___ Blood Mountain ___
A lone figure stood at the peak of the blood-soaked mountain, towering above the clouds, his disheveled white hair kicking wildly against the wind. He was dressed in black and green hanfu robes, now riddled with bloody holes.
The man's skin was as white as snow, yet black dragon scales were slowly falling from his bare body one after another. His face looked as though it had been sculpted by the heavens themselves—perfectly shaped, with breathtaking jawlines and snow-snatching emerald pupils capable of piercing a man's soul with a single glance.
"A thousand battles I have fought to get here… This is not our bargain, Idia!"
Damian coughed up a mouthful of black blood as he collapsed to one knee, his robes billowing violently in the wind. Memories of his five thousand years of existence remained vivid in his mind, as if they had happened only yesterday.
From being born as one of the absolute beginning beings of planet Idia, to claiming a seat upon the Throne of Heaven as the God of Death—basking in worship, praise, and the admiration of mortals.
Then the Outer Gods invaded planet Idia.
Damian and his fellow new gods were caught off guard, inexperienced. They fell to these Outer Gods, losing both their lives and their seats upon the Throne of Heaven.
The Outer Gods quickly took their place, posing as liberators who had saved mortals from tyrannical deities. They poured vile upon the legacies of the new gods, soiling their reputations. They siphoned the planet's resources to empower themselves, feeding on mortal prayers while slowly killing the planet in return.
Desperate to save itself, Idia gathered its remaining strength and collected the scattered consciousnesses of its fallen champions, triggering their rebirth as mortals.
The once-revered deities of planet Idia returned to a world where they had become villains, their devotees persecuted. At the same time, the planet was besieged by several outer races that had arrived alongside the Outer Gods, further weakening the native inhabitants of Idia.
For a thousand years, Damian endured rejection and betrayal. Eventually, he and the remaining new gods were forced to stand beside their devotees, fighting both the misguided natives of Idia and the invading forces.
The war claimed billions of lives, including those of his brothers.
In the end, only he and Cyrus—the God of Creation—managed to reclaim godhood. However, the final battle against the Outer Deities claimed Cyrus's life.
Standing alone in victory, Damian believed it was over.
Though the war had cost him his siblings and countless believers, the chaos had finally ended. It was time to recover. Time to rebuild.
"So why… why is there one more enemy I know nothing of?!" Damian growled as he looked toward the heavens.
The sky transformed into a mirror of the universe itself, revealing star systems, suns, moons, planets, comets, and black holes— all orbiting a single massive crimson eye that peered into Damian's god-soul as if it were child's play.
Every creature—humans, beasts, even the smallest ants—bore witness to this sight. No one could escape it, not even those hiding beneath their beds. No matter where they looked, their gaze inevitably found its way back to the entity watching their home. Even closing their eyes offered no salvation.
For Damian, who stood face-to-face with the entity, its presence was suffocating. It felt as though the entire universe was pressing down upon him. Even a deity of his caliber struggled under such pressure.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the constellations, stars, planets, and solar systems welled with power, unleashing a blinding light that converged toward the single eye. The world trembled violently.
Fissures split the land, continents tearing apart as lava geysers erupted from the depths of the earth. Volcanic activity spiked worldwide, and beneath the crushing invisible pressure, the planet itself began to sink, causing water levels to rise at an alarming rate.
The heavens squealed as the sky cracked under the entity's immeasurable power, while the cries of mortals echoed from every corner of the world.
"SUBMIT!"
The Beyond spoke only a single word.
A violent wind surged across the planet, spawning deadly hurricanes from all directions. Thunder roared, shaking the heavens. It felt as though planet Idia would shatter if the entity were allowed to speak freely.
Under such overwhelming pressure… in the face of insurmountable odds…
Damian's confusion, pain, and rage twisted into a deranged smile. Pearly fangs capable of tearing through flesh were revealed.
"You silly fool…"
Eerie laughter spilled from his lips as he slowly forced himself upright, his body swaying from exhaustion.
"THE MIGHTIEST OF IDIA'S GUARDIANS STILL BREATHES! DO YOU DARE FACE ME?!"
Hong Long!
Dark green energy erupted from Damian's body, orbiting him fervently as it expanded outward. Amid the chaos, he stood tall—hair and robes whipping wildly as emerald light burst from his eyes.
"COME!" he bellowed.
BOOM!
A rainbow pillar of light poured from the crimson eye, twisting and tearing space itself. Air across planet Idia seemed to stop flowing as an invisible force struck first, bypassing the surface and rattling the bones of every living being.
