Two years later—
.Pant.
Slash.
Pant—
SHKRRK.
My blade tore through another yokai beast, splitting bone and blackened flesh in a single motion.
The body collapsed into the sand before it could even scream.
My chest burned. My lungs screamed louder than any monster ever had.
Pant.
Pant.
Slash—slash—
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Remaining Targets: 100
Remaining Time: 2:00
I froze for half a heartbeat.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Pant. Pant.
I wiped blood from my mouth with the back of my hand, only smearing it further across my face. My vision blurred at the edges, my muscles trembling so violently I could feel the strain in my bones.
"One hundred…" I muttered, breath ragged. "In two minutes?"
The wind howled across the endless desert, carrying the stench of death with it. Yokai corpses littered the sand around me—hundreds of them. No. Thousands.
And yet the System still wasn't satisfied.
I laughed weakly, the sound dry and broken.
"…Of course."
I straightened slowly, forcing air back into my lungs.
"Guess I don't get a choice."
I closed my eyes.
And let go.
The world snapped.
Mana detonated outward from my core like a ruptured dam. My shadow twisted violently beneath my feet as dark energy flooded my veins.
My demon form surged forth.
White hair flared upward as if caught in a storm. Veins of red light traced across my skin. My pupils narrowed to slits. The agony was familiar.
Welcoming.
"All the pain I've gone through…" I muttered.
01:50
I vanished.
Slash.
A yokai's head spun away.
"All the suffering I endured—"
01:47
Slash.
Another collapsed.
"—all the nights I thought I'd die—"
01:28
My blades tore through bone. Lightning ripped across the battlefield. Sand exploded upward as bodies fell faster than my mind could register.
"If that didn't kill me…"
01:00
I threw my blades to two yokai beast then I slammed my fist into the ground.
A shockwave erased everything in front of me.
"—then this won't either!"
00:47
My breathing turned ragged. Blood leaked from my mouth. My mana core screamed—but it didn't crack.
00:20
I moved on instinct alone.
00:05
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Final Target Required.
Failure Is Not Permitted.
One last yokai crawled from the sand.
I roared.
"If anything—"
My fist connected.
"—this should make me STRONGER!"
The beast exploded.
Silence crashed down.
I dropped to one knee, coughing violently, blood splattering the sand.
Then—
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Trial Step One: COMPLETE.
Survival Confirmed.
Proceed Immediately.
Follow the Red Trail.
Destination: Ruins of the Forgotten Emperors.
The words didn't fade right away.
They lingered.
Watching.
A red line burned itself into the ground before me, stretching endlessly into the distance.
"…Forgotten emperors?" I muttered.
I wiped my mouth, stood and picked my blades.
"…Tch."
I followed the trail.
When I first arrived in this place two years ago, my mana core had been shattered—fractured beyond repair.
Yet now…
It pulsed steadily inside my chest.
Whole.
Stronger.
I didn't know where I was.
Only that this place had fixed me.
And that terrified me more than anything.
The land stretched endlessly in every direction—an ocean of dust and pale sand under a sky drained of color. No sun. No clouds. Just a dim, oppressive light that cast no warmth.
The air tasted dry and old, like something long forgotten.
No wind.
No sound.
No life.
Just silence.
Every step I took echoed too loudly.
The sand beneath my boots wasn't loose—it resisted, almost like compacted ash.
"…What kind of world is this?" I murmured.
Then—
The air shifted.
A low rumble rolled across the land.
I stopped.
The ground vibrated.
A wall of sand rose on the horizon.
"…A sandstorm."
It wasn't natural.
The storm moved against the silence—twisting violently, spiraling upward like a living thing. The sky darkened as the wind screamed to life.
Before I could brace—
It hit.
The force lifted me off my feet like I weighed nothing.
I was thrown through the air, slammed into the ground, dragged across jagged sand as debris tore at my skin. Every impact rattled my bones.
I tried to stand—
Another blast sent me flying.
Pain exploded through my ribs.
"Gah—!"
I dug my blades into the ground, anchoring myself as the storm howled around me, screaming like thousands of voices layered together.
Then—
Something moved inside the storm.
Five shapes emerged.
Small.
Thin.
Their eyes glowed sickly yellow.
Sand goblin yokais.
But these were different.
Their bodies were compact and hardened, skin layered with stone-like plates. Each carried crude weapons carved from black crystal.
Strong.
Fast.
One lunged.
I barely dodged.
"…Five?" I breathed.
They attacked together.
I was driven backward, slammed into the sand again and again as blades tore through the air. I countered, struck, dodged—but each attack felt heavier than expected.
They were strong.
Coordinated.
One smashed its club into my ribs.
Something cracked.
I spat blood.
But—
When I struck back—
My punch obliterated its torso.
I froze.
"…What?"
The goblin's body collapsed into dust.
The others hesitated.
I moved.
This time, I didn't hold back.
My speed was faster.
My strikes heavier.
Cleaner.
Each blow carried power I hadn't realized I possessed.
One by one, they fell.
The last goblin screamed as my fist connected—
Its entire body detonated.
As my demon form started to fade I stared at my hand.
"…I didn't mean to do that."
The storm began to fade.
Silence returned.
Breathing hard, I turned back toward the trail.
And then—
I saw them.
Far beyond the horizon.
Massive silhouettes piercing the sky.
Broken spires.
Collapsed thrones.
Ruins so vast they bent the land around them.
Ancient.
Monumental.
Watching.
The red trail led straight toward them.
A chill crawled up my spine.
"…So that's where you're sending me."
The air felt heavier there.
As if the land itself remembered something terrible.
And then—
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
You Have Survived What Should Have Killed You.
Now Learn Why.
Proceed.
Or Remain Here Forever.
The message didn't fade.
It waited.
And the ruins waited with it.