Meanwhile, inside the dojo, Ard and Eva remained sitting in silence, but this time they no longer looked miserable or in pain from remembering their entire past lives since their time on Earth. Their magic energy auras, which had previously been black and white, had now turned gray—as if the black and white had melted together into a new energy.

Or more accurately, it was like the time when Malekh and Ophelia were still joined as a single body: Ordione. Bedryt, who stayed seated in front of them to keep watch in case anything went wrong, looked a bit relieved as he watched the magic aura of the two.

Then, the energy that had previously looked like fire burning through their bodies and surging outside the building began to shrink until, finally, it was all absorbed back into them. Their two swords, which were thrust into the floor right in front of them, began to emit a brilliant light. Their forms shifted slightly, becoming longer and their blades growing a bit wider. Exgrandal now featured a black blade with a silver fuller, while Exelion had a silver blade with a polished, shimmering black fuller.

Their hilts turned gold, with the pommels featuring a sharp, short silver spike. The guards of the swords now looked like a pair of wings; Exgrandal's were black with white on the inside, while Exelion's were the exact opposite.

Once their weapons were fully formed, all the energy that had leaked out had returned into Ard and Eva's bodies. Slowly, the two of them opened their eyes. For a brief moment, their eyes glowed with a divine yellow light before returning to their original color: blue. After that, they turned to look at one another, then turned their gaze toward Bedryt.

"How do you feel?" Bedryt asked.

"Hmm... how should I put it... it's strange. But as all my past lives played back and everything I had stored across those lifetimes came out, I feel much lighter and more focused than ever before," Ard answered.

"I feel the same way... and I feel much stronger than before," Eva said.

"Now, try calling your familiars," Bedryt replied.

Ard immediately called Ace the garuda, while Eva called her griffin, whom she had now named Greta—after the Afro-German maid from her first life on Earth. When Ard saw Ace land on his arm, he was a bit shocked. Ace's feathers were no longer black and white; they were now a beautiful, shimmering silver-gray with a golden beak and claws.

It was the same for Greta; her once-white feathers had turned silver-gray, and her claws and beak had become gold. But what stood out most were their eyes—they were now a deep, divine yellow that seemed to hold immense depth.

Ard couldn't help but smile at Ace, who was staring back at him with a funny, confused expression and a tilted head. Eva had the same reaction, watching Greta look back at her with a completely blank, bewildered face.

"Your familiars and your weapons reflect who your souls truly are. You are Ordione—or, to put it simply, you are the children of Ordione, born directly from her. At this point, neither Malekh nor Ophelia should be an obstacle for you anymore, because you are far stronger than they were. However, to actually use your new power, you must, of course, train," Bedryt said.

"I understand. Thank you, Dragon God," Ard replied.

"Thank you, Dragon God," Eva added.

"Alright, for today, you two should get some rest since you've just finished reuniting your fragmented souls. We will begin training tomorrow," Bedryt replied.

"Understood, Dragon God," Ard and Eva replied in unison.

"Very well, then. If you'll excuse me," Bedryt said, standing up.

Bedryt then left the two of them alone in the building. The atmosphere fell silent. Ard and Eva dismissed their swords and their familiars, but they remained quiet, saying nothing. Their hands instinctively found each other and locked together despite the silence. Ard turned to look at Eva just as she turned to look at him.

They both smiled at each other and, without realizing it, began to draw their faces closer, their hands reaching up to cup each other's cheeks. But just before their lips could meet, "shhh-t," the door slid open.

"Big brother Ard... Big sister Eva... look at this—oops!"

The two of them immediately looked over with annoyed expressions, feeling completely interrupted. They saw Adeline entering the room with a bright red face, clutching her new sword. Meanwhile, behind Adeline stood Alicia, Mirea, Claudia, Milia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Pyria, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin, standing side-by-side with Irina.

All of their faces turned beet red at the sight of Ard and Eva—except for Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin, who pretended not to see anything, while Irina simply smiled and tried to hold back a laugh. Ard and Eva gazed at the magnificent swords held by all their friends. Both of them immediately broke into a sly, knowing smirk.