It felt as though the planet was being shoved out of its orbit.
Mortals across the world burst apart under the pressure, turning the land into seas of blood mist. Sorcerers and low-realm mages vomited violently, bleeding from every orifice.
Damian glanced over his shoulder, taking in the suffering of the world in a single instant. His expression twisted into something ugly.
"YOU BASTARD TYRANT, THIS DEBT WILL BE REPAID IN BLOOD!"
Skull of Finality!
A black skull flew from Damian's sleeves, hanging midair as it trembled violently. Emerald runes ignited across its surface, burning with its master's rage.
He had only fully refined this artifact in the thousandth year of his second life—after refining ten million souls and disrupting the balance of life, death, and rebirth cycle.
Even Idia had scolded him for threatening the cycle in his pursuit of power.
Yet today, that power would be his saving grace.
Hong Long!
Damian formed a seal. The skull's empty eye sockets ignited with emerald flames.
"Skull of Finality; Last Guard!"
BUZZ!
Dark green energy surged outward, spreading in all directions and encasing the entire planet in a single breath. From space, planet Idia appeared completely enclosed within a skull-shaped barrier.
Instantly, the crushing pressure vanished. The massacre below the heavens stopped.
'Here it comes!' Damian's brows knit together as the rainbow beam collided with his last guard.
BOOOOM!
A cataclysmic explosion shook the heavens. Cracks spread across the barrier, mirroring the fractures forming on the artifact itself.
'It won't hold?' His frown deepened—but he had no time to despair.
KRASH!
The barrier shattered.
The rainbow beam slammed into planet Idia. Damian stood beneath it like the earth itself—unmoving, fearless. Though his guard had failed, it had absorbed the brunt of the attack, greatly reducing its power.
Hmph!
A cold harrumph escaped his lips as he stomped Blood Mountain, reducing it to dust instantly.
WILD: BLACK DRAGON!
ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Dark green energy exploded outward as a colossal black dragon avatar—larger than two mountains stacked together—emerged and wrapped itself around the rainbow beam.
BOOOOM! BOOOOOM!
BOOOOM! BOOOOOM!
Between the deafening explosions, the dragon's roar, and Damian's own defiant howl, the world descended into chaos. The black dragon holding back the beam was visible from anywhere on the planet.
Without explanation, even a fool could tell—the black dragon was the only thing standing between existence and extinction.
Days passed. Then weeks. Then months.
For six months, the dragon did not yield.
And then, the inevitable happened.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
The dragon shattered alongside Damian's cry. The rainbow beam, now reduced to a few thousand yards wide, dragged a lone figure from the heavens into the earth, carving a thousand-meter-deep crater.
BLEGH!
Damian spat another mouthful of blood. His emaciated body trembled beneath oversized robes as he knelt on both knees. Bruised and broken, he stared skyward—eyes empty.
No fear.
No rage.
No pain.
Only cold indifference.
"SUBMIT!"
The universe lit up once more, its power converging on the crimson eye.
In five thousand years of existence, Damian had never felt so helpless. Even his first death at the hands of the Outer Deities had relied on surprise.
"Idia…" Damian slowly closed his eyes.
"I see no other path forward."
"I see no other path… except one of MUTUAL DESTRUCTION!"
Hong Long!
His eyes snapped open as he clasped his hands in prayer.
The ground behind him split apart. A megalithic gate of bone rose skyward, its spires piercing the clouds within seconds.
Wong!
The gates swung open. Creatures of darkness poured forth, surging across the planet, slaughtering all life in their path—men, women, children. None were spared.
At the same time, souls from every corner of Idia converged upon Damian, flowing into his body endlessly.
"RUTHLESS. YOU WOULD DESTROY YOUR HOME JUST TO KEEP ITS RESOURCES FROM ME?"
The Beyond mused, unthreatened.
Damian, however, remained calm.
With each soul absorbed, strands of his hair darkened, his vitality returning. Still kneeling, still staring fearlessly upward, he spoke in a cold, detached tone.
"THE BURDEN OF DEFENDING OUR HOME FALLS ON EVERYONE!"
"SURRENDER YOUR SOULS TO ME, OR EVERYTHING IS LOST!"
His voice rolled like thunder, reaching every living being on the planet.
After five thousand years, Damian understood one truth clearly: a dead world could support no life.
If sacrificing ninety-nine percent of Idia's population was the price to save the remaining one percent—Then so be it.