Within the shattered lands of the Shuan Empire, Kuto battled against Xeora's Demoness.
The battlefield had turned into a nightmare of blood, corpses, and broken demon heads scattered across the ruined earth.
"You are strong," the Demoness said with a seductive smile, slowly licking the blood from her lips.
Kuto stared at her with exhausted eyes. Blood streamed down his forehead, and one of his arms hung broken at his side.
"You're not bad either," Kuto replied with a faint but confident smile as he forced himself to stand despite the unbearable pain.
The Demoness smiled arrogantly before regenerating her severed arm instantly.
"How unfortunate," she said mockingly. "Humans are such fragile creatures. You can't even regenerate."
Kuto looked at her calmly before smirking.
"Laugh while you still can," he said confidently. "The moment he returns… your existence ends."
The Demoness walked closer, crimson-black flames swallowing her body entirely.
"I doubt he's ever coming back," she whispered arrogantly.
Suddenly—
The entire sky trembled violently.
Space distorted.
Reality itself bent unnaturally.
Rien appeared high above the battlefield with a calm, unreadable gaze.
"Sorry for being late," Rien said softly before descending between them.
The Demoness froze.
Her eyes widened in horror.
"How are you alive?" she asked in disbelief.
Rien glanced at her and smiled faintly.
"Were you expecting my corpse?" he asked calmly. "That would be impossible."
He then turned toward Kuto.
"What happened to you?" Rien chuckled lightly. "You look like a broken machine."
Kuto rolled his eyes tiredly.
"You wouldn't understand the pain of being human," he sighed. "Handling this much pain is torture."
Rien smiled gently before waving his hand.
In an instant, Kuto's broken arm regenerated completely.
"I created existence itself," Rien said calmly. "And you think I do not understand pain?"
Kuto stretched his healed arm and sighed.
"That's exactly the problem," he replied. "Absolute beings like you can never truly understand human feelings."
Rien looked at him silently for a moment before speaking.
"If you created a machine," Rien asked softly, "what would you expect from it?"
Kuto frowned in confusion.
"To act like a human, obviously."
Rien smiled.
"And why?"
"Because I would be its creator," Kuto answered. "Its feelings would exist because I have also and that why I design him."
Rien gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Exactly."
His voice became quieter. Deeper.
"If every emotion in existence was born from me, then how could I possibly not understand them?"
"Pain is not a flaw."
"It is a warning."
"A function I gave to life so it would protect itself from destruction."
Kuto stared at him silently before waving his hand dismissively.
"Whatever," he sighed. "You handle this. I'm going to buy dumplings."
He casually walked away.
Rien looked toward the Demoness with a faint smile.
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "I do not hurt women."
Kuto suddenly stopped walking and glanced back.
"Then fight like a human," he said confidently. "You'll finally understand."
Rien remained silent for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"You still do not understand…"
"Zenith Zero."
The moment those words were spoken—
Every trace of divine authority vanished from Rien's body.
No cosmic aura.
No overwhelming pressure.
No omnipotent presence.
It was as though existence itself had suddenly forgotten what he truly was.
Rien stretched his arms casually before bouncing lightly on his feet.
"Let's warm up."
The Demoness instantly vanished.
She reappeared directly in front of him, her fist moving at monstrous speed toward his face.
"Fast," Rien admitted calmly, "but still within my calculations."
He stepped aside effortlessly, grabbed her wrist, and slammed her into the ground with overwhelming force.
BOOM—
The earth collapsed beneath her.
Blood burst from the Demoness's mouth.
Her eyes trembled in shock.
"There's no energy…" she whispered internally. "No divine power… no cosmic presence… yet his physical strength is monstrous…"
Rien glanced at his fist with mild disappointment.
"My punches became weaker after limiting myself to humanity," he sighed.
The Demoness suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed his shoulder violently.
"GO TO HELL!"
A gigantic sphere of black flames formed in her other hand.
Rien looked at her from the corner of his eye and smiled faintly.
"Try harder."
In the next instant—
He grabbed her by the head and hurled her through a colossal stone mountain, shattering it completely.
Kuto's eyes widened.
"Mama mia…"
The Demoness coughed blood violently as she looked up at Rien with trembling eyes.
"Who… are you…?"
Rien slowly walked toward her.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
The sky darkened.
The stars themselves seemed to freeze.
Then he spoke—
"I?"
"I am the silence that existed before the first sound was ever born."
"Before creation had form… before time learned how to flow… before reality understood the meaning of existence…"
"I alone existed."
"The heavens rotate because I permit motion."
"Time moves because I allow eternity to breathe."
"Every god worshipped across infinite realities…"
"Every universe suspended within the endless void…"
"Every law, every concept, every truth…"
"They stand upon the foundation of my imagination."
His eyes became cold beyond comprehension.
"When mortals pray for salvation…"
"When gods beg for purpose…"
"When existence itself trembles in fear of collapse…"
"They are all unknowingly depending on me."
"I am not a ruler."
"Rulers govern kingdoms."
"I created the very concept of dominion."
"I am not a god."
"Gods are merely beings allowed to exist beneath my will."
Space shattered around him like broken glass.
Galaxies distorted.
Reality screamed silently.
"Call me whatever your insignificant understanding can comprehend…"
"Origin."
"Creator."
"The Cosmic Emperor."
Then—
The void itself knelt before him.
"But above all titles…"
"Remember this name."
His gaze descended upon her like absolute judgment.
"I am Rien Kinohutsu."
"The one upon whom existence itself depends."
The Demoness trembled violently.
Then—
Her body dissolved into ashes and vanished from existence entirely.
Rien closed his eyes calmly.
"As expected," he said softly.
On the other side of the empire, deep within a quiet city district, an anxious family hurried inside their home.
A woman rushed back and forth across the room, hurriedly packing their belongings with trembling hands.
"We have to leave this place quickly, Elina," the woman said nervously to her daughter.
The front door suddenly opened.
A man stepped inside, his expression calm but relieved.
"We received news from the clan," he said with a reassuring smile. "According to them, the demons have already been handled by a group of powerful cultivators sent by the Emperor."
The woman froze.
Her eyes widened slightly as tears formed within them.
"Really…?" she whispered shakily.
She immediately pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, relief overwhelming her heart.
The little girl smiled softly before gently patting her mother's head.
"Mom…" she said quietly, "you're very beautiful."
The woman slowly pulled back in confusion before staring into her daughter's eyes.
"You… can see me?" she asked, her voice trembling with emotion.
The little girl nodded happily.
The man looked at his daughter in shock before his face lit up with joy.
"Finally…" he said with a relieved smile. "Your Eye Loop Disease is gone."
He immediately embraced both of them tightly as tears of happiness filled the room.
Outside, the distant chaos of war still echoed faintly across the empire—
But within that small house, for the first time in years…
There was peace