The portal closed behind Kaien with a sound like a dying star.
Silence followed.
Not peaceful silence — the kind that feels like something is watching you from behind reality.
Kaien stood on a vast black plain, broken stone floating in the air like shattered moons. Above him, the sky was a twisting spiral of dark clouds and red lightning. The world looked… unfinished. Like it had been abandoned by creation itself.
[S-Rank Rift: "Abyssal Sovereign Grounds" entered.]
[Threat Level: Continental Extinction.]
Kaien slowly inhaled.
"…This place is alive."
Nyxara answered, her voice calm and distant.
[Correct, Master. This rift was created from the remains of fallen Sovereigns.]
He tightened his grip on Chronos.
"…Then let's see what kind of grave this is."
A deep, distorted howl shook the air.
From beneath the floating rubble emerged a gigantic beast — crystal-armored, six-legged, with a skull-shaped head and eyes glowing blood-red.
Abyssal Howlbeast — SS Rank Sovereign.
Its presence alone warped gravity.
[Threat confirmed.]
Kaien felt the pressure crash down on him.
Yet his heart did not tremble.
Instead… something inside him stirred.
The Howlbeast charged.
Kaien stepped forward.
Phantom Void Piercing Strike.
Space collapsed as Chronos tore through the air, the blade punching straight through the beast's armored skull and detonating void energy inside its core.
The creature screamed — but didn't fall.
It slammed Kaien with a claw that shattered the ground.
Kaien skidded backward, boots grinding against obsidian.
"…You're tougher than most."
The beast roared again.
Kaien raised Chronos.
Celestial Cataclysm Beam.
A blinding pillar of divine light obliterated half the battlefield and ripped the Howlbeast's body apart, reducing it to light and ash.
The moment it died—
DING.
[SS-Rank Sovereign eliminated.]
[Experience gained: +98,000]
Energy surged through Kaien's sealed core.
His vision blurred.
His veins burned.
[Level Up.]
Level: 25 → 34
Speed: 3,200 → 6,990
Mana: 1,800 → 5,000
Nyxara spoke again.
[Skill Enhancement detected.]
Solar Flare Daylight → Solar Devastation
Phantom Void Piercing Strike → Phantom Rift Pierce
Abyss Severance → Abyss Severance: Rupture
Chronos skills also enhanced too which Nyxara also displayed.
Divine Tempest Thousand Strikes → Divine Tempest Barrage
Celestial Canon Beam → Celestial Cataclysm Beam.
Kaien staggered.
His head suddenly felt like it was splitting open.
Images flooded his mind.
A bottomless black hole.
A body being torn apart and reborn.
Angels screaming.
A divine being standing above him, hand raised.
Chains made of light.
A throne of void.
Kaien dropped to one knee.
"G-gh…!"
He grabbed his head, fingers digging into his hair.
"No—what is this—?!"
The memories came in violent flashes.
He saw himself dying.
He saw himself being born.
He saw a version of himself that made the Sovereigns look like insects.
Kaien screamed.
"Nyxara!"
His voice echoed across the broken world.
"What am I?! What are these memories?!"
Nyxara hesitated.
[...]
[I'm sorry, Master.]
[I cannot tell you yet.]
Kaien's breathing was ragged.
His vision shook.
"…So I'm just supposed to live with this?"
No answer.
The pain slowly faded.
Kaien sat there for a long moment, staring at the empty sky.
"…Tch."
He stood.
"Fine. Then I'll just get stronger until the truth can't hide from me."
The rift began to tremble.
New presences appeared.
More Sovereigns.
More SS-Rank monsters.
This place wasn't a prison anymore.
It was a playground.
Kaien moved.
Solar Devastation burned a demon legion into nothing.
Abyss Severance: Rupture split a continent-class serpent in half.
Divine Tempest Barrage erased a war-titan in a storm of Chronos blades.
Each kill fed him.
Each battle sharpened him.
DING.
DING.
DING.
[Level: 34 → 41 → 48]
[Skill mastery increased.]
Kaien noticed his newly upgraded skills were too powerful then he asked Nyxara if she could seal the upgraded skills for now since they were too terrifying and makes his battles too easy as he wants something challenging. Nyxara just sighed and did as she was told though the skills were truly too absurd. This is what the skills could do:
[Solar Devastation]
(Formerly: Solar Flare Daylight)
This is no longer just light.
It is anti-darkness lawfire.
When Kaien activates Solar Devastation, his blade releases a wave of divine-solar energy that does three things at once:
It burns physical matter
It erases corrupted energy
It weakens regeneration and immortality
Against demons, abyss beings, cursed entities, and dark gods, this attack doesn't just injure — it corrupts their existence, making it harder for them to heal, revive, or resist further attacks.
[ Phantom Rift Pierce]
(Formerly: Phantom Void Piercing Strike)
This upgrade is terrifying.
Kaien no longer just strikes fast — he strikes through dimensions.
When he uses Phantom Rift Pierce:
His body partially leaves normal space
His sword ignores physical armor
His strike bypasses magical shields
It hits the target's core or true body
Even beings hiding in pocket dimensions, spiritual layers, or shadow realms can't escape it.
If Kaien targets anything with this move, distance, defense, and even reality itself stop mattering.
[ Abyss Severance: Rupture]
(Formerly: Abyss Severance)
This is Kaien's execution move.
When he swings Chronos, the blade creates a void (rift) that tears open the target's existence.
Instead of just cutting flesh, it:
Splits mana flow
Shatters soul structures
Breaks regeneration cores
Destabilizes immortal bodies
It's the reason Demon Kings and Sovereigns might start panicking if Kaien use this skill which turns immortality into a liability.
[Divine Tempest Barrage]
(Formerly: Divine Tempest Thousand Strikes — Chronos skill)
Chronos no longer just attacks quickly.
It now duplicates its strikes across multiple timelines.
When Kaien swings once, Chronos releases hundreds of overlapping divine slashes from slightly different spatial positions.
To enemies, it feels like:
They were cut before Kaien even moved
Every possible dodge path is blocked
Their body is hit from all sides at once
It's a guaranteed hit storm.
Celestial Cataclysm Beam
(Formerly: Divine Canon Beam)
This is no longer a beam.
It's a judgment pillar.
When Kaien fires it, Chronos opens a celestial rift and channels compressed divine-void energy straight through it.
It:
Pierces continents
Erases spiritual bodies
Destroys demon cores
Overloads reality itself
It's the kind of attack meant to kill beings that shouldn't be able to die. That's how broken the skills are.
Kaien still kept feeling has if somekind of seal is gradually breaking off his body__
But the seal did not break.
It only creaked.
Kaien felt it.
Whatever he truly was…
It was still locked away.