The night was slowly creeping in, spreading its black cloak over a horizon groaning under the cold of the northern desert. The wind howled, and the stars hid behind heavy clouds as if afraid to look down at what lived on the earth.
Ashen walked alone among barren dunes, his footsteps making no sound except for the sand brushing against his feet. The air was unnaturally still, as if the whole world was holding its breath.
After the massacres in the forest, he no longer felt the need for caution. But this time, something was different. A faint sensation, like a distant echo tapping at his senses, as if a call from the depths of the earth was urging him eastward.
He stopped, staring into the darkness, then he saw it...
Far away, through the thick mist, there was a structure. A temple drowned in shadow, sometimes appearing and sometimes fading, as if reality itself refused to admit its existence. Its pillars were twisted, as if made of human bones, and the air around it was heavier than lead.
Ashen didn't think of turning back. It was as if part of his soul was being pulled there, driven by a curiosity close to madness.
He approached slowly. Each step sank into the sand, as if the earth was trying to stop him. The closer he got, the clearer the temple became, and faint whispers reached his ears — chants in a language no human spoke anymore.
Then, when he touched the temple's shadow, time stopped.
He no longer felt his body. He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a living hell.
A land of fire, a sky of blood, and mountains of skulls glowing with dark crimson light. Even the air dripped with death.
He stood in the middle of an ancient battlefield — a battle beyond reason. Giant beings fought, each movement tearing the earth and splitting the sky. Humans flew between mountains, shouting bloody incantations that ripped space apart and destroyed thousands of kilometers of land.
Screams, fire, and blood lightning rained from above. The sky was no longer blue — it was a boiling sea of blood.
And above all this chaos — a colossal eye, larger than the moon, stared down. The Eye of the Heavenly Dao.
Beneath it, a bloody staircase began forming from nothing, descending from the sky to the battlefield. Each step pulsed with life, shaped from the blood of the dead themselves.
And from there… they descended.
Human-like beings, but not humans. They wore sacred blood armor glowing with divine halos, as if they were envoys from heaven itself. Their steps on the staircase shook the world, and each of them radiated power beyond understanding.
In response, the earth split open, and demonic races emerged from the cracks — deformed wings, fangs made of void, eyes shining with primal evil. Just looking at them sent chills through Ashen's soul. Yet somehow, he felt he had seen them before… somewhere… in a time he could not remember.
Above everyone, mythical beasts flew — blood dragons, phoenixes of crimson flame, and creatures unseen since the dawn of creation. The entire world was burning.
But all of them… all that madness… was directed at one man.
In the middle of the battlefield stood a lone figure.
He wore a sacred blood mask, sparks of ancient energy dancing behind him. His blood armor shone with a dominating, royal aura, and every drop of his blood looked like a world of its own. In his hand was a blood sword that gleamed as if forged from the core of the heavens.
He stood alone — facing hundreds of thousands of beings, soldiers, beasts, and the heavens themselves.
Yet he wasn't afraid. He was calm, proud, steady — as if the entire universe revolved around him.
When he raised his head, his eyes met Ashen's. In that moment, time froze again, and Ashen felt his entire being tearing apart. He saw in the man's eyes the same crimson color that appeared when he was filled with killing intent… but what he saw wasn't mere brutality. It was something deeper — blood itself, yet not just blood. It was the will of existence.
Then the drums thundered. Great drums, as if struck from the hearts of planets themselves.
The echoes of millions of voices rose, chanting a single name that resounded across all worlds:
"Conqueror of All Ages!"
The sound pierced his soul like a divine command. Even the air bowed. The blood on the ground trembled. Ashen felt his heart stop and his body crumble under the weight of that title.
Then — everything shattered.
Light, earth, sky, sound… all disappeared in an instant.
When he opened his eyes again, he was inside the temple. The ground beneath him was covered in a thin layer of red dust. In front of him stood a massive stone monument, cracked and covered in ancient symbols.
On its surface, words were carved in petrified blood:
"The Battle of the Ancient Heaven."
He stared for a long time, unable to breathe. What had he just seen? Was it a dream? A memory? A vision from the past? An ancient war? He couldn't understand what he had witnessed. The ground around him was silent like a tomb, yet deep inside, his heartbeat quickened, and a faint whisper echoed within him:
"What did I just see…?"
He slowly raised his hand to touch the monument, but before his fingers reached the stone, the entire scene vanished. The temple, the monument, the blood — everything disappeared.
He found himself standing again on the same sandy path where he started. The sky was clear, the desert silent, as if nothing had happened.
But in his heart, the echo remained — the echo of the drums, and the name that had resounded from the depths of eternity.
"Conqueror of All Ages."
He looked toward the horizon, and the calm in his expression was no longer just coldness. It was the calm of someone who had glimpsed true greatness and realized he was still nothing before this universe.
He turned and continued walking toward the distant city. But within his eyes, for a brief moment, crimson shadows flickered — as if something ancient inside him had begun to awaken.
And in the sky, a word formed that no one saw — a word written as if carved from the blood of the universe itself:
"I see you."