Raizen stood at the edge of the shattered canyon once more.
But this time, he didn't move forward. He stood still—watching the sky shift.
Kael waited behind him, quiet. He could feel the change—not in the land, but in Raizen himself.
He was calmer now. But colder too.
"I need to disappear," Raizen said without turning.
Kael blinked. "Disappear?"
"They're watching. The sects. The higher realms. The gods. The devourer."
Kael frowned. "You think faking your death will buy you time?"
Raizen didn't answer directly. Instead, he opened his palm. A faint spiral of black and gray light formed, twisting into a small mirror-like disk. The surface shimmered—and then, slowly, it showed someone else's face.
Kael tensed.
"New trick?"
Raizen nodded. "Void Mirage Technique. I found it buried in a shattered statue inside the tomb. Not just an illusion—an imprint. It rewrites perception, aura, and even spiritual resonance. As far as the world is concerned… I'll be someone else."
Kael stared. "And the real you?"
"Dead."
---
He tested it first by walking into a nearby market.
The technique was flawless. The stallkeepers looked at him with disinterest. One even bumped into him without pausing. Raizen bought some dried meat, tossed it to a passing beast-child, and walked away. No one followed. No one even looked twice.
For the first time in weeks, he wasn't being hunted.
That night, he left a false battlefield behind—a site scorched by void, littered with remnants of his soldiers. He used old bones and burnt clothing to mimic a final stand. Then he released a controlled burst of void energy into the sky—high enough to be seen from distant realms.
Within hours, the first divine envoys arrived.
They scoured the ruins, scanning for soul fragments, spiritual echoes, essence trails.
They found enough to convince themselves.
Raizen of the Void… had perished.
---
But he hadn't gone far.
He built a hidden sanctum within the folds of distorted space, buried beneath a collapsed dimension few could access. It wasn't comfortable—but it was safe.
Here, he trained.
He meditated.
He watched.
And more importantly… he planned.
---
Weeks passed. Maybe months. Time bent strangely in void-buried sanctuaries.
Raizen wasn't idle. He refined his body. He honed his techniques. He simulated battles inside his void field. But most of all… he studied the gate.
It hadn't opened again.
But the energy behind it grew heavier.
Raizen could feel the hunger pulsing from the other side. And now, he knew it wasn't a one-time thing. That being—the realm-devourer—wasn't alone in the cosmos.
He had sensed it faintly during his memory transfer from the tomb.
> There are more gates.
> More watchers.
> More eaters.
This realm was just one fruit. One orchard.
He needed to prepare. But not just for that one.
For them.
---
In his time underground, Raizen mastered the Void Mirage completely.
He learned to layer identities—creating false trail versions of himself. He began crafting disposable clones from energy, sending them across continents. Some were captured. Others killed. Each death added weight to the lie.
And all the while, Raizen moved between hidden tombs.
Silent.
Invisible.
Collecting.
Understanding.
Building.
---
At one point, Kael joined him again—under disguise as well. The two spoke less now. But not from distance. From focus.
"This world's ending, isn't it?" Kael asked one night.
Raizen sat cross-legged, eyes glowing faintly in the dim cave light.
"Not yet," he said. "But it will. Unless I find the door out."
Kael stared.
"There's more?"
Raizen nodded. "This realm isn't the top. I can feel it. There are others… and in at least one of them, the being at the gate wouldn't even be considered a top predator."
Kael paled.
"And you want to go there?"
"I have to. This place is the start, not the end."
---
Raizen's goals were clear now:
1. Complete the seven tombs. Master the fragments left behind by forgotten void kings.
2. Unlock the Void Forge—the only technique capable of manipulating space-time enough to escape the realm.
3. Find the beings who created the gate. Understand their hunger. Their structure.
4. Build a resistance.
Not an army of blind followers. Not puppets.
A legion of monsters who chose to defy oblivion.
The foundation was already forming.
And the world still believed him dead.
Which was exactly what he wanted.