Raizen didn't speak for a long time after returning.
He walked—slow, steady steps through dead forest and crumbling plains. Kael trailed behind, but even he had stopped asking questions. Something had changed again. Not just in power, but in pressure. It was as if Raizen was dragging a second reality behind him. Not visible. But felt.
The silence cracked only when Raizen reached the edge of a cliff overlooking a shattered valley. Black roots had grown through the rocks below, splitting the land like veins of dried blood.
Raizen stared at the sky, not really seeing it.
Kael finally dared to speak. "Was it a trial?"
Raizen shook his head once.
"No. It was hunger."
Kael frowned. "What?"
Raizen turned, eyes dark. "That thing behind the gate… it's not a guardian. Not a god. It's a devourer. It's waiting for this entire realm to ripen so it can swallow it whole. Like we're just seasoning."
Kael blinked, then laughed. "You're not serious—"
Raizen didn't smile.
Kael's voice trailed off.
"…What do we do?"
Raizen looked down at his hands. His fingers curled slowly.
"We grow. Fast. Quiet. And we stop thinking we're at the top of the food chain."
---
They left the valley by dusk. Raizen didn't teleport. He walked, letting his mind cool. But even walking wasn't safe anymore.
By midnight, they reached an open plain where ancient ruins sprawled like a forgotten city. Half of it had sunken into the earth; the other half stood crooked, shaped like a spine shattered and never healed.
That's when the ambush came.
At first, it was just one figure. Robed in white, floating high above the ruins.
Then two more appeared. Then four.
Raizen stopped counting at twelve.
Each one bore the insignia of a major sect—some he had stolen from weeks ago. Others were from higher realms. They weren't here for questions.
"Void wielder," the one in the middle called. "You've caused enough chaos. Come with us."
Raizen raised an eyebrow. "Did I sign up for something I missed?"
"You hold techniques stolen from sacred tombs. You've desecrated realms meant only for chosen bloodlines. You walk paths older than your lifespan allows."
Raizen sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "So basically, I'm winning too much, and you hate it."
The speaker didn't respond. Instead, three stepped forward and raised their hands.
Twelve-tiered formation rings shimmered around them. They weren't here to play.
Raizen didn't flinch. But he didn't summon his legion either.
This time… he wanted to stretch his muscles himself.
The first attack came from above—a compressed domain strike that blurred space. Raizen vanished before it hit, appearing behind the caster with a casual hand raised. A small ripple pulsed from his palm. Nothing flashy.
The man convulsed and dropped like a stone, his bones cracking before he hit the dirt.
The others paused.
"I said," Raizen muttered, "you should've sent more."
The second wave came without pause—this time synchronized. Spears, flames, mental suppression. Raizen gritted his teeth. Not from pain—but irritation.
He flicked his wrist. A slice of space twisted, shredding a firestorm before it reached him. The spear-wielder blinked—then screamed as his own weapon turned on him mid-strike.
The last one tried mental intrusion.
Big mistake.
Raizen didn't just block it—he trapped it. The attacker froze, his own mind folding into a recursive loop of pain before black mist swallowed him.
Three down. The rest hesitated.
"Wrong move," Raizen said. "Now I'm annoyed."
This time, he did summon part of the legion.
Just three soldiers.
They didn't speak. They didn't charge.
They walked.
One raised a blade glowing with black inscriptions Raizen hadn't even taught him. Another extended a hand and bent gravity. The third simply smiled and vanished.
Screams filled the plain within seconds.
One of the elders tried to run. He didn't make it ten steps before his legs vanished from reality.
The rest started using escape talismans. Some worked. Others just triggered traps Raizen had planted during the delay.
When it ended, only ash and twisted metal remained.
Kael stared at the carnage. "You… you're going too far."
Raizen looked at him.
"No. I've barely started."
---
By dawn, word had already spread.
In less than a day, five sects had lost core members. Some were considered untouchable. But Raizen didn't just kill them—he erased their traces entirely.
This wasn't war.
This was proof.
Proof that power wasn't enough anymore.
---
That afternoon, Raizen finally sat down.
He summoned a flat stone tablet, shaped a chair from nearby earth, and stared into space.
Kael watched from a distance, not daring to interrupt.
Raizen's thoughts ran cold.
> "Since the dawn of cultivation, void roots have been seen as dangerous."
> "Not because they're cursed. But because they don't follow rules."
> "Anyone with a void root who doesn't join a force… ends up dead."
Which meant there were tombs. Hidden inheritances. Voids left behind by those like him—ones who tried to survive.
He opened a void map. Marked seven regions.
Seven places rumored to have been sealed long ago.
His next destination would be the first tomb—located under a shifting canyon that moved with the tides of the stars.
He stood.
But his gaze lingered on the sky.
The eye… the devourer… whatever it was—it wasn't gone. Just waiting.
And Raizen didn't know how long they had.
But one thing was clear:
This realm wasn't going to die because he wasn't ready.
If he had to become a monster to stop the end, so be it.
Even monsters can save the world.