Rain poured down onto the sea of high-rise buildings, reduced to mere rubble a long time ago.
The stench of blood permeated throughout the vicinity, and corpses lay strewn around. Men and women alike met their ends with pure fear forever etched on their faces.
What should have been a serene night, accepting the coming of the morning, was now filled with smoke rising to the sky.
With the darkened sky and unsettling screams, there lay the bodies of dead and injured people.
A man amidst this pile of the dead fought with the demons in this hellscape.
With a body that was bloodied all over and a missing arm, he endlessly swung his sword.
His face was filled with exhaustion and dread, indicating the struggle he was going through to survive, despite all that, his eyes were filled with fervor, full of hatred and serenity at the end of his life.
Even with an exhausted body, the hand never stopped moving, never wavering in killing the demons in the swift motion of his sword.
With no care for time, his body, and his mind, he kept killing every breathing demon in his vicinity.
Sometimes he was injured by their sudden attacks, sometimes his power fell short of theirs, yet in the end, they all died from his sword. His eyes suddenly darted towards the horizon, looking at the steam and smoke rising from there.
Suddenly, an enormous wind blew, finally moving the bloody mist around the battlefield.
As the wind blew, it took the stagnant air with it but left behind a terrifying monster.
The being in front of him was as tall as a two-storied building, standing among the destruction he and his army had caused.
Streams of lava fell out of his monstrous red body, twisting the air above him and burning the ground beneath. His body brightly shone in that heat, and his clawed fingers tightened the handle of an immense sword.
This was the Demon Lord of infernal blood, a being even saints couldn't possibly hope to defeat in this god-forgotten world.
"They claim their labors are to build a haven, yet their haven is populated with horrors. Perhaps the worlds were meant to be destroyed even before they were made."
"It's too late, it always has been and always will be," said the Demon Lord, looking towards the weak mortal with a hint of disdain in his voice.
Yes, this world was hopeless, he was hopeless, but the fight wasn't.
The gears of Ruel's mind churned, trying to think of a way out of this hopeless situation.
Yet nothing came to his mind, no idea which could overturn this situation, no possible way to save all that he could lose without enough power.
But all hope was not lost.
There was still a path out of this, albeit one that would cost him his life.
"Yea, you are right. This world is doomed to fall in front of such power," said Ruel while chewing on his conflicting emotions.
Tightening his grip on the sword, he mumbled.
"But I can at least slow it down, even if it is just for a moment."
"Saintning tribulation!" and as if acknowledging his words, the clouds started to form a vortex in the sky at breathtaking speeds, all crackling with lightning.
A grand aura spread out from within the vortex and why wouldn't it spread a grand aura?
The path of cultivation was an act to defy the heavens, to take its power and make it your own.
To stop the cultivators from advancing, the heavens tested them, tempered them at every stage, and weeded out the weak ones.
And the tribulation to the saint realm was, as such, a test.
"What can you do to me with just this much power?"
"Tingle my bones?" said the Demon Lord while erupting into maddened laughter.
Just as he said that he took out an object seemingly out of thin air.
"This is what happens to those who oppose me," he said while throwing the object at the ground.
A splashing sound came as the object hit the ground.
"But no worries, I will amuse you,"
Ruel's eyes widened when he laid eyes on the object.
It was an amalgamated goo of mess.
It seemed like a body that was broken down till it became a bloody sack of flesh, but it had one part left intact.
The head! It was the head of Ice Orchid Saint!
He was a cultivator more powerful than Ruel, yet even he was destroyed with just brute force till his body became like this.
His expression didn't seem like one of despair, but one of forgiveness and acceptance. A cultivator who was alive for thousands of years was reduced to this state.
Looking toward the ground, Ruel's eyes lingered there for a few moments and then he said.
"Did you know that if there is another living being near a person going through the tribulation, the power of tribulation increases proportionally to the strength of the person interfering?" said Ruel, while a smile crept up to his face.
As if feeling the situation wasn't right, the Demon Lord came near Ruel in a flash.
He tried to end any unforeseen threat by killing him quickly.
Suddenly, chains started springing out of the void of space, binding his body to the ground.
Trying to discern the situation, he looked toward Ruel, who made a hand seal to maintain the chains.
Before he could snort at his futile attempts, it finally came.
The lightning descended, and as if sensing a threat, the Demon Lord tried to defend himself against his impending doom.
Breaking the chains under his monstrous might, he swung his massive sword toward the coming lightning bolt.
A high amount of heat was being continuously released from his body and a ball of lava appeared in the air, shaping up into a dome to protect its caster from the impact.
"ROARRR!!"
The world shook under his wrath-filled scream, with him as the epicenter, the ground broke under the force he exerted.
The Demon Lord finally realized the power of the heavens.
He had fallen into a trap laid by this mortal!!
An ant-like existence far beneath his notice!
But he was the same in the eyes of heaven. How could the Demon Lord dare to take on the heavenly tribulation, the lightning that was said to be the bane of all evil.
Ruel gazed at the heavenly lightning for the first time as the dome cracked.
"How beautiful!" Only these two words came out of his mouth when his mind went silent.
Before the thunderclap came the agonizing and horrific sound of the Demon Lord, but Ruel was on the same receiving end as him.
His teeth clattered under the power of lightning, the pain was too much. His skin burned and his mind turned blank. Even the tears were vaporized even before they could come out.
Under the never-ending power of lightning, he and the Demon Lord finally crumbled and gave in, his sword breaking under the pressure of lightning and flames from the dome fully dissipating.
And just for a moment, the world turned silent.
*****
In a desolate, dark space, vibrant streams of light flowed endlessly, entangling and interacting with each other.
The space looked enchanting with the occasional blinking of stars in it. The streams and the stars in this dark space gave the only light.
The bright light given by them was comparable to the light of the sun, yet more vast and grand.
Suddenly a body appeared in this mysterious space, wandering around aimlessly through this vast realm.
Ruel felt he was drowning in eternal darkness, as all the memories of his life flashed before his eyes, making him feel useless.
What had he cultivated for?
His whole life, he had strived for greater power.
He had cultivated to a great stature in the world, even with countless cultivators above him, he had surpassed many, all in the hope of achieving power over his fate.
Yet what did that achieve?
He still drowned in the mediocrity created by his actions, slowly being killed by his weak self, never going beyond his limits
Never waging a losing battle. Drunk on a power that wasn't even there, not realizing how much he still lacked it.
Growing arrogant for no reason...
But as he was feeling all of this, he felt a touch on his forehead.
Feeling somewhat confused, he tried to open his eyes.
And what he saw made him feel…weird.
An old man was eating some sort of delicacy in front of him, licking his fingers while reading something.
He was levitating like Ruel in this space.
Trying to get his attention, Ruel did a fake cough.
"Ehem"
Hearing an unfamiliar voice ringing through his ear, the old man looked towards Ruel, noticing the young man looking at him for who knows how long, his eyes widened.
An embarrassed expression found its way onto his face.
"Uh-I uh, forgive my transgression, child. I didn't know you would wake up this early."
"Anyway, I would like to introduce myself formally."
"I am the @##@!, the seeker of *!@#"
Only one word found its way out of Ruel's mouth.
"Bullshit"