We left the house shortly after our conversation and flew toward the outer regions of our territory.
Although our clan ruled the entire planet, power alone could not erase differences between races.
Every race possessed its own territory, customs, rulers, and traditions.
They acknowledged the authority of the clan leader, offered various forms of support, and received protection and resources in return.
Some races had migrated here generations ago.
Others had been taken in during ancient wars.
Regardless of their origins, they had all become part of our domain.
The further we traveled, the fewer settlements appeared beneath us.
The lush forests gradually gave way to barren lands.
Towering mountains became rolling dunes.
Soon, only endless desert stretched toward the horizon.
We passed above the territories of the Ma'ruhn and the Titanborn.
Hundreds of warriors trained below.
Massive Titanborn shattered hills with their fists.
The Ma'ruhn manipulated oceans of sand, creating storms large enough to swallow entire cities.
Yet neither race caught my attention for long.
Our destination lay far beyond them.
The most isolated territory on the entire planet.
The homeland of the Nyxari.
The Black Panthers.
Monarchs of Shadow.
Masters of Speed.
Silent Hunters of Death.
Many names existed for them.
Hunters of the Night.
Silent Death Stalkers.
Children of Darkness.
Shadow Beasts.
Yet the most accepted name remained simple.
Nyxari.
The Shadow Panthers.
A race so secretive that most people only knew they existed through stories.
A race rarely seen.
A race feared by friend and enemy alike.
---
BOOM!!!
The air exploded behind us as we increased our speed.
The desert blurred beneath our feet.
Sandstorms vanished behind us before they could even fully form.
The farther we traveled, the quieter the world became.
No villages.
No cities.
No travelers.
Only endless golden dunes stretching beneath an ocean of blue sky.
Minutes later—
Something appeared in the distance.
An island.
Floating above the endless desert.
At first it looked small.
Then it grew larger.
And larger.
And larger.
Until I realized my mistake.
The island wasn't small.
It was enormous.
The distance had simply hidden its true size.
Sunlight reflected against an invisible barrier surrounding it.
A barrier so subtle that one could easily miss it if they weren't paying attention.
Father slowed.
I followed.
The closer we approached, the stranger the island felt.
My instincts stirred.
The place felt...
Alive.
Watching.
Waiting.
Observing.
Like a predator pretending to sleep.
Father reached into his spatial ring and retrieved a small black token.
The moment it appeared, I frowned.
It looked wrong.
Not dangerous.
Wrong.
As though it wasn't an object at all.
Like someone had cut a piece of living darkness from reality and forced it into the shape of a token.
Like it was made from solidified shadow.
Even my senses struggled to focus on it.
The more I stared...
The less certain I became that it actually existed.
Father pressed the token against the barrier.
Fssssshhhhhhh—
The invisible barrier instantly became visible.
A massive black dome stretched across the entire island.
Countless runes flashed beneath its surface.
The barrier recoiled.
Then slowly parted.
An opening large enough to fit dozens of people appeared before us.
Darkness split apart.
Father calmly retrieved the token.
Then I noticed something.
His palm was burned.
Blackened.
Charred.
For someone at Father's level, losing an arm was easier to recover from than this tiny burn.
Yet the wound remained.
Even Azure Flames struggled to erase it.
The wound healed painfully slowly.
Far slower than it should have.
Interesting.
Then I noticed something else.
The token itself was burning.
Dark flames wrapped around it.
Azure Flames.
Yet not Azure Flames.
Abyssal Azure Flames.
The two energies twisted together unnaturally.
Even I could hold Azure Flames without harming whatever rested in my hand.
Father should have far greater control.
Yet the token still reacted.
My eyes narrowed.
Blue light flashed within my pupils.
For a brief moment—
It felt like countless stars exploded inside my eyes.
Information flooded my mind.
Laws.
Concepts.
Possibilities.
Fragments.
Abyssal Azure Flames.
A fusion.
An evolution.
A mutation.
A flawed law...
And yet a complete law.
I froze.
If the law didn't exist—
How could I comprehend it?
The thought lingered in my mind.
Without saying a word, Father stepped through the barrier.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I followed.
---
The moment I crossed the barrier—
Every hair on my body stood up.
Danger.
Not immediate danger.
Observation.
Predators.
Thousands of eyes.
And none at all.
Like I was being watched from every direction simultaneously.
My eyes instantly turned blue.
A white vertical slit appeared within each pupil.
Lightning crackled around my body.
A massive phantom tiger materialized behind me.
White fur.
Blue stripes.
Eyes like lightning itself.
ROOOOOAAAARRRRRR!!!!
Its roar shook the sky.
The blue stripes glowed brighter.
Then dimmed.
Again.
And again.
And again.
I entered combat readiness immediately.
The shadows moved.
No.
The shadows had always been moving.
I was only noticing them now.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Perhaps thousands.
I couldn't tell.
For the first time since obtaining Beast Ascension Form II—
My enhanced senses struggled.
The entire forest felt alive.
Watching.
Listening.
Judging.
My instincts screamed at me.
Yet my eyes saw nothing.
The space inside was vastly larger than outside.
Runic formations covered the heavens.
Spatial laws twisted reality itself.
An entire world hidden inside a floating island.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Father continued walking as though nothing was wrong.
I followed.
