Tribal Lord Igris watched silently, his expression grim but resolute. He knew better than to interfere now. "Endure it," he said softly, his voice almost drowned by the roaring energy. "Endure it, boy. This is what separates the divine from the mortal."
But Max couldn't hear him anymore. The pain was too great. His entire being felt like it was being pulled apart. His consciousness flickered, the edges of his mind fading in and out. For a brief, terrifying mont, he wanted it to stop. He wanted to let go, to fall, to give in to the crushing weight of the divine energy inside him.
But then, deep within the chaos, a single thought erged—not of family, not of friends, not of the world he once swore to protect. Those bonds had long since turned to ash in his heart.
The faces of his sister, his mother, his comrades—all blurred into aningless shadows that no longer stirred him. The warmth they once gave him had faded away, leaving only a hollow silence where emotion used to live.
He no longer cared for them.
He no longer believed in them.
The humans of his continent, the ones he once fought to save, were nothing but fragile, selfish beings clinging to a world they could not defend. His only family - Freya, refused to et him when she could. His trust had been betrayed too many tis.
His purpose—to protect, to save, to reunite with his family, to kill all the demons, to kill all the nulls, the revenge and all—had died sowhere along the way, buried beneath betrayal, blood, and the cold indifference of fate.
All that remained now was one desire.
To beco the strongest being in all of existence.
That single truth burned through the storm within him, blazing brighter than the pain that sought to consu him. Power—limitless, unshakable, eternal—was all he sought now. He would shatter every boundary, break every law, and defy even the universe itself to grasp it.
His lips curled into a defiant snarl as the golden cracks across his body flared violently. "I… don't need anyone," he growled through clenched teeth. "I don't need family. I don't need friends. I don't need anyone's faith."
The divine energy scread in resistance, but Max scread louder.
"I will beco the strongest! No matter what I have to destroy!"
The roar that tore from his throat shook the wasteland itself, echoing across the violet plains like the cry of a being defying the heavens. It wasn't the cry of a hero anymore—it was the cry of soone who had forsaken everything except power itself.
The energy responded to his defiance, surging once more through his body. But now it felt different—more focused, sharper, like a blade being tempered in fire. The cracks on his body deepened, glowing brighter and brighter until his entire form looked like a statue made of molten tal on the verge of shattering.
And then, the world itself began to tremble.
The violet wasteland around him started to distort. The sky—once calm and hazy—suddenly darkened. Thin, jagged lines appeared across the heavens like glass cracking under pressure. The cracks spread, wider and deeper, and from within them ca a light so blinding it turned everything pale.
Lightning.
But it wasn't ordinary lightning. These were threads of cosmic power—blue, white, and violet, carrying the fury of the heavens themselves. The Wraith of the Universe had sensed it. Sothing forbidden was happening. A mortal was trying to ascend a divine path that no longer belonged to this era. The laws of the universe itself were rejecting it.
The lightning scread as it descended from the cracks in the sky, tearing through the clouds and falling toward Max. Each bolt carried enough energy to erase worlds. The pressure was so imnse that even the land around him began to collapse into the molten depths beneath.
Tribal Lord Igris's eyes widened. "No…" he whispered. "The Wraith of the Universe… it has co for him." He took a step forward, his hand reaching out instinctively, but he knew—if those bolts touched Max, not even ashes would remain.
The first bolt broke through the atmosphere, tearing space apart as it descended. It was re seconds away from striking him.
And then, everything stopped.
A sound like a whisper, soft yet heavy, rolled through the air. Space bent, and a colossal figure appeared high above, cloaked in shimring starlight. Its form was hazy, neither man nor god, and yet its presence made even the sky kneel. One of the Seven Lords of the Secret Domain had appeared.
The being lifted its hand slowly, and reality obeyed. The cracks in the sky froze mid-collapse. The lightning halted in midair, writhing like serpents caught in invisible chains. Then, with a gesture as simple as closing a door, the being pulled its hand downward—and the cracks sealed shut. The Wraith of the Universe vanished as though it had never existed. The oppressive energy faded, leaving only silence behind.
Tribal Lord Igris imdiately dropped to one knee, his expression reverent. "Lord of the Star Abyss," he murmured. "We are grateful for your intervention."
The towering figure said nothing. Its gaze lingered on Max—still trembling, his body half-shattered, golden light spilling out from his wounds—and then, slowly, it disappeared, dissolving into motes of light.
The mont the Wraith vanished, the divine energy within Max surged one last ti, no longer restrained by the universe's will. It rushed to his chest and exploded outward.
BOOM!
The ground cracked, the air rippled, and golden light burst from Max's body like a divine storm. The lines of the First Divine Vein, the Vein of Origin, carved themselves fully into his flesh—glowing rivers of gold spreading from his heart to every corner of his being.
Max let out a final cry of pain that echoed across the wasteland before falling to his knees, gasping for air. The golden glow gradually subsided, leaving faint marks etched beneath his skin like sacred runes.
Tribal Lord Igris stepped forward, his expression filled with awe. "It is done," he said quietly. "You have opened the First Divine Vein. The Vein of Origin—the bridge between life and divinity."
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