The throne room of Guy Crimson's domain was vast and eerily silent, the air thick with power. The Demon Lord sat lazily on his throne, one leg draped over the armrest, eyes gleaming with amusement as he sensed the sudden shift in space.
A ripple in reality.
And then, he appeared.
Velnova stepped forward, his presence swallowing the room like a black hole. The torches flickered, the warmth of the throne room vanishing as an unnatural cold spread through the air.
Guy's smirk widened. "Well, well, if it isn't the little anomaly causing trouble everywhere. What do you want?"
Velnova didn't answer. He simply looked at Guy.
A heartbeat passed.
Then two.
Then the silence became unbearable.
Something was wrong. Guy felt it before he understood it.
It was subtle at first, a flicker at the edge of his vision. A sense of déjà vu. The walls of his throne room seemed... unfamiliar.
He blinked.
His throne was gone.
The entire palace was gone.
Instead, he stood in a place he had never seen before—a colorless void, stretching infinitely in all directions. No sound. No smell. No warmth. Nothing.
Then he heard it.
A whisper.
Not from Velnova, but from the depths of his own mind.
"How long have you been here?"
Guy stiffened. "What?"
The whisper came again, this time louder.
"How long have you been here?"
His breath hitched. Something was wrong.
His memories—where were his memories?
His battles, his reign, his very existence—they felt distant. Fuzzy.
A cold realization crawled down his spine.
What if... this was all there ever was?
What if this void was reality?
What if the throne room, his kingdom, the outside world—were all illusions?
What if he had been trapped here forever, simply hallucinating a life that never existed?
What if Velnova wasn't real?
Panic surged in Guy's chest, his instincts screaming. He forced himself to move, but his body felt heavy—unresponsive. His own limbs weren't listening to him.
"How long have you been here?"
The whisper came again.
Then another voice joined it.
Then another.
And another.
Thousands. No, millions.
A sea of whispers clawed at his mind, repeating the question over and over.
His thoughts spiraled. His own mind was betraying him.
Had he ever ruled as a Demon Lord?
Had he ever fought Milim, Velzard, or Rudra?
Had he ever existed at all?
Guy clenched his fists. He wasn't weak. He wasn't someone who would break from a little trick.
But this wasn't an illusion.
This was something deeper.
Velnova had done something impossible.
He had rewritten Guy's sense of self.
For the first time in thousands of years, the Primordial Red felt something unfamiliar.
Doubt.
Velnova finally spoke.
"You're thinking too much, Guy." His voice was smooth, calm—like a teacher correcting a foolish student. "I haven't done anything to you. This is just you realizing the truth."
The whispers grew louder.
"How long have you been here?"
Guy's heartbeat was erratic. His vision blurred. His hands trembled.
He was losing himself.
Then—
Snap.
Everything rushed back.
The throne room. The warmth of the torches. The heavy presence of reality settling back into place.
Guy was back.
He exhaled sharply, his body drenched in cold sweat. His fingers dug into the arms of his throne, his knuckles white.
Velnova was still standing there. Unmoved. Unbothered. Unshaken.
Guy didn't speak. He couldn't.
Because he knew what had just happened.
Velnova had shattered his sense of reality so effortlessly, so naturally, that for a brief moment—Guy Crimson had doubted his own existence.
And that was far worse than any physical attack.
Velnova tilted his head, smirking. "You seemed lost in thought, Guy. Everything alright?"
Guy's fingers twitched. His pride told him to retaliate—to strike, to erase this insolent being from existence.
But his instincts screamed not to.
---
Velnova sat in the depths of his dimension, his mind in perfect stillness as Raphael processed calculations at impossible speeds. He had just broken Guy Crimson's mind, leaving even the Primordial Red doubting his own existence.
But this wasn't mere illusion or trickery.
This was true psychological warfare—a method that could not be resisted, no matter how strong the will of the opponent.
And it was time to perfect it.
Step 1: Understanding the Foundation
Velnova had many skills, but to create true psychological devastation, he needed a foundation. Raphael compiled the abilities required:
Absolute King – Allowed absolute control over an opponent's perception. If reality was dictated by perception, then controlling perception meant controlling reality itself.
Infinity Amplification – Allowed the continuous expansion of power without limit. The mind, too, could be broken infinitely if pushed far enough.
Spatial Bending – Could merge space with nothingness, making it possible to create an isolated void that existed outside of normal reality.
The Root – Could extract fundamental truths from the world itself, including the weaknesses of the mind.
By fusing these concepts, Velnova realized something chilling—the mind could be shattered more effectively than the body.
Pain could be endured. Wounds could heal.
But doubt in one's own existence?
That was irreversible.
Step 2: Merging the Core Abilities
Velnova's mind was a vast ocean of calculations, Raphael guiding each step as he began merging the skills.
1. He started with Absolute King.
By refining it further, he enhanced its ability to control the target's sense of time and memory. He no longer needed to show illusions—he could rewrite reality itself in their minds.
2. Next was Infinity Amplification.
The problem with mind-breaking techniques was that strong-willed individuals could resist them. But what if the process kept amplifying infinitely, breaking their defenses layer by layer?
3. Spatial Bending came next.
By using it to create an isolated space where time and perception were untethered, he could trap someone in an instant that stretched for eternity—where they could never be sure if they had ever existed in the first place.
4. Finally, The Root.
It allowed Velnova to extract fundamental information about a target, including their subconscious fears, insecurities, and doubts. By integrating it, he ensured that his attack would strike at the very core of a person's identity.
As the final integration process completed, Raphael spoke.
[New Ultimate Skill Created: Existential King, Akasha.]
Step 3: The Effect – True Psychological Devastation
With Existential King Akasha, Velnova no longer needed to rely on brute force. Instead, he could:
Erase the concept of time and identity from his target's mind, making them doubt if they had ever existed.
Trap an opponent in an infinite loop of psychological dissonance, forcing them to question their own memories, reality, and consciousness.
Extract their greatest fears and doubts from their subconscious and weaponize them against them.
Create an isolated space where they could be trapped for what felt like an eternity in a fraction of a second.
Continuously amplify the effect until even the strongest wills crumbled.
With this, Velnova had created the ultimate psychological attack.