Truth

Deep underground, in a heavily fortified chamber, a sleeping pod glowed faintly in the suffocating darkness.

Inside, a young man with long black hair, pale skin, and a powerful physique lay dormant, his features eerily serene.

Then, without warning, his eyes twitched beneath his eyelids. Moments later, they snapped open—black irises surrounding stark white pupils.

Raphael exhaled deeply, his breath steady, and with a sharp motion, slammed his fist into the pod's reinforced door.

The metal door buckled and hissed open. Raphael stepped out, immediately assaulted by an oppressive wave of heat. The atmosphere was stifling, as though the very air was aflame.

Boom!

An explosion suddenly erupted to his left, shaking the entire facility.

Raphael turned toward the source of the sound, his expression calm but tinged with disdain. "It seems you still lost your mind, Neph... How pathetic."

He began striding toward the disturbance, the alarms screaming through the corridors.

A quick glance down reminded him of his state—completely unclothed. With a thought, he activated his Aspect. Darkness surged forth, wrapping around him like a living thing, shaping itself into an elegant black kimono.

Raphael continued forward, entering a room consumed by chaos. A sea of white fire raged within, burning with a terrifying intensity. At its center stood a figure—feminine and humanoid in form—her body engulfed in the roaring flames.

Unfazed, Raphael stepped inside. The darkness rose from his feet, devouring the flames as it advanced.

The room became a battleground of opposites: one half dominated by his consuming darkness, the other by Nephis' unrelenting fire.

From the hallways, hurried footsteps echoed.

Two squads of seasoned warriors stormed in from either side, clad in enchanted armor and armed with Memory weapons. Their movements were sharp, their presence commanding.

Before they could engage, Raphael's voice cut through the chaos.

"Leave. The one before you is a Master—you're no match for her. I'll handle this."

The soldiers hesitated, uncertainty flickering in their eyes, but Raphael ignored them.

Nephis suddenly prepared to attack Raphael. Since Raphael was controlling the darkness—the natural enemy of fire—Nephis attacked him instinctively!

Raphael used his soul essence and activated his Awakened Ability, [Seer]!

In Raphael's eyes, silver threads appeared, each one representing different outcomes and possibilities!

Among them, one silver thread was intertwined with a golden thread—Fate thread!

Raphael divined Nephis' attack.

Before she could strike, Raphael calmly stepped three paces to the side. Nephis unleashed a blazing fire beam at where he had been, but it missed him entirely.

Raphael looked at the corner of the room and said:

"Little shadow, Shouldn't you help your master?"

He glanced toward a darkened corner of the room and spoke.

"Little shadow, shouldn't you help your master?"

From the shadows, Sunny froze, his heart pounding.

'How did he sense me? And… how does he know about the Shadow Bond?!'

Suddenly from the corner of the room Sunny rolled out of the shadows and coughed, feeling terrible heat, smoke, and scalding steam assault him. He had used Shadow Step to jump to the underground level of the hospital complex almost as soon as the ground trembled, and only had time to summon the Undying Chain.

"What do you mean? Are you saying she's my master?!" Sunny snapped, his voice a mixture of disbelief and defiance.

Raphael's black eyes glinted. "I can sense the connection between her shadow and you. Stop being foolish and help her… or I'll kill her myself."

It was a bluff. Raphael couldn't sense the connection, and he had no intention of killing Nephis. But Sunny didn't know that.

Sunny gritted his teeth's but didn't argue.

Sunny walked forward towards the radiating figure.

He closed in on the radiant being, allowing the Shadow Lantern to devour all the light around and submerge the hallway in absolute darkness.

For a moment, everything became black.

Raphael felt the darkness surrounding him became more stronger with absence of light.

Sunny moved forward taking the moment to close in, on the radiant figure.

…And then, two furious white eyes ignited in the blackness. A moment later, a white silhouette became visible again, surrounded by a blinding glow. That glow pushed against the darkness, on the verge of vanquishing it.

However, Sunny was already near the radiant figure.

He could attack it freely.

But he did not.

 An incandescent hand shot forward, aimed at his throat. Sunny allowed it to grab his forearm, instead. A terrible pressure and heat descended on his arm, slowly turning the steel of the Undying Chain bright orange. He could feel his flesh beneath it starting to burn.

But he still did not attack.

Instead, Sunny dismissed his helmet and looked straight at the flame apparition.

"Stop!"

His arm was in a sea of blazing pain.

Refusing to move, Sunny looked at the beautiful radiant face in front of him.

"Stop! It's me!"

Slowly, a vague hint of recognition appeared in the burning white eyes of the radiant monster. The blinding light emanating from her skin dimmed a little.

Sunny gritted his teeth.

"Changing Star!"

Her hand trembled. The stark inhumanity of her face grew less frightening.

The apparition opened its mouth.

Her voice was hoarse and awkward, as if covered in rust after not being used for a long, long time:

"...S—Sunny?"

He forced out a pale smile.

"It's me! Snap out of it, damn it!"

The radiant figure — Nephis — froze. Slowly, the light suffusing her skin dimmed, and then became extinguished.

The fire devouring the underground level weakened, too, allowing the fire suppression systems to douse it.

Standing naked amidst the devastation caused by her, Changing Star stared at Sunny with a confused expression.

Then, she suddenly swayed, and fell down.

Sunny was barely quick enough to fall to his knees and catch her.

