In a forest on the outskirts of the Deventor territory, three people sat around a campfire. It was Karnak and his companions, who had ventured deep into the woods to avoid being seen by others.
Looking up at the night sky, Baros asked, "How much longer do we have to wait, young master?"
"Not yet. The efficiency is highest when the night is at its peak," Karnak replied.
"The moon seems high enough already though…"
"Well, it's not much longer now."
Serati wore a dazed expression. The story she had heard earlier had been so shocking that she was still in a state of disbelief.
'My goodness…'
World domination and space-time regression sounded grandiose, but they were always "someone else's story."
But now, it was a situation that had become her reality.
'Is that man really the source of all this?'
Given the circumstances, it was unlikely to be a lie. Karnak had no reason to deceive her, and if he was truly a transcendent being who had even ruled the world as a god-like entity (albeit a god of death), it wasn't entirely unreasonable that he could have caused such a calamity.
It just didn't feel real that an ordinary person like her was caught up in such events.
'I thought I was somewhat special…'
Even her title as a genius beauty swordswoman who awakened battle aura in her twenties felt utterly common compared to these people.
She could only let out a sigh.
"Sigh…"
After some more time passed, Karnak, who had been sitting by the campfire, stood up.
"It's about time."
Serati had a rough idea of what he was about to do next.
She asked cautiously, "Are you going to close the Door of Darkness now?"
If the Door of Darkness were closed, would the Darkness of Doom stop descending? Would the world stop falling into chaos, and would the calamities cease?
Her question, laced with hope, made Karnak snort.
"You think I'm going to close the door? With what power? How could I directly interfere with space-time?"
Manipulating space-time itself requires an immense amount of power. It might have been possible during his time as the Death King, but in his current state, it was out of the question.
"Then what did you mean by 'the end'?" she asked.
"I meant I'd figure out how to close it."
Creating a projectile unaffected by space-time to explore is a matter of technique, something that Karnak could still manage.
"I'm planning to secretly pass the information to the Churches of the Seven Goddesses."
There was no need for him to be the one to close the Door of Darkness. As long as someone closed it, that was enough.
Passing the information along wouldn't be difficult either.
"I'll just say I came across the information while dealing with Shutraff. No need to bother forging an ancient manuscript; I can just pass it off as a copied version."
"What if the Seven Churches ignore it?" she asked.
"The Seven Churches aren't that stupid."
Having faced them himself, Karnak knew well the strength of the Seven Churches.
They would undoubtedly verify the truth and realize that it was a viable method.
"Won't they figure it out on their own after that? They can gather the full strength of the Seven Churches and even summon the three Archmages. They should manage somehow."
Karnak spread his hands.
A black aura began to rise, forming a strange shape. It was the Eye of Darkness, a probe that could traverse space-time.
The Eye of Darkness slowly ascended high into the sky.
The sky trembled. Black clouds swirled, opening a gate to the void.
Torrential rain poured down as thunder roared in all directions!
…None of that happened.
The Eye of Darkness simply rose silently and disappeared just as quietly. It was so uneventful that it felt almost anticlimactic.
Serati, slightly disappointed, murmured, "It's awfully quiet, isn't it?"
"Of course," Karnak chuckled.
"There's no change in space-time."
Opening the Door of Darkness and sending out the Eye of Darkness wasn't what happened. The Eye of Darkness itself possesses the property of traversing space-time.
"Just because you fly a kite in the sky doesn't mean a storm will suddenly break out, right?"
"Oh, so it's something like that," Serati replied, understanding.
The Eye of Darkness safely entered the other side of space-time. Now, Karnak had to concentrate as much as possible.
"From now on, I'll be in a state where I'm mentally absent. Keep watch," he instructed.
Baros and Serati, tense, drew their swords.
"Yes, young master!"
"Understood!"
Karnak closed his eyes and began to shift his senses toward the Eye of Darkness.
***
A vast void unfolded before his eyes.
It was the other side of space-time, outside the world. It was an infinite realm so wide and incomprehensibly far that its end could not be perceived.
