The Black Flame

The Dark Void created by the great explosion of Light and Darkness was an entirely new realm. As a world gradually stabilizing, it naturally possessed some form of self-protection: a thin "boundary." This invisible dividing line separated it from the Light and Void still constantly colliding outside, and even the accompanying Twisting Nether could not connect with it.

However, as a spontaneous defensive measure, the Dark Void was not perfect. It always had loopholes of its own, so creatures not native to this universe often found opportunities to smuggle themselves into this place they called "paradise." Once these chaotic beings entered, free from the restraints of their equally chaotic brethren, they happily unleashed their natures.

Yet careful observation revealed that most of these creatures that slipped in were not particularly powerful. Of course, that was only relative. To ordinary races in the universe, every appearance of such beings could be called a disaster. But at the power level of Titans... well, one could refer to a certain Void Terror some Titan had used to test the waters and screw over his teammates.

The reason for this phenomenon naturally came from the universe itself. As a stable greater universe, it could tolerate a few little bugs passing through its defensive boundary. But for certain colossal beings, the destruction they could cause was entirely different—like the chaos caused by throwing Vanidak into the corresponding Void. Thus, for these giants, crossing the boundary was nearly impossible. It was like how you could tolerate certain microorganisms entering your body, but if an eel got in... well, perhaps some people would like that?

In short, due to some greater universal will, the Void Avatar that opposed Vanidak should have been absolutely incapable of entering this universe. Yet the facts lay before them: it had done so, had even brawled passionately with Vanidak, and some of its schemes were about to succeed.

However, entering the Dark Void did not come without a price. Once the greater universe discovered the method of smuggling in, it would do everything possible to expel the intruder under circumstances that seemed utterly inconceivable.

The invisible gravitational pull produced by the spatial rift grew ever stronger. As its target, the Void Avatar gradually lost control of its body and was slowly dragged toward the rift.

"This is impossible! My fate should not be this! The Void cannot fail!" The Avatar roared as it struggled desperately against the pull, becoming increasingly unable to stand firm.

"Ah-ha. Throwing a tantrum after getting turned around? How pitiful." Vanidak, somehow sitting in the Void with one leg crossed over the other, mocked it expressionlessly.

"It's truly touching to see a Void Lord personally leading from the front."

"Leaders willing to fight on the front lines are rare these days. Honestly, if it weren't for your identity, I'd want you as my leader."

"Of course, leaders handle things when there's trouble, and when there isn't... well, that's not important. What matters is, how much longer can you hold out?"

Entirely unaffected by the spatial distortion, Vanidak watched the Avatar, which was about to be sucked into the rift, and kept talking.

"Your time is very valuable right now."

"This is impossible! Setting aside how you managed to open a spatial rift connected to the Void, why are you completely unaffected by it?!" The Avatar, seemingly about to exhaust all its strength, roared at Vanidak.

"Oh, you underestimate me too much. As one who commands the authority of space, shouldn't something like this be effortless?"

Those flippant words seemed to deepen the Void Lord's despair. With an enraged roar, the black energy around the Avatar began burning violently. At the same time, the black tide that had covered most of Nathrezar slowly receded, and a stream of concentrated Void energy connected to the Avatar.

"Oh my, what are you doing? Are you giving up your Void outpost now?"

"If I fail, then this world will be buried with me!" Having seemingly decided on one final gamble, the Avatar grew larger once more. Bracing against the gravitational pull, it slowly moved forward until it tightly wrapped both hands and feet around the planet Nathrezar.

"Let me return to the Void together with this world!"

The surviving Nathrezim on Nathrezar's surface suddenly discovered that the tide of evil creatures, which had been attacking madly until recently, had slowly retreated. Just as they thought they had finally survived the crisis, before they could even catch their breath, an incomparably enormous black object blotted out the sky and crashed toward the ground.

Watching the massive object plummet, a priest pressed his palms together and muttered, "Is this... truly... the salvation... of our race?"

Watching the Avatar shamelessly anchor itself to Nathrezar, Vanidak's body seemed to tremble almost imperceptibly. He sighed, silver light blazing all over his body as he continued taunting the Avatar.

"Oh, you really are shameless. Then again, cunning and shamelessness are probably the talents of races like yours. But can this really stop it?"

"Shameless or not, even if I return to the Void, I will still take a world with me. This time, I have not lost!" The Avatar replied to Vanidak as it was still slowly dragged backward.

"World Soul, this time you merely drove me back. But I have not failed. This world will embrace the Void alongside me."

As though he had not heard the other's words, Vanidak merely watched the Avatar being steadily sucked into the spatial rift. The silver radiance around him grew brighter, gradually igniting into silver flames.

"Look, what a wonderful world. What a race with such potential. Yet because of you, they are about to become mine." The Avatar, still spreading words of corruption, seemed to have accepted its fate. It kept provoking the Titan Vanidak, trying to break his mental defenses.

