The road to Etherfall was not a road at all.
They had told Rei the path ran through Grimwake Valley, a scar in the mountains where the world itself seemed unwilling to exist. Only by crossing it could one reach Etherfall, the place where Enso and origin touched.
So he walked.
The mountains rose like broken teeth, jagged against a gray, merciless sky. Grimwake Pass was nothing but stone and silence, a scar in the earth where even the wind refused to linger.
Rei's boots crunched over the cracked ground. Every step dragged heavier than the last. His Enso pulsed faintly inside his chest, as if resisting the very air. The Black Stone in his pack throbbed once, subtle but undeniable.
Something was wrong here.
The air thinned. The horizon blurred. The world itself seemed to hold its breath.
And then he saw it.
At the far end of the pass stood a figure. Draped in black. Still. Eyes burning a deep, unnatural red.
It wasn't human. Rei knew that instantly. But it wasn't a High Elder either.
Its energy was… off.
Off, like it didn't belong in this world at all.
Rei's jaw locked. His hand slid to the Blade of Resolve. His instincts screamed at him to run, but running felt pointless.
The figure did not move. But it spoke.
"You step into my domain… yet you do not bow."
The voice was quiet, calm, but it carried such weight that Rei's ribs ached as if they were caving in.
He swallowed, his voice raw. "Who… are you?"
The figure tilted its head.
"I am Raga. Death itself."
Rei's pulse stuttered. His breath caught.
The Demon of Death. Standing before him.
There was no fight. Not at first.
Rei's grip tightened on his blade. His voice shook, but he forced it out. "I need to pass through."
Raga's red eyes flickered. "Pass?"
The cloth around him stirred faintly, though no wind blew. And the weight of his presence grew. Rei's knees buckled, but he refused to kneel.
"You are Enso-born," Raga said. "But Enso does not belong here. It is divine. And divine and demonic do not mix."
The words carved themselves into Rei's bones. Still, he gritted his teeth.
"I don't care. Let me through."
Silence.
Then Raga moved.
Not lunged. Not struck. Just one step.
And Rei collapsed.
Agony erupted through him. Bones cracked, muscles twisted, lungs refused to work. Just from being near him. This wasn't an attack. This was existence beside Raga.
Rei screamed, forcing Enso to flare. The Blade of Resolve shone, a desperate strike unleashed with everything he had.
The arc slammed into Raga.
And vanished.
No recoil. No resistance. Nothing.
Raga let him swing, watching with cold amusement.
"You do not understand, do you?"
The words were knives.
"Enso has no effect on me. Divine and demonic do not touch. One does not cancel the other. One does not affect the other. To me, your power is air."
Rei's breath froze. His Enso burned uselessly through his veins, clawing at an enemy that couldn't even be reached.
Raga didn't dodge. Didn't block.
He simply didn't care.
Then he moved again.
A flick of his hand.
Rei's ribcage shattered.
His body flung across the rocks, bones splintering with the impact. Agony drowned him.
Still, he moved. One step. Then another. Then another.
Blood filled his throat. His vision blurred. His body begged him to stop.
But he didn't.
Raga's eyes narrowed.
"You refuse to fall."
Rei's chest heaved, broken and trembling. His lips couldn't form words, but his eyes stayed locked on Raga's.
And for the first time, he wasn't afraid of dying.
Yes, terror clawed at him. Yes, pain consumed him. But he didn't care.
If this was death, then so be it.
He would keep walking.
Even if it was meaningless. Even if it was impossible.
For the first time in centuries, Raga hesitated.
The demon tilted his head, unreadable. His voice softened to a murmur.
"I am death. I do not feel. I do not breathe. I simply am."
The air bent colder around his words.
"And yet… I have always craved life. To burn. To tremble. To fear."
He stepped forward, his presence crushing Rei's broken frame.
"You do not fear me. But you should."
Rei collapsed, body failing him completely. But his eyes never looked away.
Not in defiance. Not in triumph. In something worse.
Understanding.
Raga exhaled, almost pleased.
"And now… I crave you."
His hand pressed against Rei's head.
A pulse.
Something demonic surged into Rei's body, threading itself deep into his divine core.
Rei didn't notice. Not yet.
Raga's voice echoed, fading into silence.
"Perhaps… I will let you live."
And then he was gone.
The pass fell silent.
When Rei woke, rain pattered faintly. His body was whole. Bones unbroken. Skin unscarred.
The ground bore the scars of ruin. But he did not.
He pressed shaking hands to his chest, his arms, his legs. Perfectly intact.
But he remembered everything.
Raga's voice. His power. The truth of Enso's futility.
The Demon of Death was gone.
But something else remained.
Buried deep inside Rei, unseen. Unnamed. Waiting.