When the light finally faded, Lassim stood alone, transformed.
His body was now fully covered in intricate progenitor marks, the dark lines extending across his skin, pulsing with raw inky jet black power.
His eyes had turned pitch black, reflecting the void itself with pupils replaced by swirling tempests while two manly dragon horns now adorned his head, curving elegantly upward.
His features were sharper, more defined, accentuated by the sleek black feathers that now covered parts of his body.
On his back, two predatorial and sleek wings, pitch black with purple and azure accents, spread wide, casting a shadow over the battlefield down below.
A sea snake’s tail, covered in scales similar to Mari’s, coiled and swayed gracefully behind him, completing the transformation.
The power radiating from Lassim was immense, a force of nature that rivaled even the gods themselves. The pressure caused all three generals to stiffen and frown.
His demi-god strength had reached a level that only lacked a throne to cement his status as a deity. Yet, every god must have their own domain, but thankfully… his latest development was what had allowed him to so unexpectedly kill the Dragal Prince to start this whole war.
His domain had already been forged—he was no mere cultivator, but a being on the cusp of true godhood.
Lassim raised his hand, and the air around him began to warp and distort. "[Void Storm Domain]," he intoned, his voice carrying the weight of inevitability.
The sky above him darkened as his domain manifested, merging with reality itself.
A projection of a terrifying, nearly empty void filled with only tempests of swirling space-time, shattering shards of space, shifting into existence.
The domain was a reflection of his inner heart world, a storm of chaos and destruction that extended far beyond the limits of the physical realm.
The Abyssal Generals had no time to react.
The domain descended upon them like a vengeful God’s wrath, enveloping them in its crushing embrace.
For five agonizing seconds, the atmosphere above the world was consumed by the void, the very fabric of space torn apart by the array of wild tempests.
The Generals’ bodies were shredded into nothingness, their forms reduced to mere atoms as they were obliterated by the overwhelming forces that clashed and tore the threads of space where his domain existed.
When the domain finally dissipated at the end of the five seconds, there was nothing left.
The Generals were gone, their existence wiped from reality as if they had never been.
Lassim hovered in the sky, his body trembling with exhaustion. The exertion of unleashing his full power had drained him, leaving him feeling hollow and spent.
But there was no time to rest—his eyes were drawn to the battlefield below, to the scene that awaited him.
His heart sank as he took in the devastation. The towns and cities were burning, their defenses crumbling under the relentless assault of the Abyssal forces.
And then, his gaze fell upon Swallowtail Mountain City—his family’s home.
The gates of the Vanthar estate had long been breached, and the demons of the Abyss were swarming inside.
His spirit sense captured every detail of their destruction, every horrifying pool of fresh blood as the demons had torn through the city, slaughtering the inhabitants mercilessly.
Lassim’s heart felt like bleeding as he saw the deaths of so many people he once knew, but it was the sight of the woman in black martial attire that made Lassim’s blood run cold.
She was a vision of beauty, her pitch-black hair cascading down her back, her figure graceful even in the midst of battle.
The only detail of her that wasn’t perfect in his eyes was the fact that she was now gravely injured. Her stomach had been torn open, her innards spilling out as she had tried to fight to protect the Vanthar estate.
Lassim’s heart shattered—his lover, his wife, Lustria. She was dying, and he had been too late and too preoccupied to save her.
With a single step, Lassim crossed the void and appeared within the gates of the Vanthar estate.
The demons paused, sensing the overwhelming power that had arrived, but it was too late for them. Lassim was already moving, his halberd cleaving through the air with a deadly precision that left nothing but carnage in its wake.
He cleared out the demons with a single wave and with a ferocity that bordered on madness.
But even as he slaughtered them, his eyes never left Lustria as he arrived next to her. He moved to her side, kneeling beside her as he cradled her broken body in his arms.
Her breathing was ragged, her eyes half-lidded as she struggled to stay conscious. "My love…" she whispered, her voice weak, but filled with an emotion that pierced Lassim’s heart like a dagger.
He leaned closer, his hand gently brushing her hair away from her face. "I’m here, Lustria. I’m so sorry… I should have been faster."
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
She tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace as she coughed up blood, the dark liquid staining her lips. "I… I’m sorry. I wasn’t strong enough…" She then coughed up and splattered Lassim’s face with drops of blood, "I tried to save mother and father, but…"
Her voice trailed off as her strength failed her, and Lassim felt the last of her life slip away.
He watched in horror as the light faded from her eyes, her body going limp in his arms.
The primal roar that erupted from Lassim in that moment shook the very heavens. It was a sound of pure anguish, of a soul shattered by loss.
The sky itself seemed to tremble in response, the winds howling in sympathy with his pain.
