The eyes of an ancient being fixed upon , cold and piercing—grey as storm clouds, sharp as a blade. There was sothing unnerving in them, sothing that made the very air around seem to still, as if the predator of the ages had reawakened to drag the world back into shadow.
"RRROOOAAARRR!"
The beast's roar crashed through the air, a ferocious sound that slamd into like a tidal wave, attempting to push back, to scatter away from its prey. But it had made a grave mistake. Seo-yeon wasn't its prey. No. This beast was mine. And I would make sure it understood that the mont it refused to cooperate.
"Empress!?"
In her eyes, I saw a flicker—a mix of confusion, fear... and sothing else. Joy. Despite everything, she smiled at , though her body was trapped, buried deep in the snow and ice. The frost that shielded her sight glead, her expression fierce but laced with that familiar warmth I knew all too well. She looked every bit the Empress of Frost—yet she was helpless, pinned by a force that seed beyond even her imnse power.
Her shield of ice, shimring with defiance, barely held under the beast's relentless assault. It was clear—this creature was no easy opponent. But I had no doubt. I had never doubted her strength before, and I wasn't about to start now.
"Don't worry," I said, my voice as cold and unwavering as the frost enveloping us. "I'll get you out of here. And when we're done, we'll laugh about this day—over a feast, over drinks, as if none of this ever happened."
There was no warmth in my words, no kindness. Only the promise of sothing better. Yet, I saw it in her eyes—the way her lips curled upwards, how her body relaxed, just slightly. She understood. She always did.
Despite everything—despite the ruins of her ho that I had caused, despite the loss and the destruction—I had never seen her hold a grudge. Not once. She was loyal. To . To this cause.
"I know, I trust you," she said, her voice steady despite the chaos. Then, as if she had beco one with the world around her, her body lted into the snow, disappearing from sight. Where she went, I couldn't say—perhaps she had perished, or maybe she had slipped away, hidden sowhere, waiting for the right mont. But I couldn't afford to focus on that now. My attention was consud by the massive wolf that stood before .
A silent challenge passed between us. Our gazes locked, and in that instant, I felt the weight of its power, a force pressing against mine. It wasn't just a beast—it was sothing older, sothing stronger, a creature of legend. The beast was far beyond , its aura radiating an intensity that told one thing: it was in the Immortal Realm, a level above mine. That made it the most formidable opponent I had faced to date—excluding the creator. That being… it existed in realms far beyond even the Immortal Emperor.
The beast made the first move. Its massive left leg tore into the ground for traction before it propelled itself forward, launching at with terrifying force. Its claws—sharp and black as obsidian—glinted like blades capable of cleaving mountains in half. Then, it spun like a deadly spiral, rushing toward with the speed of a predator, as if I were a re log waiting to be shredded by its power.
I didn't dare underestimate it. This monster was no simple foe. I couldn't afford to wait for death to claim .
My clones surged forward, each wielding soul chains in their hands, ready to halt the beast's assault. But to my astonishnt, it tore through them effortlessly—like a hot knife slicing through butter. The sheer power and speed were overwhelming, and it all happened in the blink of an eye.
I couldn't tank that.
In an instant, I shifted, becoming a specter—a ghost, drifting through the air. My control over space distortion had evolved. It was now so deeply ingrained in that it had beco part of my true form. The system fused with my body had birthed these abilities, and unlike before, I could now evolve them at will. As I activated my spatial distortion, my body dissolved into the void, turning spectral. It drained my energy rapidly, but I could now evade any attack—provided it wasn't void-related. If soone's understanding of space was greater than mine, they might touch , but it was clear this beast didn't possess that capability.
My arms swung with powerful precision, twisting my body into an impossible angle as my scythe cleaved through the air, aid straight at the beast's neck. It glead with golden light, a force that carried a suppressive power against beings whose souls were weaker than mine. But the werewolf's fur suddenly shimred, and its eyes locked onto .
Before I could process what had happened, it turned in mid-air—its body shifting and changing direction with such speed that I hadn't even seen it coming.
We collided.
My scythe slashed through its spinning claws, but the impact was so brutal that it sent hurtling backward. The world spun around as I was flung through the air, crashing through the ceiling of the cave with trendous force. I continued to fly at incredible speeds, a hole opening up above as I was forced out of the cavern's depths.
My wings wrapped around in a protective cocoon, shielding from further damage—but in doing so, they were torn and battered, the weight of the collision leaving them bloodied and ruined. When I finally burst through to the surface, moving at the speed of light, I could feel the monster following close behind, tearing through the earth in pursuit, its relentless pursuit giving no ti to breathe.
Fine, I thought, fury overtaking my soul. I'll slay you.
In that instant, my sin—wrath—burned to life within . The power surged, violent and consuming, filling with an eerie strength. My body began to transform, claws growing from my fingers, my very being shifting into sothing far more primal, far more deadly.
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