I stood in a place that defied the laws of the waking world—a sanctuary accessible only through the fragile, silver door of dreams. The air here didn't just carry oxygen; it carried a profound, celestial peace. It was the kind of tranquility described in the holiest of myths, where a Goddess grants eternal mercy to a weary traveler.
Every breath I took was a symphony of fragrances—the scent of blooming jasmine, ancient sandalwood, and a sweet, unknown nectar that seemed to heal the fractures in my mind. I felt a sukoon so deep that the nightmare of my previous lives felt like a distant, fading echo.
"Would you like to stand by my side?" her voice drifted toward me, shimmering like sunlight on water. It was melodic, ethereal, and possessed a gravitational pull that forced my heart to whisper 'Yes' before my logic could even frame a response.
I looked down at my hands. I was small. I was back in the form of a young boy—Kiran's childhood self. I looked up at the radiant, blurred silhouette of the maiden before me. "What will I get in return?" I asked, my voice trembling with a mixture of awe and suspicion. "Will you answer every question I have? Will you show me the truth behind this hollow world?"
The world around us was intoxicating. The golden grass swayed in a rhythm that felt like music. It was a place where one could forget the burden of being a hero, a victim, or a monster. I wanted to stay. I wanted to bury my face in this peace and never wake up.
"I have a gift for you," she replied, ignoring my negotiation with a playful grace. "I am giving your soul a shape. I am forging the essence of the Sovereign within you. But now... it is time for me to leave."
"Wait!" I called out, reaching toward the golden haze. "Just answer one thing. Just one."
She giggled, a sound that felt like silver bells ringing in a silent cathedral. "If I feel like answering, I will. But be warned, Reyansh—every question has a price. If I do not like your question... I will kill you."
The price of curiosity was death, yet in this divine garden, fear was an alien concept. I looked into her shimmering eyes and asked, "What must I do next? Where does this path end?"
"You asked two questions, dear," she whispered, her voice fading as the golden light began to fracture. "But I shall answer because I want you to reach me. I am giving your soul a form. Whether you follow my shadow or forge a path through the ash... that is your choice. But know this—every step you take, every scream you utter, is a moment of joy for me."
The Violent Rebirth: A Symphony of Bone
Suddenly, the gold was ripped away by a violent, unseen hand. A colossal force yanked my soul back into the cold, jagged teeth of reality. My skull felt like it was being split open by a thousand rusted axes, the pressure mounting until I thought my spirit would burst.
GASP!
I opened my eyes, and a primal scream tore through my throat. The transition was a physical massacre. I was no longer in the garden; I was in the Azure Knight's body, and every nerve ending was on fire. It felt as if every bone in my body had been ground into dust and then fused back together with molten lead. The sukoon of the dream had been replaced by a narak of physical agony.
The pain was so absolute, so transcendental, that I began to laugh. It was a jagged, hysterical sound—the laughter of a man who had seen heaven only to be cast into the deepest pit of hell.
'What a magnificent joke!' I thought, my mind fracturing. 'Reaching her? Is this the answer? This agony is the path?!'
I was on my knees, coughing up thick, blue-tinged blood that stained the charred earth. Directly in front of me lay the decapitated, rotting head of the High-Rank Demon—the very body I had just inhabited. A few yards away, Hina, Yumi, and the maids were huddled in the dirt, their faces pale masks of pure, unadulterated terror.
Suddenly, the atmosphere hissed. Two more High-Rank Demons appeared from the smoke, landing like falling stars between me and the girls. One of them raised a jagged obsidian blade, the air around the weapon distorting with dark mana. He was ready to execute them.
The Millisecond of God-Tier Reflexes
Time didn't just slow down; it shattered into a million frozen shards. Because I was in a Rank 7 body, I could see every millisecond. I saw the micro-trembles of Hina's lips, the way a single tear hung suspended on Yumi's cheek, and the slow-motion descent of the demon's blade.
My soul reacted before my brain could calculate the distance. A blinding explosion of azure light erupted from my core. In a flash of blue lightning that turned the night into day, I was there.
I blocked the obsidian blade with the Azure sword. The impact created a shockwave that shattered every window within a mile. Without a second's delay, I delivered a kick to the demon's chest, infused with the raw, terrifying pressure of Rank 7 mana. The creature didn't just fly; it was erased from its position, crashing through stone buildings until it was a mere speck in the distance.
I spun the Azure Blade, a weapon that now felt like a heavy, sentient extension of my soul. In one fluid motion, I cleaved the second demon from shoulder to hip. But every move was a price paid in blood. Every muscle fiber felt like it was being burned alive by liquid ice.
"STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I screamed internally at the body.
Suddenly, a voice roared back in my head—Kiran's consciousness, drowning in the sea of my presence. "Stop screaming! I can't maintain the balance! Your soul... it's too heavy! It's like you've stuffed an entire mountain into my chest!"
"I'm the one in a thousand pieces here!" I yelled back, my spirit lashing out. "You're worried about balance? I'm worried about surviving!"
The Mountain-Splitting Strike
The first demon returned, its aura flaring with a dark, suffocating madness. It lunged at us while our internal conflict paralyzed the body. I fought for control, causing the Knight's body to drop to its knees as our two souls clashed for the steering wheel of the mind.
The demon drew closer. I watched its clawed hand reach for our throat in agonizing slow motion. It was a scene from a tragic epic—the hero falling at the final hurdle.
But then, the Knight's body acted on its own. He slammed his forehead into the ground, the impact sparking blue lightning, using the pain to steady the vertigo. Then, with a speed that surpassed the perception of light, he drew the blade for a final, desperate strike.SHING!
I felt my soul being physically pulled out of the chest by the sheer output of mana. It was a sensation of being hollowed out. I watched in a daze as the demon was not just cut, but disintegrated. The shockwave of the strike didn't stop. It traveled past the demon, hitting the massive, ancient mountain range behind the village.
With a deafening, earth-shaking roar, the entire mountain split into two perfect halves. A massive canyon was carved into the earth by a single, accidental swing of our sword. Dust and debris rose like a curtain, blotting out the moon.
Hina and the others stared in stunned silence, their eyes wide with a fear that had transcended into religious awe. I gasped, my soul feeling like a guttering candle. "This power... why didn't you use this before?"
"This... isn't my power," the Knight's voice whispered, sounding distant and broken. "This is the weight of your soul, Reyansh."
Suddenly, the weight of the body was mine alone. The Knight's consciousness retreated into the dark recesses of the mind, leaving me in full control. The pain hit me like a tidal wave—the brutal reality of a Rank 7 body that was broken beyond repair. My vision blurred. My muscles turned to lead.
I collapsed onto the cold, blood-stained earth. Every broken bone, every torn ligament sang a symphony of agony. As my eyes slowly closed and the darkness of the abyss claimed me once more, I could only think of the maiden in the golden garden.
I am coming for you... no matter how much it hurts.