The cold abyss of darkness surrounded , a void so all-encompassing it felt alive. It wrapped itself around like a cocoon, suffocating and unyielding, as though the mother of death herself had drawn into her embrace. Ti passed, but it was impossible to grasp how much—minutes, hours, years? It all blurred together in the unrelenting void.
At one point, a powerful aura surged toward , crashing against the walls of darkness that bound . For a fleeting mont, hope flickered. It's over. This tornt will end. But no matter how fiercely the force struggled, it was futile. The darkness held strong, its grip unshaken. The pain remained—a constant, rciless presence.
"Death…" The word slipped from my lips, over and over, like a chant I couldn't stop. My voice, once defiant, now trembled with desperation. "Kill … enough…" I whispered, the words barely audible in the suffocating silence. "What did I do to deserve this?"
It felt like an eternity. No light, no warmth, no reprieve—only the endless cycle of agony and despair. Each passing mont stretched into infinity, and I was left with nothing but the haunting echo of my own broken words.
I want to end this. I want it all to stop. But I have to keep going.
Another hundred years, give or take, passed... I began counting the ti, desperately clinging to it as a lifeline to keep myself sane. Yet, the more I counted, the more it threatened to pull into madness.
Why am I even trying? My friends? I have friends now… don't I? But… are they really worth sacrificing myself for? Maybe... Maybe not...
I was already numb to the pain. It didn't bother that much anymore, which made it a bit easier to get through this.
No. I need to keep holding on—not for them, but for myself. Yes. In this world, I can only trust myself. Only believe in myself. Right now, only I can make it through this. Not them. They can't save . They never could.
Suddenly, an intense pain shot through , like electricity coursing through every nerve in my body. It felt as if a thousand white-hot needles were piercing every inch of my skin. My muscles seized, locking in a prison of fire and steel.
Fuck! STOP! STOOOOOOOOP!
I had never felt pain like this before. It was even worse than the ti Nam Ji-Ho's attack hit … far worse.
I'm all alone. I've always been alone… Nobody is helping .
I started to sob inwardly, the despair clawing at . Slowly, I could feel my emotions being stripped away, leaving hollow. I'm becoming colder, more detached as if the pain itself is reshaping into sothing unfeeling.
Perhaps another decade had passed. Each second of it, the lightning tornting grew stronger, as if it were toying with . Then, at one point, my eyes opened. In the endless darkness, a small ghastly light flickered into existence, faint but unmistakable. It enveloped , casting an eerie glow over my body and revealing the truth—I was bound. Massive black chains wrapped around , coiling tightly over every inch, imprisoning completely.
The light grew stronger, illuminating the vast expanse of darkness around . The chains, thick and ancient, pulsed with an unnatural energy. I tried to move, but the restraints tightened in response, their cold, jagged edges biting into my skin.
I clenched my teeth, the weight of the chains pressing down on like the judgnt of a thousand lifetis. This wasn't just a physical prison—it was sothing deeper. Sothing ant to break my very soul.
"Why… why am I still here?" I whispered, my voice trembling but defiant. The ghastly light seed to respond, flickering with a strange rhythm as if it were alive. For the first ti in what felt like an eternity, I felt sothing other than pain—a faint spark of determination.
No. I'm not going to let this place destroy . Not now. Not ever.
I tugged at the chains, testing their strength. The effort sent searing pain through my body, but I didn't stop. I won't stop. If these chains want to hold , they'll have to fight harder.
"I am not going to rot here," I growled, my voice growing stronger with each word. The light around pulsed again, brighter this ti, as if responding to my will.
The tornt still burned, but sowhere deep within, I felt a shift. The beginning of sothing... more.
My heart burns with an overwhelming desire. For a mont, the need to break free consud so completely that the ghastly light surrounding exploded outward, illuminating the vast darkness.
I saw myself, suspended in the air, surrounded by a surreal expanse. Ghostly ships floated through the void, their hulking forms gliding on an invisible ocean. Despite the nothingness beneath them, they rose and fell as if riding unseen waves. The soundless crashes of those phantom swells reverberated through the eerie silence.
On each ship, countless creatures resembling people moved mindlessly, their hollow forms hauntingly chanical. At the helm of every vessel stood a captain, motionless but commanding, their dark presence controlling the eerie fleet.
Then, without warning, they all turned. Every single soul—thousands of empty, lifeless eyes—locked onto . Their stares pierced through my very being, exposing every vulnerability, every hidden fear. A dark aura rose from them, thick and suffocating. Slowly, one by one, they smiled, their expressions a grotesque mixture of malice and glee.
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Before I could react, their forms dissolved into black wisps, vanishing like smoke carried by a violent wind. But the relief was short-lived. In the next instant, they ca for —all of them—rushing at like a tidal wave of shadows.
The pain that followed was unimaginable. It tore through , sharper and more excruciating than anything I had endured before. It feels as though my very soul is being shredded, ripped apart and reshaped, molded to their will. Their darkness seeped into , invading every corner of my essence.
I can feel them settling in, their presence overwhelming, as if they are making themselves at ho inside .
"I'm the ruler here. Submit to !"
The eerie entity within scread, its voice echoing with authority and dominance. It wouldn't allow the black souls to take over, to usurp its control. Its tone was like a decree from the heavens, undeniable and absolute.
At its command, the dark souls stopped. Their chaotic assault ceased instantly, their malevolent energy shifting. Slowly, they began to reconstruct my broken soul, piece by piece. Yet, as they worked, the darkness within grew stronger. It surged like a relentless tide, completely overpowering the faint golden fla that once flickered inside . I can barely feel its warmth now, buried beneath the crushing weight of the void.
The loneliness returned, sharp and suffocating. My thoughts spiraled, turning darker with every mont. An overwhelming urge to destroy consud , a burning desire to annihilate everything that stands in my way. But there was sothing else—a purpose buried within the chaos. I wanted to protect sothing...
Protect what? The answer gnawed at until it beca clear—the world. This world that I hate and love so much.
The Emperor of Death's words echoed in my mind, and the realization hit like a blow. The darkness wasn't just reshaping —It was aligning with its will, pulling into the role the Emperor of Death had chosen for .
Suddenly, an intense surge of power coursed through . The darkness was overwhelming, corrosive, and all-consuming. It felt as though my very being was expanding, straining to contain its sheer force. My soul, once at the peak of the Soul Orb realm, couldn't endure. With a deafening crack, it shattered.
The pieces of my soul split into three distinct fragnts. The largest, at the center, was pitch black—a dense, overwhelming darkness that radiated strength and dominance. To its left was a smaller fragnt, glowing with a pure golden light. It was my golden fire energy, the fla that had once been my anchor. On the right, the most enigmatic fragnt appeared, much smaller than the others. It shimred with a kaleidoscope of colors, five distinct energies swirling and intertwining: Fire, Earth, Wood, Water, and tal. Its presence felt ancient and primordial, as if tied to the very fabric of creation.
But it didn't end there.
To my shock, a new soul began to form, entirely different from anything I'd read about in the mysterious cultivator's world. From the void, a dium-sized fragnt erged, glowing with an ethereal, bluish-white hue. It pulsed faintly, its aura both ghastly and serene. It carried the unmistakable power of death, an energy that sent shivers through my fragnted being. Yet, within its core, there was a tinge of sothing else—life. Fragile, subtle, but undeniably present.
Just what is that? The thought echoed in my mind as I stared at the new fragnt, its presence filling with a strange mix of fear and awe.
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