My Talent's Name Is Generator

Chapter 1194: Death

The silence lasted only for a heartbeat.

Then someone appeared before me.

There was no distortion in space, no fluctuation of Soul Force and no warning from my perception. One moment, the space several meters ahead of me had been empty. The next, a man was simply standing there as though he had existed in that exact position from the beginning.

He looked human.

His appearance was strangely youthful, perhaps no older than nineteen or twenty. He wore loose yellow robes that moved gently despite the complete stillness of the surrounding Soul Sea, while long hair flowed down his back, half black and half white. His face was clean-shaven and almost unnaturally composed, with not a trace of emotion upon it.

Only his eyes drew my attention.

They were golden.

Yet there was no arrogance, anger or killing intent within them. They were simply looking at me with an unsettling indifference, as though he were observing something whose fate had already been decided.

His hands remained calmly folded behind his back.

The pressure surrounding him was immense, but he made no effort to release it. A Demigod did not need to display his strength to make his existence known.

His gaze shifted briefly toward the frozen burning contract before returning to me.

”Child, give me the contract, and you may live.”

His voice was calm and devoid of emotion.

He slowly brought one hand out from behind his back and extended it toward me, his palm facing upward in an almost casual gesture.

”If you refuse, you will die.”

My heart thudded against my chest as I heard his words. For the first time since returning to the Prime Territory, I felt a strange premonition settle over me, as though those few words had already determined the outcome of what was about to happen. I instinctively expanded my perception, trying to reach beyond my immediate surroundings and sweep across the Prime Territory as I had done countless times before.

Nothing happened.

My perception could no longer extend beyond my own body.

The realization sent a chill through me.

Before I could react, an invisible force crashed down upon my body.

My knees slammed against the empty space beneath me as an immense pressure forced me downward. I clenched my fists and tried to rise, but the moment I exerted my strength, the bones throughout my body creaked under the pressure. My blood began boiling, and even my organs felt as though they were being crushed from within.

Yet the pressure continued increasing.

Every passing second made it heavier.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself upward, but the difference between us was simply too great. I couldn’t even stand properly in his presence.

There was no choice.

I immediately released my full Domain.

The ancient tablet materialized behind me as violet-silver radiance erupted across the surrounding space. Clouds gathered above it, churning violently as the authority of Veritas Dominus began descending upon the battlefield. My Soul Projection started manifesting behind me, carrying the Executor’s Staff and Prarambh as the full might of my Domain prepared to unfold.

The man merely glanced at it.

Then he snorted.

”Hmph.”

The sound was quiet.

The effect was anything but.

The descending tablet suddenly trembled violently before exploding into countless fragments of violet-silver light. At the same instant, my Soul Projection shattered as though it had been struck by an invisible force, its enormous body disintegrating into countless fragments before disappearing.

A mouthful of blood erupted from my lips. Agonizing pain tore through my soul.

I nearly lost consciousness from the impact alone.

That was when I finally understood the true difference between us. This wasn’t a matter of being slightly weaker. It wasn’t even a matter of lacking enough Soul Force.

The gap between a Saint and a genuine Demigod was something far more fundamental.

”You have three seconds to return the contract.”

His voice remained completely calm.

But the moment his words reached my ears, they did not simply stop there. His voice penetrated directly into my soul, carrying his authority with it.

My soul trembled violently. Cracks began appearing across its surface. Pain unlike anything I had experienced before spread through my entire consciousness. My vision blurred, and for a moment I felt as though I would lose consciousness completely.

Yet I refused to release the contract. I held it tightly while desperately trying to keep my consciousness intact.

My thoughts raced. There had to be a way out.

I couldn’t fight him.

I couldn’t use my Domain. My perception was completely suppressed.

Then I thought of Echo Reversion.

If I could activate it, perhaps I could escape before he stopped me.

I immediately began forming the three runes. But before even the first rune could fully materialize, it trembled violently and collapsed.

My expression changed.

Even Echo Reversion was being suppressed.

I thought about unlocking the three Nodes.

For a brief moment, the idea seemed tempting. If I released them, my strength would increase several times over, and perhaps I could break through the pressure holding me down. But the thought died almost as quickly as it appeared.

Even if I activated all three Nodes simultaneously, it would not bridge the distance between this man and me. He had not even made a move yet. The force crushing my body was nothing more than the pressure naturally radiating from his existence.

My summons would be even less useful. If I called them here, they would only be dragged into the same overwhelming pressure, and I had no doubt that their manifestations would be erased before they could accomplish anything.

Yet there was one thing that gave me hope.

He wanted the contract.

He could have taken it from me.

He could have crushed my body, shattered my soul and simply seized the document without asking permission, but he hadn’t. He was demanding that I surrender it myself.

That could only mean one thing.

The Null Realm was restricting him.

Whatever authority governed this place prevented him from directly taking the contract from its current holder. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for him to offer me a choice.

I tightened my grip around the contract and refused to move.

I simply stared at him.

My eyes had already turned red from the immense strain, but I didn’t lower my gaze. I wasn’t foolish enough to believe I could defeat him. I wasn’t even certain I could survive him. But as long as the Null Realm’s restriction remained in place, the contract was the one thing he could not simply take from me.

The man’s expression remained completely unchanged.

Then my skin suddenly split.

Blood poured from my body as though invisible blades were cutting through me from every direction. The cracks spreading across my soul widened, and an unbearable pain surged through my consciousness. I tried to endure it, but the pressure became so intense that I couldn’t even draw a proper breath.

Before I could scream, reality disappeared. I found myself standing within an endless white expanse.

There was no Soul Sea here.

No sky or ground. There was only infinite whiteness stretching in every direction.

A chair stood several meters before me. The same yellow-robed man was sitting upon it.

His posture was relaxed, almost casual. In one hand, he held a small knife. In the other was something that made my blood run cold.

A soul.

It was humanoid in shape, but its features were twisted by agony. The man calmly dragged the knife across it, carving away a small portion of its essence.

The soul screamed. The sound echoed endlessly through the white expanse.

The man didn’t react and simply continued carving. Then his golden eyes shifted toward me for the briefest instant.

He raised his hand.

I didn’t even have time to react. An overwhelming sensation of death washed over me.

My body exploded.

”AHHHHH!”

The scream tore from my throat, but before it could fully leave my lips, the world around me shifted once again. I found myself standing in the same endless white expanse, staring at the same yellow-robed man seated calmly in his chair.

Nothing had changed. The knife was still moving through the soul in his hand, carving away another piece of its essence while its agonized screams echoed endlessly through the empty space.

I looked down at myself in disbelief. My body was completely intact, yet the pain of my previous death remained vivid within my consciousness. I could still remember the sensation of my flesh and soul exploding, the overwhelming terror of watching my existence disappear in an instant. It had felt real. Too real.

”What—”

I never finished the question.

My body exploded again.

Death came without warning, without resistance and without even the illusion that I could fight back.

One moment I was standing before him, and the next my consciousness was scattered into nothingness. Then, just as suddenly, I was whole again, standing in the same white expanse with the same man sitting before me, still calmly carving the screaming soul in his hand as though my death had been nothing more than an insignificant interruption.

That was when I understood what he had done to me.

This was not reality.

It was a nightmare.