Chapter 48: Lord of Finality (2)

My body drifted aimlessly in the endless darkness.

Arov awakened.

His body floated without direction, like a leaf carried by the current, devoid of purpose or control. He no longer recognized himself; his thoughts, name, and identity had been eroded by this void, turning to ash that vanished in a nonexistent breeze.

Yet, amid the emptiness, a faint urge emerged, like a tiny spark in an eternal abyss.

"How long have I been here?"

I don't know what happened before, but I've begun to think that I should count the time that has passed.

My mind starts tracking the seconds.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Four seconds.

Five seconds.

Time continues to flow in nothingness.

…

A day has passed.

Day after day.

…

A month has passed.

Month after month.

…

Seconds turn into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days, days into weeks, weeks into months, months into years.

Even after decades, I continue counting.

For what reason, I don't know.

Nothing changes. My body keeps drifting in the void, waiting for eternal silence to consume me.

My form blurs, losing all essence—only a faint wisp remains, thin and barely there.

Yet, amidst this suffering… shadows of past memories slowly rise, like remnants of debris lifted from the ocean floor.

A voice, a faint face, emotions of anger, sorrow, love, and loss—all of them return in painful fragments.

"Who am I?"

He thinks, louder this time.

The voice within him grows clearer, more alive. The void that once consumed him begins to be replaced by a desire to understand.

Fifty more years pass.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

If this place were Earth, I'd leave a one-star review filled with curses about this whole experience.

This universe is not recommended for beginners.

That was my first impression when I grasped the truth.

Violence, madness, destruction, murder, massacres, fanaticism—everything exists in this universe.

It's like a convenience store you find on every street corner, but with outrageously high prices.

Maybe you, standing out there, can feel it too, but you're only seeing things from my distorted perspective.

I always realize the truth too late.

That's a fact.

I also don't remember a single moment of my life up until now.

Now, I question my own existence.

What's the point of living if I don't even have memories of what happened before?

Am I even worthy?

"Tch, this is all bullshit."

When I woke up, someone suddenly told me to save the world.

When the world was saved from one threat, it turned out that the entire universe, including Earth, was facing destruction by the Abyss.

When I sought strength and tried to grow stronger in Arma, a mysterious enemy appeared and threw me into the Hongmeng Vault.

When I struggled to survive, an unexpected foe hunted me down, leading to the destruction of the Evil Dragon's lair.

When I tried to rebuild my body, the Ascension Gate attempted to seize my soul. That was worse than death itself—imagine being a zombie with full awareness but no freedom to act, existing only to be shackled.

When I finally escaped the Ascension Gate, that damned thing tried to attack the body I had painstakingly reconstructed. Thankfully, I managed to defeat the catastrophe lightning, though it had already been severely debuffed.

"Every plan I've made from the beginning of my journey until now has crumbled, and things have only gotten worse than I ever imagined."

The tingling sensation of consuming humans while being a mass of flesh on the 31st floor makes my entire body shudder.

"Hish, I'm truly inhuman..."

Whether it was because of my poor planning or just sheer bad luck, all I could do was think about the consequences.

Let's analyze the current situation first.

This place is an eternal void (a name I came up with)—a realm where time has lost all meaning, and nothing but boundless emptiness remains. I can't sense any connection between this place and the outside world. It feels as if this place doesn't even exist in reality.

"Only those at the Sage Realm can manipulate an eternal void."

This is even worse than a dimensional rift.

There's no energy here—maybe it's made of dark matter? No, I don't even know.

No light, no darkness, just an overwhelming silence, so deep that it erases all traces of sensation and consciousness.

"Hah... I still haven't recalled all the details of my remaining memories."

I have no idea how someone as handsome as me could end up dead.

I just hope it wasn't due to something utterly ridiculous.

Two hundred years later...

"Khukhukhu... Kuhathahahat?!"

I'm going insane.

Shit, shit, shit.

At first, I approached Xue Shaoran purely to exchange experiences and seek his guidance.

But somehow, during the process, that bastard manipulated me instead.

"When did he do it?!"

Oh. It must have been that technique.

"Bloodforged Aegis Shield, right?"

That guy must have mixed something into my black flames before reversing them on me.

Did he inject a bit of his own blood into the skill?

I've already speculated on the possible origins of Xue Shaoran's manipulation abilities.

"If it's not from a Path, then it must be the Bloodforged Aegis Shield technique that has this effect."

But the most likely source is the Path of Sanguum Tenebris. There's no way that vampire would have given me his power for free.

"Ah, how foolish of me."

Let's count how many times I've been manipulated.

"Twice by the system, once by Isolde, and now recently by Xue Shaoran."

Although, it wouldn't really count as manipulation if it was a fair exchange with Isolde.

Ugh.

I've been too fixated on the past—focus, Arov, focus! Find a way out and kick the asses of those who betrayed you!

I returned to my meditation posture, my body and mind becoming one.

"Huft..."

Think, Arov, think.

This dimension isn't just an ordinary one—it's an absolute dimensional domain where time has ceased to exist, and only an inevitable end remains.

"This place is worse than I imagined."

All of my abilities have disappeared, leaving nothing behind. Even if I still had them, I doubt they would be useful in this situation.

Even the Traits that define my very existence are beginning to fade.

"I'm the tree, my Traits are the roots, my power is the trunk that supports the branches and leaves swaying in the wind..."

I don't know anymore. I just don't care.

Thousands of years passed in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but an unchanging, suffocating silence.

Arov drifted within the great current of the end of all things.

He remembered pain, struggle, and the guillotine that ended his life. He remembered his long journey, the sorrow that haunted him, and the unyielding will that burned within him.

Everything kept replaying in his mind, like an endless carousel.

With each fragment of memory returning, he slowly began to understand this place.

This void was not a prison; it was the Core of Finality, the heart of all that comes to an end.

"Gasp—"

Arov jolted awake.

"Fuck! Where am I?!"

The moment I opened my eyes, the eternal void I had felt before had completely vanished, replaced by a sight even more terrifying!