The sky was swallowed by a suffocating darkness. Rain poured down from the heavens, washing away the rivers of blood that stained the earth.
In the heart of an ancient battlefield, a lone figure stood tall. His body was a gruesome sight—pierced by countless swords, spears, and daggers. Blood soaked every inch of his tattered robes. With his head bowed and his long, silver hair disheveled, a weak, trembling voice echoed through the silence.
"Do not... do not kill them..."
"They are... innocent..."
The carnage around him was a testament to the devastating battle that had just transpired.
This man was Tian Eraziel. At a thousand years old, he was the scion of the Grand Dragon Race and a revered God of War
Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky, hovering amidst the freezing mist. It was the God of Ice, looking down at Tian with a cold, mocking gaze.
"Tian, today marks your end," the Ice God sneered. "Hand over the Secret Technique, and perhaps... just perhaps, I might spare you and your pathetic followers."
Tian, his strength fading, forced his head up. His eyes burned with a mixture of agony and rage.
"Wan Lei..." he hissed. "I called you my brother... my best friend. To think you would conspire with the others just to seize that technique... YOU TRAITOROUS BASTARD!"
Enraged by the insult, Wan Lei's expression darkened. Without a word of mercy, he unleashed his power.
"Heavenly Water Palm!"
The devastating strike slammed into Tian's chest, shattering what remained of his defenses and sending the Dragon War God crashing into the dirt.
Wan Lei descended from the heavens, his boots crunching on the blood-soaked earth as he approached Tian. A twisted, mocking grin stretched across his face.
"Where did that ferocity go, Tian? The great War God... reduced to this?" Wan Lei laughed, a cold, grating sound. "Now, all I see is a pathetic, dying dog!"
With a sneer, Wan Lei grabbed Tian by the hair, forcing his head up before brutally slamming his boot onto Tian's face, grinding it into the mud.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I brought a gift for you."
Wan Lei reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a blood-stained bundle.
"I'm sure you'll recognize this, Tian. It's a memento... HAHAHA!"
He reached into the cloth and pulled out a severed head. The long hair was matted with gore, but the features were unmistakable.
Tian's heart stopped. His breath hitched in his throat as his world shattered.
"No... Nu'an Er..."
"Yes, Nu'an Er," Wan Lei hissed, holding the head closer. "I took her head myself. Do you want to know what her last words were before she took her own life to keep me from her body? She said: 'I would gladly die for my Tian.'"
A primal roar erupted from Tian's lungs. Rage, pure and incandescent, ignited his dying embers. The aura of the War God flared one last time, coating his broken body in a crimson light.
Without a word, he activated the forbidden Blood Seal Technique, locking Wan Lei's movements in an instant.
Tian unleashed a barrage of strikes, each one fueled by his life's blood. Wan Lei, eyes widening in terror, fought back with his
Thousand-Hand Water King Art.
"You murdered her... I WILL DRAG YOU TO HELL WITH ME!" Tian screamed, his voice tearing his vocal cords.
He channeled everything into his final stand: The 99 Death Blood Seals!
The two world-shaking techniques collided. The sky fractured, the earth split open, and crimson lightning tore through the clouds. Just as Tian's strike was about to obliterate Wan Lei, a spatial portal ripped open.
Out stepped God Zephys, a powerhouse at the 9th Stage of the God-Hito Realm. With a casual wave, he neutralized Tian's attack and countered with a Nirvana Fist directly to Tian's chest.
Tian coughed out a spray of golden blood. Behind Zephys, the entire alliance of traitorous gods emerged from the shadows, their eyes gleaming with greed and malice.
"Kill him," Zephys commanded coldly.
A one-versus-ninety-nine slaughter began. Despite being on the brink of death, Tian fought like a cornered beast, forcing the gods to use every technique in their arsenal just to keep him down. Finally, Zephys moved like a shadow, plunging the God-Slaying Sword through Tian's back and lifting him by the throat.
"Where is the technique, Tian? Give it to me, and I might let your soul enter the cycle of reincarnation."
Tian spat blood into Zephys's face, his eyes burning with defiance.
"Never. That technique is the legacy of the Childking—the sovereign you all betrayed. If I am to die, I'm taking every single one of you bastards with me!"
Tian's body began to glow with a blinding, volatile light. He was self-detonating his God Core.
Zephys's eyes filled with pure horror.
"NO! STOP HIM!"
BOOM!
A white light swallowed the universe.
TO BE CONTINUED...