Specks of light scattered through the air before gradually fading. Zane stood silently, watching the scene unfold, his gaze unreadable.
"So this is divinity?"
The sky was dyed crimson, flowing like molten lava. Everything was eerily quiet in the afternoon—except for Azazel on the ground, still trying to attack Zane.
"Quiet."
With a tap of his finger, spatial vortexes rippled into existence. From within them, pitch-black chains of Ether crystal burst forth, swiftly weaving through the air.
The moment the thick chains touched Azazel, they exploded. Sharp Ether crystals linked them together, and in an instant, Azazel's body was completely pierced and covered with shards of all sizes—like a massive porcupine from afar.
Zane flipped his palm, then gently flicked a finger upward. The dried-up sea of blood surged once more, twisting into a spiral before solidifying, trapping Azazel in a blood-colored crystal.
"Divinity... confrontation... Honestly, it doesn't feel as extreme as Shin said. Everything feels... natural."
His thoughts were clear. His memories, intact. He remembered everything.
There was no abrupt shift in how he felt—though compared to before, something had changed.
For instance, when he thought of Qingyi and the others now, they didn't seem so important anymore—just as Shin said. After all, people were just lives like any other in this world.
Even grass and trees were lives.
But he still remembered why he'd chosen to shoulder the responsibility not long ago. It was because of them. He could still recall exactly how he'd felt back then.
And yet, even now, those things just didn't seem to matter anymore.
It was like the things you loved as a child, or how you thought back then. When you grow up, most of that changes. You go from a naive kid to a dull adult. It just happens.
Zane was fully aware—nothing could easily sway his emotions now. The things he once cared about no longer held weight.
His mindset had shifted drastically in such a short time.
It felt... strange.
But strange didn't mean wrong.
Maybe this was how it was meant to be.
Put simply, he'd "grown up." Or maybe just become more rational.
He shook his head, brushing the thought aside. Even if his mind felt clearer than ever, something still felt... off.
Like going to sleep an eight-year-old and waking up at eighty.
His gaze returned to Azazel. Though completely encased in Ether crystal, Zane looked through it as if it were transparent.
"If I'm settling the score like I said before, then maybe I should say it now..."
"On behalf of the stars... I destroy you."
"Heh."
Zane let out a quiet laugh—but it sounded like nothing more than a sound. There wasn't a hint of emotion in it.
He clasped his hands. A strange collision rang out.
In the next moment, the Ether crystal surrounding Azazel rapidly contracted, as if trying to crush whatever was inside. The chains lit up in a spectrum of colors.
As the crystal compressed, the glow of the chains intensified, and torrents of Ether and other forms of energy poured into it.
But to Zane's surprise, the explosion he expected never came. The crystal began to crack and peel away under the pressure, until Azazel was exposed.
Its back was hunched, arms positioned above and below a vibrant, swirling mass of energy it tried to suppress. As its arms shook, streams of light spilled from the containment.
"Trying to outmatch me in Ether control..."
Zane spoke calmly, making no move—just floating quietly in the sky.
As soon as he finished, the energy Azazel had barely managed to suppress suddenly erupted!
A blinding pillar of light shot upward, crashing into the crimson sky. Ether energies from both sides tangled in chaos above, painting a chaotic tapestry in the heavens.
As the light gradually faded, Azazel's figure emerged, kneeling on one knee. His body was ravaged, clearly suffering heavy damage.
High above, two massive black suns still pulsed with energy. Azazel struggled to his feet, channeling Ether to heal himself while looking up at Zane.
Just when Zane thought another attack was coming, Azazel suddenly darted away—toward the rift behind him.
"Running? And where do you think you're going..."
Zane shook his head slightly and raised a hand. A silver-white spear of compressed Ether began forming in the air.
He looked into the distance. A sizable spatial fissure had torn open, like a rip in fabric.
The space on the other side didn't seem to be the Dead End Hollow. Zane could see streams of light rushing through it—like the Ether concentrations were vastly different across the divide.
"Anomaly left you an escape route ahead of time... and even prepared this? I'll admit, your rationality isn't lacking."
"So where's the other side... the Lemnia Hollows? Haver Hollows? Persenas Hollows? Solov Hollows? Papago Hollows?"
"Or maybe... Zero Hollow?"
He shook his head again. It didn't really matter.
Wherever it led, it was irrelevant. What Zane saw—was his domain.
Gripping the spear, Zane casually threw it.
As it flew, the Ether energy attached to it detonated!
A sharp boom echoed through the sky, leaving only a faint streak behind.
Far ahead, Azazel had already covered some distance and was nearing the fissure—when his body suddenly sank, his movements slowing dramatically.
Within a radius of several hundred meters centered on him, gravity had surged a hundredfold.
Coupled with the spatial drag, it was nearly impossible to move.
Under such conditions, the silver-white spear couldn't possibly miss. It struck Azazel dead on, piercing straight through.
The Ether energy embedded in it surged violently, tearing apart Azazel's insides—until it finally reached its target.
The "core," hidden beneath Azazel's feet.