"It was nice meeting you, Second Supreme. This was fun while it lasted," Anthony spoke with a calm, almost serene smile.

Without even waiting for a reply from the Second Supreme Monarch, he activated Soul Transfer, the ability he had gained after devouring the descendant's resident planet of the very same monarch.

A pulse of dark, shadowy light flickered across Anthony's palm, swelling like a living flame before engulfing the Second Supreme Monarch completely. The void around them quivered, distorted by the unnatural force. Within moments, an ethereal form began to emerge, a spectral manifestation of the Second Supreme Monarch's very soul.

It was translucent, shimmering faintly, taking the shape of his demonic body yet devoid of substance. As Anthony drew out the monarch's soul, the once-mighty body went limp, hanging lifelessly in the air like a discarded shell.

Anthony slowly withdrew his hand from the monarch's neck, his expression calm and detached. The body floated weightlessly in space, unmoving, suspended in what seemed like stasis, silent and utterly lifeless.

'Is this my soul?' the Second Supreme Monarch wondered, gazing down at his own ghostly form. The sight was disorienting, almost terrifying. He could see his ethereal limbs, transparent yet solid, and could feel an emptiness where warmth and vitality should have been.

'He can even manipulate souls?' the monarch thought bitterly, a deep frown forming on his spectral face. The realization chilled him more than the void surrounding them.

His eyes shifted toward Anthony, who was simply standing there, watching him with an unnervingly calm smile. Then his gaze fell back to his own unconscious body, his vessel, floating idly nearby.

'Did he kill me? Was that it? What was the point of everything he had done from the beginning?' he thought in despair, the weight of futility crushing him.

Anthony didn't answer. He merely lifted his hand, extending his index finger toward the ethereal monarch. A sharp flash of light danced at the fingertip, sword intent condensed into its purest form. Before the spectral monarch could even blink, Anthony moved.

A single, blinding stroke split the void. The motion was too precise, too fluid, too absolute. In an instant, the soul of the Second Supreme Monarch was cleaved cleanly in two.

The Second Supreme Monarch's mouth opened in a silent scream, but before the sound could escape, Anthony's voice echoed, low and commanding, across the frozen space.

Absolute Stasis.

In an instant, reality itself bowed. The cosmic air froze mid-flow, photons halted their eternal journey, and planetary motion ceased as if time itself had been arrested by divine decree. Mana stilled. All existence within the void fell silent beneath Anthony's dominion.

Without hesitation, Anthony activated another ability.

Soul Imprisonment.

The very concept of torment seemed to awaken. A black vortex materialized before him, silent, formless, and horrifyingly still. It did not twist space, nor did it disturb the void; it simply was, standing outside the bounds of reality itself. The mere sight of it defied understanding.

The vortex began to draw the first half of the Second Supreme Monarch's soul toward it, consuming it without resistance. As the fragment vanished, Anthony's expression did not shift, he sealed the imprisoned half within his own soul, a cage forged of his will, where eternal suffering awaited.

But Anthony wasn't finished. Turning toward the second half of the monarch's trembling soul, a faint smirk curved his lips, a flash of cunning glinting in his sky-blue eyes. With a simple snap of his fingers, ominous sigils of black and brown light flared to life in the air around them. They swirled, whispering ancient maledictions before latching onto the soul fragment like living brands. These were curses, malicious bindings designed to scar existence itself.

With another flick of his hand, Anthony activated another once more:

Soul Transfer.

The second half of the monarch's soul vanished in a blur, instantly re-entering its rightful vessel. Anthony stood over the motionless body, his gaze meticulous, ensuring the spiritual and physical alignment was perfect. Every detail mattered. A single misstep could fracture a soul beyond repair, but Anthony was flawless.

With a snap of his fingers, the Absolute Stasis lifted. The frozen galaxy exhaled. Motion resumed, light flowed, stars flickered, and distant planets spun once again in their eternal dance.

The monarch's black eyelashes fluttered open, confusion filling his gaze as the stars came into view. He blinked rapidly, disbelief clouding his face. "I'm… alive?" he murmured weakly, his voice a whisper drowned by the vastness of space.

"Death isn't a grace I will be granting you," Anthony's calm voice drifted from the side.

The Second Supreme Monarch's head turned sharply. Anthony stood there, expression serene, yet his words carried a weight that could crush mountains. Slowly, Anthony's lips parted once more.

[Soul Art: Perfect Soul Link]

The instant the Arcane Art activated, a chain of invisible radiant-black energy manifested between Anthony's body and the Second Supreme Monarch's body. Within that connection, the imprisoned half of the monarch's soul, still writhing in endless agony within Anthony, was forcibly linked to the half residing in the Second Supreme Monarch's body.

The result was immediate.

A horrific scream tore from the monarch's throat, a sound that reverberated across the void. It was not merely pain, it was despair given voice. His entire body convulsed violently as his flesh seemed to burn from the inside out. Black blood poured from his eyes, his ears, his mouth, from every pore and orifice, splattering into the weightless air as the pain tore through him.

The agony was beyond comprehension. Even the torturous pressure of Anthony's sword intent earlier had been nothing compared to this. That had been physical. This, this was a desecration of the soul itself.

Every defense, every tolerance, every ounce of willpower was useless here. The pain was carved into the very essence of his being, inescapable, eternal.

With a silent thought, Anthony severed the link temporarily, cutting off the flow of torment. The monarch slumped forward, body twitching, gasping for breath he didn't need. Slowly, painfully, his awareness returned.

"You will feel this pain again," Anthony's voice echoed in his mind, calm yet terrifyingly absolute. "You won't know when. It will come randomly, as I see fit."

The monarch's trembling eyes met Anthony's sky-blue gaze, and what reflected there was not anger, but sheer, soul-deep horror.

'System,' Anthony thought, his tone silent yet commanding, 'I'll be needing a favor from you.'

[Ding]

[What is it, Host?]

'I need you to open a portal to the Abyss,' Anthony replied mentally.

[Affirmative, Host.]

The void trembled. A rift of blackness split the fabric of reality, swirling with tendrils of chaotic energy. From its depths emanated an unholy pressure, the kind that devoured light and sanity alike.

"This will be your new home, Second Supreme Monarch," Anthony said softly, almost kindly. "Be sure to greet your new brethren on my behalf."

Before the monarch could even utter a word, Anthony waved his hand. A gust of cosmic force surged forward, hurling the Second Supreme Monarch's broken body into the rift. His scream echoed one last time, "NO!", before the rift snapped shut, sealing his fate forever.

Silence descended upon the galaxy once more. The void, vast and unending, returned to stillness.

With a faint thought, Anthony dispelled the space dome surrounding the battlefield. The stars regained their quiet glow, and the shattered remnants of battle drifted away into nothingness. Slowly, Anthony turned his head to the side.

His sky-blue pupils met the distant gazes of the remaining Supreme Monarchs, unblinking, unreadable, and utterly dominant.

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