Arya's body began to burn.

The moment the Flames of Chaos enveloped her again, she shrieked—high, raw, and full of terror. The air trembled with the violent crackle of black and crimson fire. Every spark hissed with hunger, every ember screamed with life.

The infernal blaze devoured everything—melting flesh, searing bone, consuming even the scent of mercy.

"Ahhhhhh! Stop! Please!" Arya's voice tore through the sky, breaking apart with each cry. Her hands clawed at her own skin as if she could tear away the pain. The flames responded like living beasts, feeding on her agony, their color deepening until even the shadows recoiled.

Alex watched.

His eyes—cold, empty, and void of compassion—reflected the writhing figure before him. Not rage. Not pleasure. Just hollow stillness. His hair swayed faintly in the updraft of heat as he stood in silence, unmoving amidst the screaming inferno.

Then, as suddenly as it began, the flames vanished.

Arya collapsed, twitching violently on the charred earth. Steam rose from her flesh as muscle and sinew knit together. Her body, half-melted and broken moments ago, began to regenerate. Flesh reformed. Bone restructured. Her skin, once blackened, shimmered back to life as if nothing had ever happened.

She gasped for air, her voice trembling. "Wh… why? Why stop now?"

Alex's reply was quiet—gentle even. "We're not done."

He raised his hand slightly, and reality itself seemed to twist. The Flames of Chaos bloomed again, black and red with a pulse like a living heart. They coiled around her form before exploding outward, engulfing her in another wave of agony.

Arya's scream echoed through the wasteland. Her flesh melted, her nerves blistered, and her soul trembled under the weight of pain no mortal could endure. Then—she healed again. And again, the fire consumed her.

It became a cycle of endless torment.

Burn. Heal. Burn again.

Each cycle slower, crueler, deliberate. The flames obeyed his will, dancing with precision—melting exactly what he wanted, sparing only enough for her to keep breathing. Every second stretched into eternity.

Arya's voice broke completely, reduced to raw, desperate sobs. "P… please. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to—I was following orders! Please… I can't—"

But Alex didn't stop. He stepped closer, the crimson light painting his pale face in a demonic hue. His eyes glowed faintly, devoid of warmth.

"Then scream for your master," he whispered. "Maybe he'll hear you."

Her scream faltered, breaking into pitiful gasps before silence swallowed the sound. Only the soft hiss of fire remained.

The earth beneath them glowed with molten heat, reduced to liquid ash. Even the wind dared not blow.

Not far away, Silas and Azrael stood frozen, their weapons lowered. Their battle had long since stopped. They simply stared, unable to comprehend what they were witnessing.

The air felt heavy—thick, suffocating—with something far beyond ordinary power.

Silas swallowed hard, sweat pouring down his face. "What… what is he?"

Azrael didn't answer. His sharp gaze remained fixed on Alex, but even he took an involuntary step back. "Something that shouldn't exist," he muttered.

Elsewhere, Evelyn froze mid-swing. Her golden light shimmered faintly as she turned toward the distance. She felt it—the chaos, the despair, the unholy balance of flame and void.

Her lips parted in disbelief. "Alex…"

Then she felt another disturbance.

The storm surrounding Kyle began to change. The dark fog wrapping his body started to twist, spinning into a massive vortex of black energy. Every fragment of darkness converged into him, devouring light, air, and even mana itself.

Evelyn raised her blades, divine power bursting around her—but it was useless. Her light could no longer pierce the fog. Every radiant strike, every sacred explosion, vanished on contact. The darkness swallowed all.

When the fog finally began to fade, the sight within made even the heavens tremble.

Behind a cracked mask, Kyle Celestian's mouth stretched into a crooked smile. His aura pulsed so violently that Evelyn's divine radiance flickered weakly against it. It was as if the abyss itself had found a vessel.

"Finally," he breathed, voice trembling—not in fear, but euphoria. "It's done. I've completed it."

He looked down at his trembling hands, veins pulsing with abyssal light. "This power… this strength…" His smile widened. "Unbelievable."

The void around him distorted, and even the air seemed to beg for release.

Evelyn's grip tightened on her blades. "Damn it…"

{ Evelyn, listen, } Aurora's voice echoed in her mind, clear and urgent. { We can't beat him like this. You have to let me manifest. }

'I know,' Evelyn thought, her heart pounding. 'But if I do, his goddess will manifest too. The clash would rip this world apart! Millions would die.'

{ Then what choice do we have? } Aurora's tone was laced with frustration.

Evelyn's eyes hardened. 'We protect as many as we can. And then… we kill this bastard.'

Meanwhile, Kyle stood in silence, admiring the swirling mist behind him. The abyss whispered, its voice intoxicating.

Then—he heard it.

A scream.

Arya's scream.

He turned sharply, eyes locking on the distant blaze—on Alex, standing amidst the fire, his hand raised, while Arya's body writhed helplessly beneath him.

Something in Kyle broke.

His expression twisted into fury. The calm arrogance vanished, replaced by primal rage. The air warped as his power surged.

"Enough!" he roared, his voice cracking the ground.

The battlefield shook as his command thundered across the plains. "Devour!"

From beneath Evelyn's feet, black chains erupted like serpents, wrapping around her arms and legs. They tightened instantly, draining the golden light from her body.

