The Villain's Story

Chapter 807: Sealed Being.

The Warden of the Forgotten saw an ocean not of water, but of shimmering light and rising vapors of unfathomable energy. The vast expanse stretched endlessly beneath him, dyed in deep indigo and cerulean hues that reflected the infinite cosmos above,

A wave of shadows flowed outward from his form, descending like a living tide. From it, a platform of shadows took shape upon the sea. He raised his gaze to the... heavens, to the endless field of stars that burned silently in the void, their glow casting soft ripples upon the surface below.

It was a soul sea, yet unlike any he had ever witnessed. Kulak had witnessed countless souls throughout his immortal life, each unique, each revealing fragments of their bearers, but this one was different. Vast, alive, ancient.

There was no air, no sound, yet everything pulsed with a certain rhythm. A slow, resounding thrum, like...

ʼA heartbeat.ʼ

The strange sea beneath his feet remained calm, yet it was never still. Waves of light rolled silently across its surface, breathing in and out like it was a living organism.

Kulak lingered there for what felt like an eternity, studying every ripple, every faint distortion in the air. Yet his attention was not on the stars above, nor on the luminous sea around him, but on what lay beneath.

ʼ...ʼ

For beneath the vaporous depths, shrouded by veils of liquid light, the true secret of this soul slumbered.

He saw it, the faint outline of colossal scales. The ground upon which he stood was not land, but the back of a creature so enormous its body stretched beyond perception, merging into the distant haze of the horizon.

But he couldnʼt see

Even with his ancient eyes, he could not see past the single scale beneath his feet, not without invoking his full power, but doing so would provoke the unique skill, Dominatus.

He clicked his tongue.

Still, he could do something. His shadows spread once more, creeping across the luminous surface like a living storm, covering a small portion of the colossal beingʼs back, a few scales at most.

Within this newly claimed territory, he saw many... unique things. Strange things he didnʼt expect to be inside Alanʼs soul.A pagoda rose high toward the star-filled heavens, a strange, out-of-place structure that reached for the cosmic canopy like a defiant monument, yet Kulak paid it no mind,

What truly captured his attention was the defense system... which wasnʼt the Unique Skill, Dominatus, rather... beasts.

From the sea emerged beasts of obsidian and stone. Gravity bent around their forms like a purple haze, and space fractured beneath their claws. Their tails, long and barbed, were so sharp that reality itself seemed to tear when they moved. Each creature bore a distinct shape, a unique presence, yet they were all... still.

They rested atop the illuminated sea, standing sentinel upon the being he, too, was standing upon. Kulak dismissed them. His gaze, sharp and unerring, sought something far deeper.

He delved further into the abyss below, pushing his perception carefully through the dense waves of energy. He was searching for it, the soul, or rather

And soon enough, he found it,

Not a lot of things could hide from his gaze, and nothing could hide when he was this desperate to find it.

He waved his hand, and a tide of shadows engulfed him, taking him deeper, transporting his body to the center of it all. The core.

At the very center, the colors converged into a radiant, cerulean core. However, Kulak could see past the display, the bright lights, and see cracks in the core. They were everywhere, and it was a wonder how the core hadnʼt broken into pieces yet.

Kulak closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He calmed himself down and repeated the same sentence in his mind.

ʼItʼll be alright... Aranus would never agree to it. But...ʼ

He opened his eyes and looked down at the light emanating from his closed hand. His grip was tighter than it had ever been, and the headache, the pain in his soul, was greater than it had ever been.

The price of clinging to an erased fate.

Kulak focused on the core once again, and for a moment, he was glad he didnʼt find what he had been looking for, but the shadows told him the truth. They warned him of the deception cast before him.

He had known it too, but he had wanted to believe it, even if only for a moment.

With a heavy heart, he waved his hand once more. This time, the shadows were not like a peaceful tide, but a ruthless storm; they spread from every corner of his body and consumed everything. This time, Kulak couldnʼt give a damn about [Dominatus] being provoked or not.

The shadows consumed everything: the radiant core, the converging lights, and they revealed the truth, ripping the illusion that had been cast in the center of the soul sea.

The shadows ripped the deception apart and returned to their source, beaming with glee. Kulak accepted them all once more, and it seemed that his existence had grown more profound... and his gaze?

Steady, determined... and filled with hate.

The truth was a black mass, much like a star the size of a small galaxy, like his own Lightless Void; however, this one did not share an outline of light. It was a true, chaotic darkness, where no light existed. Something that contradicted his entire existence.

It was the soul of the Black Dragon, Aranus, albeit much smaller than what he remembered. His cage and place of rest, where he lay unconscious in the center of it all.

But Kulak honestly paid it no mind any further; instead, he focused on the small blue light further ahead, with a core of gold. His eyes quivered as he saw the golden radiance.

”...”

A sigh resounded through the core, and Kulak focused on the source.

On the pair of emerald green eyes hiding in the darkness behind the blue core.