-BOOM!!!!
The earth shook and the surroundings trembled as a thunderous clash erupted between two entities.
The land bore marks of destruction everywhere. The ground looked scorched and melted as if an intense heat had devoured everything, while in other places, clean, precise cuts sliced through the terrain. Deep craters spread across the battlefield like scars carved into the earth.
There was nothing but darkness stretching endlessly around them, yet the heavy blackness was forced to retreat each time their powers collided.
Sparks of black, red, and a strange rainbowish hue scattered in every direction, filling the place with blinding flashes. It was as if their battle was unfolding not in one place but at countless points at the same time.
And yet, the chaos never reached beyond its bounds. The devastation stopped abruptly after a certain distance, as though this battlefield had been severed from the natural rules of the world.
If not for this damn heart.....
Solareth thought as he barely managed to dodge another violent strike. His chest rose and fell heavily, though his body still moved like an oiled machine.
-BOOM!!
-BOOM!!
-BOOM!!
The repeated impacts shook the air like rolling thunder. Solareth thrust both hands forward, unleashing a jet of violet flames that roared outward and swallowed his enemy whole.
For a moment, it seemed enough, but then a hand emerged from within the blaze, tearing it apart as if ripping through fragile cloth.
A strange magic circle, unlike any created by humans, formed in midair. Its complex patterns glowed with eerie light before releasing a torrent of jet black flames that surged forward and engulfed Solareth.
But Solareth refused to be buried in the dark. His hands cleaved through the black fire, slicing the flames themselves as though cutting apart their very essence.
The next instant, both figures blurred, vanishing and reappearing in a storm of ceaseless attacks, each strike colliding with unrelenting force.
...It is taking a toll on me now.....
The thought surfaced faintly in Solareth’s mind, yet his will pushed his body to keep moving without pause. His arms ached, and his breath grew heavier, but not once did his movements falter.
Even as exhaustion threatened to consume him, he pressed forward, the memory of the day when all of this had begun flashing in the back of his mind.
****
Everything was fine until Ash gave him that demonic heart. He chose to study it somewhere safe, someplace where no one else was present.
In the Neutral Continent, there was one such valley, traversing the whole land in a diagonal crater, that cut the Neutral Continent in two, like a scar stretching endlessly across its surface.
The valley was called the Bottomless Valley, a place so deep that no one who fell ever returned.
But... it was not truly bottomless. No one has just found the bottom yet.
It was a strange and dangerous place. The valley ran so far down into the earth that no sunlight could ever reach its depths. Darkness covered everything, and after a certain point, even the air disappeared, leaving no oxygen for life to cling to.
That was one of the reasons no one survived. The valley was so deep that if someone tried to climb through it, the descent itself would take years. And if someone fell, nothing would remain of them, not even their bones, which would be crushed flat from the force of impact.
Yet if one crossed the place where air no longer existed, they would eventually find the valley filled with chaotic mana.
Chaotic mana was unlike any other. It could not be absorbed, for it was far too unstable, and would shatter the mana core of anyone foolish enough to try. Only those with absolute willpower, strong enough to bend the world around them, could survive in such a place.
And those entities were none other than the Saints.
Even a Mythic rank individual could try to endure it for a while, but after a certain depth, even they would begin to struggle. The deeper one went, the denser the chaotic mana became. Mana that was once invisible to the naked eye would turn into raging storms, colliding again and again until the very air seemed to scream with their violence.
If one went deep enough, even Saints would falter.
Some might wonder if such a place, overflowing with mana, could serve as the perfect land for cultivation. After all, with so much power in the air, strength could be gained faster than anywhere else.
That was partly true. Saints often trained here, their bodies sustaining themselves on mana in place of air. But for anyone else, the valley was nothing more than a death sentence.
Most would perish quickly from the lack of oxygen. Breathing artifacts, normally reliable, failed the deeper one went, as the chaotic mana interfered with the energy inside them. Only the highest-ranked artifacts, like the Sealing Dagger, once used to contain the heart of the Abyssal God, could function here.
Yet even those would eventually falter near the storm of chaotic mana.
It was for this reason that Solareth chose this place. He carved out a massive hollow in one of the valley walls, forming a cavern where he could work undisturbed.
The large cave rested just on the edge of the chaotic mana storm.
At first, everything was fine. He studied the heart, carefully prying into its secrets, all while supplying the Sealing Dagger with his pure Aether energy to keep its seal intact. With so much mana surrounding him, he did not have to worry about his reserves being drained.
The demonic heart resisted fiercely, but Solareth continued to press his will against it, forcing it down little by little.
Time passed like this, though he no longer knew how long. In this place, the flow of time had become meaningless to him.
But then, one day, without warning, someone intruded upon the place he had built.
..hmm..?
Solareth looked up, still in his human form, and saw someone walking towards him.
The person who approached looked normal from every angle. He had a plain build, dressed in black and brown clothes, and walked as if he were merely strolling. His hair reached his shoulders, and his skin was pale, while an amused smile lingered on his face, as though he had come across something he did not expect. His eyes, too, were black.
But Solareth knew it was nothing but deception. His own eyes glowed with a rainbow hue, shining brighter in the darkness, piercing through both shadow and illusion alike.
Through them, he saw the truth—a storm of demonic energy approaching with calm, measured steps. Yet this storm did not rage chaotically as demonic energy usually did. It moved with eerie discipline, steady and orderly, as though worshiping him and following like a perfectly obedient servant.
The boy’s appearance shifted from what Solareth first saw. His skin turned into a shade of light black, and two horns pushed out from his forehead. His hair lengthened, flowing freely, though his height and well-muscled frame remained unchanged. The only thing that grew more striking were his eyes. They gleamed like dark jewels, with black and red liquid merging together to form eyes without pupils, alien and unsettling.
...A Demon King...?
No, he is too young to be a Demon King..... but his power is the same as mine..... who is he?
Solareth remained calm. It was not difficult to guess why a demon had come to him. His vision flicked from the figure to the chained black heart in his hand.
"Who are you, demon?" Solareth asked, his voice carrying a trace of coldness. The fight between them was inevitable. He still bore a deep grudge against demons. His daughter had died because of them, and he would never pass up a chance to kill one of a higher rank. Perhaps he might even uncover something about the one who had taken her life.
The demon chuckled as he stopped a few meters away. The Bottomless Valley was wrapped in darkness, but their vision pierced it easily, letting them see each other clearly.
At some point, Solareth had already stood up and stored the demonic heart in his storage space. Though it was alive, it could not resist him. Bending the smaller rules of reality without harming nature was something he could do with ease.
"I expected no less from you. Truth be told, even I was a little surprised to see the King of Unicorns with that heart. Were you the one who helped the Elves?" the demon asked, though he gave Solareth no time to reply before continuing.
"Well, it does not matter. In the end, it changes nothing. I could just kill you here as well, removing an obstacle from my path."
A heavy silence settled in the Bottomless Valley.
"You still have not answered me, demon. Who are you, and what rank do you hold among your kind?" Solareth ignored the rambling and pressed with the only question that mattered to him.
The demon smirked. "I suppose you do have that sort of behavior. If it had been anyone else speaking to me like this, I would have melted his body until nothing but a puddle remained. But you... Your body is far too precious to waste."
His pupil-less eyes shifted, the liquid inside them swirling and morphing, red and black twisting together in restless patterns. His disguise fell completely away, leaving only the true form Solareth had already perceived.
His presence grew heavier, pressing down on the surroundings as if the very valley bowed beneath it.
"I am Orien," he declared. "The firstborn of the Demon King, and the future ruler of the endless darkness."
***