A dark path stretched endlessly ahead, drowned in an unnatural silence.
It was the kind of stillness that felt enforced, as if even sound itself had been threatened into obedience.
Suddenly—
RROOOOOORRRR!
A guttural roar tore through the air as a shadowy predator lunged at a small boy.
Before it could strike—
"Absorption!"
The shadow froze, collapsed inward, and transformed into pure energy, vanishing into the voice that had commanded it.
The boy looked up, eyes shining.
"Big brother… can you use it properly now?"
Only then did it become clear.
The two figures were none other than Parth, now a teenager, and his adopted younger brother Veer.
Parth exhaled slowly.
"A little. I haven't mastered it yet."
Veer hesitated, then asked the question that had been burning inside him.
"Big brother… is it true?
Did you really bury Mr. Kai's body inside the Demon God Tomb?"
Parth's gaze darkened.
"Veer, the Demon God Tomb isn't a place where humans dig graves. With my current cultivation, I can't even enter it."
Veer's eyes widened.
"You mean… a God-level or Law Master level cultivation?"
Parth gave a hollow laugh.
"This world is vast, Veer. Even God and Law levels will someday feel like nothing more than a starting line."
"Then why is it called the Demon God Tomb?" Veer asked. "How does anyone even go there?"
Parth's voice grew heavy.
"The Demon God Tomb existed before even the Dark Abyss was formed. You can't imagine how many corpses of ancient monsters lie buried there. Two beings once ruled that place, each wielding the power of three Laws."
"To enter… I would need a weapon enchanted with the Law of Life and Death, or I'd have to master every one of those Laws myself."
Veer swallowed.
"Big brother… who were those two monsters?"
Parth shook his head.
"Too much knowledge at once is dangerous. I'll tell you when you're older."
After a pause, Veer asked softly,
"Then… will you tell me what happened after Kai died?"
Parth nodded.
"Listen."
---
The Past
Tears filled Parth's eyes, but beneath them was a strange calm.
It felt as if a part of him had sunk deep into an unreachable abyss. Even Parth didn't fully understand what he had lost.
GGRRR—!
The sound of tearing metal echoed as his hoverboard shattered midair.
"So even you've abandoned me," Parth muttered.
He looked up.
A figure was falling from the mountain above.
"Who is that?" Parth said, rushing forward.
The man clutched a broken sword in a shattered hand. His body looked as if it had been thrown down after merciless torture.
"Why, Father… Brother… I was your son too," the man cried.
"Was being the first son all that mattered? Couldn't you love your sixth son even a little?"
"Did you want to use me like Uncle… like a tool?"
"I don't even know why I jumped. I thought if I held onto the hilt, that massacre wouldn't happen. But was I ever capable of saving anyone?"
The ground rushed closer.
"Please… someone save me!
I'll become your loyal servant—anything!"
A red light flashed.
Parth coughed, blood spilling from his lips.
"So… another soul pushed into a fate like mine."
"What's your name?" Parth asked.
"Dev," the man replied weakly.
"What happened to you?"
"I don't know how I ended up here," Dev said, panicking.
"When I jumped, there was supposed to be a lava pool below. I should've died."
Parth's eyes narrowed.
"You may be from another realm, but this is the Last Realm. The Undying God Realm. The Dark Abyss."
"You can't even sleep here. Your worst nightmares replay endlessly, and the pain is felt three times over."
"Tell me. How long have you been falling, and why did you jump?"
"I… I'm Dev," he said.
"I've been falling for nearly seven years."
Parth's voice turned cold.
"Consider me your friend for now. Tell me the truth, so I can decide whether you live or die. You said you'd become a servant if someone saved you."
Dev bowed his head.
"Thank you for saving me, Parth-bhai. I'm from the Upper Realm, from the Supreme Family. I'm the sixth son of the Destroyer Law Leader. And I jumped because—"
---
Present
Veer gasped.
"So… big brother, you saved Dev-bhaiya even before?"
Parth nodded.
"Why did he jump?" Veer asked.
Parth closed his eyes.
"Listen."
---
The Dojo
Clang.
Steel rang out as swords danced and fists flew.
A traditional dojo filled with warriors.
One duel stood apart.
Dev vs the Head Martial Instructor.
"That's all?" the instructor mocked. "You disgrace your bloodline."
Dev's eyes were lifeless. Bruised arms. Torn clothes. A hollow soul.
But the fire still burned.
He leapt high, blade descending.
"Air attacks are foolish," the instructor sneered. "You can't dodge midair."
Instead, Dev twisted his sword, parrying and slamming the instructor to the ground.
Victory never came.
WHAM!
An open-palm strike sent Dev crashing back.
Pain. Again and again.
A memory surfaced.
A younger Dev, kneeling.
"Rule one," the trainer shouted. "Never enter forbidden grounds!"
"Rule two: Obey, or prove superiority through battle!"
Dev glanced outside. His elder brother laughed freely.
"I want that too…" Dev thought.
"Rule three!"
SMACK!
Back in the present—
"Focus!" the instructor roared.
Dev barely dodged.
He baited. Swept. Feinted.
The sword shattered.
Dev summoned a bow from thin air.
"If you want practical combat," he said coldly, "then fine."
The bell rang.
Silence.
Fear spread across the instructor's face.
Later, in class, the truth was revealed.
"There was once a warrior so strong the Union named him Vanquisher," the instructor said.
"One of only five ranks even Ashuras fear."
"That warrior… was your father."
"And his weapon?"
"The Ashura's Sword of Valor," Dev replied. "A cursed weapon."
"Incorrect," the instructor grinned.
"It was only the hilt. The sword never allowed itself to be drawn."
"And now… it calls to you."
---
That night, Dev overheard the truth.
"You were always the chosen one, Dherya," his drunken father laughed.
"Dev was just a shell. A pawn to carry the blade."
Dev ran.
To the sacred arena.
He grabbed the hilt.
"Better broken… than used."
Shouts followed.
"BRING HIM BACK! DEAD OR ALIVE!"
Dev jumped.
Into the abyss.
---
Back to the Abyss
"So… you were made an unwanted successor," Parth said quietly.
"Yes," Dev replied.
Parth carried Dev on his back, standing before the Dark Lotus Sect.
"You're no one's slave," Parth said.
"From today, you're a member of this sect."
Dev's shattered bones were laid on a stone bed.
"When your body rebuilds," Parth added, "you'll come on missions with me."
"Understood… Parth," Dev said.
"Use my name," Parth replied. "Or call me Young Master."
Later, Parth met Sect Leader Raj.
"The mission is complete," Parth said. "But—"
"Kai is dead?" Raj asked.
"Yes."
Raj turned away.
"Kai's sacrifice won't be forgotten."
"Master—"
"It's an order."
Parth bowed.
"One request," he said. "I want to bring in a student in exchange for my rank."
"Approved," Raj replied. "Dev is now part of our sect."
"How did you—"
"Go."
As Raj vanished through a portal, his eyes burned red.
"Soul Clan… next quarter, I'll erase you."