Following the destruction of Luxios, which left behind a heart-wrenching void, the Cosmic Laboratory was now nothing more than dimensional wreckage drifting aimlessly. The silence enveloping the place felt colder than usual—a chilling stillness following the storm of rage that had just subsided. Zhenos stood tall in the midst of that emptiness, his breath gradually stabilizing after annihilating the traitor. Before him, the five world-spheres that had survived the slaughter floated dimly, trembling as if in terror of their creator who had just unleashed his inner demon.
From the fingertips of Zhenos, still clutching the Umbra Calamity, thick black smoke flowed like ink spilled into clear water. The smoke coiled around those five spheres, forming an absolute shield that no god could ever penetrate.
"One betrayal was enough to destroy everything," Zhenos whispered. His voice was low, yet its vibration was capable of toppling the remaining dimensional pillars that hung fragrally above. "A new world does not need a sanctimonious light. It does not need a false warmth that hides a dagger behind its back. It only needs an unshakable will."
Zhenos closed his eyes tightly. He began to draw pure void energy from the core of his soul—a power that had existed even before the concept of "time" was created. Wusssss!
Instantly, a vortex of darkness appeared around him. From that darkness, one by one, new crystal orbs began to form. 995 world-spheres were created in a matter of seconds, orbiting Zhenos like a dense and complex solar system. As fuel for the life within them, Zhenos provided sparks of energy from the remnants of Luxios's power that he had devoured. It was a bitter irony: the traitor's light now served only as a battery for the Architect's new creations.
Zhenos's gaze fixed on a very specific point—Sphere 404, which he named Aethelgard. He saw rot beginning to spread there; the lesser gods he had created as guardians were now acting as if they were the sole owners of the universe, oppressing the weak and worshiping arrogance.
"I will descend there," Zhenos said in a cold tone that froze the air. "But my existence is too immense for such a small world. If I step forth in this form, Aethelgard will shatter simply by my presence."
Zhenos began to chant the most forbidden ancient sealing spell: [Absolute Seal: Mortal Shell].
KRAAA-KRAAA-KRAKKK!
The sound was horrific, like the sound of giant metal being forced to bend and snap. Zhenos's energy bones began to densify and shrink. His infinite power was forced into a small, fragile vessel. He suppressed his energy with all his might; 90% locked away, 95% vanished, until finally 99.9% of his power was buried deep within an invisible soul seal.
His body, once as tall as a galaxy, now shrank into a young man of about 20 years old. His hair was pitch black, as dark as a starless night. He wore tattered black robes that looked ordinary, concealing dense muscles formed from the density of cosmic energy. The Umbra Calamity also disappeared, hiding behind the shadow of his soul, waiting for a single call to once again tear through destiny.
BOOOOM!
A shockwave of air pressure occurred as Zhenos landed on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, on the edge of the Kingdom of Valerion. The impact of his landing created a small crater two meters deep, sending dust and dry leaves flying into the air. Zhenos stepped out from the center of the crater, trying to move his human fingers. He felt something he had not felt for millions of years: Gravity.
"Tch, this body is heavy," he muttered. His voice now sounded younger, yet it still carried a buried authority. He tilted his head left and right. Krak! Krak! The sound of his joints rang out sharply as they adjusted to the new vessel of flesh.
He began to walk through the dense forest undergrowth. He intentionally made his footsteps a bit heavy, trying to mimic the gait of an ordinary human so as not to attract the attention of any divine senses that might be watching from above. However, after walking only a few kilometers, his still-sharp hearing caught the sound of a commotion from behind large trees.
Clang! Tring!
The sound of metal clashing against metal. Followed by a disgusting, low growl.
KRAK!
Zhenos heard the sound of breaking wood and a man's scream of pain. He did not immediately bolt with divine speed. He only ran with reflexes that he strictly limited—appearing like a skilled sprinter, yet still within the bounds of human logic.
In a small clearing, he saw a destroyed noble carriage. A silver-haired youth—Kael—was kneeling with a sword that had been snapped in two. In front of him, a giant Orc nearly three meters tall was raising a large, rusted axe.
"Human insect... die!" the Orc roared with foul-smelling breath.
Zhenos appeared right in front of Kael. He did not release his intimidating red aura. He simply stood there with his hands in the pockets of his robes. As the giant axe blade swung down toward Kael's head, Zhenos reached out his left hand with a casual motion.
TING!
The sound of the impact did not sound like a weapon hitting flesh, but like a hammer hitting pure steel. Zhenos's fingers stopped the axe blade just centimeters from Kael's forehead.
"Who... are you?" The Orc's eyes widened. It tried to pull its axe back, but the weapon did not budge an inch, as if it had fused with the hand of the youth in front of it.
