The Celestial of Seahorse could finally unleash his full power in his Sacred Ground, the Dragon Palace. What filled this realm wasn’t just ordinary water. Every single drop contained his essence, the Water of the Seahorse.

One sip of it would spread a deadly poison throughout the body. An overwhelming pressure, like being trapped several kilometers beneath the ocean, would crush one’s flesh and bones.

Even another Celestial, let alone an Awakener, could never survive inside the Dragon Palace without protection. So, how?

Black powder leaked out from Enceladus’s eyes, nose, and mouth into the water.

“Ghhk! Urgh! Khhhhk!”

With wide, bloodshot eyes, he stared at the human—no, the monster in front of him.

“You... what the hell are you?”

Even as the deep-sea pressure crushed Kwon Oh-Jin, even as every one of his cells was poisoned, he instantly regenerated as if rewinding time.

Kwon Oh-Jin quickly advanced toward Enceladus and aimed his Black Lightning.

“J-Just how...”

Even if his regeneration could somehow be explained through some unknown power or divine relic, how could a mere human endure hundreds of deaths?

This wasn’t about the body breaking down, but his mind should have collapsed long before. The human brain could not withstand death. Even Celestials would go insane from such endless pain.

“They say horse meat is tough and stringy, but you didn’t last as long as I expected,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

Or perhaps it’s because you’re a seahorse and not a horse?

With a cold smirk, the perfectly unscathed Kwon Oh-Jin tightened his grip around Enceladus’s throat.

“Y-You monster...!”

“I don’t really want to hear that from a guy who turned his own children into a bottle of mana solution.”

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled and squeezed harder.

The Black Heaven’s clouds ran down his arm and wrapped around Enceladus’s neck.

Rumble!

“Kugh! Gahhh! Aaaaaagh!”

Crunch! Crack!

Until now, the Black Heaven had only absorbed the mana within one’s flesh. However, a Celestial’s very body was mana itself. It began to devour Enceladus alive like a predator tearing its prey into shreds.

“N-No! S-Spare... Kugh!”

Perhaps even immortal beings still found life precious.

Enceladus thrashed desperately and screamed in terror, “I... cannot die!”

You can’t die? Not even you want to die, huh?

Kwon Oh-Jin cocked his head curiously while still absorbing Enceladus’s mana. Just then, Enceladus’s memories flowed into Kwon Oh-Jin’s mind.

“W-Why can’t you understand?! This is the only way to stop the world from coming to an end!”

Enceladus howled in anguish.

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled as he organized the memories flooding into him like flashbacks.

“‘The world can’t be saved without sacrifices.’ Is that why you wanted to turn Awakeners into bottles of mana solution, huh?”

Enceladus’s eyes bulged in shock. “H-How do you know that?!”

“Sacrifice, huh. Well, you’re right about that.”

The world couldn’t be saved without sacrifices.

“Don’t worry. I’ll use you as a sacrifice to save the world.”

“What nonsense are you—”

“If I devour you, grow stronger, and use that power to kill the Heavenly Demon... That’s a sacrifice, isn’t it?”

“S-Shut up!” Enceladus shouted desperately.

Kwon Oh-Jin only shrugged and coldly stared at him. “What’s wrong? Don’t like it when you’re the one being sacrificed?”

“That’s...!”

“Yeah, I figured.” Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled again. “Funny, isn’t it? Everyone who preaches about sacrifice never accepts it when they’re the one chosen for it.”

It had always been like that. Celestials and humans forced what they hated onto others.

“In truth, you didn’t make that mana solution to save the world. You did it to raise your own rank since your position as a Celestial was weaker than others.”

“No! I only did it because sacrifices were needed to—”

“Then why did you feed that mana solution to your own child?”

“What?”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes sank, cold and sharp. “You said it was to concentrate all the power to gifted Awakeners, right? Then shouldn’t you have given it to Awakeners from other Celestials instead?

Among countless Celestials, the Celestial of Seahorse was considered weaker and lower in rank. Then, wouldn’t it have made more sense to feed the mana solution to an Awakener of a different Celestial than to feed one with the Stigma of Seahorse?

“But you didn’t do that, did you?”

Because if he had handed over the mana solution to an Awakener of a different Celestial, his own rank would’ve fallen even further.

“T-That’s...” Enceladus’s eyes wavered.

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled, his shoulders shaking.

Until he pointed it out, Enceladus probably believed without question that he was righteous. After all, nothing resembled conviction quite like desire wrapped in lies.

“Don’t pretend your cheap little lies are righteous, you bastard.”

“What do you know!?”

“I do know.” Kwon Oh-Jin smiled and clenched his hand into a fist. “Because the sweetest lies are the ones you tell yourself.”

Rumble!

The Black Heaven’s clouds shot up and swallowed Enceladus whole.

“N-No! Ghhhk! Khhh! Graaaaahh!”

Along with his death scream, an immense amount of mana poured into Kwon Oh-Jin through the Black Heaven.

Agh.

Kwon Oh-Jin winced as he endured the Celestial’s power seeping into him.

Even though he’s one of the weaker Celestials, a Celestial is still a Celestial.