"Look, because of you—because of your reckless defiance of the Void—what has become of the world you protected? Look. Look!"

"What exactly have you protected?!"

Nathrezar had completely entered the rift, seemingly crossing into another realm. The corrupted Avatar appeared to have given up resisting. It finally shouted toward Vanidak, wherever he might be, "World Soul! I will remember you! You will forever remain beneath the Void's gaze! Your soul will ultimately belong to us!"

"Oh, do you really think so?"

A familiar voice came from behind the Avatar. It was Vanidak, who had been silent for quite some time.

"But I don't want the attention of you gloomy bastards, inside and out. What should I do about that?"

Sensing something strange, the Avatar was just about to turn around when another voice followed.

"Then I'll just kill you. Mm-hm?"

"Just you?" Before the Avatar could say the words, a wrist blade burning with black flames pierced its chest, pinning it to the planet beneath it.

Then black fire, similar to the flames on the wrist blade, erupted from the Avatar's body and swiftly covered it whole. It even spread to the twisted monsters in the world below, igniting them all in raging, eerie black flames.

This powerful Void Lord's Avatar did not even have time to resist before it burned away amid the black flames, eventually forming a massive black crystal.

Smack. A hand covered in black flames reached forward and gripped the black crystal. Vanidak, whose own body also burned with black fire, paid it no mind. Staring at the crystal, he spoke quietly in a strange tone.

"Yes, of course. Just me."

"Surprised? Unexpected?"

"Actually, I didn't want to do this either. I'm afraid of friendly fire when I'm this tall. That would've been embarrassing."

"As for how you died, since you asked so sincerely, I'll mercifully tell you. Those wrist blades you had your eye on? Their name is—"

"Vanidak's Void Blades."

Seemingly finished with his taunting, Vanidak looked at Nathrezar, which was nearly completely swallowed by the rift. His other hand suddenly stabbed forward, a wrist blade extending from his vambrace and piercing the planet. Along with a faint, almost imperceptible scream, a thread of black dust drifted out from the crack.

"Almost forgot about you, little darling. You didn't think you could escape my notice, did you?"

Pulling out the wrist blade, Vanidak watched the spatial crack slowly vanish. He suddenly began coughing violently, and a trace of silver liquid slid from his nostril. He licked it with his tongue, then, apparently finding the taste rather good, looked at the black gemstone that had somehow been embedded in his belt and suddenly remembered something.

"Almost forgot. The other side of that space isn't your home. I'm not capable of breaking through the boundary."

He gave a playful wink, looked at the constantly trembling belt, and continued.

"Of course, of course, I lied to you. After all, to defeat people like you who play tactics, we have to be even dirtier than you, don't we?"

"As for where the other side leads? Hmm, let me think... Hmm, it seems to lead to..."

"The Twisting Nether?"

Silence. Stillness. The entire world was deathly quiet. After the world-shaking upheaval from before, the surviving Nathrezim discovered that everything had finally settled down. Survivors emerged one after another from their hiding places, looking around at these familiar yet unfamiliar ruins. A wail or cry of pain occasionally drifted over from the distance. The whole world seemed dead.

Boom! Having finally pushed aside a massive pile of rubble, Tichondrius pulled out a surviving compatriot buried beneath it.

"Ugh... thank you, Tichondrius. I thought I was going to be buried here forever," the rescued survivor groaned.

"Save your strength, Balnazzar. I still need your magic to help me search for survivors." Seemingly exhausted, Tichondrius sat beside the rubble and panted heavily.

"Though I would like to be of use, what I need to say is that I may not be able to." Under Tichondrius's startled gaze, Balnazzar shifted his posture and continued explaining. "Magic—I can no longer sense it. This place is filled with another kind of energy, far more violent than magic. I cannot control it."

Hearing this, Tichondrius also fell silent. "Then... then what... can we do... Agh!!!"

Balnazzar discovered in astonishment that Tichondrius, who had just been silent, was now rolling on the ground in agony. Gradually, his body began to change. Fangs extended from his mouth, his claws sharpened, and his feet twisted grotesquely until they became hooves. Finally, amid agonized howls, a pair of wings with red membranes extended from his back.

"You... Tichondrius... you look just like..."

"Just like our esteemed First Lord, isn't that right?"

Balnazzar turned toward the voice and found a creature with black wing membranes standing not far behind him, remarkably similar to Tichondrius. After examining him closely, he cried out in shock.

"You... you are..."

"Kathanatir," the other said, confirming the name Balnazzar had wanted to speak.

"But I don't understand, Kathanatir. Why are you..."

Kathanatir, who had stretched out his right hand to inspect his claws, did not answer directly. After studying them carefully, he declared in a ringing voice.

"This is our destiny, Balnazzar. You will become like Tichondrius and me."

"Do not resist, my archmage. This is merely—"

"Ascension!"

"This will bring our race a better—"

"Future!"