Zhenos stared at the Orc with empty black eyes. He deliberately did not let his power explode. He only tightened his arm muscles slightly. "You are disturbing my peace, green creature," Zhenos said flatly.
He clenched his right fist, gathering pure muscle strength—without a trace of magic. He delivered a short punch toward the Orc's solar plexus.
KRAKKKKKK!
The sound was incredibly crisp and horrific. The Orc's ribs shattered into pieces under the pressure of Zhenos's fist. The giant body was sent flying backward, crashing through rows of trees until they toppled, finally stopping with a chest that was caved in. The Orc died instantly without even having time to make a sound.
Zhenos took a long breath, pretending as if that punch was quite exhausting for his "human" body. He turned toward Kael, who was still frozen in shock.
"Are you alright?" Zhenos asked, reaching out a hand.
Kael took the hand with a tremble. "Thank you... you are so strong! Yet you didn't look like you were using magic or an aura. Who are you, really?"
"Just a wanderer named Zhenos," he replied shortly.
Kael, feeling deeply indebted because his life had just been saved, immediately offered help. "I'm Kael, a low-rank adventurer. You look new here. If you have no destination, come with me to the town of Oakhaven. I can introduce you to the Adventurer's Guild so you can get an official identity."
Zhenos nodded. "That sounds reasonable. Lead the way."
Throughout the journey to the town, Kael kept talking about the hierarchy of the world of Aethelgard. He explained about the Lesser Gods worshiped by humans, especially Helios, the god considered the most supreme in this region. Zhenos only listened, storing every piece of information in his memory. To him, Helios was just an ant he had accidentally created long ago.
They finally arrived at the magnificent gates of Oakhaven. After passing through the guard inspection—where Zhenos had to pretend to struggle to show an ID—they headed straight for the Iron Gate Adventurer's Guild.
The atmosphere inside the Guild was stuffy and filled with the smell of alcohol and sweat. In the middle of the room, a commotion broke out that caught everyone's attention. A large adventurer in thick armor named Barok the Bloody Axe was grabbing the hair of a small Beastman girl.
"You spilled my beer, you lowly slave!" Barok shouted.
KRAK!
Barok stepped on the little girl's hand without mercy. The sound of cracking hand bones echoed through the suddenly silent room. The girl screamed in agony, but the other adventurers only laughed mockingly. In this world, the strong are the law, and the weak are merely trash.
Zhenos stopped walking. A cold anger began to creep into his chest. This sight reminded him of Luxios's betrayal—power used to oppress, not to protect.
"Zhenos, don't get involved! Barok is C-rank, he's very strong!" Kael whispered, trying to pull Zhenos's arm.
But Zhenos did not budge. He walked toward Barok's table. Each step left small cracks in the wooden floor of the Guild, despite his efforts to hold back. Krrrk... Krrrk...
"Let the child go," Zhenos said. His voice was not loud, yet for some reason, it managed to stop everyone's laughter in the room.
Barok turned with a condescending smirk. "What? You want to be a hero, F-rank brat? Look at you, your hands look smoother than a baby's bottom!"
Barok threw a large fist toward Zhenos's face. Instead of dodging, Zhenos let the fist land on his shoulder. Bugh!
Barok's eyes bulged. His hand felt as if it had hit an immovable mountain of steel. Instead, Barok's own wrist felt like it had dislocated. Before Barok could scream, Zhenos had already gripped the big man's wrist.
"This hand..." Zhenos whispered right in front of Barok's face, which was starting to turn pale. "...it seems you've grown tired of having it."
KRAKKKKKK!
Zhenos crushed Barok's wrist until the bones were pulverized into tiny fragments within his flesh. Barok screamed to the heavens, his large body collapsing to the floor while clutching his hand which now hung limp and formless.
Zhenos did not stop there. He placed his foot on top of Barok's knee. With pressure calibrated to look like extraordinary human physical strength, he pressed down on the knee until a POP! was heard—the sign that Barok's knee joint had been permanently displaced.
"This is punishment for tainting my creation with your arrogance," Zhenos thought. Outwardly, he only appeared to be a very cruel martial artist.
The entire Guild froze in fear. They saw a youth in tattered clothes just disable a C-rank adventurer with his bare hands in seconds.
Zhenos released Barok, who had fainted from the pain. He walked calmly toward the reception desk where a girl named Elara stood frozen with a deathly pale face.
"Register me," Zhenos said, placing a few gold coins on the desk. "I want to start from the very bottom. Rank F."
With trembling hands, Elara handed over the registration form. Zhenos filled it out calmly, while behind him, Kael watched him with an unreadable expression—somewhere between awe and horror. Zhenos knew that as of today, his infiltration of this sphere had begun. He would crawl from the bottom, seeing just how rotten this world was, before he finally released his seal to hunt down the Lesser Gods who had dared to ruin the harmony of the universe