In front of this void, even the world itself was nothing but a tiny speck of dust.
A mere human mind could never truly grasp this infinity; only feeble imagination was permitted.
One must not perceive it. The moment a mortal soul fully realizes this infinity, it would go mad.
Yet, without perceiving this void, it's impossible to explore it.
This task required an extremely delicate calibration of perception—taking in only what was necessary and ignoring the rest.
'Alright, let's go.'
Perceive, then ignore. Perceive again, then ignore.
Through endless neglect and abandon, Karnak navigated the void, protecting his soul and identity.
Eons passed by.
It was also just a fleeting moment.
In the chaotic realm where time lost its meaning, he wandered, searching for his goal.
Finally, a massive shape appeared on the other side of the void.
It was a giant tree.
Or, it could have been a tiny, withered sprout.
Ignoring the contradictory perceptions, Karnak approached the tree.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a tree.
It was a mass of decaying, giant skeletons, resembling a hanged corpse with countless bone branches stretching out like arms.
He let out a bitter smile.
That grotesque form was the true essence of the power the Death King once wielded.
A force that turned the world into hell, annihilated humanity, shattered the boundary between life and death, and ultimately blurred the line between reality and illusion—a corruption in its purest form.
'I really was a strange guy. What was so great about carrying around something like that?' he thought, clicking his tongue as he approached the void's tree, Astra Spiritus.
The massive trunk was wrapped in blood.
Dark currents flowed along each branch.
The intense aura of death caused sprouts to emerge and bear fruit. The ripened fruits dropped one by one.
Each time, space-time quivered slightly, and a rift formed in the void. The fallen fruit vanished beyond the void.
And with it, the Darkness of Doom spread across the world…
'Ugh, I need to stay focused.'
Karnak shook off the daze and concentrated. The important thing now was to stop this catastrophe.
"Now, let's see…"
It was originally his power. The authority he had nurtured and cultivated.
Although it had degenerated significantly, the basic flow hadn't changed.
He guided the Eye of Darkness along that flow, slowly moving it. Amidst the swirling storm of darkness, he sensed the densest shadow.
'Is it over there?'
He would penetrate the authority, extract the necessary information, and find a way to prevent this corrupted power of the void from interfering with the world any longer.
As he continued to approach, Karnak felt a moment of doubt.
'I hope this plan works…'
Despite the confident front he put on in front of Baros and Serati, Karnak wasn't entirely sure of this plan.
He was confident in his ability to search the void, but there was no guarantee that the search would lead to a clue.
Even if he found a clue, it wasn't certain that it would lead to a solution.
So why did he boast so much?
'No need to create unnecessary anxiety. If there's no solution, I'll worry about that when the time comes.'
Finally, he reached near Astra Spiritus.
The Eye of Darkness slowly circled in front of the giant tree, reminiscent of the mythical World Tree but emitting an aura of malice.
'Where should I enter from?'
While searching for a suitable entry point, a voice suddenly spoke.
"Withdraw, mortal…"
Karnak was startled.
It was a voice that shouldn't exist in this infinite void.
"What, what is this?"
The voice continued.
"This is a realm forbidden to those destined to disappear."
In his confusion, Karnak glanced at the dark tree, which had once been his power.
'Surely that thing isn't the one talking, right?'
Just in case, he cautiously asked, "...Who are you?"
"I am death."
Surprisingly, the answer came back without resistance.
"Death, darkness, and the fate to destroy the world."
It was such a sudden and vague statement that it hardly felt like an answer at all.
At the same time, a fierce storm surged. An invisible force shook the Eye of Darkness violently, like a leaf in a storm.
"Gah, ugh!"
Karnak was thrown into chaos.
The energy was so overwhelming that he couldn't control the Eye of Darkness.
"Damn it! What the hell is happening?"
What made it even more confusing was that the force pushing him away was the Darkness of Doom.
'Is something manipulating my power as it pleases?'
A wave rippled out from the giant tree of darkness, Astra Spiritus.
