The Smell of roasted meat wafted through the air as fiery sparks lingered around the Starfire Opal pillars.

The ground the burnt Varkhaza lay on kept on pulsing as if something within wanted to break free.

On the right side of the Varkhaza, a skeletal human with crooked arms, a missing head, and legs.

A black sword’s blade shimmered as the flying sparks flew over it.

Two miles away from the Varkhaza, light exploded from a fresh human who lay there with only a red cloth wrapped around his back.

Water dripping sounds filled the chamber as the ceiling got soaked with water whenever the evaporated air danced across its surface.

As if pulled by an invisible force, all the blue glows from the Starfire Opal exited the stone pillars and drifted toward Leon.

When the lights reached him, his body rose and floated in the air. His veins glowed as the lights hurriedly rushed into his body with an enormous force.

Deep within Leon’s mind, he saw himself standing at the front of the Yrendal. Before him, other versions; from the faceless one, the five-year-old, the aged one, the one on a wheel, and other ones that weren’t in human form.

They all bowed, pressing their foreheads to the ground. Behind his other versions, the sentinels lowered their swords, went on one knee, heads bowed.

"Master Leon Storm, creator of Yrendal and wielder of Solflare. Your wish is our command."

As soon as Leon’s other versions raised their heads, they dashed into his body, becoming one with him.

Outside the dream world, air wrapped around Leon. A golden armor began forming from the tip of his fingers. Within the span of two seconds, Leon’s entire body was engulfed in the armor, leaving only his head untouched.

When Leon’s eyes cracked open, the panel captured his vision first.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

HOST STATUS:

Name: Leon Storm

Rank: B

Level: Locked

Tier: Tier 4 (Stable)

Class: Lord

Title: Creator-Type (Verified)

Strength: 50

Agility: 50 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Speed: 50

Endurance: 30

Intelligence: 70

Willpower: 40

Potential: 5

Durability: 10

Authority: 5

Existential Weight: 3.0 (Stable)

Structural Capacity: Undefined

Life Span Integrity: Failing

Existence Anchor: Strong

Existence Grade: Mystical

Social Grade: Registered

Legal Status: Illegal (Passive Violation)

Skill Expression Grade: B

Talent Grade: Abnormal

Growth Rate: Abnormal

Efficiency Modifier: 3.0x

Stamina: 20 /20

Mental Load: Extremely High

Existential Strain: Present

SYSTEM FLAGS

Creator-Type: Confirmed

Devil-Type: Dormant

Authority Access: Unlocked

Life Span Sufficient for Authorization

Continuum Compliance: Mortal

Risk of Existential Collapse: Nullified

Structural Capacity: Rewriting...

UNIQUE ABILITIES:

i. Solflare Judgement.

ii. Clone Manipulating.

iii. Devil’s Erasure (Sealed).

DOMAIN INFLUENCE: AXIOM

Domain activation: Let it be written. Axiom!

The panel vanished when Leon moved his first step.

He looked at his palms, then slowly lifted his head. "What happened?"

Before he could think of anything, he stumbled two steps back when he saw the roasted Varkhaza.

There, the memory of seeing Wu Ze get torn apart by the God-beast flashed behind his mind.

"Wu Ze!" The name escaped Leon as he collapsed on one knee. He inhaled heavily then pushed himself up.

The smell was so sharp that Leon covered his mouth and nose with the red cloth when he neared the Varkhaza.

As soon as Leon saw the human bones without a head and legs, his heart saddened. Wu Ze’s smiles, her strong nature, and how she carried herself flashed into Leon’s head.

"I’m sorry." He said, crouching down beside the bones. He placed a hand on the spine, then closed his eyes.

Leon released the bone’s grip on the sword and picked it up when he cracked his eyes open.

He turned, glanced at the Starfire Opal pillars, which had lost their essence before leaving the chamber.

In his arms, he gripped onto a pulsing stone he had found from the chest of the Varkhaza. And on his back was Wu Ze’s sword, gleaming with a faint golden light.

...

In the land of the Serakels, countless foods were served on a large dinner table. Meats that smelled of human, the horned beings, and other ones that had no shape, just flesh.

"Mmm. Mmm. Mmmmm." An Lang exclaimed in joy as he devoured the meats one after another.

With every bite he took, his veins glowed green. After he finished with the first set, his brown eyes had completely turned dark red.

"I wouldn’t have gotten this if I chose to follow that twark." He said, slamming his fist on the table.

From a distance, the S-rank Serakel flinched, but stopped when he saw the other shake his head.

"Not now."

...

Inside the dungeon of the horned beings, where no light had ever touched, screams echoed like thunderclaps.

"Help!"

Blood dripped from Liu Yan’s palms as she tried to climb the heated wall, but fell and hit her elbow on the ground.

Crush!

She gathered herself and tried again, but still yielded no result.

A cunning laughter that carried the voice of a dying man rose from the cell opposite Liu Yan’s. "What you’re doing will rather cause you more trouble. So stop."

The grey-haired man pushed himself forward. He grabbed the burning iron, then welcomed the pain as if his body was no longer attuned to pain.

"What’s your name?" he asked, but Liu Yan didn’t answer. "Whatever. I’m Joe."

The man smiled, then bent down, coughing. "Sorry for that. By the way, this is my last day here. So I wanted you to know about me."

Liu Yan paused climbing the wall on the fifth time, and finally turned and looked at the worried man.

"Your last day?"

"Oh, so you can hear and talk? I thought you were mute and deaf." He laughed it off, releasing his grip on the iron rods.

"Exactly as you heard it."

Liu Yan lowered her head. ’His last day? Meaning he will be free for good?’ she said low in her head, then lifted her eyes to the man.

"What did you say your name was again?"

"Joe. The only human who had been kept captive in Tartarus for over twenty years."

"Twenty YEARS?"

"Yeah," Joe answered and began dancing in his cell. "If this land were to be Agathan Land, I would have been a civilized person."

Liu Yan’s face went pale. ’Agatha, is that what he meant?’ She asked herself, then looked at the man for a second time.

"Did you say something?" Joe asked, pausing mid dance.

Liu Yan shook her head and began looking around the man.

"Hey," Joe called out. "You seem to be wearing one of my creative designs."

"Sorry, your creative design?" Liu Yan shifted glances from the combat suit she wore to the man.

"Yes, I came up with that design when I was still in the Agathan Special Forces."

Liu Yan’s mouth opened wide, while her eyes bulged. Before she could ask anything, two of the horned beings appeared, sparks flying behind them as they dragged their jagged weapons on the ground.

They spoke in a strange language Liu Yan didn’t understand. All she could hear were shouts that made the burning iron gate of Joe’s cell lose its burning heat.

As soon as they unlocked Joe’s chains and dragged him out, he turned to Liu Yan, then smiled. "Tell Hei Yung his friend sends his final goodbye."

Liu Yan’s heart troubled as the man’s smiling face shifted to one of dreadful understanding. Death.

...

When Joe was brought out of the dungeon cell by the horned beings, a pillar of flammable stones was already arranged in the shape of a ziggurat, an offering tower for the gods.

Shouts of happiness blasted from the crowd of horned beings as they watched the human get placed at the top.

Just as the two beings turned ready to leap off the stones, Joe looked at them and smiled. "Thank you."

Memories of Joe’s childhood erupted while the flames from the stone began to cook his body.

Tears dripped from his eyes when he saw the faces of his dead parents, reaching out for him, as if welcoming him.

"It’s alright, son."