"Let me guess. You were all killed, brought back to life, and then you found your swords?" Ard asked.

"It's the only way... right?" Eva added.

"Grr... so you already knew," Milia muttered, sounding annoyed.

"Wait, don't tell me... you got Exgrandal and Exelion the same way?" Mirea asked.

"Of course. Otherwise, anyone would be able to hold them and pick them up, wouldn't they?" Eva replied.

"Three thousand years ago... oh, and it was the same for Elidyr, Velvet, and Bledvolf, too," Ard added.

"But I found Wilgram at the sacred tree, didn't I?" Milia asked, glancing down at the two swords in her hands.

"That's true, but that was only the shell. Once your soul was merged into it by the Eledar tribal chief, nobody else could pick it up anymore, could they?" Ard asked.

"Hmm... you're right about that," Milia replied.

Ard and Eva stood up, then walked over to Adeline and looked at her seriously. They studied Adeline's sword, which featured a white blade and a golden fuller, signifying the elements of holy and earth. Adeline, whose face had been flushed red just moments before, suddenly brightened with cheer. She even lifted her sword high, showing it off to Ard and Eva.

"What do you think... Solarius, my sword, it's beautiful, isn't it?" Adeline asked proudly.

"Hmm... it looks like Exelion, but the difference is in the fuller," Ard remarked, studying Adeline's sword, Solarius.

"You're right," Eva added.

Without further delay, Ard and Eva reached out their hands and opened their dimensional storage. They both pulled Exgrandal and Exelion out. When they saw the new forms of the twin blades, the faces of Adeline, Alicia, Mirea, Claudia, Milia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Pyria, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin immediately went slack with shock; their mouths hung open and their eyes widened. Irina, however, already knew the outcome of Ard and Eva's struggle.

"Wow... that is truly incredible... seriously," Rosalind said.

"I thought my sword was beautiful... but theirs is on a whole other level," Beatrice added.

"You two really have surpassed Azroth and Evelina," Pyria added.

"Your swords are seriously cool," Ainsley said, looking down at his own blades while pushing up his glasses.

"How about we try them out outside?" Claudia suggested.

"I'm sorry, but for your own good, you all must rest today. We start training tomorrow—that is an order from the Dragon God. I'm going to go help prepare food for you all. Irwin, you're coming with me," Irina answered.

"Yes, sister," Irwin replied.

Irina and Irwin left the dojo, leaving the others behind. For a moment, a silence fell over them as they stood there, looking at one another and observing their respective swords.

"Oh well. I guess we'll just test our new power tomorrow," Geoffrey said, sheathing his sword across his back.

"Oh... haven't you been taught dimensional storage yet?" Ard asked.

"Not yet," Milia answered.

"Hmm, now that you have your swords, you can open dimensional storage. But let's just do it tomorrow," Eva added.

"Wait... why wait? If it's just that, let's do it now," Alicia said eagerly.

"Exactly. Hurry up and teach us, Eva," Beatrice added impatiently.

"Agreed... we can rest later," Rosalind added.

"I want to learn too. Please teach me, Ard, Eva," Mirea chimed in.

"Of course, count me in as well," Ainsley said, raising his hand and adjusting his glasses at the same time.

"Don't forget about me, okay? I want to learn too, because I don't want to be a burden to you and Eva, bro," Geoffrey said.

"Can I join too?" Adeline asked, pointing at her own nose.

"Of course you can. Right, Ard, Eva?" Claudia asked.

"Come on, what are we waiting for," Milia added.

"Alright then, let's do it," Ard replied.

Eventually, they all sat back down on the dojo floor. Ard and Eva began teaching their friends how to use dimensional storage to store their swords and carry their belongings effortlessly. This type of magical storage originates from the soul, and its size depends entirely on the soul's strength.

A short while later, because they all already possessed their own swords, the learning process moved quickly. Mirea, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Pyria were already able to use dimensional storage, while Adeline was almost there. The others, however, were still struggling and putting in the effort to make it work.

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