While on one side Ash was about to recreate his existence and start everything from the beginning, on the other side the wheels of destiny were turning without stopping, slowly pushing the world toward another storm.
General Yama stood calmly in the air, his figure floating high above the ground while the massive Starlight Academy lay beneath him. In his hand was a dark orb.
If Ash was present, he would have immediately recognized it as the Space Isolation Orb that had been used earlier when Miraak and Zerak attacked the academy.
However, this orb was different.
This was not an Advanced-level artifact, but a Saint-level one. Its range was vast enough to completely cover the academy, whose size alone was enormous. It could even stop a Saint from entering the sealed area for a full fifteen minutes.
Of course, this artifact was consumable. After one use, it would disappear forever. Its creation process was extremely complex, so rare that the number of such artifacts in existence could be counted on one hand.
Hmph!!! These lesser humans are not worthy of using such a precious thing just to abduct two kids.
Yama was sharp-minded and cautious by nature. Even though his pride resisted wasting such a valuable resource on humans, he understood the situation clearly. This task had to be completed, no matter the cost and without fail.
The Prince gave me this task and even provided such resources. Failing is not an option, with how much angry he was, I would die if I failed.
His gaze turned serious as he focused on the academy below.
I can already sense the aura of two Saints inside the academy. My concealment methods will not be able to hide me from Saint-level eyes for long.
His thoughts continued calmly.
Even though I cannot fight Saints directly, dealing with someone at Mythical rank as a Demon Lord is a completely different matter.
A/N - Demon Lord (S)
If anyone heard these thoughts, they would call him arrogant. Yet it was the truth. His bloodline originated from the Sin of Gluttony itself, and because of that, his abilities were frightening beyond common logic.
With a small infusion of demonic energy, the Space Isolation Orb activated. In just a few breaths, a massive black barrier spread outward and completely sealed the academy inside it.
The Saints inside were forcefully expelled and appeared outside the barrier, unable to re-enter.
Saint Nichole, the principal of the academy and head of the Human Association, Saint Mark appeared at the edge of the black barrier.
Only moments earlier, they had been discussing the frequent dungeon breaks and how resources were being stretched thin just to control them and then in an instant, they were pulled away from their office and brought here.
The moment they saw the barrier, they understood.
The demons had targeted the academy once again.
"DAMN IT!!!"
Saint Nichole lost his composure. Anger surged through him as he summoned his sword and began attacking the top of the black barrier repeatedly.
Saint Mark reacted quickly. He contacted the other Saints and joined the attack, striking the barrier with controlled force.
No barrier was truly unbreakable. With enough power and understanding, any defense could be destroyed. After the previous attack, they had already studied Space Isolation Barriers and learned about their weaknesses.
An Advanced Space Isolation Orb could be broken by a Saint’s attack.
Yet this barrier endured more than two full strikes from Nichole and still did not break.
That alone showed how strong it was.
While the other Saints rushed toward the academy, leaving replacements behind to guard the high-ranked dungeons they were responsible for, Nichole and Mark continued attacking the barrier without stopping.
Inside the sealed space, Yama’s wings widened and opened in their full glory.
And from those wings, endless numbers of demons poured out, flooding the academy like a tide. They attacked students, teachers, and staff without mercy.
Their mission was simple.
Capture two girls.
Eliminate future threats, like Ray Dawson.
These demons were the same army that had appeared on the Neutral Continent. Half of them had been taken away by Lilith. These remaining forces were only the other half, yet they were more than enough to overwhelm the academy.
Everyone inside was lower in rank than Yama. Only Vice Principal Elva had a higher rank, but that did not worry him.
Within a single minute, carnage filled the academy.
Demons slaughtered students and civilians alike, ignoring screams and fear. Some brave students tried to fight back, but they were quickly overwhelmed. Teachers struggled desperately against pseudo-legendary rank demons.
Three or four pseudo-legendary demons attacked a single legendary-ranked teacher, and the same scene played out everywhere.
Then something changed.
Yama sensed it immediately.
