Kael awoke to silence.
Not the peaceful kind—but the heavy stillness that came after something irreversible.
He lay among shattered stone and scorched earth. His body screamed in pain, yet beneath it flowed two distinct currents of power, circulating in patterns that should never coexist.
One was cold, deep, and oppressive.
The Abyss.
The other was warm, structured, and orderly.
Human Qi.
Kael's eyes snapped open.
"…What?"
He sat up abruptly—and froze.
His meridians were open.
Not violently forced open, not torn apart like before—but cleanly, naturally, as if they had always been waiting.
At the same time, his Abyss core rotated steadily, black mist coiling around it like a crown.
Two systems.
One body.
Impossible.
The system reacted immediately.
[Warning.]
[Anomaly Detected.]
[Host compatibility exceeds predicted parameters.]
Kael swallowed. "Explain."
A brief pause followed—something the system had never done before.
[Analysis: Host possesses Dual-Origin Soul.]
[Human Will + Demon Abyss perfectly balanced.]
[Result: Concurrent Cultivation Possible.]
Kael's breath hitched.
"So I can…" He hesitated. "I can cultivate like a human too?"
[Affirmative.]
[Limitation: Both paths will compete.]
[Advantage: Mutual reinforcement at higher stages.]
Kael laughed softly.
All his life, he had been rejected by both sides.
And now—
He was suited for both.
He clenched his fist. Human Qi responded, flowing through his meridians. At the same time, Abyssal authority pulsed outward, bending the ground beneath him.
The world trembled.
"…So that's why," Kael murmured. "That elder hesitated."
Before he could test further—
The air shifted.
Not violently. Not aggressively.
But with recognition.
Kael looked up.
Three figures stood ahead, having appeared without sound. Tall. Horned. Their demonic auras were refined, ancient, and unmistakably pure.
Demons.
The woman at the center stepped forward. Her crimson eyes gleamed with sharp intelligence rather than cruelty.
"Kael Ashborne," she said calmly. "Half-blood who shattered human cultivation logic."
Kael rose slowly, wary.
"And you are?"
She inclined her head slightly. "Veylra of the Ash-Crowned Clan. Demon Realm Scout."
Her gaze pierced him, lingering far longer than comfortable.
"…Interesting," she murmured. "You smell wrong."
Kael stiffened.
One of the demons sneered. "He reeks of Heaven. Disgusting."
Before Kael could react, Veylra raised a finger.
The demon slammed to one knee, choking.
"Do not speak," she said coldly, "until you understand what you're looking at."
She turned back to Kael.
"You are not merely a halfling," she said slowly. "You are a contradiction."
The system chimed softly.
[Demon Realm Entity Detected.]
[Threat Level: Unknown.]
Veylra continued, "The Abyss called to you… yet Heaven did not reject you."
Kael met her gaze steadily. "And that scares you."
She smiled.
"It excites me."
A ripple spread through the air as a faint gate began to form—unstable, half-anchored.
"The Demon Realm has noticed you," Veylra said. "But so will the human sects once they realize what you are."
Kael exhaled slowly.
"So what happens now?"
Her smile widened.
"Now," she said, "you must choose whether you walk as a bridge—or become a battlefield."
The system flared.
[Major Choice Detected.]
[Path Option 1: Dual Cultivation — Balance Abyss and Heaven.]
[Path Option 2: Singular Ascension — Overwhelm one with the other.]
[Note: Choice will define final Demon Lord form.]
Kael looked at the forming gate.
Then at his hands—one faintly glowing with human Qi, the other wrapped in abyssal mist.
For the first time, he smiled without bitterness.
"I won't choose," he said quietly.
The Abyss stirred.
Heaven resonated.
"I'll make both accept me."
The gate stabilized.
Veylra laughed softly, genuine this time.
"…The realms are going to bleed."
Kael stepped forward.
And the world held its breath.