Inside the music, Klaus lived 120 years, but on the outside, only 5 minutes had passed. Syrith was plucking note after note on her zither while Klaus sat with a smile on his face.
He was experiencing and watching Syrith's life unfold before his eyes for years, and in each memory, he saw something fun, something filled with happiness...and something new.
Syrith lived a life full of happiness...
He saw how she travelled through the demon states, using her music to bring joy to others. Everybody loved and cherished her.
She was their idol. Young demons who had just entered the path of Music Cultivation aspired to be like her because she was their inspiration.
For some reason, this made Klaus incredibly happy.
However, as he continued to watch and smile, something suddenly changed, and he frowned. The scene he was witnessing was not pleasant at all.
Suddenly, a dark aura burst out of Klaus's body as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He was entirely focused on the scene of Syrith being overpowered on the bed of a demon king.
The sight was so gruesome that, at that very moment, Klaus wanted only one thing—to storm into the scene and ensure the demon king suffered the most gruesome death imaginable.
Ten years.
That was how long it took Syrith to finally gain her freedom, and it was only because the Demon King had grown tired of her and set his sights on someone else.
That day, Syrith cried her eyes out and chose to end her suffering. And she did—though it lasted for a mere five minutes before she awakened.
On that day, when she awakened, everything about her changed.
Her smile turned into a frown. Her mood grew foul, and when she took out her zither, instead of playing a tune that brought joy and laughter, it played a melody that caused people to die from laughter.
Her music had bee a disease, infecting all who heard it. Demon states perished, Demon Kings, demons of all ages and genders—they all fell victim to her music.
It was like a plague, spreading far and wide.
Klaus, who was watching this, radiated a murderous aura so intense it could threaten a Void Stage expert. At that moment, his mind was consumed by an overwhelming will to kill and destroy.
Klaus's eyes turned dark, his hair blackened, and even his lips and fingertips became shadowy. Everything about him was corrupted.
The aura emanating from him was corrupted, reeking of death and decay. It was so potent that the once-lush garden had transformed into a desolate wasteland.
Even the air itself carried the stench of death, and the most shocking thing was the change in the environment's colors.
The once-vibrant surroundings had faded to shades of black and white—or something close to it. As time passed, the environment continued to lose what little color remained.
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On the last floor of the dungeon,
Lissa looked at her sister Alida with a worried expression. They both understood what was happening to Klaus, and they knew it was a very bad thing.
"This can't happen; Master cannot fail here," Lissa said, her voice filled with concern.
Alida, however, remained focused on Klaus. Her eyes were locked on the aura surrounding him, and for ten full minutes, she neither blinked nor spoke a word. It was as if she were studying something intently.
Finally, thirty minutes into the music, Alida seemed to have figured something out. By that time, Klaus had already lived about 500 years within the music's illusion.
Alida sighed, and a small smile appeared on her face.
"Why are you smiling, Alida? Master is in danger!" Lissa shouted, alarmed at her sister's expression.
"Why shouldn't I be happy? It's not like Master is in any real danger," Alida replied, her tone smug as she glanced at Lissa, who seemed to be the more emotional of the two.
"What are you talking about? Can't you see the corrupted aura around him? He is clearly in danger!" Lissa exclaimed, her small fists clenched tightly.
"You know, Master would really punish you if she knew you couldn't recognize the Aura of Death," Alida laughed, and Lissa's body froze. She looked closely at the dark aura emanating from Klaus, and for a moment, her body shuddered.
"You don't mean..."
"Yes, Master has realized the Aura of Death. As to why he hasn't woken up yet, I don't know, but he has already passed the 8th challenge. Look, even Syrith is smiling now."
Lissa looked, and Syrith was smiling. She had acplished the task given to her years ago by the one and only Paragon of Death, Klaus's 6th incarnation—the one who came back in time to make this moment happen.
It was said that one day, the Paragon of the Nine Stars would face an unprecedented calamity that not even immortals could prevent. However, when all hope was lost, the tune of death would play, and all who listened would die.
Klaus didn't know yet. In fact, he wouldn't know for a while, considering his timeline had been altered. But one day, when he was on his last leg, his past—one that wasn't meant to exist—would surface. On that day, the legend of the long-lost Paragon of Death would rise again.
Klaus stayed immersed in the music for a whole day until, suddenly, a deep, dark aura filled with sinister intent burst out of his body, bringing the 8th trial to an end.
Syrith, who wasn't affected by the aura, looked at Klaus, who had finally returned to his old self and seemed to have forgotten everything that had just happened.
"Remember, Benefactor, when all hope is lost, and there's nothing else to do, play a tune, for that is the path of the Paragon of Death."
As soon as Syrith said this, her body turned into sparkles of light and dispersed into the air, leaving Klaus with a happy smile, which made him smile back.
She left her zither and the three items, which Klaus immediately absorbed. Strangely, it wasn't painful at all, unlike the seven trials he had previously pleted.
He then picked up the zither, and oddly, he already had a contract with it. In fact, he could tell the zither was happy to see him.
Experience tales at
It was strange, but he felt it wasn't unusual—in a strange kind of way.
Klaus held the zither in his hands, and instead of perceiving it as a musical instrument, it felt like a killing weapon. Strangely, despite never having played a zither before, he instinctively knew he could play it flawlessly.
But at the moment, he didn't feel like it.
For some reason, he felt a profound sense of peace, and rather than indulging in music, he saw no need to play it at all.
Syrith's last smile brought him a moment of peace he was currently bathing in. This lasted for a while.
It had already been over two months since he entered the trial. While he was growing stronger and remaining hidden from the prying eyes of the heavens, he wasn't at peace.
He didn't want to find out the hard way what that unease might mean, so he immediately requested his final trial. However, when he saw the name and description of his next—and last—opponent, his smile froze.
Panic set in.
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< Hydra, The Eight-Headed Hyra Demon Serpent>
-> The Elemental Demon
-> Rank: Tier 10 (Ascendent LVL 5)
-> Threat Level: SSS (High)
-> You would have to kill it 8 times to successfully kill it...
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