They continued running through the darkness of the dense forest. Sharp branches lashed against their skin, while protruding roots seemed determined to trip them with every step. Behind them, the torchlight and shouts of their pursuers gradually disappeared beneath the thick canopy, yet the feeling of panic remained firmly rooted in their hearts.
Suddenly, the old man stopped.
Before them stood a gigantic stone wall—a mountain rising straight toward the heavens, perfectly vertical without the slightest slope. There was no opening and no path around it. Nothing but a cold, lifeless cliff face.
The old woman collapsed onto the ground, her chest heaving as she struggled to breathe. In a trembling voice, she said, "This... this is a dead end. We need to rest... we can't go any farther..."
The old man shook his head, his breathing still steady despite the sweat covering his aged face.
"No. This isn't a dead end."
The old man stepped toward the stone mountain. He raised his large, calloused hand and pressed it against the hard surface.
In an instant, the enormous mountain before them began to fade and disappear.
The lifeless stone wall transformed into another stretch of dense forest, revealing a small, hidden trail.
Cassian's pitch-black eyes widened in shock. His already-weak breath caught in his throat.
"An illusion?" the old woman murmured, her eyes shining with disbelief and relief.
"Quick. We don't have much time," the old man cut in, urging them forward.
They followed the faint trail until they finally reached a wooden house hidden deep within the forest. The house was decorated with fairly intricate wood carvings, though it was clearly ancient and seemed to have become one with the surrounding wilderness.
Creak...
The wooden door groaned loudly as the old man opened it.
He stepped inside and carefully laid Cassian's extremely light body onto a wooden bed. The old woman followed and immediately collapsed into a wooden chair, gasping for breath. Her hands trembled violently as she stared at her husband.
"What is this place? How did you know there was a place like this, Grandpa?" the old woman asked in bewilderment.
The old man did not answer immediately. He walked toward the table, picked up his old woodcutter's axe, and gently ran his fingers across its worn blade.
"I prepared this place seven years ago," the old man said quietly. "I had a feeling that something like this would happen someday..."
He placed the axe down before approaching Cassian's bed.
His large, warm hand wrapped around his grandson's thin, cold, pale fingers.
The old man looked into Cassian's eyes and spoke gently.
"Don't worry. We're safe here for the time being. The assassins your father sent won't know we're hiding here."
The old woman suddenly stood up.
Both hands pressed against her heaving chest.
"What?! Assassins?!"
The old man slowly nodded.
"Yes. Assassins sent by Louis. He seems to still harbor deep resentment over Elvy's death."
My father... wants to kill me?
Cassian's pupils trembled violently.
His fragile vision began to blur, growing dimmer and dimmer.
Yet amid the panic and shock crashing through his young soul, he felt the gentle touch of his grandmother's fingers against his cheek.
That warmth brought a small measure of comfort to the turmoil in his chest.
Cassian's pale lips trembled as he desperately tried to say something.
But his body was far too weak.
His tongue felt numb, and every breath sent pain through his chest.
Seeing their grandson's condition, the old man and woman looked at him with profound sorrow, trying to encourage Cassian with their eyes.
Cassian's lips trembled again.
"I..."
He struggled to draw another breath.
"...love...you..."
His voice was barely more than a whisper.
"...both..."
Tears finally spilled down the old woman's cheeks.
Her trembling hands covered her mouth, preventing herself from crying out.
The old man squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head toward the wooden floor, desperately trying to suppress the overwhelming grief shaking his heart.
Cassian gazed at the two people who loved him more than anything.
Then, a faint, sincere smile appeared upon his pale lips.
Those were the final words they would ever hear from him—
"BRUUMMM!"
The wooden roof exploded into pieces!
Two figures dressed as assassins, their faces concealed by masks and their bodies covered in black clothing and thick leather armor, leaped down through the shattered ceiling!
The old man's instincts reacted instantly.
He moved swiftly and placed himself in front of the old woman, shielding her with his body.
The first assassin charged from the front, while the second swiftly circled around from the side.
"Die!"
The old man showed no mercy.
His massive fist shot forward like lightning and slammed into the first assassin's face with such force that the assassin was sent flying, smashing straight through the wall and destroying it completely!
The second assassin had already targeted the old woman from the side.
His dagger swung toward her neck.
But before the blade could touch her skin, the old man's powerful fist struck the assassin's abdomen first, smashing through his ribs!
How... how did they find this place?!
The old man's heart trembled.
Without wasting a moment, he immediately scooped Cassian into his arms.
But just as he lifted his grandson—
A poisoned arrow struck him from behind, sinking deeply into his leg!
The old man turned around, his eyes burning with fury.
There was no one there.
With one hand still supporting Cassian, he pulled the arrow from his leg with the other without even flinching.
But before he could move again, another dark arrow flew out from the shadows and pierced his arm!
Fresh blood sprayed from the wound.
The old man knew he could not fight while carrying Cassian.
