Chapter 28: Conflicted
[: 3rd POV :]
The howling wind parted as Daniel erged in the void energy.
[: Void Step – Activated :]
He reappeared silently, standing atop one of the tallest spires in the monster city.
It was an obsidian tower that pierced the golden-lavender sky, its peak crowned with rotating runes that humd with ambient mana.
From this height, Daniel could see everything.
The city sprawled beneath him like a tapestry of magic and life—its districts separated by glowing rivers, its towers linked by bridges made of light, and its streets teeming with beings of all shapes and sizes.
Monsters, yes—but not the mindless beasts he’d fought for so long.
Down below, a wyvern child flapped its tiny wings as it was chased by what looked like its siblings, laughing as it weaved through hovering lanterns.
A pair of ogres—war-scarred and ancient—sat beside a fountain, feeding mana-crystal bread to a flock of floating feather-beasts.
A family of lizardkin carried baskets of fruit from a glowing market, their tails swaying in rhythm, the children laughing as one of them stumbled and got scooped up by the father.
Daniel stood still.
Unmoving.
And yet, sothing inside of him shifted.
The weight in his chest tightened. His silver-violet eyes reflected not power, but doubt.
"...They’re just living," he whispered.
His hand slowly loosened from its usual tension.
"They have families. Hos. Traditions. Emotions..."
He looked away as a breeze brushed his clothes, and his jaw clenched slightly.
He’d slaughtered monsters for weeks.
Erased thousands without hesitation.
But what stood beneath him wasn’t a battlefield.
It was a kingdom.
He swallowed hard, his voice quieter than the wind.
"System... am I doing this right?"
There was a long pause.
Then, the response ca—calm, neutral, but not without weight.
[: There is no single right or wrong, Host. Not in a world shaped by power. :]
[: But if you truly seek an answer... then know this: The only ’right’ that holds aning... is the one upheld by those strong enough to enforce it. :]
Daniel didn’t move.
He just stared down at the lizard child waving at its parents, at the winged rchants haggling over relics, at the quiet harmony painted in scales and claws.
[: However, if it helps clarify your doubt, rember what this kingdom has done. :]
[: The beings here manifested a Gate. They forcefully tore through dinsions, violated the natural laws... and invaded. :]
[: The Forbidden Continent wasn’t always ashes. Once, it thrived. Full of lives, dreams, and people like you. :]
[: But they were slaughtered. By the sa kind of smiling faces you now see below. By families who took up arms. Children who grew into conquerors. Priests who blessed invasions. Rulers who sanctioned it. :]
Daniel’s eyes darkened, rembering the endless burned lands, the ruined temples, the silence where laughter once lived.
[: Ask yourself, Host... would they have spared your world? Would they have hesitated to burn your family, your friends, your people? :]
[: The answer isn’t peace. It’s not diplomacy. It’s history. :]
[: And history has shown—again and again—that rcy without strength is just an invitation to be destroyed. :]
Daniel’s fists clenched again, but this ti not in blind rage—in burden.
"...Damn it."
[: Host. What is your reason for walking this path? For seeking power? :]
He closed his eyes for a long mont.
"...So I wouldn’t lose those I love. So I could protect what matters. So that no one could take anything from
again."
[: Then this... may be your first real step toward that. :]
[: You don’t have to like it. You just have to decide. What kind of future do you want to carve from this world? And what price are you willing to pay to protect it? :]
Daniel remained on the tower for a long ti, eyes closed, the wind whispering around him.
He didn’t speak again for several minutes.
When he finally opened his eyes, they still shone with silver-violet light.
But now, that light was sharpened.
Not with cruelty.
Not even with rage.
But with resolve.
He didn’t want to do it.
But he would—if that was what it took to protect everything else.
"...I’ll decide," Daniel said, voice low. "And when I do—there’ll be no turning back."
The wind roared quietly behind him, as if the world itself held its breath.
Without wasting another second, Daniel vanished.
[: Void Step – Activated :]
Space warped, and in less than a blink, he reappeared inside a grand palace and it was an enormous crystalline chamber adorned with obsidian columns, starlit chandeliers, and flowing banners made of woven mana.
The throne room pulsed with power, gilded with ancient runes and symbols of a ruling dynasty.
At the far end of the hall sat the King, a towering, regal creature draped in silver-scaled armour, his horns carved with golden etchings, a massive sword resting by his side.
Beside him sat the Queen, graceful and fierce, her wings folded neatly, a circlet of void-crystal glowing faintly atop her head.
Around them stood their heirs—two sons and a daughter.
There were advisors and high-ranking generals debating over a recent border conflict.
Their voices echoed through the grand chamber, filled with authority and strategy—until space snapped.
And Daniel appeared in the centre of it all, cloaked in shadow and void-light.
The air froze.
One of the generals, a hulking warrior with four arms and a jagged obsidian blade, reacted instantly, appearing before Daniel in a blur and thrusting the blade toward his neck.
"Who are you?!" the general snarled, the blade stopping just inches from Daniel’s throat.
Daniel didn’t flinch.
His silver-violet eyes calmly t the general’s.
"Just soone," Daniel said softly, "doing what should’ve been done a long ti ago."
And with a single motion, he raised his hand and tapped the blade.
It crumbled instantly.
[: Indomitable Destruction – Decay of Nothingness :]
The obsidian weapon turned to black dust, falling like ash at the general’s feet.
Gasps rang out.
"An intruder! An invader has entered the sacred chamber of the King!" the general roared, retreating a step.
"Kill him!"
The chamber erupted in chaos.
Dozens of elite guards, generals, and royal battlemages surged in through every entrance.
The walls trembled with the arrival of power—blades drawn, spells charged, wings flared, a full military force summoned in re seconds.
Daniel sighed, brushing his cloak back.
"I said..."
His voice rang with chilling finality.
"...I don’t have ti to waste."
[: Eyes of Calamity – Death Effect: Activated :]
His eyes ignited into spiralling galaxies of silver and violet.
The mont his gaze passed over them, ti seed to fracture.
Hundreds of guards and elites froze in place.
Their weapons dropped from their hands.
Their knees buckled.
And then—one by one—they collapsed.
As if the very concept of life had been erased from them.
In re seconds, the entire army that had filled the throne room now lay dead across the marble floors, like fallen statues.
Only Daniel stood.
And the royal family.
The King rose slowly from his throne, the Queen tense at his side, his children unmoving, wide-eyed in disbelief.
Daniel’s gaze lifted to et the King’s.
"Now," Daniel said, his tone calm but cold. "Shall we talk?"
The room was dead silent, save for the quiet flicker of the banners above and the unsettling hum of death still lingering in the air.
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