Kazan, God of Destruction

A whisper rose, and all things fell silent.

In Long Yi's eyes, Colonel Shu, smiling as he struck a provocative pose, and the naval recruits at the side, animatedly shouting their encouragement, were all affected by an invisible force, frozen in place as if time had stopped.

"Submit to me, insect, and I shall grant you the mighty power to transcend all things."

The whisper still murmured by his ear. This sudden turn of events caught Long Yi off guard. Just as he was about to speak and figure out what was going on, a tremendous force seized his body and sent him helplessly falling backward.

In an instant, panic, confusion, fear, and countless other emotions flashed through Long Yi's heart.

He wanted to cry out, only to find that his throat could not make a sound. He wanted to struggle with all his might, but not a shred of strength remained in his body.

A feeling of powerlessness overwhelmed him, and Long Yi sank into despair.

With no other choice, he could only allow that tremendous force to drag him down and slam him hard onto the ground of the parade field.

Strangely, the instant Long Yi fell, he felt no pain at all. He had fallen onto a stone floor, yet it felt more like plunging into a mass of viscous liquid.

"Strange, it doesn't hurt?"

Just as Long Yi was filled with doubt, a cracking sound came from beside his ear. Following the sound, Long Yi's eyes widened in disbelief. He suddenly discovered that the space around him was developing black, spiderweb-like cracks, like a shattered mirror.

The space broke apart with astonishing speed. In the brief moment he lost focus, the black cracks spread outward, and the entire space collapsed. Long Yi's body fell with it like a ragged sack.

As he fell, Long Yi seemed to be sucked into a bottomless black hole. Endless darkness opened like a giant maw and swallowed him whole. His senses gradually vanished, and all life faded from his once-bright eyes.

Before this darkness, no one could resist.

"When all things in this world are cut off, I shall rule your heart."

A deep, hoarse voice emerged from the endless darkness. The moment it sounded, the whispers lingering by Long Yi's ears instantly disappeared.

As the voice entered his ears, Long Yi regained a trace of consciousness, and life returned to his eyes. His pupils instinctively contracted, only for him to see a pair of blood-colored eyes slowly opening before him.

The instant their gazes met, Long Yi held his breath instinctively, his heart pounding wildly.

He could see it clearly. Within those dim, blood-red pupils was a frenzy beyond description, the desperate wailing of despair, and a will to destroy everything screaming soundlessly.

Long Yi was certain that those were not eyes a human could possess. Only a demon from the depths of hell could be so insane.

"I am Kazan, God of Destruction."

His voice boomed like a great bell, as though proclaiming the coming of the end of the world. For a moment, Long Yi was so intimidated by Kazan's words that he lost the ability to think.

As his words fell, the god's true form appeared. Before Long Yi stood a tall, burly man.

His face was savage, and an uncontrollable madness burned in his scarlet eyes.

He had long golden hair and half a set of battered armor. The wheat-colored skin exposed beyond it was covered in arrow wounds and blade scars. His powerful hands gripped two different vicious weapons: a long executioner's blade and a bloodstained battle axe.

Waves of scarlet ghostly energy surged endlessly around him, like countless dead souls wailing in silence.

This was the frenzied god, the destroyer of worlds, Kazan of the Blade Soul.

"Kazan, God of Destruction?"

Long Yi stared at Kazan, repeating his name over and over in his heart. After a brief moment of thought, he suddenly remembered. Kazan, God of Destruction, was one of the sixteen great gods in DNF.

The terrifying being who had once been an imperial general and created the Ghost Swordsman class.

"I'll ask one last time. Submit, or perish."

Ignoring Long Yi's shocked gaze, Kazan narrowed his eyes and looked down at him with lofty disdain.

Seeing that Long Yi did not respond, a trace of displeasure appeared on Kazan's face. The blood axe in his right hand hovered above Long Yi's head. A crushing pressure, as though it could split the earth, appeared from nowhere and engulfed Long Yi like a tidal wave, instantly plunging him from shock into agony worse than death.

"Wait! I—"

Tormented by endless pain, Long Yi had no time to think. Instinctively, he was about to surrender and submit to Kazan's power. Yet before the words could leave his mouth, he froze, repeatedly asking himself inwardly.

Is this really okay?

The pain continued to ravage his body. After hesitating again and again, Long Yi ultimately did not speak the words of surrender. In the blink of an eye, his fragile mind was pushed to its limit by the intense pain. His consciousness began to blur, and after his vision darkened, he sank into deep memories.

When he had first arrived in this world, he had been lost and terrified. Back then, the only thing he believed in was the sword in his hand.

Scenes of his grueling training replayed before his eyes. Long Yi remembered that over the past two years, he had worked tirelessly without a moment of slackness.

Only with a sharp sword in hand could he feel at ease. Only when drenched in sweat could he realize that he was truly alive.

Because he was ordinary, he refused to fade into obscurity. Because he had nothing, he cherished things all the more. He had had enough of that unease. He had had enough of being unable to control his own fate.

"I didn't work hard for two years just to become your dog! I will never submit!"

Kazan's pressure stirred the stubbornness buried in Long Yi's bones. Though his body cried out in agony and weak thoughts in his heart screamed desperately, he clenched his teeth and chose to continue enduring Kazan's pressure.

This was his final stubbornness.

Kazan was surprised. At first, he had thought Long Yi was about to submit, but in the blink of an eye, Long Yi's attitude had become so resolute.

Naturally, Long Yi's attitude provoked Kazan's anger. As the God of Destruction, he would not permit anyone to challenge his authority.

"Then die."

The axe stained with dark-red blood slashed down viciously. Feeling the fierce wind above his head, Long Yi's eyes nearly split apart.

He desperately raised his head and stared fixedly at the axe blade drawing ever closer to his skull. His slightly thin body trembled without stop, yet his face never showed the slightest hint of weakness again.

"Ah!"

A voice made hoarse by fear erupted from Long Yi's throat. Mixed with his unwillingness, he roared with all his might. This was the last resistance he could offer.

Even at the instant the axe blade descended upon his head, Long Yi did not blink. His tear-filled eyes remained wide open as he stared unflinchingly at Kazan's battle axe.

Boom!!!

As the axe fell, Long Yi was completely unharmed, but the surrounding environment underwent an earth-shattering change.

The space Long Yi stood in was no longer a realm of darkness. In the blink of an eye, it had become a paradise like the Peach Blossom Spring.

A thunderous sound like the creation of heaven and earth rang in Long Yi's ears. After such extreme ups and downs, he did not even have time to be surprised before Kazan spoke again.

"You brat have some backbone after all. You barely satisfy me. Fine, I'll lend you my power for now, but be careful. We will meet again..."

Kazan gave Long Yi a sinister grin. Before Long Yi could react, his burly figure vanished. The overwhelming killing intent and threat of death from moments ago seemed like nothing more than a dream.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Everything had left Long Yi deeply confused. He had too many questions that needed answers. Standing at the center of the holy ground, he kept muttering to himself.

Just as Long Yi was completely bewildered, a light, ethereal voice sounded out of nowhere, and strange information suddenly appeared in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for successfully resisting the corruption of Kazan, God of Destruction. The system has been activated.]