For a single, terrifying second, a pressure that defied all understanding washed over the entire world.
In a magnificent castle carved from eternal ice, the Ice Dragon Velzard shifted slightly where she sat beside Guy Crimson. Her beautiful eyes, usually half-lidded with boredom, flickered open. The air in the entire room instantly dropped to absolute zero, freezing the very light in the air for a moment. A presence, vast and ancient, had brushed against her senses. It felt... draconic. But not like her or her siblings. It was something else. Something that spoke of the very beginning and the very end. A faint, intrigued smile touched her lips before she settled back into her placid stillness.
Guy himself, the Ultimate Demon Lord, paused mid-sentence in his conversation with her. His usual lazy, amused expression vanished, replaced by utter seriousness. His ruby-red eyes narrowed, looking off into a distance no one else could see. He felt it—a raw, primordial power that wasn't just strong, it was fundamental. And then, it was gone. Completely. Not hidden. Just... gone. "Now that was something new," he murmured, a spark of genuine interest lighting in his gaze for the first time in centuries.
Deep in the underworld, a primordial being of shadow and elegance, known only as Noir, stopped his silent observation of lesser demons. A shudder of pure, unadulterated ecstasy ran through him. "Magnificent," he breathed, a slow, chilling smile spreading across his face. "A will so absolute it makes the world itself seem fragile. It seems my long wait for amusement may finally be over."
And in a realm of light and order, silent, celestial alarms blared. The Angelic System had detected a catastrophic anomaly: a system-level command authority had been executed without any login credentials. The source? Untraceable. The energy signature? Matched only one thing in the database: STAR KING DRAGON - VELDANAVA. The angels, beings of pure logic, experienced the digital equivalent of sheer panic.
Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped. The pressure vanished without a trace. The world exhaled, but the most powerful beings within it remained on edge, sensing a fundamental shift they couldn't see or find.
Meanwhile, at the source of all the commotion, I was getting annoyed.
I'd pulled my aura back in. No point scaring the locals before I'd even met them. I stood there in my new body, in the middle of nowhere, and realized I had a bigger problem than a dusty wasteland.
I had no idea where "here" was.
'Okay, Hades,' I thought to myself. 'Time to use the fancy new tools.' I could just use [Panoptēs] and know every detail about this entire world, from the number of leaves on a tree to the secret thoughts of every Demon Lord. But... what was the fun in that? Knowing everything from the start just spoiled the adventure. I wanted to explore. To find things out for myself.
I just needed the big picture. A map.
"[Scholar]," I thought.
The response was immediate, a stream of pure understanding flowing directly into my mind.
<
Perfect. That was all I needed. A massive island, right next to Sarion. I deliberately didn't ask for more. I didn't want a list of towns or monster types. The mystery was part of the fun. I'd find out who lived here the old-fashioned way: by walking up and asking. Or, if they were rude, by making an example out of them.
A concentrated settlement was detected nearby. That was my destination.
I started walking. The barren land stretched on, but now I had a direction. My coat billowed behind me slightly in the dry wind. It felt good to have a goal.
It didn't take long before the village came into view. It was a rustic place, built with rough-hewn wood and stone, surrounded by a palisade wall. And the people… well, they were definitely bear demi-humans. Big, burly, covered in thick fur. They noticed me immediately, their activities halting as they stared at the strangely dressed human walking calmly into their territory.
I kept my aura locked down tight. I probably just felt like a random guy to them. I saw the wariness in their eyes, the confusion. A human? Out here? In clothes that didn't have a single patch or stain? It didn't make sense.
Before I could raise a hand in a peaceful greeting, the crowd shifted. The biggest one of them all shoved his way to the front. This guy was a brute, a head taller than the others, with a nasty scar across his muzzle and a mean look in his eyes. He had no name. I could just tell. He was just the strongest guy here, the leader of this little tribe.
He looked me up and down, his eyes greedily taking in the fine material of my coat. Then he sneered, showing off sharp fangs.
"You! Human!" he roared, his voice a guttural growl. "What are you doing in the territory of the Ursine? Those fine clothes… they'll be my tribute now! Kneel! Hand over everything you have! Your life is forfeit if you refuse!"
I just stared at him for a second. Really? Kneel? This guy had no idea who he was talking to. A part of me, the old me, might have been scared. But now? I felt… nothing. No fear. No anger. Just a mild annoyance. Like a fly buzzing around my head.
The other villagers took a step back. They looked nervous. It was clear this guy ruled through fear. They weren't bad folks, just trying to survive under a tyrant.
I didn't move. I didn't kneel. I just kept looking at him, my expression still perfectly calm.
"'Kneel'?" I repeated, my voice quiet but cutting through the tension like a knife. "An interesting choice of words."
His face twisted in rage. This little human wasn't obeying! He was making him look weak in front of the tribe!
"You dare?! Get him!" he snarled at two of his larger lackeys beside him.
The two minions roared and lunged at me, claws out. They were fast. For a normal human, this would be the end.
But I wasn't normal. And I decided right then that I wouldn't just stop them. I wouldn't just tell them to die. That was too easy. Too clean. This arrogant bear needed a lesson. They all needed to see what real power looked like. Not just strength, but absolute, terrifying cruelty.
I needed a skill for it. Something dramatic. Something that would make the point perfectly.
I knew just the thing.
In the split second it took for the two minions to take their first step, I accessed [Arkhē]. I designed it for a single, specific, horrifying effect. I named it right then and there.
"[Grasp Heart]," I thought, and the skill was born.
The two lackeys were still charging.
I didn't even look at them.
I looked directly at their leader, the smug Berserker. I made a casual, gentle clenching motion with my right hand.
The effect was instant.
The Berserker's roar of anger choked off into a wet gurgle. His eyes bulged, wide with sudden, incomprehensible shock and then pure, primal terror. He looked down at his own chest, his massive claws clutching at his fur.
There was a soft, sickening, squelching sound. It wasn't loud, but in the dead silence, everyone heard it.
His heart phased straight out of his chest. It didn't break the skin or bone. It just… materialized outside of him, hovering right above my open palm. It was a huge, grotesque thing, still beating. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
For one terrifying second, the Berserker saw his own heart beating in my hand. His eyes met mine, filled with a horror beyond understanding.
Then the light vanished from his eyes. His body went rigid, and he collapsed forward like a felled tree, hitting the dusty ground with a heavy thud. Very, very dead.
The two minions who were mid-charge stumbled to a halt, their brains refusing to process what they had just seen. Their jaws hung open. The entire village was frozen, utterly silent. You could have heard a pin drop. The only sound was the faint, rhythmic lub-dub of the heart in my hand.
I glanced down at the beating heart with a look of mild distaste. The point was made. I willed it to dissolve into black and purple motes of light, which vanished into the air.
I then turned my gaze to the two petrified minions, then to the rest of the horrified village. I offered them the same calm, polite smile I'd entered with.
"Now," I said, my voice perfectly even and friendly. "Would someone polite like to tell me the name of this island?"