"Oh? You really do have potential," Dohans' cold, calm voice echoed. "That's good. I've raised this sect and the strongest clans of this world for a long time, but I was still unsure if devouring them would be enough to evolve my core to the Celestial level."

His words made the whole army swallow hard. Before Darian showed up, everyone in the sect and the clans saw themselves as powerful and unshakable. The neutral clans believed their strength was respected even by that king. The sect members trusted their defensive inscription as a barrier not even he could break…

But reality was very different. If that king had really wanted to wipe them out earlier, they wouldn't have lasted even a single day.

It was all because Dohans wanted to fatten them up under pressure, forcing them to create more and more powerful figures… realizing they were nothing but prey waiting for the day of slaughter, terrified them.

Darian stared at that figure coldly. In his hands, two strange daggers appeared.

The moment Dohans looked at the daggers, his expression shifted. He could clearly tell: those weren't made of anything from this world. These weapons had origins even he couldn't measure.

"Today, I'll avenge everyone you massacred." Darian's voice thundered. In his mind, the images of Tir, Eleri, and Awel surfaced, bringing a storm of emotions.

He radiated an unshakable will. Dohans, however, sneered and raised his hand. A blinding white light flowed out, condensing until it became physical.

A spear of light, nearly completely solid, was formed.

He was a Heavenly Elemental Spirit. His best weapon was the natural energy he was born with. But… feeling that power, it was obvious he was no longer just a being formed from one of the five natural elements.

That light was extreme Yang, mixed with a dense soul power — this was the true essence of his strength.

Both moved.

*BOOM!*

A colossal explosion twisted and shattered all of space. Even light itself couldn't stay, plunging everything into darkness.

Everyone was horrified, death pressing down all around them. Some coughed up blood. Even from that distance, even armored, they couldn't defend against that violent pressure.

When vision returned, they saw Darian striking at Dohans again.

*BOOM!!*

The second blast was even more intense, shaking the ground and causing disturbances stronger than the first.

People couldn't see any energy waves hitting them, but their physical bodies and souls felt like they were being crushed by a meteor. It felt like they could be ripped apart at any second.

"Everyone, fall back to the sect!"

Remira suddenly shouted. Countless were wounded, and without hesitation, they pulled back immediately.

As soon as they entered, shielded by the inscription, they watched the battlefield from afar.

Suddenly, a spear of light ripped across the dome of the heavens like an annihilating thunderbolt.

On the other side, a dark figure appeared, holding two daggers.

He radiated killing intent, but his image was at the same time striking and beyond words. In that instant, the scene carved itself deep into their minds. They would never forget it for the rest of their lives.

"Raise the defenses to maximum!" Remira roared.

Saving strength to strike back? If they didn't defend with everything, the sect and every single one of them would be wiped out.

*KBOOOM!!!*

With the new impact, even greater than the ones before, the entire sect shook. Over a thousand massive rune-barriers lit up in the skies above the sect in an instant.

They held their defense — and then, silence fell.

Everyone's eyes stayed locked on the chaotic battlefield. Space slowly pieced itself back together… until it revealed two unmoving figures.

Dohans wore a serious, yet calm look:

"Interesting… even being nine realms below me, your physique and raw power surpass mine. Your weapons are superior too. And you seem to be hiding more cards, right? Waiting for the perfect time to catch me off guard? Hahaha…"

He laughed lightly, but then his eyes shifted. His entire body shone with a dazzling light. On his forehead, a white rune appeared. This was his true body.

Suddenly, everyone felt the heavens themselves change.

Everything turned white, as if…

"WHAT! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Remira roared in shock.

Darian lifted his eyes to the skies, also surprised by the sudden change. When he first entered this world, falling from the highest point of the heavens down to the great island, he had seen that the blue sky was made up of countless tiny runes.

Those runes held the world together. Terrifyingly powerful runes, each one containing a strange energy.

He had an idea of what it was, thanks to the knowledge he'd gotten from that book. Possibly, it was the purest energy of the world, something that only existed in a handful of the highest-level universes, called Qi.

And what Dohans was using… was the power coming from those runes — the Qi that held that world together.

