A fierce wind lashed against his tattered cloak as he shot down from the height of the cliff. His body felt light, yet heavy with the Void energy surging through every fiber of his muscles. Below, the Mist Valley looked like an open wound carved into the earth, shrouded in unnaturally pulsing violet mist. But he did not head there directly. He needed footing. He needed information more precise than the system’s scan.Black Ivory City. That was the name of the nearest settlement on the border of Arbian territory. The city was a dumping ground for wanderers, mercenaries, and those unwanted by the major sects. The perfect place for someone who had just crawled out of hell.He landed on the outskirts with a soft, nearly inaudible thud. His boots sank into the muddy ground, splashing dirty water onto his cloak. He straightened, letting the Shadow Veiling function operate at full capacity. His pale skin prickled slightly as the illusion of an ordinary human aura wrapped around him, conceali

Dust and fragments of the altar stone scattered wildly as his body slammed into the center of the formation with meteor-like force. The ground beneath his feet collapsed instantly, forming a gaping crater that spread outward, cracking the crystal pillars around him. With fury burning like molten hellfire, he charged through the thick purple mist, ignoring the thousands of Arbian soldiers staring at him in horror and fear.“Elara!” he roared, his voice breaking under the weight of despair and uncontrollable rage. His black-scaled hand reached out desperately, trying to tear apart the chains of energy binding the girl on the altar.But when his fingers touched Elara’s skin, there was no warmth. No heartbeat that once calmed him. Her figure trembled faintly, then shattered into thousands of cold, merciless purple particles, scattering like ash in the wind.Before him, Kael’s figure faded as well, leaving behind only a mocking echo of laughter that reverberated across the valley, as if th

Cold. The wet earth seeped into the pores of his charred skin, yet he barely felt it. The burning sensation from the explosion still danced across his numbed nerves. He tried to open his eyes, but all he saw was swirling darkness, as if the world itself were mocking his failure.Get up, Ravian... If you give up now, Kael has truly won everything.“System... report...” His voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper, swallowed by the soft patter of rain beginning to fall.Warning. Soul integrity at the brink of extinction: 1.8%. Pain Conversion Engine inactive. Total hibernation mode will begin in thirty seconds.“No... don’t hibernate!” he screamed inside his head, struggling to grasp his fading consciousness. “Elara... she’s being tortured there... I can feel it...”Host, logically, your chances of reaching the Sky Summit in this condition are zero percent. The damage to the Void Meridian pathways is too severe. Your existence will soon be erased from the laws of nature.“Logic? Sinc

His steps did not falter at the sight of corpses strewn along the spiral staircase of the main tower. Each footfall left a scorched mark on the white marble now stained red. Around him, the screams of Arbian clan soldiers being slaughtered by The Forsaken sounded like a twisted kind of music. Yet his focus was singular, the top of the tower, where the coward who called himself his brother was hiding.Warning. Physical integrity has dropped to 65 percent. The enemy ahead exhibits unstable energy fluctuations. Recommendation, maximize Void Shell, the system chimed coldly in his mind.“Forget defense, System. Give me all the offensive power you have,” he whispered as he kicked the double doors at the tower’s peak, shattering them into splinters.A violent gust of wind struck his face. The summit lay open to the night sky, now a deep, blood-red hue. There stood Kael Arbian. His silver robe whipped wildly, and the clan’s heirloom sword, The Sun Piercer, blazed with blinding light in his ha

A deafening silence exploded inside his head. As he pulled Elara’s small body into his arms, the world seemed to stop turning. The pillar of darkness that had been poised to swallow the sky suddenly reversed, seeping into the pores of his skin like thousands of heated ice needles. His body was no longer mere flesh and bone. He had become a ravenous black hole, dragging back every inch of the curse he had unleashed.Warning! Second Option Synchronization has reached 80%. The host’s physical vessel is undergoing massive cellular disintegration. The pain being received exceeds the system’s calculable threshold.“Keep going… pull it all in…” he hissed. His voice no longer sounded human. It was the growl of the void, capable of tearing apart the consciousness of anyone who heard it.Elara slipped free from the snare of black light. Her tiny body fell into his arms, so light, so fragile. He could feel the divine essence that had possessed her soul slowly draining away, flowing into the holl