As he cradled Nephis' unconscious form, he looked up to find Raphael standing over them.

"Who are you?" Sunny demanded, his voice sharp.

Raphael summoned a flowing cloak of darkness. It wrapped itself around Nephis, covering her pale, trembling body.

"You can call me her companion," Raphael replied calmly.

"What do you mean by that?"

Raphael's expression remained unreadable. "Ask her when she wakes up. For now, take care of her."

Without another word, Raphael turned and walked away. At the doorway, he glanced back.

"When she wakes up, tell her Raphael will come to meet her soon."

Sunny said nothing, watching as Raphael disappeared into the corridor.

Raphael continued walking until he reached the door leading outside the hospital complex.

Pushing the door open, he found two women waiting.

The first was a short young woman with long blonde hair cascading down her back. Her pale skin was accented by a half-silver mask that covered her eyes.

The second was taller, with dark wavy hair, alabaster skin, and piercing red eyes like polished rubies. She wore a perfectly tailored, jet-black business suit that radiated elegance.

Cassie's expression turned to shock as she saw Raphael.

'Who is he? I didn't see him in my visions!'

Raphael walked toward her, but before he could get close, a sword came to rest against his neck.

He turned his gaze to its wielder—a young woman with a fiery demeanor.

"Who are you?" Morgan demanded, her grip on the sword steady.

Raphael met her glare with calm, unwavering black eyes.

"It's none of your business who I am, woman," he said coldly.

Morgan, her pride stung by his dismissive tone, slashed at his neck. The blade collided with a solid wall of darkness, stopping dead in its tracks.

She leaped back, creating distance between them, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Raphael didn't even spare her another glance. He walked toward Cassie, placing a hand on her frail shoulder. Bending down, he whispered softly in her ear:

"Look at you, acting all surprised when you already knew this would happen."

Cassie flinched and stepped back, summoning her Echo.

Raphael chuckled, his voice calm and amused. Without breaking stride, he continued toward the exit.

As he walked, he spoke casually over his shoulder.

"Hahaha—we'll meet again soon, Lady Cassie."

Cassie used her ability at Raphael before he left, but only to be blocked by threads of silver.

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Raphael was in the academy library. In front of him was a device. He pressed the keyboards, searching for something.

[World War 3]

That's what Raphael searched.

Raphael skipped most of the titles until he reached what he wanted.

[The Start of World War 3]

Raphael pressed on the title, and a lot of information came up, so he started reading.

"It was said that what started World War 3 was a missile that had gone off course, launched by one of the countries of the Old World. The missile landed in S Country on the road between Y City and X City, killing 218 civilians."

"Hahahahah—."

Raphael laughed. How could he not, when he was there when the missile landed!

Raphael summoned his Attributes and smiled. For the first time, he could see his attributes.

Attributes: [Fated], [Time Traveler], [Absoulate Regeneration], [Flame of Divinty], [Ruler of the Underworld].

Attribute: [Time Traveler].

Attribute Description: [???]

Even though he could now read the attribute, it seemed he still couldn't read its description—not that it mattered now.

"Perhaps I've never left my hometown, but I will never be able to return home..."

Tears came from his left eye.

"How pathetic you are, Raphael... From the beginning, you tried not to think about such a possibility. Trying to escape the painful truth."

Raphael rose from his seat and went to find a hidden place to create a Tether. He could feel he was connected to a gateway in the Dream Realm.

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Raphael emerged into a dark expanse, where massive white pillars reached endlessly toward the heavens.

On either side of him, countless figures knelt, their heads pressed to the ground, whispering indecipherable chants.

The crowd formed a pathway leading to a colossal ancient throne carved from black stone.

To the throne's right stood a towering figure with flaming red hair, four black eyes, four muscular arms, and two sharp horns jutting from his forehead. He was clad in onyx-black armor that glinted faintly in the dim light.

To the left was a pale-skinned woman with pink hair and piercing red eyes. She appeared human—except for the two magnificent wings extending from her back.

Standing directly before the throne was none other than Mohg, Lord of Blood.

Raphael walked forward without hesitation. As he did, his black kimono shimmered and unraveled, revealing his toned form. From behind him, a hand formed of pure darkness emerged, holding a magnificent Chinese-style kimono embroidered with golden dragons.

The hand dressed him in the new garment as if in reverence. Raphael, unbothered, continued his steady march toward the throne.

When he reached it, Mohg stepped forward, his face streaked with tears.

"Your Majesty," Mohg whispered, his voice trembling. "I have waited millennia for this moment."

Taking a crown from the altar, Mohg placed it gently on Raphael's head before stepping aside, bowing low.

Raphael ascended the stairs to the throne. It seemed to hum with energy, calling to him, welcoming him.

He sat.

As soon as he did, Mohg knelt and let out a deafening cry:

"All hail Raphael!"

The others followed in unison, their voices shaking the pillars:

"All hail the Black Emperor!

The Son of Destiny!

The Ruler of the Underworld!

All hail the Emperor—the one who will devour the world!"

From his perch atop the throne, Raphael gazed down upon the sea of reverent figures chanting his name.

A new contender for the Throne of Humanity was born that day.

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[Volume 2: Madness] - End.

[Volume 3: Emperor]Opening Quote:

"I warned you, Sovereigns, but you refused to listen. Now, you shall bear my wrath."

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Absolute Cinema…

See you in the next volume 👋