Azar World of Magi...

The world had changed.

Void’s gaze swept across it, and even he felt unsettled.

The last time he checked on it, it had still been bright and alive like a real world.

Now, the entire giant planet was filled with a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.

Wherever he looked, he could see screaming souls and ghostly figures rising from the ground to devour the living.

All of it pointed toward one thing.

Something horrible had happened.

As for what?

Void could see large numbers of beasts that devoured mana roaming this world.

Because of them, breaking through as a Magi had become more than ten times harder, creating a severe shortage of powerful Magi.

And with the peak no longer being supported, it eventually collapsed.

All of this had happened in just ten years.

In those ten years, everyone had grown.

Azar had.

In the end, he lost his slave to the mouths of the mana-devouring beasts.

Some of the friends he made along the way had also been lost to them.

And he wasn’t the only one.

The others had lost friends, family members, and even entire continents to them.

Now, the mana-devouring beasts ruled the world.

The human population had drastically declined.

Only a million humans remained alive.

Osiris and the others had become the leaders of those survivors.

And their protectors.

For the first time, Osiris experienced loss.

Attachment.

Guilt.

Regret.

And a strange feeling he could not fully describe.

Tears fell from his eyes as five people surrounded him.

Azar.

Veya.

Lila, Azar’s supposed bride.

Jake.

And Tofan.

These five were the strongest humans still alive.

Even the weakest among them, Veya, had already reached Tier 7.

The others were all Tier 8 Magi.

Today had been supposed to be a quiet scouting mission.

The world had truly ended when that being, a dimensional entity, an existence above Tier 8 descended upon it.

Their plan had simply been to observe it and gather information so they could prepare.

But who could have known they would be discovered?

And for the rest of them to survive...

Linkir had given up her life.

"Leader..." Azar began as the others took deep breaths.

Their hearts were shaken.

These two had protected them while they grew.

They had always been there.

Azar and the others were no longer children.

They understood the sacrifices required to reach this point.

Yet...

Yet they still weren’t strong enough to face that entity.

Not strong enough to protect those who had protected them.

And now they had lost Linkir.

The woman who had taken on the role of a mother in their lives.

Who wouldn’t be hurt?

Who wouldn’t feel pain?

"No more running."

Osiris raised his head.

Everyone saw his bloodshot eyes.

He looked at Azar and couldn’t help but remember his time in the library.

Once, he had lamented being stuck at Tier 8.

Now a being above Tier 8 had descended, and they were still trapped there.

But over the years, he had finally understood why.

Every Magi had been following in their footsteps.

So how could they not become stuck?

No matter how hard they trained.

No matter how talented they were.

Once they walked the path created by Osiris and the others, Tier 8 became their limit.

"This time, I will give my all."

His mouth trembled as he looked toward Linkir’s grave.

"I will follow..."

"Her path."

He turned toward the others.

"You are all talented individuals."

"I deeply apologize for leading all of you astray."

"As long as you follow the traditional Magi path, none of you will ever surpass Tier 8."

Tears streamed down his face.

"I am deeply sorry."

"I truly am."

"It’s okay, Mentor," Azar said as he grabbed Osiris’s shoulders.

He understood his grief.

They all did.

At one point, each of them had gone through the same thing.

They understood.

And now the world had ended, hadn’t it?

How many times had they doubted humanity’s survival?

Even more so after reaching Tier 8.

They understood they had entered a dead end.

A pit from which they could never climb higher.

They all understood.

But by then, it had been too late.

They had already been cornered.

"You children..." Osiris laughed softly before standing up as the five embraced him.

"Take care."

"We leaders have failed all of you."

"We drowned in our comfort."

"And we were afraid to let the younger generations explore."

"After all, the other paths are unknown."

Osiris had barely finished speaking when he was suddenly hit in the back.

Thump.

"You know, these days you talk too much."

"Let’s just go already."

Tofan rolled his eyes.

Everyone laughed.

"Idiot," Osiris replied.

Tofan chuckled.

Then his expression turned serious.

"So you’re really going to?" Osiris asked.

Tofan nodded.

"Yes."

"If I’m going to die, I’d rather do it quickly."

"My entire generation is already gone."

"And spending my final days around these lovey-dovey teenagers isn’t exactly my favorite thing."

The tension eased slightly.

Then Tofan continued.

"But if you’re going to die..."

"If you’re going to give them a chance..."

"A chance to learn."

"A chance to study a being above Tier 8."

"A chance."

"A hope."

"A faith that somehow, someday, we will win."

"That they will see the path above Tier 9."

"Then hell, I want to join too."

Tofan’s words made everyone’s hearts feel heavier.

But after years of fighting side by side, they understood.

There was no need to convince anyone.

They were already losing hope.

Everyone stood on the edge.

Almost broken.

So they would give everything they had.

Most of the burden would ultimately fall upon Azar.

After all, once Osiris and Tofan were gone, he would become the leader of this group.

The responsibility of protecting humanity would fall onto his shoulders.

And that burden would become his greatest trial.

The night felt heavy as Linkir was buried.

Everyone paid their respects.

Their gazes lingered upon her grave long after the ceremony had ended.

Then Tofan and the others left to make their preparations. After all, they still needed to get close to the entity first, and that required fighting through Tier 8 mana-devouring beasts to give Tofan and Osiris a chance to challenge the dimensional entity.

Meanwhile, at the burial ground, Osiris sat beside Linkir’s grave throughout the night and wept.

Unknown to him, beings cloaked in darkness appeared.

Dozens of them surrounded Linkir’s grave as they gazed silently at it.

Paying their respects.

Each of them was a demon.

At least Rank 3.

Their expressions were solemn as they looked at the dead clone of their leader.

They couldn’t help but lower their heads.

A necessary sacrifice.

Over the years, they had pushed for everything to work and had accelerated many events.

And it seemed to have worked.

The Dreadborne had finally gained access to this multiverse after a thousand years.

"The final play will begin. The host will walk onto the main stage, and the audience will cheer."

"The war begins soon," another replied as they merged into the ground and disappeared.

Deep within the core of the multiverse...

Linkir’s true form could be seen gritting her teeth.

Her body was covered in cracks as she struggled to keep everything running smoothly.

Her hair was raised, constantly struck by lightning made of pure origin energy.

She was not yet a Rank 4 entity.

Nor was she a bizarre quasi-Rank 4 existence like Void, who could simply compress an entire multiverse and swallow it whole.

Everything was difficult for her.

She had been forced to accelerate many events, but in the end, it had been worth it.

Now the Dreadborne had officially entered this multiverse.

But they couldn’t make a move.

Not yet.

They were all waiting for Azar.

His breakthrough to the next rank would not only mark the beginning of the war, but it would also trigger one of the curses.

And when it did...

It would create a fundamental change deep within the core of the multiverse, allowing Linkir to gain greater access and influence.

"Ahhh, I hope I can break through to Rank 4 soon," Linkir muttered as multiple bolts of divine origin lightning struck her.

********