After Kit Mi Kai pressed "yes," the hand in the portal let out a sinister smile in the middle of its palm. Slowly, the hand folded, leaving only one finger pointed, and it moved toward the boy's forehead. With sharp nails, it carved an infinity symbol onto Kit Mi Kai's skin.
Suddenly, a god materialized in shadowy form behind the boy. His dark hand rested on Kit Mi Kai's head, slowly tilting it upward to meet the boy's eyes. "Mmmh, red," the god muttered with a deep voice, inspecting the boy's left eye. "He is his descendant."
The hand from the portal, which had hovered in front of the boy, now rose to meet the shadowy god's gaze. The hand opened, and in its palm appeared another notification:
**WARNING**
This boy is under the protection of the God of Destruction, LOKI!
---
The message flashed as a caution to Loki, who was studying the boy with an intrigued expression. "How boring. It is strange that you all can grant immortality. I'll look into this," Loki mused, before vanishing into the ether. Behind him, several shadowy figures of other gods, all looking to claim the boy for their purposes, faded away as well.
The rider, too, disappeared, conjuring another portal twelve steps to Kit Mi Kai's right.
Suddenly, a disturbance in the bushes—Bosko, the dog who had fled earlier—leaped through with a thick log in his mouth. Charging toward the boy with swift determination, the dog did the unthinkable: he twisted his neck, swinging the log in a wide arc toward Kit Mi Kai's head.
The heavy log collided with the boy's skull, knocking him unconscious.
Without hesitation, Bosko glanced back at the village, where more bandits were approaching. He grabbed Kit Mi Kai by the scruff of his clothes, this time without resistance, and bolted toward the forest. Together, the dog and boy vanished into the thick undergrowth.
Back in the village, the bandit leader stood, awaiting his henchmen's return, but what he saw was an empty-handed lackey. "My leader," the henchman stammered, "the boy… and the dog escaped."
The bandit leader's face darkened with fury. "Kneel down!" he ordered, his voice like thunder. He picked up a hand-sized stone, heating it with his flame until it glowed red-hot.
"Close your eyes and open your mouth!" With brutal force, he shoved the scorching stone into the henchman's mouth, the man's lips bubbling and his insides boiling with his own blood.
"I told you—don't come back without the boy! A simple task, and you failed. A *dog* escaped you. You brought this upon yourself." The other bandits, having witnessed this grotesque punishment, turned heel and ran back into the woods in search of Kit Mi Kai, terrified to return empty-handed.
Sixteen years passed.
Kit Mi Kai had grown into a formidable young man, walking silently beside Bosko, who had evolved beyond recognition. The once-bony and ragged dog now boasted long, black hair that covered his entire muscular body.
"What's the time, Kit Mi Kai?" Bosko asked, his voice gruff and wise.
Kit Mi Kai squinted at the sky, attempting to read the time by the sun. The bright light stung his eyes, and the scene shifted into the god of destruction's galaxy, a vast and ominous expanse classified as a Type 8 galaxy.
Gigantic planets, each three times the size of Jupiter, loomed in this strange realm. The remnants of once-thriving worlds floated in a void, where life had long since been obliterated. The space between the planets reeked of death and despair, littered with the corpses of every kind of being—creatures so massive that some rivaled the size of the planets themselves.
Amidst the wreckage, one planet still showed signs of life, though those signs were chilling. Endless, tortured screams echoed from the surface. The planet's inhabitants were chained and bound, their endless cries seemingly providing entertainment for some twisted master. The planet itself was chipped away, a quarter of its mass missing, and a massive gate marked the entrance to this hellish domain.
Once again, a familiar portal ripped open.
The rider and the minotaur emerged, followed by the full body of the hand that had once reached out to Kit Mi Kai. The hand belonged to a grotesque, towering being named Agull, his height akin to that of a tree, and his body covered in a thousand arms.
"Mmmh, I missed these screams," Agull groaned, dragging his unnaturally long arms along the ground as he walked with a disturbing gait.
The massive gate of the planet swung open, seemingly alive, and a powerful aura emanated from within. Agull, the rider, and the minotaur proceeded inside, drawn toward their master—the god of destruction.
The interior of the castle, embedded deep within the planet, defied reality. Its vastness was such that clouds floated high above in the ceiling. The throne of the god of destruction lay far in the distance, so far that teleportation was the only practical way to reach it swiftly.
The two figures entered the castle, their footsteps echoing through the vast halls. The air was thick with the stench of despair, and along the walls, beings were chained, their tortured faces a silent testament to the god of destruction's cruelty. The rider, ever precise, opened tiny portal slashes ahead of them, making the impossibly long distances navigable within the massive fortress.
