The Pillar of the Dead was a place where countless stone pillars were submerged deep into the ground, stretching across a vast land like an endless forest of monuments, and each pillar represented a person who had died long ago, their final will sealed within the stone so that their abilities, ambitions, or unfinished wishes could be passed down to a successor who proved worthy of inheriting them.
Inside every pillar rested a fragment of will left behind by the deceased, and although it possessed only a faint intelligence, it was more than enough to examine those who approached and determine whether the person before it was worthy of inheriting the ability or fulfilling the wish that the original owner had failed to accomplish in life.
These wills were not completely powerless either, for within the strange laws of the Holo World, even a fragment of will could slightly influence the flow of the world itself. They could move dust, stir the air, or disturb the movement of small creatures, not with overwhelming control but just enough to interact with the surroundings and observe those who entered their domain.
Using that faint intelligence and their limited control over the environment, the wills slowly searched for a suitable successor, and when the right person appeared before a pillar, the will would awaken and pull that person into the pillar's inner space, where the true inheritance would begin.
Inside the pillar, the successor would be given a recipe.
It was not a recipe for food, but for the creation of something far more dangerous and mysteriousa Blood Soul.
The recipe explained the exact process required to create the Blood Soul and revealed the ingredients, steps, and conditions needed for its formation, and through that process the successor could obtain the unique ability that once belonged to the deceased.
The process could be compared to cooking an Indian curry.
When a dish was prepared, many different spices were mixed together to create a certain flavor and color, but if some spices were removed and others were added, the taste, aroma, and appearance of the dish would completely change.
Creating a Blood Soul worked in exactly the same way.
Each recipe used different ingredients and methods, and depending on how the Blood Soul was formed, the resulting ability would be different. If a person successfully created the Blood Soul according to the instructions given by the pillar's will, they would inherit the ability that the original owner once possessed.
However, the ingredients and methods used to create Blood Souls were considered extremely dangerous secrets.
If even a single detail leaked outside, powerful immortals might slaughter entire cities simply because they suspected someone had discovered knowledge that should never exist in the open world.
Because of this, those who died often chose to bury their secrets with themselves inside the Pillars of the Dead, allowing only the successor chosen by their will to inherit the knowledge.
Sometimes the successor was chosen after death.
Sometimes the inheritance was prepared while they were still alive.
But either way, the result was the same.
Their will would remain within the pillar, waiting.
Across an enormous land, hundreds of thousands of stone pillars stood silently under the crimson sky, spreading so far into the distance that the end of the forest of pillars could not be seen at all.
Every pillar was carved from stone, yet each one carried a unique design, different symbols, ancient marks, and strange engravings that reflected the identity of the person buried within it.
Around the entire region, a massive barrier surrounded the Pillars of the Dead, preventing outsiders from entering without permission.
Outside that barrier stood Derek Shade and Kinston Markstone.
Both of them looked half-dead from exhaustion.
Dark circles surrounded their eyes, their faces were pale, and their bodies carried the marks of the brutal trials they had endured inside the Holo World.
Beside them stood the remaining members of their group.
Originally, seventeen people had entered the Holo World together, but after endless fighting and survival struggles, their numbers had already been reduced.
Not far away stood the Fragment Bloodline Team, and only nine members of that group had survived.
At the beginning, there had been four teams from the Eternal Bloodline and four teams from the Fragment Bloodline, making a total of eight teams, but the brutal trials of the Holo World had reshaped everything.
Most of the Eternal Bloodline teams still had more than eight members left.
One of them even had over fifteen survivors.
But the Fragment Bloodline teams had suffered heavy losses, with most groups having fewer than ten members remaining.
One group had only eight survivors.
In comparison, the Eternal Bloodline members were considered far stronger and more stable.
Now every team stood before the barrier, waiting.
Waiting for the moment they would be allowed to enter the Pillars of the Dead and create their Blood Souls.
Derek was speaking quietly with Kinston.
"I hope he died in this world," Derek muttered with a grim expression. "If he comes back alive, I'll have to fight him too, and I already have four brothers and two sisters waiting to kill me. That alone is enough trouble… but if that psycho is still alive, then I'll have seven enemies instead of six."
Kinston shook his head.
"You're worrying for nothing," he replied calmly. "He was abandoned at the entrance of the Holo World. He didn't join any team and went inside alone. No one survives here without allies."
"But…" Kinston hesitated slightly. "There was information that when he entered the Holo World, a three-hundred-foot bird was flying toward the entrance while we were running for safety."
Derek frowned.
"I think that bird killed him."
Kinston nodded slowly.
