Darkness swallowed everything.
The brilliant lights of the ballroom vanished without a trace.
The music.
The voices.
The warmth.
Everything disappeared.
Jade felt as though his body had been thrown into an endless abyss. His senses spun wildly until, with a violent jolt, his feet touched solid ground.
"...Where am I?"
His voice echoed into the darkness.
There was no answer.
The world around him was empty.
Above him stretched an endless black sky without stars.
Below him lay a cracked expanse of dark earth that seemed to stretch forever.
There were no walls.
No horizon.
Only silence.
Jade slowly straightened his body.
His instincts screamed at him.
This place...
Something about it felt familiar.
Then another figure emerged from the darkness.
Mason.
He stood several dozen meters away, his hands resting calmly behind his back.
Unlike Jade, he looked perfectly relaxed.
A smile slowly crept onto his face.
"Welcome."
Jade narrowed his eyes.
"What is this place?"
Mason ignored the question.
Instead, he slowly raised one hand.
Immediately—
Jade's body stiffened.
A crushing pressure descended upon him without warning.
It did not attack his flesh.
It did not attack his bones.
It attacked something far deeper.
His soul.
Jade's pupils contracted.
"W-What..."
The pressure intensified.
It felt as though invisible hands had reached into his chest and wrapped themselves around his very existence.
His breathing became ragged.
His knees trembled.
Every heartbeat sent unbearable pain through his body.
He clutched his chest desperately.
His vision blurred.
"Cough!"
A mouthful of blood splashed across the dark ground.
His entire body shook violently.
It was not physical pain.
It was worse.
Much worse.
It felt as though someone was slowly tearing his soul apart.
Mason watched calmly.
"I wondered how long you would endure."
Jade forced himself to remain standing.
"...You're attacking my soul..."
"Very perceptive."
Another wave struck.
The world around Jade distorted.
The darkness began to ripple.
The ground trembled beneath his feet.
Then—
Everything changed.
The endless darkness transformed.
A crimson ocean appeared beneath the sky.
Dark red clouds slowly rolled across the heavens.
An endless shoreline stretched toward the horizon.
Thousands...
No...
Tens of thousands of crimson figures stood motionless in the distance like an army waiting for its king's command.
Jade froze.
"...My Soul Sea."
Only now did he understand.
Mason hadn't merely brought him somewhere.
He had invaded the most sacred place within his existence.
His Soul Sea.
Mason looked around with genuine curiosity.
"So this is the soul of the Blood God's heir."
His eyes slowly swept across the crimson ocean.
"What an interesting place."
Jade's expression darkened.
"You..."
"...shouldn't be here."
Mason laughed.
"And yet..."
"I am."
Before Jade could react—
Mason disappeared.
Boom!
The ground exploded beneath Jade.
He barely crossed his arms before a powerful kick crashed into him.
He was sent flying across the crimson shore.
The impact carved a deep trench through the sand.
Jade rolled several times before forcing himself back onto one knee.
Blood dripped from the corner of his lips.
He raised his head.
Mason was already charging again.
His speed was terrifying.
Jade's eyes flashed.
"Obsidian Vine Shadow."
Dark vines erupted from his own shadow.
They wrapped around his body like living armor.
Black plates formed across his chest, shoulders, and arms.
His crimson eyes shone beneath the helmet as dozens of remaining vines burst outward like gigantic serpents.
They shot toward Mason from every direction.
Jade had learned this technique within the Ancient Ruins.
It lacked elegance.
It lacked precision.
But its overwhelming ferocity more than compensated.
The vines twisted chaotically through the air.
Each one carried enough force to shatter stone.
Mason drew his sword.
Silver light flashed.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
One after another, the vines were severed.
Pieces crashed onto the crimson shore before dissolving into essence.
"You'll need better than this."
Mason smiled.
Then—
One vine suddenly changed direction.
It slipped through the gaps of his swordsmanship.
Mason's eyes widened.
Too late.
Boom!
The massive vine struck his side with tremendous force.
Blood burst into the air.
His body shot backward before crashing violently across the crimson beach.
Jade seized the opportunity.
The surviving vines wrapped around Mason's body.
With a roar—
Jade swung both arms.
The vines acted like gigantic whips.
Mason was hurled across the Soul Sea before smashing into the distant shoreline.
Silence followed.
Jade's breathing became heavier.
"...Did I..."
Suddenly—
"Cough!"
Another mouthful of blood escaped his lips.
His body shook violently.
The soul attack had never stopped.
Even while fighting, invisible pressure continued crushing him from within.
His vision blurred again.
His knees buckled.
He collapsed onto one hand.
"...Damn..."
A familiar voice suddenly called his name.
"Jade!"
He slowly turned.
Aviana had appeared.
The beautiful bird looked around in confusion before noticing Jade's condition.
Her expression changed instantly.
"What happened?"
Jade could barely lift his arm.
With trembling fingers...
He pointed toward the distant shoreline.
Mason.
Without another word—
Aviana vanished.
Boom!
The air exploded.
She crossed hundreds of meters almost instantly.
Mason had barely regained his footing before Aviana reached him.
He instinctively attempted to dodge.
He failed.
Her body slammed into him like a falling mountain.
The impact shattered the crimson ground beneath his feet.
Mason crashed into the earth.
Before he could recover—
He roared,
"Dragon Ploy!"
Essence erupted around him.
A gigantic flaming dragon materialized above the battlefield.
Its enormous wings spread across the crimson sky.
Its roar shook the entire Soul Sea.
The dragon immediately charged.
Its blazing jaws opened wide.
A river of scorching flames erupted toward Aviana.
The surrounding air distorted beneath the incredible heat.
Instead of confronting it head-on—
Aviana turned into a tiny bird.
She became no larger than a sparrow.
The torrent of flames missed her completely.
She slipped effortlessly between the dragon's burning teeth.
Straight into its mouth.
Mason smiled.
"You trapped yourself."
Inside the dragon—
Aviana's crimson eyes opened.
"...Really?"
Her body instantly expanded.
Larger.
Larger.
Larger.
The dragon's body bulged unnaturally.
Cracks spread across its flaming scales.
The dragon let out one final agonized roar.
BOOM!
Its entire body exploded into countless fragments of essence.
The shockwave swept across the Soul Sea.
A cold whisper echoed beside Mason.
"Your Echo..."
"...Dragon Ploy..."
"...has been destroyed."
Mason stood frozen.
His face turned pale.
Destroyed?
His Echo...
Destroyed?
He stared at Aviana in complete disbelief.
"...That's not an Echo..."
"What... are you?"
Before anyone could move—
The entire Soul Sea trembled.
The crimson ocean began to roar.
The silent army standing along the horizon...
Moved.
Thousands of crimson figures slowly lifted their heads.
One by one.
Their empty eyes turned toward the intruder.
Toward Mason.
The Blood Army had awakened.