After some time, they arrived at their destination—a chamber where the god of destruction sat upon his throne. His towering form, a fusion of angelic grace and titanic might, loomed above them. Six wings, black as night, stretched wide, their shadows casting an eerie darkness. His immense head was obscured by clouds within the castle, visible only from the neck down, yet the sheer presence of him was overwhelming.
Agull and the rider immediately knelt, bowing their heads in deference to their lord.
"My king, I have completed my mission and have come to report," Agull declared, his voice carrying the confidence of success. Slowly, he began to unfurl all 1,000 of his arms, each one extending behind him like an endless wave. The hands faced the god of destruction, displaying their tribute.
Then, without pause, notifications began to appear in quick succession in each of Agull's hands. Each notification displayed the faces and names of the candidates Agull had gathered from across the galaxies, with their galaxy names labeled above.
"My lord, I have brought you more candidates than any of your other servants," Agull boasted, glancing subtly at the other gods in the room, his tone laced with rivalry. His claim was intended to set him apart, showing his superiority over his fellow slaves of the god of destruction.
The other gods, standing on either side of the throne, exchanged wary glances, some visibly envious of Agull's accomplishments.
To the right of the god of destruction stood his most trusted servant—the leader of the riders. Beside him, the king of the Minotaurs loomed, his figure imposing, double the size of a normal minotaur, with a regal, battle-worn appearance.
"Well done, Agull. You shall be rewarded handsomely," the rider's leader said, his voice calm but authoritative. He gestured to the gathered slave gods, bound and subjugated, waiting in silent terror. "Which of these goddesses would you desire as your maiden?"
Agull's many eyes scanned the female slave gods. His lips curled into a smile as he considered his options.
"Hmm, such a delightful assortment... It is a difficult choice, but I have decided," Agull said, his voice dripping with satisfaction. His gaze landed on one trembling figure.
"Please, don't pick me... Please, don't pick me..." whispered the goddess who had brought Haruto to the world where Kit Mi Kai now lived. She prayed silently to remain unseen.
"I choose you," Agull said with a cruel smirk, pointing at the snake goddess beside her.
The chosen goddess had a serpentine lower half, her body coiled with sleek scales, while her upper half was humanoid, with four ample breasts and long, flowing hair. Her eyes met Agull's with a mixture of fear and resignation.
Without hesitation, the rider's leader drew his sword and began the soul-binding ritual. A dark energy swirled around the sword as he performed the rite, binding the snake goddess's soul to Agull. "She is now yours, to do with as you please," he declared, sealing her fate.
"Enough!" boomed the god of destruction, his deep voice suddenly cutting through the air. His head slowly emerged from the clouds above, as though something had piqued his interest. His eyes burned with intensity as they focused on the notifications in Agull's hands.
"This boy..." he began, his voice low but filled with a chilling curiosity. "This boy from the Milky Way Galaxy... He looks familiar."
The room fell silent as the god of destruction's gaze deepened, recognizing something significant.
"Ah, now I remember," the god continued, his voice growing louder with each word. "Could he be a descendant? The descendant of the one who almost destroyed the Titan Realm? If not for the angels' intervention, the Titans would have been wiped out... including me." His voice wavered with rare reverence. "It was his 'beautiful destruction' that set me on my own path of ruin. Even I, the god of destruction, must think twice before uttering his name. I would call him master, were he not imprisoned in the Prison Realm of No Return."
The room was tense with the weight of his words. The mere mention of this legendary figure caused murmurs among the gods, many of whom exchanged uneasy glances. The memory of that ancient conflict, one that nearly annihilated the Titans, lingered like a shadow over the god of destruction's court.
"And now you tell me," the god of destruction said, his lips curling into a grin, "that I have his descendant in my games?" His laughter echoed through the hall, each booming laugh sending ripples of agony through the beings chained to his walls. The louder he laughed, the more their tortured screams intensified, creating a horrifying symphony of suffering.
"Agull!" the god of destruction roared. "Choose three more gods as your reward. Hahaha! This is far more interesting than I could have imagined."
As the god of destruction's laughter filled the air, the goddess who had brought Haruto to another world whispered to herself, doubting her decision. "Should I have given that boy the skill of Glutton instead of Haruto?"
Meanwhile, in Kit Mi Kai's galaxy, the young man felt a strange, sharp sting, like a distant force brushing against his soul. A hiccup escaped his lips, and he frowned, unsure of what had just happened.