He had failed. He had lost everything that truly mattered to him. And in that moment, the world no longer made sense.
The world around Lassim blurred as his rage consumed him.
His breath came in ragged gasps, his chest heaving as the primal roar of his anguish echoed through the heavens.
The winds howled in response, the very atmosphere trembling under the weight of his grief.
His wife, Lustria, lay lifeless in his arms, her blood staining his hands as her body grew cold.
As Lassim knelt there, cradling Lustria’s body, the sounds of battle continued to rage around him.
The screams of the dying, the clash of weapons, the guttural roars of the Abyssal demons—it all became a distant hum, muted by the overwhelming sorrow that threatened to drown him.
His mind spiraled, the memories of his time in the academy with her, their eventual reconnection after their time trianin in the sects, seeking permission from her parents to merge their families, and eventually their glorious wedding that brought together several kingdoms to show their support replayed over and over in his mind.
Each memory, a dagger twisting deeper into his soul. He had been too late. Too slow. Too weak. He had let them all down. His family, his friends, the people of Nexaria that he cared the most for—all of them had counted on him, and he had failed to protect them.
The rage within him built, boiling over into a seething fury that demanded release.
His grip tightened on Lustria’s body, his knuckles turning white as the raw, inky black power of the void swirled around him, crackling with destructive energy. His progenitor marks pulsed, feeding off his anger, amplifying his power to dangerous levels.
Lassim’s vision blurred, his mind fracturing under the weight of his emotions. He could no longer see the battlefield clearly—everything was tinted red, a haze of rage that threatened to consume him entirely.
His heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing with the names of those he had lost, each one fueling the storm of destruction that brewed within him.
And then, in the midst of his madness, something strange happened.
A voice, smooth and serpentine, slithered into his mind. It was cold, yet strangely comforting, like a balm on his raw emotions.
The voice carried a weight like that of an ancient amalgam of chaos speaking for the first time; a resonance that seeped into the very fabric of his being.
"Such power… such delicious madness," the voice cooed, its tone both seductive and sinister. "You, who have brought devastation upon the Abyss, who have been raised as a child to be a weapon, a tool for the so-called gods of your universe themselves… You are truly magnificent, Lassim."
Lassim’s eyes widened, his breath hitching as the voice wrapped around his mind like a vice.
He could feel it probing his thoughts, memories, everything, slipping through the cracks in his defenses and exploiting the vulnerability that his rage had left exposed.
"Who. Are. You.?" Lassim went cold, his voice trembling with anger.
He instinctively knew, even in his fractured state, that this presence was not of this world. It was something far older, far darker.
The voice chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that sent shivers down his spine. "I am your dear friend, don’t you recognize me? We’ve met on the battlefield for so long and I’ve let you play with my children so many times! How could you not know who I am? I am the force that has shaped the darkness since the dawn of time. I have given you the excitement and push to grow so quickly.
You know who I am, just as much as I know you. I have watched you, Lassim, admired your strength, your tenacity… and your current ability to feel such rage is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. You are a true force of chaos, a being worthy of my attention. Do you really not know me yet, dear friend?"
Lassim’s grip on reality faltered, the world around him spinning as the voice continued to speak.
The Abyssal Will’s words dripped with a poisonous allure, each syllable a hook sinking deeper into his mind.
"You have suffered, my dear Lassim," the Abyssal Will purred, its tone sympathetic, almost tender. "You have lost everything that matters to you. Your family, your friends, your beloved Lustria… All taken from you by the cruel hand of fate. See it would never have had to come to this if your creators weren’t so incompetent."
"But it doesn’t have to be this way," the Abyssal Will whispered, its voice wrapping around him like a comforting embrace. "You have the power to change it. I can give you what you desire most, Lassim. I can bring them all back to you—Lustria, your family, your friends. They can all live again, by your side.
I’ll even give you the entire universe and you’ll be the ruler and king of the entire heavens… if only you are to accept my offer."
Lassim’s breath hitched, his heart skipping a beat as the words sank in.
Could it be true? Could he really have them back? The thought was intoxicating, a lifeline in the midst of his despair as the Abyssal Will’s grip on his mind tightened.
"I… I can bring them back?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. The idea was almost too much to comprehend, a light in the overwhelming darkness that had consumed him.
"Indeed," the Abyssal Will replied smoothly. "All you have to do is accept my power. Become the Abyss’ newest god, and I shall place you above even the Dragal, my own children. You will rule as my favored, with the power to bend reality to your will. Just one wave of your hand and they’d appear in front of you once more."
Lassim’s heart raced, torn between the desire to see his loved ones again and the instinctual revulsion he felt toward the Abyss.
He could feel the darkness creeping into his thoughts, clouding his judgment, making him question everything he had ever believed in.