Dancing on the golden ashes

Another friend gone. Another piece of me torn away. More than ninety-five percent of my legion already lies dead, their bodies piled in rivers of blood, their souls silenced. All pushed toward the center, resisting with all they have left, while I—helpless—can only watch.

"What do you think, Gaon? Doesn't that one look like a problem? I'm losing too many good men with her around."

The Creator's mocking voice slithers into my ears. I follow his gaze and see her: a young woman freezing all life around her into statues of ice, her power too fierce even for the enemy generals.

"So…yeon…" I whisper, my voice breaking.

"Suffer more," he says lazily. "Watch as the talent that could even rival me meets her death."

A flash of golden light cuts through the battlefield. My eyes snap downward. Crimson spreads across her white dress, blooming from her chest. Our gazes meet. In hers, I see fear—but also relief.

"Empress… thank you. Because of you, I met the love of my life. Even if I lost him… I was happy while it lasted. And… you were like a sister to me. Take this as my gift to you."

Her final words fade, and an icy glint bursts from her body, freezing a section of the celestial cage. The bars frost over, weakened just slightly, but not broken. The frost spreads outward, and even time itself seems to shiver, a moment of silence before the battlefield devours her light.

"Seo-yeon…"

My chest burns with pain so deep I can't describe it. Worse than the first time I thought them dead—because now I know. There will be no resurrection. No return. This time it is forever. And it tears me apart a million times worse.

"So stupid," the Creator laughs. "To think they could ever free you while I sit here. What a joke your friends are, Gaon."

I glare at him, Wrath seething inside me, answering my hate.

"I'll kill you," I hiss through clenched teeth. "I'll kill you and slaughter you for millions of years, never letting you die. I will make you suffer for eternity. Mark my words." My jaw aches, my teeth crack from the hate burning through me.

"Keep watching…" The Creator's palm twists, and a mysterious force yanks my gaze toward the center of the battlefield. There, a lone warrior stands surrounded by hordes of commanders and endless enemies. He fights alone, his hammer shattering thousands with each swing, every strike falling like a star from the heavens.

"Eun-woo…" I howl, my chest burning. His body is cracked and bleeding, his mask shattered, a single eye blazing with the desperate desire to set me free. He does not give up.

"GAON! I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU!" His roar shakes the battlefield as he charges through millions of enemies, blazing like a dying star in its final brilliance before supernova.

But the flood swallows him, smothering his advance.

"SEONG-HOON!" he roars. "IF GAON DIES, I'LL HAUNT YOU IN HELL! SAVE HER FOR ME!"

His eye finds mine, and something in me shatters. I know what's coming.

"Gaon… I never told you this… but I think you knew. I always loved you—not as a friend. I loved you as someone I wished to protect, someone I wished to hold in my arms. Life didn't turn out that way… but I'm still happy. Happy I met you. Happy I saw you smile, saw you grow to this point. I respect you… to my last breath. Thank you. And… goodbye."

His body ignites in blinding brilliance. Like a star collapsing, he explodes, wiping billions of enemies from existence, opening a path for the rest. The supernova burns a hole in the clouds, the night itself visible for the first time in millennia as if the world weeps at his end.

And in that moment, my eyes lose all color. My soul falls silent. Shit… we're done. This battle is all my fault.

"She's awakening…"

"She is…"

"Need… just a little more…"

The voices stir inside me, restless, unrelenting. Something in me grows stronger, but with it I grow colder, emptier.

"GAON!" Three voices rush through me, surrounding me with their presence. Malrang, Seong-hoon, and Jieun seize the opening Eun-woo created. Tears of blood streak their faces, yet even through that pain they surge toward me, unwavering, refusing to stop.

I watch what's left behind, and there I see all of my beasts—my loyal companions. They tear into the enemy ranks with everything they have left, their devotion burning brighter than the sun. One by one, they hunt down those who dare to interfere, shielding me with their final breath.

My body trembles. Inside me, the pocket world where my beasts once lived grows silent—silent as death itself. In my system, the count of those under my command drops rapidly, each name vanishing like smoke.

And one by one, they detonate themselves in final sacrifice.

"Goodbye, Master…"

Countless voices echo in my heart as my world spins. My wolves, my two dragons, every beast I carried with me from that other world—gone. They fight until nothing remains, until even their souls are torn apart. And with their last roar, they vanish. Their final roars echo like thunder, then fade, leaving the battlefield eerily hollow—as if the world itself realizes its guardians are gone.

I stand alone. No beasts left to answer me. No companions to follow.

I hate this world. I hate this universe. It's garbage. This is not how it's supposed to be. Life should thrive—not consume itself in endless destruction.

All of the demons are gone. The sea of enemies has swallowed them whole, wiping out the last of our kind. Not even the originals remain… all dead. All because of me. Shit…

Suddenly, I feel the system stir—after so many years of silence.

[Your familiar—Malrang—has activated her final skill: Soul Ignite.(All attributes increased tenfold for five minutes. After that, the user's soul will burn away in a blazing fire, dissipating into eternity.)]

…