Darkness began to creep over the village, taking the shape of the arms of a giant octopus. Diaso looked toward the man holding the scythe. Suddenly, Jisur appeared behind him and said,
"This is Diaso, my lord."
The scythe bearer paid no attention to Jisur's words; he had recognized Diaso at first glance. Slowly, he approached, dragging the scythe behind him, and asked,
"Did you come here to learn who you truly are?"
Diaso stood frozen in place, terror overwhelming him. Summoning his courage, he replied,
"Yes… I came to know who I am."
The scythe bearer let out a cold laugh.
"Very well. I will tell you everything now."
Diaso returned to the present, lowering his head and thinking,
"The thing I wanted was already taken by my father… But when he returned, why didn't Riyati come with him? Well, that doesn't matter now."
Looking around, he saw blood and corpses covering most of the city. Then he turned to Baran, who was standing unconscious, and within seconds collapsed entirely. Feathers emerged from Diaso's wings as he rushed to protect Baran.
Standing amidst the sounds of crying and battle, energy began to surge from Diaso's body. He lifted his head toward the sky with a smile, and at that very moment, the energy exploded.
The immense pressure spread across the city, halting everyone's fighting. People looked up and saw a man flying while carrying the banner of the Dark Kingdom. Everyone recognized him as an envoy from the kingdom.
The banner bearer scanned the people until his eyes landed on the city center, where Diaso sat meditating.
"Oh… this boy has reached the Level of Existence and is now meditating to obtain the strongest technique of his skill," he said, approaching.
It did not take long before Diaso awakened.
Looking at the envoy, he said,
"You fly without wings… that means you are at the Hidden Level. I truly do not understand what the Dark Kingdom is thinking. You took all of our blacksmiths, yet you still care about this city."
The envoy replied coldly,
"These are the king's orders. You do not need to know anything. Do you understand?"
Then loudly added,
"Everyone in this city will now be under my command, and I will be its lord. Is that clear?"
Everyone heard his words, and the fighting immediately stopped. The envoy ordered the city rebuilt, and Baran and Narvik were taken to the hospital.
---
In the forest, Kiando ran with blood pouring from his body, terrified. Suddenly, he fell. Attempting to rise, he collided with a tree and gasped,
"I will return… I will return and kill them all without exception… even Diako and Jisur."
He laughed hysterically,
"How dare they do this to me?! No… no… hahahaha! I felt it, yes… there was an aura. I think one of the Balance-Level envoys was there. I thought I could kill Diako and Jisur."
Suddenly, he heard a sound. He looked left and right in vain until a light shone into his eyes. Shocked, he saw a man holding a lantern.
The man wore elegant black-and-white clothing. His left leg was wrapped with a white cloth two fingers wide, marked with black demonic symbols. His eyes were blindfolded with black cloth bearing white demonic markings.
The man stood before him, the lantern flame glowing white, and said,
"Do you want power? Wealth? Authority? I will give you everything you desire… just answer my question."
Angrily, Kiando shouted,
"What power? What money? What authority? What use are they when I've lost my arm and will die soon?!"
The man raised the lantern slightly, and Kiando was healed of all injuries—his arm fully restored. He could not speak, what had happened seemed miraculous.
The man spoke again,
"Now I will ask my question… What is death to you?"
Kiando stood, furious,
"Death? Death is the worst thing! If death did not exist, I would rule the world! If there were no death, I wouldn't fear the envoys of the Dark Kingdom! I hate death!"
The man gazed at the lantern as its white flame turned black. Three barely visible black threads appeared.
"Hmmm… your answer about death was worse than I expected," he said coldly.
At that moment, Kiando's head was severed, and his body fell lifeless. The man vanished, and animals approached the corpse.
---
"So… a month has passed since what happened," Baran said, sitting in the courtyard of a house. Narvik trained in front of him, while Diaso stood beside him.
"This was unexpected," Narvik said. "It took a full month for you to wake up, Baran."
Baran said nothing, knowing Narvik had awakened after only two days.
Diaso said,
"Baran lost all his power, so he stayed in bed longer. In any case, the envoy built a palace in the city center and united the clans."
Narvik said,
"I didn't expect someone from the Hidden Level to come here. By the way… since you reached the Level of Existence, what technique did you obtain?"
Diaso smiled,
"You know a warrior must keep his strongest technique secret, right?"
Then he added,
"In three days, we will leave this city. We must decide our path and get to know one another—we are a team from now on."
Narvik said,
"My name is Narvik, from the Ice Kingdom. As for the path… Baran will decide."
Diaso said,
"My name is Suleiman."
Narvik was surprised,
"Isn't your name Diaso?"
Suleiman sighed,
"I was born in a village whose people were all killed. A man found me, raised me, and named me Diaso. When I found my father, he told me my real name is Suleiman."
Baran asked quickly,
"And how did you know he was your father?"
Suleiman extended his hand and removed the wrappings, revealing his black hand. Narvik was shocked and examined it.
"It's the same hand as the Cursed Ruler of the Abyss."
Suleiman trembled,
"Do… do you know my father? Please, tell me about him."
Narvik replied,
"He once came to the Ice Kingdom and sat with my father. I saw him only once, but rumors say he is among the strongest of the strong—he never entered a battle without winning."
Suleiman smiled.
Baran said,
"I am Baran ibn Adnan. It's an honor to meet you."
After the conversation, Suleiman asked,
"Where are we going?"
Narvik answered,
"Baran will decide."
Baran stood,
"I don't know much about the world… I only trained."
Narvik said,
"There are eight kingdoms, each with three great families. There is also a clan that follows no kingdom, and the Al-Haitham Organization."
Baran interrupted,
"We're going to the Dark Kingdom."
No one objected. They planned to leave after two days.
---
Two days later, the three left the city, heading toward the Dark Kingdom, their new home. After walking for two hours, Narvik asked:
"Suleiman, what is your goal?"
Suleiman was surprised, but Narvik continued,
"I cannot say my goal, but it is connected to Baran's goal."
Suleiman asked,
"And what is Baran's goal?"
Baran looked at Suleiman, thinking whether to reveal that his goal was to kill a king—an absolutely forbidden act. Finally, he smiled,
"My goal… is to kill a king."
Suleiman was shocked. Killing a king was forbidden—not only because it was outlawed, but because no one knew what might happen afterward.
The law forbidding the killing of kings was established nine million years ago by the First Emperor, and no king had been killed since then.
Suleiman smiled and said,
"Are you certain of your goal? When the curse appears, everyone will fight you."
Baran replied calmly,
"Yes, I am certain. And I will kill anyone who stands in my way. But… what will the curse do when it appears?"
Narvik said,
"When someone attempts to kill a king, the curse appears on them so everyone knows, and they unite to fight him. But what it actually does… no one knows."
Even Suleiman did not know the truth of the curse.
Suleiman sighed,
"My goal is to become one of the Three Stars."
Baran asked in surprise,
"The Three Stars? What is that?"
Narvik explained,
"There are five levels of power:
Skill Transformation Level
Existence Level
Hidden Level
Balance Level
Rainfall Level
Each level has ranked fighters from first to tenth, first being the strongest. The Rainfall Level is the highest and has only ten fighters. The Three Stars are the three strongest fighters after the kings."
Baran asked,
"Hey Narvik, are you one of the ranked?"
Narvik replied,
"No, but I've seen the second-ranked of the Skill Transformation Level, and I can defeat him.
But my true goal is to fight the first-ranked… she is strong, and she is called the Demoness."
He said confidently,
"When we reach the Dark Kingdom… I will challenge her to a fight."