With extreme care, he slowly placed his grandson back onto the wooden bed.
"Do you assassins have nothing better to do than hide like rats?!" the old man roared, his voice echoing through the ruined house.
But before the echo of his voice could fade—
SREK!
Right before Cassian's wide, numb eyes, a red line suddenly appeared across his grandmother's neck.
Huh...?
What happened...?
Why... why is Grandma's head falling...?
Cassian screamed inside his mind.
He was overwhelmed by grief.
He wanted to cry.
He wanted to scream hysterically.
But his eyes were completely dry, and his helpless body was too weak to even shed a single tear.
The old man's face transformed into pure fury.
The veins in his neck and face bulged as his skin reddened with savage hatred.
He lunged toward the invisible assassin who had appeared beside the old woman, seized the killer by the head, and smashed it into the ground with his bare hand until it was crushed.
"COME OUT, ALL OF YOU!" the old man roared like a wounded beast.
From the shadows behind him, another assassin suddenly charged forward with a short sword.
The old man spun around and swung his fist toward the assassin's head.
But the attacker easily avoided the blow, moving with abnormal speed.
SLASH!
With a cold, lightning-fast motion, the assassin swung a special dagger that severed the old man's left arm into five mangled pieces!
Blood poured from the wound.
Yet the old man did not even blink.
The assassin immediately thrust his dagger toward the old man's neck, but the old man caught the assassin's arm with his remaining right hand and held it in an iron grip.
"You think... cutting off my entire left arm... is enough to make me weak?!" the old man threatened, his breath ragged and stained with blood.
The assassin merely sneered beneath his mask.
"Of course. You're already weak, old man."
STAB!
With his free hand, the assassin drove a second dagger straight through the old man's neck.
No...
No...
No...
NOOOO!
Cassian screamed silently from the wooden bed.
The old man's massive, sturdy body staggered.
He fell to his knees.
Then...
He collapsed lifelessly onto the ground, surrounded by his own blood.
The assassin pulled the dagger from his neck without the slightest trace of remorse.
He then casually walked toward Cassian until he stood directly before the boy's pale face.
The assassin raised his hand high, preparing to drive his dagger straight into Cassian's head.
Why...?
Why am I so weak?
Was I born only to accept death?
Was I born only to suffer through all of this...?
Cassian closed his eyes, accepting his fate.
THUD!
The sharp dagger plunged downward, piercing deep into Cassian's skull.
But when Cassian opened his eyes again, he was no longer inside the ruined wooden house.
He stood in a pitch-black, empty space with no end in sight.
Beneath his feet was an ancient stone platform covered in mysterious circular symbols. It was just large enough for him to stand upon.
"What is this...?"
"Didn't I already die? Is this hell?"
But before he could think any further, Cassian noticed something strange about his body.
The suffocating heaviness, the dry throat, and the burning sensation in his lungs had all vanished.
His arms, legs, mouth, and every part of his body could move freely and effortlessly!
A joy he had never experienced during his sixteen years of life surged through his chest.
He laughed softly, jumped into the air, and moved his fingers one by one.
Being able to move his own body freely felt priceless.
Even if this truly was hell, he did not care.
Szzzzt...
Suddenly, from the darkness ahead, a worn stone staircase began to materialize, one step at a time.
Cassian watched as the stairs continued appearing upward, stretching farther and farther until their end disappeared beyond his sight.
Driven by curiosity, he stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the first step—
BZZZZT!
A strange memory flooded into his mind.
He saw the memories of someone from an ordinary village.
The village was dry, impoverished, filthy, and poorly maintained.
The person in the memory suffered from paralysis and weakness that were exactly the same as Cassian's own condition.
Then the memory suddenly leaped far into the future.
The same person had now grown into an elegant leader of an entire race.
Cassian staggered backward onto the stone platform.
"What is this...?"
"That looked like someone else's memory... and they had the same illness as me..."
Curiosity burning inside him, Cassian stepped onto the next stair.
Nothing happened this time.
He continued climbing several steps until, upon reaching a certain stair, another memory suddenly erupted within his mind!
This time, he saw the child of an Emperor.
The child had been born crippled and afflicted with an illness exactly like Cassian's.
Yet at the end of the memory, that same child stood atop a mountain of bones, holding the heads of three Gods in his hands and ruling over every living creature in the world.
Cassian's expression changed.
"Again...?"
"It's truly the same illness as mine!"
A realization slowly began to take root in his mind.
If I keep moving forward... I'll discover the truth!
Cassian began running up the staircase!
One memory after another assaulted his mind.
Person after person.
From different eras and different ages.
All of them had been born with the same "illness of weakness."
Yet every single one eventually became an existence capable of shaking the entire universe.
Finally, when Cassian reached an incredibly high point on the staircase, an absolute truth slammed into his consciousness.
The illness he had suffered from for sixteen years was not a physical defect or a curse...
It was the vessel of an Eternal Power that had been sleeping within him!
