1. The Gathering of Judgment
The seven elite cultivators finally stood in a ruined clearing where the fabric of the Realm of Life was beginning to melt—as if it could no longer hold together the weight of so many legends in one place.
The twins, Haneul and Haeun, stood near the center.
Wounded, but upright. Silent. Watching.
Across from them, Baek Dohyun—the White Blade—stood with his hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword.
"We kill them now," he said coldly. "Before the Protocol is awakened."
Yoo A-Reum laughed, hands behind her head.
"You're too dramatic. They haven't even said anything forbidden yet."
"It's not about what they said," Eun Seo-Ra replied. Her coffin pulsed with soft red light. "It's about what they're becoming."
Shi Min-Jae sighed, stretching.
"Y'all ever try talking before killing? I mean, damn."
Park Yul folded his arms.
"The Realm welcomed them. It froze when they entered. That's not something to ignore."
Jin Haru sat in the lotus position, head bowed, eyes closed.
"They carry memory deeper than most gods," he said softly. "But killing them may break more than it saves."
Baek narrowed his eyes at Haneul.
"You would really risk the return of the Nameless One?"
Haeun raised a brow.
"Y'all argue like a drama cast. We're still right here, by the way."
2. The Sky Tears Open
Without warning—
CRACK.
The sky above them shattered like porcelain.
Not metaphorically. Literally.
A vertical wound ripped open above the Realm of Life, spilling black flame and screaming wind.
Something ancient stepped through.
Something the world had forgotten on purpose.
The ground quaked.Birds—spirit-beasts forged from immortal Qi—dropped dead in mid-flight.The trees cried blood.The rivers turned upward, flowing into the air like they were trying to escape.
From the rift, a man-shaped void walked.
He wore no armor.
He carried no weapon.
But his shadow… whispered the names of extinct gods.
"The Demon God," Jin Haru whispered."They summoned him."
"Impossible," muttered Park Yul. "He's older than war itself."
3. The First Casualty
The Demon God didn't slow.
He didn't introduce himself.
He didn't even look at the twins.
He looked through them.
At the world.
And his voice was calm.
"Where is the Nameless One?"
Silence.
Baek Dohyun stepped forward, sword halfway drawn.
"I will not allow you to—"
FOOM.
A single step from the Demon God erased him from existence.
No scream.
No explosion.
He simply wasn't there anymore.
The space where he stood had been overwritten.
Everyone else froze.
Even the twins.
4. Carnage Begins
The Demon God kept walking.
Shi Min-Jae lunged. Laughed. Vanished mid-air before his fist landed.
Eun Seo-Ra opened her coffin—chanting ancient rites.
A crimson beam shot forward, dragging divine essence with it.
The Demon God turned his palm and crushed it mid-flight.
Her coffin cracked in half.
Her arm turned to mist.
"He… he sees us like insects," she whispered.
Park Yul punched the air, freezing the region—
The air shattered.His entire Frost Core was consumed by entropy in a blink.
He collapsed, choking.
Yoo A-Reum tried to flee.Her legs dissolved.
Jin Haru stood still, praying.
The Demon God looked directly at him—
Then spared him.
"You pray with no faith. That's rare," he said, and walked past.
5. The Eye Decides
And then—
The golden Eye blinked.
And a voice not of sound—but of fate itself—spoke.
"YOU HAVE BROKEN THE BALANCE."
"YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE."
The Eye turned to the remaining six elite cultivators—and their knees hit the ground instantly.
All six.
Even Jin Haru.
Crushed under the weight of divinity.
Their bones creaked. Cores cracked. Mouths bled.
Even the Demon God stopped walking.
Not in fear.
In curiosity.
"So… you've begun to wake," he said, grinning.
The Eye turned now—to him.
"YOU WERE ERASED FOR A REASON."
"YOU WILL NOT FORCE THE NAMED ONE TO RETURN."
The Demon God lifted his arms, laughing.
"I'm not forcing anything. He'll come. The moment they awaken the Protocol..."
His grin widened toward the twins.
"...he'll have no choice but to rise."
6. The Twins Hold the Line
Haneul stood firm.Haeun flinched, but stepped beside him.
They didn't speak the Eidolon Protocol.Not yet.
But the mark on Haeun's back began glowing.And the silver threads on Haneul's robes began lifting into the air like they were remembering something.
The Realm shivered.
The Demon God paused.
And then—finally—
Jin Haru, still on his knees, whispered:
"If they say it…"
"It won't be the world that changes."
"It will be everything beyond it."