Far away from the thunderous roar of the battlefield, the scene shifts to a dense and desolate forest. The air here is heavy and suffocating, as if a black shroud has swallowed the entire sky.
Not a single ray of sunlight reaches this place—only a deep, unnatural darkness that clings to the trees like a funeral cloth.
In the heart of this lightless void, a man lies broken upon the cold, merciless earth.
He gasps for every breath as if he were inhaling shards of glass.
The sight is horrific—his right arm has been completely severed, lying in the dirt a few feet away from him.
Despite the carnage, his beauty remains haunting. His vibrant yellow hair is matted with blood and grime, clinging to a face carved from marble. But his eyes—deep, oceanic blue—hold a profound and painful silence.
The figure looming over him is a fearsome warrior standing tall amidst the shadows. He has long, white hair splattered with blood, giving the pale strands a lethal Crimson Red shimmer.
His eyes are cold—void-black pupils set in a ruthless, unwavering gaze.
Looking down with icy detachment,
the white-haired warrior speaks:
"Visasi... you have committed such foul deeds, such heinous sins... sins that no one but you could ever conceive. This war exists because of you, and now, because of you, I am forced to witness this destruction once again. For the sake of this world, you must die. Die, Visasi."
Inside his mind, the man on the ground is screaming:
I just transmigrated into this world—trapped in this useless, broken body. If I had known my end would be this horrific, I would have killed myself the moment I arrived! I thought if I performed good deeds, I might survive. If I had known death would look like this, I would have ended it all a long time ago!
Writhing in the dirt, he screams with the last of his strength:
"I didn't do anything! I'm telling the truth! Please, listen to me... I want to live. Ryan, you know... you know yourself that I have done so much good! Think of all the lives I have saved! Ryan, you know the truth!"
Ryan replies coldly, "I know you have done good deeds... but it could all be a facade. I know how cunning you are."
Visasi shrieks. "I know you won't just let me go, Ryan!"
Visasi thinks to himself: He won't let me leave like this. I have to tell him.
He shouts, "I know the truth! You are a Regressor, Ryan!"
Hearing this, Ryan is struck by his first wave of absolute shock. He stands paralyzed. How could he possibly know that? But Visasi doesn't stop.
"I saw it all in your mind! Do you remember 15 years ago at the Academy? When you had just regressed and you fainted, the memories of your past life flooded into my mind. That is how I found out about the 'Real Visasi'! That is why I have been trying to do good for the last 15 years, so that you might spare me!"
Ryan is hit by a second wave of shock. He remembers that day 15 years ago perfectly. He suppresses his panic, his eyes narrowing.
"Fine, let's assume you saw my memories back then," Ryan says, his voice dangerously low. "But that only confirms
My first possibility: You are the real Visasi, and when you saw my memories at the Academy, you realized that even back then, I was stronger than you. You saw that in the future, I would become an unstoppable force. You thought, 'Since Ryan is already this strong and will only get more powerful, I should act like a good person to win his trust while I am weak.'
"You realized that if you acted like a saint for 15 years, I would never suspect you.
You planned to wait until you grew stronger by using the very secrets you stole from my memories. You thought you could join the demons—just like you did in the first timeline—where you betrayed humanity and opened the Demon Portals!
You planned to use my future knowledge to become even more powerful than before, surpass me, and eventually kill me. You're only acting good because you want to join the demons at the right moment and steal the advantage for yourself!"
Ryan's eyes turn even colder. "And here is the second possibility: Just as someone helped me and gave me the power to regress, it is possible that someone helped you too. Perhaps you were sent back by another force specifically to counter me."
Ryan looks down at the bleeding man, and a thought crosses his mind:
To be honest, this Visasi is incredibly weak. The original Visasi from the first timeline was a literal monster. He was the one who betrayed all of humanity, sided with the demons, and tore open the Demon Portals to flood our world with darkness.
That version was a beast of overwhelming power. This man lying here doesn't have a fraction of that strength. But that makes him even more suspicious. Is this weakness just another part of the act?
Seeing that Ryan is still unconvinced, Visasi plays his final, most dangerous card:
"The Verdict of the Primordial Soul! Ryan, you possess that magic! Use it to see the truth—you are the only one who can use it! Cast it upon me!"
Ryan is struck by a third, overwhelming wave of shock.
How could he possibly know about that skill? I have never told a single soul about this magic. It is impossible for anyone to find it, even in my memories. This is beyond logic.
"Fine," Ryan whispers. "If you want the truth so badly, Visasi... I will peel back your soul. But if I find even a spark of that monster inside you, I will make your death last for eternity."