BZZZZZZT!
The pitch-black void around him suddenly twisted violently.
Reality shattered.
Cassian was thrown outward, floating in the vastness of outer space, surrounded by countless stars and galaxies.
"What is this..." Cassian murmured in awe, his eyes reflecting the light of the stars.
"It's beautiful..."
From the depths of the cosmic void, a figure slowly approached Cassian.
The figure possessed a pure, featureless form.
Its body radiated a plain white light, while its eyes were pitch-black—exactly like Cassian's own.
The figure stopped before Cassian.
It stared directly at him.
Then it whispered in a voice that seemed to transcend time itself.
"This is fate."
SWOOSH!
The white figure with black eyes dissolved into light and was completely absorbed into Cassian's body!
Back in the real world, inside the partially destroyed wooden house—
The assassin who had just stabbed Cassian in the head was wiping the blood from his dagger.
Seven more assassins entered through the damaged front door.
"Are you finished, Boss?" one of the assassins asked coldly.
"Quickly. Help me clean up these bodies before anyone passes by," the Boss ordered firmly.
They began dragging away the bodies of the old man and woman.
The assassin Boss then walked back toward the wooden bed where Cassian's body lay.
But when he looked down, his eyes suddenly widened in shock.
The stab wound on Cassian's head was gone.
His forehead was perfectly smooth, as though the blade had never touched him.
Panic surged through the Boss.
He quickly grabbed his dagger again and prepared to plunge it into Cassian's chest—
TAP!
A thin hand suddenly shot forward and seized the Boss's wrist with an iron grip that could not be broken!
Cassian opened his eyes.
He slowly sat up from the wooden bed.
"I... I can't get free... How can he be this strong?!" the Boss groaned, his eyes widening in terror as he desperately tried to pull his hand away.
The seven assassins behind him immediately drew their weapons and assumed combat positions.
Cassian's pitch-black eyes opened completely.
BOOOOOOM!
A surge of pitch-black mana exploded from his body.
The pressure was so overwhelming that the gravity inside the room seemed to increase several times over.
Cassian opened his mouth.
"Gluttony."
His voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
In an instant, black-and-white masses of energy emerged from the Boss's body.
They stretched outward before being forcibly drawn into Cassian's palm.
Within seconds, the Boss's body shriveled and withered, all vitality drained from him.
His dried corpse collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
The seven assassins behind him trembled violently.
Their faces turned pale as they stared at the terrifying scene before them.
Cassian picked up the Boss's dagger from the floor.
He stared coldly at the remaining assassins.
SWOOSH!
Cassian's body vanished from their sight.
"Where did he go?! He disappeared?! That's... that's the Boss's ability!" the assassin standing at the very back shouted in panic.
STAB!
Cassian had already appeared directly behind him.
The dagger pierced straight through his heart from behind.
SWOOSH!
Cassian disappeared again.
SLASH!
In the blink of an eye, another assassin's throat was cleanly cut.
One assassin lunged forward with his sword.
But with a movement that mirrored the old man's fighting technique from earlier, Cassian flashed past him and severed the assassin's arm into five mangled pieces!
Cassian stood in the darkness of the room, slowly licking the blood splattered across his dagger.
His expression was cold and emotionless.
The remaining assassins were consumed by overwhelming fear.
One of them screamed toward the shattered window.
"You! Hurry up and get inside! We need help in here!"
But it was useless.
Every time they blinked, Cassian had already appeared somewhere else, taking another life.
Until finally, only one assassin remained.
He sat limply on the ground, trembling uncontrollably as he muttered in terror.
"Why... why aren't any of the hundreds of assassins outside coming in here...?!"
SREK!
Before he could finish his sentence, his head was already severed from his body.
Cassian's eyes slowly returned to their original color.
He raised one hand.
Then he absorbed all the remaining vital energy from every assassin's corpse inside the room, leaving their bodies dried and brittle.
Cassian took a deep breath.
The fresh air now felt incredibly light as it filled his lungs.
He looked up at the shattered ceiling of the house, its wooden beams stained with the blood of his grandparents.
With calm yet firm steps, Cassian walked out of the ruined wooden house.
What greeted him outside was utterly astonishing.
The entire area surrounding the small forest had been covered with the corpses of hundreds—even thousands—of dead assassins.
Cassian stopped walking.
He sensed an unfamiliar yet overwhelmingly powerful energy above him.
Slowly, he raised his head.
High above, standing upon a sturdy tree branch, were three mysterious figures shrouded in darkness.
They did not move even an inch.
Yet the pressure radiating from their bodies was so immense that it seemed capable of crushing entire mountains.
"Is this the person we are supposed to serve?" a mysterious voice echoed from one of the silhouettes.
A second voice, different from the first, spoke coldly.
"He's so thin... He looks extremely weak."
Cassian narrowed his pitch-black eyes and stared directly at the three silhouettes above.
There was not the slightest trace of fear in his gaze.