The mana flowing into him was heavy and vast enough to send a chill down his spine.

But...

This was nothing compared to when he absorbed just a part of the Heavenly Demon’s Black Heaven.

Kwon Oh-Jin grit his teeth and braced himself against the strong wave of mana, making sure his consciousness wouldn’t be swept away. Just then, a clear ringing chime echoed in his ears. He hadn’t heard it in a long time.

Ring.

This is...

His eyes turned toward the blue message window floating before him.

[Kwon Oh-Jin has successfully absorbed the Celestial of Seahorse!]

[All the conditions for the Black Heaven’s eleventh enlightenment have been met!]

Rumble!

Dark clouds erupted from Kwon Oh-Jin and swirled around him like a raging storm. A shiver raced down his spine. With it came a vast, intoxicating sense of omnipotence.

[With the eleventh enlightenment, the effects of the Black Heaven’s traits have been enhanced!]

[The Black Heaven has acquired the Sacred Ground Deployment trait.]

Sacred Ground Deployment?

Just from the name alone, it sounded like an overpowering trait. Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes gleamed as he stared at the new trait.

He reached out to click the message and see the detailed description.

[According to the Black Heaven’s enlightenment progress, Lee Shin-Hyuk’s memories will be inherited.]

It’s been a while.

How long had it been since the last inheritance? Not that memories from the past would be all that useful now.

Kwon Oh-Jin slowly closed his eyes and focused on the memories pouring into his mind.

He could see Lee Shin-Hyuk desperately screaming.

“W-Why are you doing this to me!? Just why the hell!?”

He clutched Lee Woo-Hyuk’s severed head in his arms, howling in grief at the demon wearing a mask before him.

“Who knows?”

From behind that mask, eyes burning with a ghostly blue fire stared down at him.

“If you hadn’t abandoned me there that time... Maybe none of this would have happened.”

The figure coldly reminisced.

Lee Shin-Hyuk’s eyes trembled violently.

“Abandoned you...? W-What are you talking about?”

“Hmm. So you really don’t remember, huh.”

The masked figure, the Heavenly Demon, chuckled as he looked down at Lee Shin-Hyuk.

“Well, memories do fade easily, after all.”

Like what one had for lunch yesterday or a childhood trip overseas, like when he shoved someone into a herd of Anthorns just to save himself... Memories melted away with time and blurred into nothing.

“But you know something?” The Heavenly Demon grabbed Lee Shin-Hyuk by the throat. “No matter how much you try to forget. No matter how hard you try to erase it, there are some memories that you can never forget.”

The ghostly blue flames in those eyes blazed as they bore into Lee Shin-Hyuk. For some reason, those merciless eyes carried a loneliness that almost felt pitiable.

“What... are you talking about?”

“Haha. I’m just saying that I want to make you a memory that you won’t ever forget.”

The Heavenly Demon chuckled and tapped Lee Woo-Hyuk’s head, which Lee Shin-Hyuk was clutching desperately to his chest.

A spark flared in Lee Shin-Hyuk’s eyes. “You bastard!”

Blazing with fury, he tightened his grip around his spear. Guided smoothly by the Stigma of Pyxis, the spearhead darted toward the Heavenly Demon’s throat.

“How boring.” The Heavenly Demon lazily flicked his hand as though swatting away a bothersome fly.

Clang!

The speartip bent like taffy and snapped.

“I only meant to leave you with a gift and walk away quietly... but you really know how to get under my skin, don’t you?”

He sounded annoyed as his fingers tightened around Lee Shin-Hyuk’s throat.

“Ghhk, kuh! Kugh!”

“That’s enough.” Another man intervened as Lee Shin-Hyuk let out strangled gasps and his eyes rolled white.

Appearing beside the Heavenly Demon, he laid a hand on the Heavenly Demon’s shoulder.

That’s...

The first word that came to Kwon Oh-Jin’s mind was “white.”

He had snow-white hair, skin so pale it bordered on ghostly, yet he wore a gentle smile as he tugged at the Heavenly Demon’s shoulder.

“That boy is crucial to your plan, is he not?” the man said.

“Tsk.” The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue softly and released his grip. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Lee Shin-Hyuk collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. “Phwa!”

“All right, all right. Look, I’ve let go, haven’t I? Satisfied?” the Heavenly Demon asked.

“Don’t forget.” The white-haired man’s eyes, glowing an emerald green, fixed on the Heavenly Demon. “You and I share the same goal.”

“I know...”

The Heavenly Demon slightly nodded and turned away. Together, the two vanished beyond the curtain of black storm clouds, leaving Lee Shin-Hyuk crumpled on the ground.

Tzzzzz!

Lee Shin-Hyuk’s memory came to an end with static.

Ring!

[All of Awakener Lee Shin-Hyuk’s memories, recorded in the Stigma of Lyra, have been inherited!]

“Ghhk!” Kwon Oh-Jin clutched his throbbing head and winced.

That white-haired man shares the same goal as the Heavenly Demon?

Biting down on his lip, Kwon Oh-Jin recalled the face that smiled so gently, yet radiated a sinister chill.