"Power gained through betrayal always leaves a scar."
The moment Aether stepped into the dungeon, the air shifted.
The world bled black.
It wasn't darkness—it was hunger. A void that lived.
The Belly of the Devouring God wasn't a place. It was a being.
Dungeon Type: Living Realm
Level Requirement: Unknown
Danger Class: SSS+
Status: Soul-Locked
Entry: Irreversible
Aether heard voices.
Not whispers.
But screams—his own, from the past.
He stood in a circular chamber.
Twelve mirrors surrounded him.
Each showed a version of himself:
The weak boy begging for strength.
The betrayed fool bleeding out beside Nahida.
The rage-filled beast devouring a city.
The cold king standing over a mountain of corpses.
Trial 1: Kill all versions of yourself. Only one shall remain.
He grinned bitterly.
"How poetic."
The battle began.
Lightning clashed with void.
Fire met frost.
Steel bit into flesh.
Each version fought with powers he once had—or would gain.
They mocked him.
"You think saving people makes you strong?"
"Did their screams mean nothing to you?"
"You sacrificed me to be their hero!"
But Aether answered them the only way he knew how—by breaking their skulls.
Trial Cleared.
You have conquered your lesser selves.
Trait Acquired: "Singularity Mind" – Immune to illusions, mental attacks, and self-doubt.
Aether stepped into the next chamber. There, a coffin waited—dripping with thick black ichor.
It opened.
A creature crawled out, shaped like a dragon with thousands of mouths, and yet—
It bowed.
"My king… You finally returned."
Forgotten Pact Detected:
Pact Rank: Ancient Abyssal
Creature: Oroboros, the Ever-Consuming
Pact Status: Broken in a Past Life
Aether blinked. "I… made a pact with you?"
The creature nodded. "Before you were betrayed. Before they tore you apart."
"You sacrificed me. But I forgave you."
Aether stepped forward, placed a hand on the beast's head, and whispered:
"Then let's start again."
Pact Restored: Oroboros (God-Class)
Skill Unlocked: Abyssal Sync – Devourer and Beast fight as one.
Far away, back in the kingdom, Aira sat in a quiet room with Nahida.
The two girls didn't speak at first.
Then Aira whispered:
"Why did he save them?"
Nahida blinked. "Because… he still believes in people."
"But they were the ones who abandoned him."
Nahida looked away.
Aira's fist clenched.
"He's changing. And we're not ready for it."
A strange light flickered in her eyes.
Hidden Quest Unlocked: "Heart of Betrayal"
Objective: Decide—will you protect Aether… or destroy him?
Aether emerged from the dungeon.
Time had passed outside.
Days?
Weeks?
He didn't care.
Oroboros coiled around his shoulder like a crown of shadows.
His aura was overwhelming.
People fell to their knees just standing near him.
Public Notice:
"The one who entered an SSS-class dungeon and returned alive is no longer just a student."
"He is a monster. A god. Or something beyond."
Aether returned to a ruined town nearby.
The Upper Realm enforcers had taken it over—again.
They were burning homes, enslaving children, and executing elders.
Aether watched silently as a woman screamed for her child.
Then, his eyes closed.
"I sacrificed for peace. And this is what you give me?"
He raised his hand.
"Then let me take something else."
He moved like a shadow.
Oroboros expanded—a sea of black mouths and wings.
Upper Realm knights screamed as they were consumed.
No skill could touch him.
No defense could hold.
He sliced through gods, elites, and blessed beings like they were insects.
His Devourer Aura made them hallucinate their own deaths before they died.
And when it ended…
Only bones remained.
The oppressed gathered behind him.
Fathers, mothers, children—once slaves—stood free.
They looked at Aether with awe.
"Who are you?" someone whispered.
He didn't reply.
But they began chanting anyway.
"Liberator."
"Breaker."
"Black Flame."
"King of the Devourer Pact."
And with every chant, his Legend stat grew.
Fame Across Realms: +9,000,000
Region Title: Monarch of the Forsaken Passive Unlocked: "Devourer's Path" – All who kneel before you grow stronger.
In the farthest sky realm, the Heavenly System Lords watched Aether's broadcasted slaughter.
One slammed a fist into the table.
"We should've killed him ten years ago."
Another whispered:
"He's not just a threat anymore… He's a prophecy."
And in the shadows, Lucien grinned again.
"Let him rise."
"The higher he climbs, the harder he'll fall."