The battlefield grew silent, every gaze fixed on Kravon. His red robe fluttered wildly in the turbulent winds of chaotic Essentia, and a sinister smile curved on his lips.
"You thought I was merely hiding in the shadows, Erdi?" Kravon's voice carried like a storm. "No… today, you will face the true power of a cultivator at the Soul's Illumination stage."
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
"Soul's Illumination!? Then… he's above Spirit Convergence!"
"No wonder the chaos bends to his will!"
"Wait—look at the aura around him… It's wind-type Essentia!"
The truth became clear as violent gusts spiraled around Kravon, tearing into the ground and scattering debris. His mastery of Wind Essentia amplified his presence, making him feel like a storm given human form.
A crushing aura radiated outward, sweeping across the Rifitlands. The ground cracked beneath his feet, trees bent and snapped in the gale, and weaker cultivators collapsed, coughing blood under the suffocating pressure.
Erdi's eyes darkened. "So, you've already stepped into Soul's Illumination… and with wind as your root. That explains your arrogance." He steadied his stance, his own aura flaring to resist the storm.
Meanwhile, the boy at the center of the chaos remained motionless. The glowing dragon tattoo on his shoulder pulsed faintly, as though resonating with the violent winds.
Kravon's cold gaze shifted toward the child. "This boy… even without roots, he draws the chaos itself. Perhaps his fate is to serve me."
Before his words could sink in, Erdi's voice cut through the howling winds.
"Haha… stop daydreaming, Kravon." His tone was sharp, carrying a weight that silenced the whispers of the cultivators. "To stop you for a little while is no great problem for me."
Kravon's smile widened, his Wind Essentia surging like a storm about to break. "Then let us see if those words can hold against the power of Soul's Illumination."
The very air trembled, caught between the collision of two mighty forces.
A streak of blue light burst forth from Erdi's hand, slicing through the air and striking directly at Kravon.
Kravon only gave a faint smile. With a wave of his palm, a swirling wind shield formed around him, dispersing the attack effortlessly.
"Is that all, Erdi?" he sneered. "For this, your people will suffer."
At his command, ten of Kravon's purple-robed mercenaries stepped forward, weapons gleaming with Essentia. The remaining fighters broke formation and charged straight toward the motionless boy—Azren.
Gasps and cries rose from the cultivators of Aiden as chaos erupted. The ten mercenaries clashed with the defenders, striking down citizens without mercy. Blood stained the ground as screams filled the Rifitlands.
Meanwhile, Erdi and Kravon collided in the center of the storm. Blinding bursts of blue and violent gales of wind clashed with explosive force, shaking the land itself.
Kravon let out a guttural cry, his aura flaring higher than before. "Huuu! Unfortunately for you, Erdi… you are only half a step into Soul's Illumination. And your journey ends here, right now!"
The winds screamed like blades, surging toward Erdi with killing intent.
As the mercenaries who were heading towards the azren closed in, their weapons glinting with killing intent, the boy at the center of the chaos finally stirred.
Azren's eyes remained closed, yet the dragon tattoo on his right shoulder suddenly pulsed with a faint glow.
The chaotic dark Essentia that had devoured so many lives… began to twist and swirl unnaturally around him. Instead of harming him, the violent energy bent to his presence, as though drawn into his very being.
The mercenaries halted mid-step, their faces paling.
"What… what is this?" one stammered, his sword trembling in his grip.
"Impossible! He doesn't have a spiritual root… then why does the chaos obey him?" another shouted.
With each pulse of the tattoo, a low, ancient growl echoed faintly in the air—like a dragon's breath stirring after a long slumber.
Azren's lips parted slightly, and though his voice was no more than a whisper, it resounded across the battlefield:
"...All of you… stay away."
The chaotic Essentia erupted violently outward, hurling several mercenaries back as if struck by an invisible force. The ground cracked beneath his feet, and for the first time, everyone realized—this boy was no ordinary child.
Even Kravon's eyes widened slightly, though his smile returned quickly. "Interesting… very interesting."
The battlefield froze in eerie silence as the glow of the dragon tattoo intensified. Suddenly, threads of dark Essentia twisted out like tendrils and wrapped themselves around the lifeless bodies scattered across the Rifitlands.
Gasps of horror erupted.
"Their… their life force!" someone cried.
Before anyone could react, the faint remnants of life energy from the dead were pulled into the seal on Azren's shoulder. A blood-red shimmer coursed through the dragon mark, making it look alive, its scales faintly shifting as if a real dragon coiled beneath the boy's skin.
One by one, cultivators and mercenaries alike stumbled backward, fear plastered across their faces.
"Th-that boy is… consuming the dead!"
"No! It's not him—it's that cursed dragon seal!"
Even the fearless purple-robed mercenaries faltered, their steps heavy with hesitation.