"He was standing near that thing when the bird arrived."
Derek exhaled.
"I hope you're right. After the games we played with him earlier, everyone realized he's a monster. It's better if he never returns."
"He's no good as an ally… and worse as an enemy."
Around them, the other teams were whispering among themselves.
The sky above was dark red.
The ground was cracked and dry.
There was no true light, yet it was not completely dark either.
Only an endless crimson sky stretched across the Holo World.
Suddenly...
A terrifying scream tore through the sky.
Everyone froze.
They couldn't see anything yet, but the sound alone was enough to send fear crawling through their bones.
It was the scream of a gigantic bird, and it echoed across the sky like death itself announcing its arrival.
Every head turned upward.
Everyone stared into the crimson sky, searching desperately for the source of the horrifying sound while every instinct in their bodies prayed that whatever was coming would not descend upon them.
But their prayers were not answered.
A massive red shape appeared in the distance.
At first it looked small.
Then it grew larger.
And larger.
And larger.
The enormous bird flew closer and closer until its gigantic wings blotted out the crimson sky itself.
It was Ruby.
And riding on Ruby's back…
was Dev.
From the ground, Dev was barely visible, appearing no larger than an ant compared to the monstrous size of the bird beneath him.
Ruby descended near the barrier and landed heavily, her talons striking the ground with a thunderous impact before she released another terrifying scream that shook the entire area.
The people standing near the barrier looked like ants standing before a mountain.
Everyone's heartbeats echoed in the silent field.
Fear filled the air.
Then Dev slowly climbed down from Ruby's back.
And the moment everyone recognized him
Shock spread across the crowd.
It was Dev.
Or rather…
Edward Shade.
Derek and Kinston stared with their mouths open in disbelief.
But they were not the only ones reacting.
The Eternal Bloodline teams and Fragment Bloodline teams all turned toward Derek with angry expressions.
Because it was Derek's suggestion that had marked Dev as a target earlier.
And now that target had returned.
Alive.
Derek clenched his teeth in frustration.
Dev Returns
Dev gestured casually toward Ruby.
Ruby understood immediately.
With a powerful flap of her wings, she created a small storm of dust and wind before rising back into the sky and disappearing into the crimson clouds.
Dev then began walking slowly toward the barrier.
His once white shirt had turned black with dirt and blood.
A scar stretched across his left eye caused by the endless army .
After washing his face earlier, the dust covering his features had faded, revealing a calmer expression.
His gilding shoes were still intact, though his trousers were torn from battle.
Two fragments rested inside his pockets one belonging to his grandfather and the other the fragment Derek had once given him.
His black hair moved gently with the wind as he walked.
Dev took out a watch from his pocket and glanced at it.
There were still twelve hours before the gate to the real world would open again.
Just as he approached the barrier
A group of people suddenly stepped forward and blocked his path.
At their front stood Nova from the Fragment Bloodline family, accompanied by eight remaining members of his team.
Nova stared at Dev with burning hatred.
"Edward," Nova said coldly. "You're not entering the barrier today. We'll kill you here."
He raised a shining Rank A Soul Core.
"We have the strongest soul cores now. You humiliated me by cutting off my hand, and because of you sixteen members of my group died, leaving me with these useless people who can't even kill properly."
Nova's eyes were filled with fury.
"But especially for you… I fought a Rank A beast just to obtain this soul core."and absorbed it
He stepped forward.
"Let's fight."
Dev looked at him calmly.
Then he spoke in a cold voice.
"Move out of my way."
"Or this time it won't be your hand."
"It will be your head."
As he spoke, Dev released a faint portion of his Blood and Death energy.
Instantly
Nova and the remaining eight members collapsed to their knees.
From the outside, nothing seemed to happen.
But inside their minds, they saw something horrifying.
An endless ocean of blood.
And within that ocean…
a gigantic screaming skull rising toward them.
The terrifying vision forced them to their knees.
No one else saw it.
Only those eight people experienced the nightmare.
The surrounding teams stared in confusion.
"They said they would kill him…"
"Then why are they on their knees?"
The hope in their eyes shattered instantly.
Dev walked forward calmly and stopped beside Nova.
He bent slightly and whispered near Nova's ear.
"If you approach me one more time…"
"I will really cut your head off."
Dev straightened and continued walking toward the barrier.
Derek Again
As Dev walked toward Derek, a strange fear began creeping into Derek's mind.
Dev finally stopped before him.
"Thank you for the short sword fragment," Dev said calmly.
He removed the imprint from the fragment and returned it to Derek before walking away and standing quietly near the barrier.
The time has come to open the barrier ...