"HAHAHAHA!" His booming laugh exploded.

"You thought being superior in a few areas was enough? I've stood at the peak of this world's power for a long time. The system gave me countless privileges and new possibilities. I never wasted my time. My power has no limits, and I can use a share of everything that exists."

Remira clenched her fists, utterly shaken. She knew the creator of this world and was certain he wouldn't just leave something like that available to anyone inside it. Dohans must've done something terrible to get access to it.

But Darian… just watched in silence, expressionless.

Dohans stopped laughing and stared at him. "Still confident? I'll show you true despair."

With a wave of his hand, all that energy in the skies moved, surrounding Darian completely.

With a roar, everything around him seemed to twist and harden.

A blinding white light covered it all. But right after, a horrifying sound echoed: the snapping and cracking of bones.

"Hahahahaha…"

Dohans laughed sadistically. In that instant, the people inside the sect could clearly see.

Darian was completely wrapped in white runes, covering every inch of his body like divine chains.

His clothes were torn to rags. The chains dug into him, slowly piercing his flesh, and blood drenched him completely.

Everyone trembled in despair. But when they looked at Darian's face, all they saw in his red eyes was absolute calm.

No matter the situation, he stayed calm and thought clearly. He couldn't let something like his heart demon take over his actions again.

Darian activated his ring… Qi was a basic, yet extremely powerful energy. But the rings' dominance only worked over life energies and natural elements. He tried, but failed, to control it.

*Crack!*

His whole body shook, his bones slowly snapping, like he was being crushed from every direction. The pain was unbearable, but he had gone through worse torments before. His mind stayed empty and serene, desperately thinking of how to break that power.

It wasn't just physical suppression. It was an oppressive force sealing his entire soul… and with it, everything Darian had. He couldn't use anything. He tried to move the daggers in his hands with all his strength, but could barely twist his arm.

To those watching from afar, he looked like nothing but a ball of raw, blood-dripping flesh, shaking nonstop.

Seeing Darian's total lack of reaction, Dohans looked a little disappointed.

"Looks like you won't give in until the very last moment… is your desire to kill me and your will really that strong? Was it because of those three little ones who died?"

Suddenly, his face twisted with extreme sadism.

"Hahahaha… this is perfect. Let's see if you'll still be smiling now."

Dohans spoke and waved his hand.

Then, three faint lights appeared around his body.

In that moment, Darian's eyes froze. He lifted his gaze with effort, forcing his face toward Dohans. And then… his heart stopped.

The enemy raised his hand and smiled cruelly.

In front of him, three small, ethereal shapes appeared, fragile and broken. Three souls, like cracked porcelain, floated there, barely held together by a thin thread of existence.

The energy they gave off was so faint, so subtle, it felt impossible they were still in this world. Their eyes stayed shut, as if trapped in an endless dream — a dream made only of pain. Their faces twitched, carrying a silent agony.

Being a soul fragment was worse than death. No body, no strength, no future… just a fractured consciousness, trapped in eternal purgatory. No strength to live or even sense the world, yet alive enough to burn in endless torment.

They were two girls and a boy. Young, once full of power and hope, is now reduced to nothing. Not even a trace of elemental glow remained in them. Everything had been stripped away, leaving only broken shells of who they had once been.

Darian's red eyes shook.

Tir…

Eleri…

Awel…

Blood tears streaked down his face. No one could tell if they were tears of joy for finally seeing his old companions again… or pure agony from witnessing the miserable state they were in.

"AHHHHH!"

A beast-like, hoarse roar full of pure hatred erupted from his chest.

"HOW DARE YOU!!"

His whole body pulsed with blood and resentment, like it was about to explode.

"Hahahahaha! Splendid!" Dohans roared with laughter, his voice echoing like a macabre thunder. "Don't get too excited yet! I kept them with me so we could have some fun together!"

He slowly closed his fist.

Three runes binding Darian detached, drifting through the air until they touched those fragile souls.

In that instant, the youths twisted violently. Their faces warped into indescribable expressions of suffering, and the faint energy they still had began to unravel, fragment by fragment.

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