in Trevor's room, He stood with his head slightly bowed, a communication stone hovering just above his palm, trembling with the weight of the voice pushing through it.
"Have you finished?"
The voice was cold and sharp, like steel drawn across ice.
Trevor closed his eyes. "No… there is still one mutant remaining."
A low breath echoed from the other side — barely a sigh, yet filled with pressure that squeezed Trevor's ribs.
"Stop playing and finish. I don't want to waste more time on this."
Trevor hesitated. His fingers tightened around the stone.
"Sect Master… what if our guess is true? What if this dungeon is special?"
A silence. Deep. Heavy.
Then—
"Trevor."
The tone shifted, colder than before.
"Follow. Your. Orders."
Trevor stiffened. His throat bobbed with a swallow.
"Yes, Sect Master."
The stone dimmed, its light dying like a snuffed candle. Trevor lowered his hand and sat on the edge of his bed. The darkness of his room settled around him like a suffocating blanket.
He stared at the stone
.....
The President of America leaned forward, hands shaking slightly as he looked at the others.
"How long," he muttered, voice strained, "are we going to stay like this? Under his control? We're supposed to be leaders… not puppets."
The President of Russia let out a dry laugh that held no humor.
"It is hopeless to fight him. Do you not remember what happened the first day we saw him?"
Silence. Everyone remembered. Even trying not to remember hurt.
The President of China rubbed his forehead, eyes dim.
"But… what if we use that plan?"
Instantly, several presidents flinched. A few shoved their chairs back in outright fear.
"Are you mad?" the French President snapped.
"If we use that, humanity will be wiped out before we even begin! And what we're trying to prevent__will be guaranteed!"
The room heated with tension, arguments rising in panicked waves.
Then—
A voice. A lazy, amused voice.
"Boy… do I love this drama."
Every president froze. Breath caught. Hearts stopped.
Slowly, they turned their heads.
And their faces drained of all color.
Trevor stood at the end of the table, a hand casually resting on the shoulder of a terrified African president whose eyes were locked on the floor. Trevor's shadow stretched unnaturally long, twisting along the wall like a living serpent.
"This was a fun ending," he said with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Lots of betrayal, I must say."
"You…" one president whispered, voice trembling. "How could you do this to us? I thought—we thought—we were in this together!"
Trevor tilted his head. His smile didn't change. His eyes did. They became empty.
He waved his hand.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Heads hit the floor one after another like stones dropped in water.
The last surviving president stared at Trevor with wild desperation.
"You promised to keep me alive!"
Trevor sighed as though listening to a stubborn child.
"Nah… orders came in," he said softly.
"I have to close the show."
Another lazy wave of his hand.
Silence.
Only blood remained to speak.
---
Meanwhile…
Deep in a quiet cave within the Dream Realm, Liam sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor. A single moonbeam filtered through a crack in the ceiling, bathing the chamber in silver light. In his palm rested the wind wolf king's mana core — a swirling crystal of blue and white energy.
He turned it slowly, watching the light dance inside it.
"Strange thing…" he murmured. "You nearly killed me."
Still, he kept staring at it, enthralled by its shifting glow.
A thought flickered.
What if… I swallowed it?
Normally, that would be suicide. A powerful core could rupture the body, destroy the mana channels, or even explode inside the cultivator.
But something inside Liam — instinct, intuition, or maybe just madness — pushed him forward.
"Only one way to know," he whispered.
He took a breath…
…and swallowed the core.
It melted instantly into pure energy.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
BOOM.
Power exploded through his chest, racing into his veins like liquid fire. His body convulsed, eyes widening as he felt the energy tearing through him — violent, wild, uncontrollable.
"W-wait—agh!"
He grabbed at his chest, but the mana wasn't listening. It surged toward the two elemental marks inside his body — the fire spark and the lightning spark.
But to his shock…
it ignored lightning entirely.
The core shot straight into the fire element like a meteor.
Heat erupted outward. The fire spark ignited violently, expanding, pulling in the wolf king's energy greedily.
Then, before Liam could even speak—
A star ignited.
A miniature, radiant, burning star formed within his core.
Not a spark.
Not a flame.
A star.
Its gravity pulled at his organs. Its heat seared his muscles. His bones cracked in rapid succession as his entire body adjusted to the higher energy flow.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack-crack.
Liam grit his teeth as his vision blurred.
"What… the hell… is happening to me?"
His skin steamed. His blood felt like lava. His heart pounded faster and faster — then slowed, becoming steady, powerful.
A tide of strength washed over him, so overwhelming he could barely breathe.
"So strong…" he whispered hoarsely. "I… feel so strong."
He looked at his hands — trembling, steaming, glowing faintly red at the fingertips. Fire danced under his skin like coiled serpents waiting to strike.
He flexed his fingers. The cave temperature rose instantly.
"I could burn through steel with a punch…" he muttered in disbelief.
But it wasn't just raw power.
He felt different.
Sharper.
More alive.
As though the star burning inside him was lighting up every corner of his soul.
He stood slowly. The ground beneath his feet cracked.
His aura surged outward, causing nearby rocks to vibrate.
"So this is… what it feels like?" he whispered. "To evolve?"
He clenched his fist — and a thin line of fire appeared, coiling around his knuckles like a burning ribbon.
A smile tugged at his lips.
"Not bad."
But before he could explore further—
A painful pulse struck his chest.
His breath hitched.
"What—"
The star flared violently, sending another surge of energy through his body. His muscles seized, his vision flickered, and he dropped to one knee.
"Damn… too much… too fast!"
He slammed a hand on the ground, panting, trying to stabilize the raging star within him.
Sweat poured down his face. Steam rose from his skin. Every heartbeat sent sparks dancing along his arms.
He forced his breathing to slow.
"In… out… in… out…"
Little by little, the star calmed, settling into a steady burning rhythm deep within his core.
Liam collapsed backward, lying on the cold floor, staring at the ceiling as the world steadied.
"That was close," he breathed. "I almost cooked myself alive…"
He lifted a hand.
The fire obeyed instantly, forming a small, perfectly controlled flame that flickered gently on his fingertip.
His eyes widened.
"I wasn't able to control fire like this before…"
The star's power wasn't just brute force.
It gave him finesse.
Precision.
He sat up slowly.
His gaze drifted to the cave entrance. The air outside carried the faint sound of distant wind.