Chapter 1096: Tyranny of Despair
Koll found himself utterly helpless. No matter what he did, he couldn’t break free from the Broken Tyrant’s iron grip.
The punches weren’t even the worst part—nor was the way Revant gouged out his eyes as quickly as his reflection Tyranny reflected them back. It was the crushing blows that shattered his spirit.
Koll felt every fiber of his being convulsed with raw despair. He could taste the hopelessness that coursed through his veins like liquid poison, reducing him, devouring his mind, corroding his very soul. Fighting against the Broken Tyrant’s overwhelming might was pointless.
He would never overcome this.
He was doomed to fail. Hopeless. His future—everything he had planned—crumbled into ash.
He was going to die at the hands of a Tyrant who had fallen so far from his prime.
He was...
Koll’s teeth suddenly clenched.
’This bastard!’
It took every ounce of willpower to resist what Revant’s tyranny was doing to him. But as awareness dawned, he pieced it together.
The reason he couldn’t break free wasn’t because the Broken Tyrant held him with the strength of ten iron mountains.
It was the Broken Tyrant’s Tyranny itself. Despair.
What did despair do?
Despair warped reality, drowning victims in hopelessness until the obstacle before them felt endlessly vast and impossible to overcome. Despair was a poison that blinded people to their own strength.
Of course, wielding such tyranny depended entirely on the Tyrant themselves. One had to be deeply imaginative and steeped in existential dread to weave Despair properly.
Most Tyrants, Koll had always believed, weakened themselves through their refusal to mingle with lesser species. They missed golden opportunities to grow, to master their powers, all because of their worthless pride.
This Broken Tyrant, though—somehow—had fallen under a human’s control.
Koll never expected that despite his dire situation, Revant would humble himself enough to learn from lowly humans and understand their suffering.
At least, that’s how other Tyrants would see it.
’Tch! I underestimated him!’
Koll burned to fight back!
But that was impossible. Tyranny wasn’t some simple ability you could overcome with motivational mantras like "I am strong!" or "I will break this mountain!"
Tyranny was far more terrifying and destructive—a crude, malicious manifestation of human negativity.
Will, beautiful as the concept was, proved useless against Tyranny.
The only counter was his own Tyranny. However, Koll was completely incapacitated—not from regenerating his eyes, but from the excruciating agony of having them torn from his skull over and over again.
Then there was still the oppressive despair, he consistently had to fight off without stop.
All of this combined left him utterly helpless.
He had to sacrifice something to escape Revant’s vicious harvest.
There was only one solution. He had to surrender his sight.
As Revant lunged forward to pluck out another eye, he suddenly froze mid-strike, his gaze trembling.
"What? No eyes?"
That pause was all Koll needed.
"That’s right—no eyes, you bastard!"
Instantly, his entire body erupted in blinding light that devoured the space around them, drowning everything in pure radiance.
Koll instinctively raised his hands to shield his face and leaped back, bracing for the coming impact.
But it never came. Instead, before him stood a strange creature that seemed carved from the very spectrum of refracted light.
Revant tilted his head.
"Essence Manifestation?"
His expression darkened.
"Are you really that foolish? You couldn’t defeat me as a Tyrant—you think you can do so as a reflected Paragon?"
Koll’s laughter rang out like a thousand overlapping glass shards shattering in unison.
"I don’t hope to defeat you. Do you know the fascinating thing about Dante’s Essence Manifestation?"
Revant stared silently. He didn’t need to respond for Koll to continue.
"It’s nothing but endless refraction of light—a medium for light to bend infinitely. The only thing you’ll find in this body, Broken Tyrant... is light."
Revant’s eyes widened with dawning despair.
Meanwhile, Koll chuckled with eerie satisfaction.
"Now let’s see how you’ll continue harvesting organs. With this body, I can stall you long enough for my Master to finish off both Ul and your master. After that, your end is inevitable."
He sighed and spoke again.
"However, I’m willing to offer you a chance. Tyranny of Despair—you were an underdog once, weren’t you? You existed long ago and died in the early eras. Despite your vicious strength, you were weak and scorned.
"But I’ve always admired the Tyranny of Despair. In fact, I studied your history while searching for a way to reflect it... Those Tyrants never understood how terrifying you truly were. Join me, and you can trample them all. You can stand as the greatest of all Tyrants. I can help you shatter the chains this human has placed on you.
"In fact, it’s inevitable—only a matter of time. Once the void is recovered, you’ll have no choice but to serve under the true Origin of Chaos. Before that moment comes, make your decision."
Revant stood in silence, head bowed, his eyes focused and distant as he sank into deep thought.
Koll’s final words hung in the air, echoing in Revant’s mind. The Broken Tyrant had wanted nothing more than to break free from Northern’s control.
And the possibility of finally claiming that freedom sent adrenaline surging through his veins.
The thought of freedom was too intoxicating to let go.
Yet he was also painfully aware—this wasn’t freedom. It was merely an illusion wrapped in pretty words.
Besides, where was the logic in breaking free only to serve someone else? Especially a far more insufferable piece of trash.
At least Northern was sensible enough not to bark commands at him constantly.
But some ancient Tyranny? Who would send him on degrading errands—fetch me water, handle my dirty work, scratch my back.
Revant’s face twisted in disgust. He turned away, bent over, and began retching violently.
That was his first movement since Koll had made the offer.
Koll stood there, bewildered. If he had eyebrows, they would be furrowed in confusion right now.
’He’s... vomiting?’
Revant finally straightened and pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket.
After wiping his mouth clean, he looked directly at Koll.
"That was your answer. Did you get it?"