Dancing on the golden ashes

(Written in my new style)

It came so suddenly, and now, I can feel something rising from my soul. Something fragile, yet impossibly powerful. That's what it feels like right now—this rising tension, this rising force… and warmth. Yes. Warmth. It spreads through me, subtle at first, then flooding my veins. I no longer feel cold. I no longer feel empty.

"Gaon—your chest!" The eerie voice screams into my mind the very moment my life begins to slip away.

And then—it blooms.

Like a flower of life bursting open inside my chest. Seven colors flare to life within me… but one stands out. Faint. Dim. Pink. Flickering weakly, like a candle in a storm.

The Sin of Lust.

I feel it. I know it. Not as depravity, but as desire. The craving to win this fight. The ache to keep breathing, even when I should already be dead.

The desire to live.

It's all in me. All of them. These sins are me. I didn't acquire them along the way. No. I can feel it now. They've been with me since the beginning. From the moment I lived on Earth. From the moment I destroyed the world of No End.

And now... I stand on the edge of this world, carrying power so great it could melt the sun itself.

I am a god.

I am Lee Gaon.

I… I am me.

My thoughts swirl like a monologue, like a letter I wrote to myself long ago. A message I always wanted to read—but only now, only today, have I finally found the key.

And that key... is me. My desires. So I'll let them bloom. I'll let them reshape me. Reform me. Reforge me.

It's time to end this exhausting journey. It's time to show my enemies who I am. It's time to free myself. And to free all those I love… from suffering.

I can feel something forming in my chest. A small orb. Brilliant. Tiny at first, but powerful. And as quickly as it appears, it begins to grow—rapidly, endlessly. It's already the size of a fist. But that's only from the outside.

Inside... it's bigger. So much bigger. Like a small universe swirling within me.

And I… I am its master.

I let it settle inside me, taking the place of the heart I once lost. Filling the void that haunted me for ages. Filling me with warmth I haven't felt in so long.

And now I feel it. Strong. Alive. Radiant.

But... something is missing. Something crucial.

Why?!

Why isn't it fully forming? Why?!

"You're missing something. Something crucial… a person. You know that person well. He is very special to you. He is the reason you—"

The eerie voice enters my mind like a mist, curling through my thoughts, wrapping itself around me. Her words twist and turn, never reaching the point, always circling.

She's playing with it. Waving the sentence around in loops.

But I can feel it.

She's hiding something again.

Once more...

Doubt is a poison. It bites slow. And when you finally feel it kicking in… it might already be too late. Funny, isn't it? Yeah.

But I have no time for that.

In this long journey, I've overcome many things. Good. Bad. Deadly. Yes.

But I'm grateful. Grateful for all of it. For enduring. For surviving.

And for that reason, I will make it bloom. I shall. But not now. I can't focus on it.

I have a more serious problem...

The claw attack comes at me from the left. It's bigger than before. Her claws have transformed into something far deadlier—pure killing intent sharpened into physical form. I feel a chill run down my spine. That aura is suffocating.

But I dodge.

My space distortion tickles my feet, and like a ghost, I slip past her strike. I don't move far. Only around two meters from where I stood. But even that small distance gives me the advantage I need.

I flick my wrist, letting my scythe gather momentum, feeding on the force drawn from my muscles. The horns on my head flood my body with unimaginable power. It's warm. Like fresh blood rushing through my veins.

The deadly blade that has already reaped countless lives screams as it falls toward the body of the immortal demon.

"Naïve!" the demon shouts, her voice exploding with every ounce of her lung power. The force behind that scream is so otherworldly, I feel my ears fill with warm liquid, the pressure inside my head pulsing painfully. And then—silence. All the sounds around me fade, like the final breath of a candle being snuffed out.

But I can't stop now. Fuck all of that. I can win.

I keep pressing my attack. She moves fast, positioning her claws in front of her like a shield. It looks impenetrable. Shit…

CLANG!

The brutal impact sends a violent vibration through my scythe, and my entire soul trembles with it. The shockwave follows instantly, and my vision explodes into a blinding golden light.

I've poured everything into this strike. Everything. There's no way she can come out of this unscathed.

At the very least, I manage to send her flying. Her body crashes hard against the distant wall of flame, flames swallowing her like the jaws of a beast.

Did I get her? No. There's no way she's dead from that.

I keep my eyes locked on the dead silent flame wall. And that silence worries me. It's too quiet. Like a prey being hunted by the predator hiding just beyond sight. I can feel strange ripples moving through the walls. Quick. Darting from one side to the other. It feels almost alive.

And that's how I know I need to be ready.

Quietly, I gather energy into my wings. I wrap them in dark light, letting the chaos energy mask itself and build. Slowly but surely, it prepares to explode.

The fire walls ripple faster. The rhythm grows erratic. And then—something unexpected.

All the walls collapse inward, rushing toward me like crashing waves, trying to crush me into nothing more than meat jelly. It would almost be funny. Almost. But I'm not ready to fall here.

"You can die alone!" I shout, and my body bursts with darkness.

"Sovereign Domain..."