

  "Because it is filled with attacks."

  He smiled — cold and measured.

  "And every attack is an opportunity to train."

  ---

  He stopped and stood at the center point.

  Not to issue a challenge — but to *measure the weight of the pressure.*

  Void Aegis was not spread out as a shield.

  It was buried.

  The will of void flowed out from his chest — not as a wave, but as a *boundary line.*

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  A line that told the world: *"Effects end here."*

  The stone beneath his feet didn't shake. The air didn't fracture.

  The indigo storm swirling around the area surged toward that boundary line.

  And *disappeared.*

  No explosion. No scattering.

  Erased before it could produce an effect.

  Within a radius of a few paces, silence took shape.

  *Not the silence of absent sound.*

  *But the silence of there being nothing left to make sound.*

  ---

  Arthian sat down.

  Not in the posture of rest — but in the posture of *affirming his position.*

  He was not merely defending.

  He was installing a *Void Domain.*

  A space where attacks did not fail — they were simply not permitted to take effect.

  Arthian felt his soul's core at 13.7%, working at full capacity.

  It was calculating. Adapting. And learning.

  *Learning what qualifies as "an existence that should not be touched."*

  ---

  Eline walked forward slowly.

  She stopped before the boundary line on instinct.

  Not out of fear — but because she sensed that inside, the world moved at a slightly slower pace.

  She stood still for a moment.

  Then chose to step through.

  She found a corner and sat down, back resting against a stone that had not yet been erased.

  No words of thanks. No questions.

  She simply acknowledged that *if the world were to break, this would be the last place it would break.*

  Arthian said nothing.

  He didn't refuse her. But he hadn't invited her either.

  *She could remain — because she did not disturb.*

  ---

  Outside, creatures began to gather.

  Not out of courage — but out of *incomprehension.*

  They sensed a space that could not be attacked, could not be consumed, and did not respond to the old rules.

  Confusion became curiosity.

  And curiosity became fear.

  Fear became hatred.

  And both… *were loud.*

  Sounds of roaring. Sounds of dimensional warping. Sounds of failed attempts.

  Arthian did not silence those sounds.

  He let them filter through to the edge of his awareness.

  *He needed to remember those sounds.*

  Not to torment himself — but to remind himself that *he was still in the world.*

  Not in the process of becoming a void that had forgotten everything.

  If he erased everything, he would no longer know whether he was still alive.

  *Pain is evidence.*

  *The roar is a warning.*

  *And both are necessary.*

  ---

  Void Domain trembled slightly.

  Not from the force of attacks — but from *the continuous calculation that could not rest.*

  This was not a refuge.

  This was *a watch station.*

  A place where he would not flee, would not strike, and would not explain himself to anyone.

  *He simply existed.*

  Eline did not sleep. She sat upright. Watching.

  Not watching the threats outside — but watching *the change in the man before her.*

  She saw that his breathing had slowed until it was nearly imperceptible.

  But his chest still moved — as though his heart was beating more slowly, yet with greater force than before.

  She was not afraid.

  But she knew that *something was changing.*

  And when it was finished, the world would no longer be the same.

  Arthian opened his eyes slowly.

  He looked at her, then spoke in a voice barely above silence.

  "Prepare yourself."

  Eline tensed. "For what?"

  "When I reach 14%," he answered,

  "the world will know immediately."

  "And it will come to collect."

  *(End of Chapter 39)*