But two among them, their eyes blazing with arrogance, stepped forward. Their robes billowed with power, Essentia swirling violently around them.
"They're at the middle stage of Spirit Convergence!" someone shouted.
The two mercenaries ignored the chaos and drew their weapons, their killing intent aimed at Erdi. Blades crackling with Essentia split the air as they charged forward.
Erdi's eyes narrowed, his aura flaring in defiance. But before he could strike, Kravon's chilling laughter cut through the storm.
"Hahahaha!" His voice rolled like thunder, carrying pure malice. "Now… all of you will pay for standing against me."
His Wind Essentia erupted in a violent cyclone, tearing chunks of stone from the ground and scattering them like shrapnel. The storm howled with his fury as he pointed at the cultivators of Aiden City.
"Look carefully, Erdi! Your citizens will drown in despair! Your weak walls cannot hold against my storm, nor against the wrath of Soul's Illumination!"
The sky itself seemed to darken under his words.
The citizens screamed, many collapsing under the crushing pressure of his aura. Mothers clutched children, young cultivators trembled, and even seasoned warriors felt their knees weaken as the battlefield turned into a nightmare.
Still, Erdi planted his feet firmly on the broken ground, his gaze unwavering. "Your arrogance will be your downfall, Kravon. Even storms vanish before dawn."
Erdi's gaze sharpened as the battlefield quaked under Kravon's presence. The storm winds raged, dust and stone lifting into the air, yet he stood tall like an unshakable mountain. Slowly, his hand rose, and a chilling hum spread across the Rifitlands.
Blue sparks flickered in the air around him—at first a few, then dozens, then hundreds. The very sky split open with thunder as Erdi began to weave a formation of lightning. Each arc of light was sharp as a blade, burning the air with its heat.
Crack! Crack! CRACK!
Thousands of lightning bolts fell together, weaving into a colossal web of destruction. The entire region trembled as if the heavens themselves had decided to descend.
"Blue Lightning Formation—Awaken!" Erdi roared, his voice carrying the fury of thunder.
The world was consumed in light. Bolts rained like divine spears, tearing apart the land, ripping trees into ash, and splitting boulders into dust. For a moment, even the terrifying chaos of Essentia was drowned beneath the flood of Erdi's wrath.
The attack was aimed at Kravon, its overwhelming pressure locking onto him like an executioner's blade.
But before it could consume him, two shadows blurred from behind. The mercenaries at mid-Spirit Convergence leapt into the storm, their Essentia surging desperately.
"Protect the Lord!" they cried.
Their weapons, infused with purple energy, clashed against the lightning, diverting part of the catastrophic storm. But the backlash alone shattered their arms and left them spitting blood. Their loyalty, however, did not falter as they forced themselves forward, holding just long enough to shield Kravon.
Kravon's laughter rose above the storm. His red robe flapped violently, yet his eyes shone with savage delight. "Hahahaha! Is this your full strength, Erdi? For a man who boasts of standing for Aiden, you barely scratch the heavens!"
With a sweep of his hand, Kravon's own formation came to life.
The air turned suffocating as a terrifyingly high pressure surged outward. The winds stopped howling for a single breath, then returned tenfold stronger, like a beast finally unleashed.
"Wind Soul Formation—Rise!"
From his aura, a monstrous manifestation took shape. A white soul of wind spiraled upward, towering above the battlefield. It expanded step by step, each echo like a drumbeat of death.
One step… Two steps… Ten steps… Fifty steps…
By the time it reached its hundredth step, the world itself seemed to collapse. The white wind soul roared like a god of the storm, its body spanning the heavens, its hands sweeping down like scythes of annihilation.
The ground fractured. Mountains in the distance cracked as if bowing under its power. Thousands of cultivators screamed as their bodies tore apart under the sheer force, their life force ripped away and carried into the raging formation.
Blood sprayed into the air, swallowed instantly by the howling gale. The battlefield was no longer a land of warriors—it had become a slaughterhouse.
"Such… such power…" a surviving cultivator gasped, his voice trembling. "This is not something a mortal should wield!"
Kravon stood at the heart of the devastation, his arms spread wide, his eyes glowing with the ecstasy of carnage.
"Behold!" he thundered. "This is the fate of those who dare oppose me! Against the might of Soul's Illumination, your lives are nothing more than dust in the storm!"
The Wind Soul howled, its presence blotting out the sky. Even Erdi, his aura blazing with lightning, felt the crushing weight pressing down upon him, forcing his knees to buckle against the sheer dominance of Kravon's formation.
And yet, at the very heart of this chaos—where no life should exist—the boy with the dragon tattoo still stood. His small figure was motionless, yet the dragon mark pulsed brighter and brighter, as if feeding on the endless river of death flowing into it.