The ground beneath my feet felt denser.
The gravity stronger.
The air heavier.
Everything here had been saturated by shadow energy for countless centuries.
The grass was dark.
The trees were dark.
Even the soil seemed stained by night itself.
Ten seconds passed.
Then I noticed them.
Figures.
Dozens of them.
Standing among the trees.
Watching.
Not approaching.
Not attacking.
Simply observing.
What unsettled me wasn't their presence.
It was their silence.
No footsteps.
No breathing.
No heartbeat.
No rustling leaves.
Nothing.
It was as though they simply existed.
Even my enhanced hearing detected almost nothing.
For a race famous for stealth...
This was terrifying.
Suddenly the white slit in my pupils glowed.
My vision shifted.
The world transformed.
I could now see energy signatures.
And what I saw made my expression change.
Every Nyxari was wrapped in darkness.
Not ordinary darkness.
Shadow energy.
Compressed so densely it clung to their bodies like armor.
Not leaking.
Not fluctuating.
Perfectly controlled.
Terrifying.
If they wanted someone dead—
That person would die before their instincts even had time to react.
---
Then one of them stepped forward.
A male.
Tall.
Lean.
Half-beast.
Half-human.
Panther markings stretched across his skin like living tattoos.
Black fur covered portions of his body.
A long black tail swayed lazily behind him.
His eyes studied us.
Curious.
Cautious.
Predatory.
The man stopped several meters away.
Not a single blade of grass moved beneath his feet.
Not a single sound accompanied his movement.
If I had blinked—
I might have believed he teleported.
He clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.
"Visitors."
His voice was calm.
Cold.
Measured.
"What is the purpose of your visit?"
Despite his professionalism—
Curiosity lingered in his eyes.
Father smiled.
"We came to visit Elder God Nyxaroth."
Silence.
The man's expression froze.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Then fear.
Genuine fear.
Even the figures hidden among the trees became motionless.
I could see their shadow energy fluctuate wildly.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The Nyxari stared at Father.
"...The Patriarch?"
Father nodded casually.
The Nyxari swallowed.
For a moment he looked uncertain whether to laugh, cry, or run.
Why?
Out of everyone in existence...
Why did they have to know him?
Did they offend someone?
Was this punishment?
Was the universe finally collecting a debt?
His expression practically screamed those questions.
My confusion deepened.
Just how infamous was this Patriarch?
Then the Nyxari's gaze dropped toward the token in Father's hand.
His pupils shrank.
Recognition flashed across his face.
Fear intensified.
That reaction alone told me everything.
That token wasn't ordinary.
Not even close.
Immediately—
The Nyxari lowered his head.
Far deeper than before.
Respect.
No.
Reverence.
"Forgive my ignorance."
His voice became noticeably more respectful.
"I did not recognize you."
Father chuckled.
"That's normal."
The Nyxari visibly relaxed.
Then he hesitated.
"...May I ask your relationship with the Patriarch?"
Father's smile widened.
The dangerous kind.
The kind that usually meant trouble.
A lot of trouble.
"I survived him."
The Nyxari blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then three times.
His face became blank.
As though his mind had stopped working.
You survived that old monster?
Even with a thousand lives, I wouldn't try.
His expression practically said it for him.
Slowly, he stepped aside.
"The Patriarch will be pleased by your visit."
Father nodded.
"Lead the way."
---
SWISH!!!
SWISH!!!!
We moved.
Jumping from tree to tree.
Following the Nyxari deeper into the island.
Father remained in base form.
I remained partially transformed.
The hidden Nyxari continued watching us.
Black eyes glowed from the shadows.
Watching.
Judging.
Measuring.
The deeper we traveled—
The quieter everything became.
No birds.
No insects.
No beasts.
Only silence.
Absolute silence.
I counted twenty hidden Nyxari.
Then thirty.
Then forty.
Every time I blinked the number changed.
As though the shadows themselves were becoming Nyxari.
Or perhaps the Nyxari had become shadows.
The line between the two seemed nonexistent.
---
Then suddenly—
A pressure descended.
My body froze instantly.
Muscles tightened.
Every instinct screamed.
Not because the pressure was overwhelming.
Because it felt ancient.
Ancient beyond reason.
Ancient beyond imagination.
Something was watching us.
Something old.
Very old.
Older than VARKHUL.
Older than most beings I knew.
A monster among monsters.
Everyone stopped.
Even Father.
The Nyxari immediately lowered their heads.
Then—
A voice echoed through the forest.
Deep.
Ancient.
Amused.
"So..."
The world froze.
The wind stopped.
The leaves stopped moving.
The shadows became still.
Even space itself seemed reluctant to move.
The forest trembled.
Cracks spread through reality around us.
"...the brat finally came back."
Father sighed.
A look of resignation appeared on his face.
The Nyxari lowered their heads even further.
Fear.
Respect.
Reverence.
All at once.
The voice laughed.
A low.
Terrifying.
Ancient laugh.
"Bring him."
A pause followed.
Then—
"And bring the cub too."
My instincts exploded.
Every nerve in my body screamed danger.
Not battle.
Not death.
Something worse.
Training.
Real training.
The kind that broke people before rebuilding them.
For the first time in a very long while...
I wasn't sure I would survive it.
And judging from Father's expression—
Neither was he.