"Osiris? You… how dare you fall so low!"
The moment Velik saw Osiris appear, he understood immediately.
This powerful black dragon had betrayed its world, betrayed the teachings of the angels, and now served this cursed, twisted realm!
The black, twisted shackles on its body were proof of its corruption.
Those so-called shackles were actually marks of the transformation of its authority.
Velik was furious beyond measure.
He could not believe that a former friend would dare betray the very world he had sworn to protect.
Blinded by rage, Velik ignored the giant beast's warnings and prepared to charge straight at Osiris.
---
But he had forgotten one thing: Osiris had not come here alone.
It had followed an even stronger being to this place.
---
On the corrupted acidic sea, where black swamps had formed from terrifying toxins and unknown elements, a monster of indescribable size slowly crawled into the world.
It had eight completely different heads, each representing one of its eight authorities.
Poison, corrosion, pollution, calamity…
Each head bore twisted black horns, and its eyes radiated the cruelty and indifference characteristic of Abyssal beings.
The instant it descended, the entire plane began to decay.
The world was transforming into a black swamp filled with toxins!
Its name in the Abyss was…
Yum.
The first mythic being of the Endless Abyss, a living embodiment of calamity.
The moment Velik saw this monster, his heart sank.
He now understood why the Abyssal creatures had been fleeing… they had long known that remaining here would let the monster's toxins kill them unintentionally.
Even among mythic beings, there were hierarchies.
Yum's power surpassed anything Velik had imagined.
---
Yum lowered its head, silently gazing at Velik, the "small fry."
Yet even this simple look made Velik feel parts of his soul rapidly corrode—his faith, his courage, his…
At that moment, Velik was suddenly attacked by Osiris.
---
"Haha, Velik…"
Osiris lunged, biting Velik's wing, grinding its teeth.
"Do you understand now why I chose to betray?"
"No! This is not betrayal!" Velik spat out a devastating dragon spell, blasting Osiris's face.
In an instant, the storm and destructive elements tore half of Osiris's cheek, leaving countless scars.
But Osiris only sneered.
Next moment, countless tiny flesh buds, almost invisible to the naked eye, began repairing its body.
"I've merely realized that serving a stronger being is wiser!" Osiris hissed, revealing its grotesquely twisted face and launching its counterattack.
---
"(Abyssal Dragon Speech) Flame!"
Velik witnessed the unbelievable: the once-red, purifying dragon flame had turned black.
The sacred fire that had awed mortals became filthy, murky, and evil.
When it struck Velik's scales, he felt indescribable, excruciating pain.
His scales were unharmed, but the flesh beneath was infected.
The black, muddy flames burned like bone-deep worms.
Every bit of flesh touched by the flames transformed into countless tiny parasites, which voraciously devoured Velik's remaining healthy flesh without pause.
---
"Aaargh!"
Velik screamed, trying to push Osiris away while using his authority to heal himself.
But Osiris did not release him, unleashing another wave of twisted dragon fire.
The extreme pain penetrated Velik's senses, inescapable and unending.
---
"Hahaha! Do you see now? This is the new master I serve—the Endless Abyss, great beyond words!"
Osiris's face had healed, but it no longer resembled its former self.
Its restored visage featured jagged black fangs, black-red scales, and hundreds of tiny, violently cruel eyes of various sizes.
"Under the gaze of the great Endless Abyss, no rule can bind me, no morality can restrain me!"
"I need not rely on angels or the Creator; I can seize all I desire with my own strength!"
"Territory! Resources! Servitude of mortals! Even the authority tightly held by those fools!"
"I killed that dull ancient tree, I killed the verbose old serpent, I even killed that rotten unicorn mother…"
"All their powers are now mine!"
"Watch carefully, Velik!"
"Behold my current, mighty form!"
---
Osiris revealed its terrifying transformation.
From its thick back sprouted countless branch-like tentacles.
Its tail split into multiple sections, each ending in a twisted serpent head.
Its dragon horns fell, replaced by straight black-patterned spikes.
Its form—everything—once belonged to other mythic beings.
---
"You damned fallen monster! Zik, save me!"
In desperation, Velik called to the distant giant beast.
But…
The beast, Zik, bowed in submission—not to Yum directly, but to the dark mist above Yum, concealing…
Chu Hao.