Evelyn gasped, the divine glow around her flickering violently. "What—"

Alex's flames wavered briefly as Evelyn's scream echoed. Kyle's crimson eyes gleamed with cold wrath.

Evelyn gritted her teeth. Golden cracks spread along the dark bindings. "You think this will hold me?" she hissed, divine light flaring again.

"System," Kyle said coldly. "Enhance Devour Chains."

[ 60,000 Abyssal Points Consumed. ]

The chains doubled in thickness, their pull intensifying. Evelyn's divine energy was siphoned away faster, her knees buckling under the strain. She screamed but refused to yield.

Kyle no longer cared. His fury was fixed entirely on Arya's suffering. When her pitiful sob reached him again, something within him snapped completely.

His aura detonated.

The entire battlefield trembled as darkness exploded outward, obliterating everything nearby.

"I'll kill him," Kyle growled. His eyes glowed blood-red. "I'll tear him apart."

And in the next instant, he vanished.

---

Arya's sobs weakened, fading into shallow gasps. The flames dimmed, casting a faint red glow over the ruined earth. Alex stood over her, unmoving, eyes empty but burning with quiet fury.

Then—a voice broke through the silence.

"Looks like you're having fun…"

The tone dripped with mockery and arrogance.

Alex's eyes twitched. He turned sharply—

Schtk!

The sound of tearing flesh echoed through the air. Blood splattered across the ground in thick crimson streaks.

Alex looked down slowly.

A hand—black-skinned and wrapped in shadows—was buried in his chest, clutching his heart.

He followed the arm upward. Kyle Celestian stood there, half-smiling, half-scowling, eyes glowing with abyssal madness.

For a long moment, no one spoke. The only sound was the faint squelch of blood dripping from Kyle's wrist.

Then Alex coughed—a spray of blood staining his lips. Yet even as his body trembled, he managed a faint, cold grin. "You… just made an enemy you'll spend your entire life wishing you hadn't."

Kyle chuckled softly, his voice like poison. "You're already dead."

He clenched his fist.

A wet, sickening crunch filled the air. Alex's heart burst like glass beneath Kyle's grip. A shockwave of pressure rippled outward, kicking up dust and flame.

Alex's body hit the ground, motionless.

Kyle looked down at the corpse for a moment before sighing, shaking his hand. "Tch. My hands got dirty."

He turned away, muttering, "Guess he really was just another small fry."

Alex lay still, blood pooling beneath him. His lifeless eyes stared toward the sky, unfocused.

Then—his lips moved.

"Do it," he whispered.

A faint hum filled the air as a blue system window appeared.

[ SKILL UNLOCKED: ORIGIN COLLAPSE ]

[ Rank: Unknown ]

[ Description:

The user collapses their Origin, dissolving body, soul, and essence into pure energy.

Within this paradox state, existence is transcended—becoming a singularity of infinite creation and destruction.

"To surpass all limits, even I must cease to exist."

Effects:

- Collapse of Self → Erases form, surpasses dimensional boundaries.

- Temporal Rejection → Moves outside time flow; rewrites moments.

- Infinite Reconstruction → Rebuilds body and soul with enhanced parameters.

Drawbacks:

1. Extreme strain on soul integrity:

Using this skill places an immense burden on your soul, causing unbearable pain and severe exhaustion.

2. Overuse risks identity collapse or existential dissociation:

Repeated use can damage his mind, making you lose his sense of self or memories, and endangering the very value of his existence.

3. Consecutive usage may trigger:

If used too often in a short period, your body and soul may overload and begin breaking apart from within—slowly withering away and merging back into nature.

]

---

Alex's body pulsed once—then twice.

Light erupted from his chest wound, sealing it instantly. Bones reformed. Flesh regenerated. His eyes that had became lifeless reignited.

His pulse returned.

Lightning cracked across the ground as he rose, calm and composed. The aura that surrounded him was no longer human—it was infinite, terrifying.

A short distance away, Kyle was walking toward Evelyn again, muttering, "Let's finish this."

Darkness wrapped around Arya's body, healing her—but her eyes were blank, her mind gone.

Kyle frowned. "That silver-haired bastard really did a number on her."

He turned back toward Evelyn—

"Hey."

The quiet word froze him.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Kyle's spine tingled. The air thickened, trembling under invisible weight. Slowly, he turned his head.

Alex stood behind him, whole again—silver hair flickering with red, his eyes glowing faintly blue.

The ground cracked beneath his feet with every step forward.

Kyle blinked, disbelief flashing across his face. Then a grin spread slowly across his lips. "Wow… you really are something else."

He straightened, aura surging once more. "Come then. Let's make this interesting. Our battle will be Legen—"

THWACK!

The sound echoed like thunder.

Kyle's head snapped violently to the side as Alex's palm connected with his cheek at incomprehensible speed. He was flung backward, skidding across the ground, carving a deep trench through molten earth.

For several seconds, Kyle just stared blankly, processing what had happened. Then the pain hit. His jaw throbbed, and his eyes narrowed in fury.

"You…" he growled, wiping blood from his lip.

Alex stood silently, eyes cold, expression unreadable. The air rippled around him with quiet menace.

Lightning flickered behind him as he took a single step forward.

And in that instant, every being on that battlefield felt it—the prelude to the apocalypse.

The silence that followed wasn't peace.

It was as if the calm before the end of the world...

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