Boom!
The Eye of Darkness, caught in the wave, began to tear apart. As his consciousness blurred, a grand voice echoed.
"I command you in the name of Tesranak."
That was the last thing he heard.
"Depart, pitiful mortal..."
Karnak's consciousness began to plummet rapidly back to the ground.
"W-whoaaa!"
***
A buzzing sound rang in his ears.
"...Master!"
"...Lord Karnak!"
It was the voices of Baros and Serati.
Karnak forced his eyes open. His vision was gradually returning.
"Are you conscious? Can you see me?"
"Are you alright?"
Karnak groaned and managed to lift himself up. Looking around, he asked, "What just happened?"
"What do you mean…?"
Baros explained that while they were guarding him, Karnak suddenly started trembling and then collapsed. They had quickly laid him down and were massaging his limbs in an attempt to help.
"Did the plan not work?" Baros asked.
"Whether it worked or not…"
Karnak, trying to piece together his confused thoughts, looked at Baros.
"That god the cultists believe in—what was its name again? Something like the god of death…?"
"Huh? Oh, uh…"
Baros hesitated, unsure, as it was such a bizarre question that he hadn't really committed it to memory.
Instead, Serati spoke up.
"Are you talking about Tesranak? The god of death, darkness, and destruction that the darkness cult worships…"
"That's right, Tesranak."
He confirmed it again. The voice had indeed called itself "Tesranak."
"I… I met that thing."
"What? Tesranak?"
"Yeah, that."
Baros blinked in disbelief.
"What do you mean you met Tesranak? The god of death and darkness?"
"...Is it even possible for something like Tesranak to actually exist?" Serati asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
Karnak frowned and looked up at the sky.
"No, it absolutely shouldn't exist."
The night sky remained as ordinary as ever. But what had occurred beyond that sky was far from ordinary.
"Yet, why does it exist?"
***
In a subspace where only darkness existed, with no distinction between up and down, three figures stood in the void.
The Pope of Death, the High Priest of Darkness, and the Saintess of Destruction.
They were the three saints who led the cult of the Dark God, which worshiped Tesranak.
The world regarded them as the leaders of a heretical cult, evil beings that disrupted the order, but to the followers of the Dark God, they were the most sacred individuals.
A man's voice echoed through the darkness.
"There has been a disturbance in the Sanctuary."
"How could that be?" another man questioned.
"The Sanctuary is called a sanctuary because nothing can encroach upon it."
"I do not know. But it has undoubtedly occurred."
A woman spoke in a calm voice.
"We must investigate."
The darkness vanished, and the forms of the three figures melted into it.
The scene shifted. The woman opened her eyes in an elegant chamber adorned with white marble.
She was a beautiful woman with blue eyes, brown skin, and long golden hair cascading down to her waist.
As she rose, she murmured to herself, "The Sanctuary has been breached? How strange."
The woman rang a magical bell.
Ding, ding!
Soon, a young maid hurried into the chamber, trembling as she bowed her head.
"You summoned me, Lady Elezar."
The sight made the woman, Elezar, chuckle softly.
She had intended to have the maid call for her confidant, but it seemed the maid was new and overly nervous.
Elezar smiled gently, trying to reassure the maid.
"There's no need to be so frightened."
"I-I'm sorry!"
Of course, the maid couldn't help but remain tense.
Though Elezar appeared to be in her early thirties, she was actually over fifty years old. Her mastery of magic had far surpassed the limits of humanity, slowing her body's aging and making her appear youthful.
She was one of the three Archmages who had reached the pinnacle of all magic, and the Imperial Court Mage of the Lacaenia Empire.
Elezar de Reflacion, a pursuer of the 10th Circle.
As one of the strongest beings in the human world, how could a mere maid possibly feel at ease around her?
Watching the still-trembling maid, Elezar gave her orders.
"Could you fetch Hudel for me? Just tell him I'm looking for him."
"Yes, Lady Elezar."
[T/L: Please support me: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]