The descent felt endless. The abyss swallowed Aezrael whole, its darkness suffocating, yet his sharpened senses whispered of something vast lurking ahead. When his feet finally struck ground, he stood not in a cavern, but in a hall as large as a world itself.
Pillars of obsidian and bone rose like mountains, their surfaces engraved with runes older than the Omniverse itself. From these pillars, chains spread outward, binding corpses of titans, demons, dragons, and angels alike—beings whose auras had not faded even after countless epochs.
Their bodies were broken, crucified against eternity, yet their blood still dripped as liquid crystal, staining the earth. Above them loomed colossal faceless statues—Silent Gods—whose empty hands pressed downward, as if condemning every chained being to an eternal silence.
The atmosphere was suffocating, pressing down like the heavens themselves wished to erase all trespassers.
> Ding!
[New Sign-In Location Discovered: Tomb of Silent Gods]
[Warning: Forbidden Zone – Threat Level: Cataclysmic]
Aezrael's lips curved faintly. "Silent Gods? Even divinities rot in silence. How fitting."
The system chimed again:
> [First Sign-In Reward Claimed: Fragment of the Silent Dao]
[Reward Gained: Scythe Intent – Second Awakening]
[Reward Gained: Chaos Demon Dragon Bloodline Evolution – Stage II]
Agony struck him like a storm. His veins ignited, black fire surging through them as his flesh cracked apart. His scythe materialized, reshaping itself into a darker form. Abyssal whispers filled the hall, as though the chained titans were singing his rebirth.
For three days, Aezrael endured. His body was torn apart, reassembled, then torn again. When he finally opened his eyes, they gleamed with an abyssal light. His presence no longer belonged to a mere cultivator—it carried the weight of calamity itself.
But the Tomb did not welcome him.
The air trembled, and from the base of the largest statue, a colossal figure stirred. A giant clad in chains, its body covered in runes that pulsed faintly like a dying heartbeat. Its face was blank stone, but its voice shook the realm.
"Mortal wretch… You tread where gods have fallen. You awaken what was bound in silence. For this, you shall be devoured."
The guardian of the Tomb—the Silent Warden—rose. Each step shattered the obsidian floor. The chains binding its limbs rattled like war drums.
Aezrael's scythe spun into his grasp, shadows hissing around its blade.
"So… not all of you are dead." His tone was calm, almost mocking. "Good. Let me carve your silence into screams."
The battle ignited.
The Silent Warden swung a chain thicker than a mountain, the strike carrying enough force to crush cities. Aezrael's body blurred into a streak of black fire, his scythe cutting upward. The clash shook the entire Tomb, sparks of divine and abyssal energy scattering into storms.
The chained corpses trembled as if watching, their lingering wills stirred by the collision.
Aezrael darted forward, his Chaos Dragon claws flashing briefly as he tore across the guardian's chest. The stone cracked, and a faint ichor of silver leaked out. But the wound sealed instantly, runes burning brighter.
The guardian roared, voice echoing like collapsing worlds.
"Child of chaos… you carry the blood of forbidden lineages! You are not permitted to exist!"
Its chains wrapped the air, binding space itself. The Tomb shook as seals activated, dragging Aezrael's body down like gravity multiplied a hundredfold. His bones cracked, black scales erupting to shield him. His scythe burned with a new, dreadful glow—Scythe Intent, Second Awakening.
He swung.
The scythe's arc shredded the invisible chains, shadows turning into rivers of death that clawed at the guardian. A portion of its stony chest shattered, revealing a pulsing core of silence inside its body.
For the first time, the guardian staggered.
But as Aezrael advanced, the entire Tomb rumbled. The countless chained corpses began to stir, their eyes faintly glowing. Some wept blood, others simply trembled, as if their ancient wills resisted the silence that bound them.
Aezrael realized the truth. This guardian was not alone—it was the mouthpiece of the Silent Gods themselves. The chained titans were awakening, if only for a moment, to resist his intrusion.
The Warden's chains lashed out again, and this time, they pierced through his shoulder, pinning him to the ground.
Blood dripped from his mouth, but his eyes gleamed with killing intent.
"Good," he whispered, dragging his scythe up even as his flesh tore. "The louder you scream, the sweeter your silence will taste when I erase you."
Far away, in the Azure Sky Sect, reports flooded the Grand Hall.
"He has entered the Tomb of Silent Gods," a trembling elder spoke.
The Sect Master's hand clenched around his jade scepter. "That place should not even exist in this era… If the boy awakens what lies within, he will be a calamity to the Omniverse itself."
The elders paled.
"Then what shall we do?"
"Prepare the Azure Execution Envoys. If he survives that Tomb, we must ensure he never leaves it alive."
Back in the Tomb, Aezrael roared, his black fire consuming the chains pinning him. His aura surged, shattering restrictions. The scythe in his hand screamed with him, its blade devouring even light itself.
With one final slash, he severed half the Warden's body, exposing the Silent Core within.
The guardian's runes flared, and for the first time, its faceless head tilted as though truly seeing him.
"You dare… challenge silence itself?"
Aezrael's grin was bloody, savage.
"No. I'll make it scream."
And with that, he lunged—
The clash of blade and divine core erupting into a storm that would decide whether he claimed the Tomb's legacy… or was erased forever.
To be continued in Chapter 11.