Demons began dying one after another, falling rapidly like dominoes.
The deaths were moving toward him.
Fast.
The killer was destroying every demon in its path without slowing down and was moving towards him.
Yama turned his gaze toward the east and smiled.
"Looks like the big fish is here."
**
Meanwhile, In the Void.
[Confirmation accepted.]
[Estimated completion time: Unknown.]
[Time cannot be calculated due to the use of cosmic-scale materials.]
[The process will continue until the new body reaches full structural and conceptual stability.]
[Attention!!!!!!!]
[Your existence is now undergoing reclassification.]
[After completion, you will permanently lose all privileges granted to living beings.]
[After completion, you will permanently lose all privileges granted to the dead.]
[After completion, you will no longer be recognized as a native existence of the Universe.]
[You will be designated as an Outsider.]
[All system-based recognition will be revoked after completion.]
[The status window will permanently disappear.]
[Fate and destiny will regain full authority over interactions involving you.]
[All restrictions that normally limit their interference will be removed as they are part of privilege granted to the living and dead.]
[At the same time, all growth limits imposed on you will be removed.]
[There will be no universal ceiling to growth.]
[Your only limit will be what your body, soul, and will can endure.]
[Rules created to protect existence will no longer apply to you.]
[Rules created to restrain existence will no longer apply to you either.]
[Your actions will not generate karmic debt.]
[Your actions will not generate karmic merit.]
[There will be no cosmic reward, punishment, or judgment.]
[Cause and effect will remain, but responsibility will not be recorded.]
[If you die, your soul will not enter reincarnation but will naturally disperse and permanently cease to exist.]
[As an Outsider, the Universe will identify you as an abnormal existence and try to eliminate you.]
[These changes will take effect only after body reformation is fully completed.]
[Body reformation has begun.]
***
One by one, messages appeared in front of Ash, sliding across his vision at the same steady pace. He read them carefully, his mind taking in every word without skipping a beat. When the last message passed, his blood-formed body trembled violently, shaking as if something deep inside was being pulled apart.
A sharp, intense pain surged through him, cutting into the depths of his soul like invisible hands pulling out pieces that had always been part of him. The pain lasted only a few breaths, but it felt like centuries had passed, stretching each moment into endless suffering.
Even with all of this, Ash made no sound. His focus did not break. He could feel the hollowness left behind after the pain, and he knew immediately that his trait and class had been taken away from him.
Suddenly, a blinding white light burst from the core of his soul, from his Soul Tree. It escaped his blood puddle body and shot outward into the void, crossing the empty space between stars and planets, shining across distant worlds.
At the same time all the materials he had listed for modifications vanished from his soul vault at once.
In the next instant, the light grew so bright that Ash’s vision went completely white. His consciousness pulled back automatically into his Soul Space to protect itself, along with the space ring that contained Spirit Devouring Crystal.
The brilliance reached its peak and then froze.
In less than a second, everything it had touched began to collapse. Space itself seemed to twist, gravity warped, and stars, planets, and cosmic dust were pulled toward Ash’s body with incredible force.
When all collided, a massive explosion shook the surrounding void, echoing across thousands of light years.
The explosion reduced everything to dust and gas. Even Ash’s blood body was scattered and absorbed into the collapse.
Then the white light returned, pulling the dust and energy into a single, compact sphere no larger than a football. Runic symbols and glowing glyphs bloomed around it, swirling across the surface like tiny stars coming alive.
The gravity of attraction from the sphere was so strong that space itself broke and darkness flooded in after everything was sucked towards Ash, but it was slowly healing as the universe tried to mend the gaps.
Yet the sphere remained untouched, a concentrated point of pure, unstoppable energy.
The white sphere then moved. It became a comet, racing forward in the void toward an unknown place.
Behind it trailed a long, bright white tail, stretching across the darkness. Everything it passed through seemed to respond, bending and glowing under its power.
The universe watched silently as the comet moved, a single point of unimaginable energy shaping the emptiness around it, signaling the birth of a completely new existence.
End of Volume 3 : A New Beginning
***