Abyssal Sovereign: The Demon's Dominion-Chapter 296 - 295: fate of an ant..

***** past******

"You could've escaped, but you brought your brother. For that, you will die. How dare you run," Void said coldly, stretching out his hand.

"No, no..." Anya screamed, turning to flee, but Void caught her easily. His hand disappeared into the second layer of space.

Void manipulated the second layer of space, a dangerous realm where time and space folded in on themselves, allowing for rapid travel. Now, he used it to snatch Anya from her escape.

"Brother!" Anya screamed as Shen Ye sprang into action.

He leaped forward, throwing a punch, but Void flicked him away effortlessly. Shen Ye was sent crashing through trees, tearing through the landscape and carving deep ravines before slamming into the ground, creating a kilometer-deep crater. His body was shattered and bloodied.

"Still as weak as ever," Void said with a teasing smile.

"Bring him here," Void commanded, and Linkir obediently retrieved Shen Ye, tossing him at Void's feet.

Shen Ye groaned in pain, his body trembling. When he looked up at Linkir, his heart sank,she was no longer the same person. The warmth was gone. She had become something else...cold, detached, and loyal only to Void.

"Now watch," Void said, his tone dripping with malice, as Anya's screams echoed in the distance.

Shen Ye slammed his fist into the ground in frustration. Boom! The earth shattered beneath his strike, but Void waved his hand casually, and the ground restored itself instantly. The flames within Shen Ye's body burned wildly, but every attempt to heal was suppressed. Void wanted him conscious...to feel every ounce of despair.

"Just look, ant," Linkir sneered, pressing her foot down on Shen Ye's leg.

"Aaaah!" Shen Ye screamed as his already broken bones splintered further under the pressure.

"Linkir... cough... please, stop this... stop your master," Shen Ye begged, blood spilling from his mouth. His body twitched, failing to recover under Void's dominance.

"Just watch," Linkir said coldly. Shen Ye's eyes widened as he realized what Void intended to do.

"Wow, Linkir, you're almost like me," Void chuckled.

"To beat you, I have to become like you," she replied, smiling faintly.

"Glad you realized that. Now, onto the coward who tried to run," Void grinned and turned his gaze toward Anya.

Shen Ye could only listen, her cries pierced the air with unbearable agony. Each scream was sharper than the last, echoing endlessly in his mind.

Anya's life was slipping away. Void prolonged her torment...tearing her apart, forcing her body to regenerate, and then doing it again. It was endless. Finally, when he grew bored, he dropped her to the ground.

"Look at them now," Void said with amusement. "One broken from what she endured, and the other shattered by watching it."

Linkir stepped away from Shen Ye's side, appearing beside Void. "How do they look now? That lifeless stare?"

"Beautiful," Linkir said with a twisted smile.

"Good. Now that the show's over…" Void reached forward, gently grasping Anya's neck. His massive fingers dwarfed her head. Slowly, he began to pull.

"Hm... hm... arh... arg... asrrrh—"

With a sickening squelch, blood splattered across the ground as Void tore her head from her body. Her eyes dimmed. Then her body disintegrated into ashes, leaving only smoke curling into the air.

Shen Ye, lying broken on the ground, could barely breathe. His bloodshot eyes stared blankly into the void, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"You always wonder what happens when someone is pushed to their limit," Void said, glancing down at him. "Linkir became like me, twisted and dark. But Shen Ye? He's broken. Destroyed by the sight of his sister's death... the only family he ever had."

"Master, should I kill him too?" Linkir asked, glancing at the lifeless shell of Shen Ye.

"No. He's not worth it. I need future nemesis," Void said with a smile. "Being invincible gets lonely."

"Why keep a future enemy alive, Master? I don't understand," Linkir said, frowning.

"Think about it. If I'm the strongest, what's next? Worship? Boring. It all becomes meaningless. But if there are others strong enough to challenge me, things stay interesting. We fight and I get to enjoy breaking them again and again." His eyes gleamed with dark amusement.

"So your grand plan is to create enemies… and let them live?" Linkir asked softly.

"Consider it an investment in future entertainment," Void said, grinning.

Shen Ye, his voice shaking, managed to rasp, "You... you're from Earth?"

"Yes, but not yours, MC," Void chuckled, watching as Shen Ye trembled even more violently.

"Master, will he survive?" Linkir asked curiously.

"Well, I might've broken him... again," Void laughed.

******************

The memory ended. Shen Ye exhaled slowly, looking at the little girl before him.

"I was spared... not because I was strong, nor out of pity... but for his amusement. For his future entertainment. He wanted me to one day grow

strong enough for him to break ," Shen Ye said quietly.

With each word, the girl's eyes trembled. Just moments ago, Shen Ye had entered her mind and shown her everything, his past, his pain, his fall.

She saw their story unfold: his sister nearly sold to a rich noble, their desperate escape, their fateful encounter with Linkir. She saw their brief happiness, their revenge, and then the betrayal.

"My sister was made into a slave for him," Shen Ye continued. Every word was like a knife twisting deeper into his heart.

"But she was strong. She didn't break. She fought back. Escaped. Until he caught her again. I watched as he tortured her in the most gruesome ways imaginable... and the very person I called my friend, the one who swore to protect us.. stood there. Watching. No emotion. No pity. As if my sister and I were nothing more than ants."

He paused. Across from him, the girl's eyes shimmered with tears.

So this was the truth behind the God of Oblivion... a past drenched in loss and despair. She could finally understand his pain.

But was this the reason he became such a monster?

"I lost everything... and I was spared for entertainment," Shen Ye said, his voice breaking slightly. "So yes, I know what it feels like to lose it all. To feel hopeless. To be too weak to change your fate. To have your entire life and destiny controlled by another. Even my master served that being. My senior sister under him..dead. I lost everything."

His eyes lifted slowly, meeting the girl's.

She tried to hold back her tears, but they fell anyway.

Shen Ye watched silently as she trembled, her hands tightening into fists.

"But... but..." she finally spoke, her voice fragile.

"If you lost so much... if you truly know what it feels like to be powerless...then why? Why did you start killing everyone? Destroying lives? Making others as miserable as you? Aren't you supposed to protect us? To keep us from suffering what you did?"

Her voice shook with pain.

"Hahahahahaha!" Shen Ye's laughter echoed across the void.

The girl's body trembled as she watched him, her heart pounding. The sound alone sent chills crawling up her spine, it wasn't just laughter; it was mockery, cruelty, and truth all woven together.

"Protect?" Shen Ye repeated, his tone dripping with disdain. "How foolish. If I were protecting others, do you think I'd

be this strong? I would have died long ago, protecting beings who are nothing more than ants, disposable in the grand scheme of existence. Or I'd be living among them, wasting away until death claimed me. Tell me… isn't that stupidity?"

He chuckled, his voice turning colder, sharper. Each word carried the weight of absolute conviction.

"I've learned something valuable," Shen Ye continued, his expression unreadable. "Only the strong survive. Everyone else.....pawns and ants, like you. I can control your fate and your destiny. Do you know why? Because you're weak. Weak, just like I was… eons ago."

His gaze darkened. "I couldn't save her. I couldn't even save myself. I survived only because he wished it so. And now, you're still alive because I wish it."

His indifferent tone froze her soul.

The girl felt her strength leave her legs as her knees buckled. She collapsed onto the endless expanse of space beneath them, trembling as she looked up at him.

"M-mercy..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Shen Ye's lips curled into a faint, chilling grin.

"Your very existence," he said softly, "is the extent of my mercy."

***************************************************