Kai Lane: Beginning

The pain, sadness, and anger were back in his eyes. He cried, overwhelmed by his emotions. He was only 19. He clearly hadn't grown up to fight such battles. He wasn't cut out for them. He felt he could no longer protect anyone. His limits were shattered by Kevin's and then Emma's deaths.

"I don't know what to do after all these deaths, but I want to finally be with you, hand in hand."

"And don't worry... I'll judge him."

At that moment, Kai didn't notice, but one of the tears dripping from his eyes was red. The glowing red tear dripped onto Emma's face and disappeared into the open skull.

Kai wrapped his arms around Emma and lifted her a little further away. The scene was somber under the rain. This very air prevented the monstrous Kronos from attacking. The wind picked up speed and the rain intensified. Thunder began to rumble. This somber atmosphere had an incredible effect on Kronos.

From the moment Kai saw Emma, Kronos had felt an intense pressure within him. It was so intense that it was slowly revealing Kronos's true nature.

Now, Kronos could think; he could feel. Although he was still gripped by the desire to kill, he could think. His face was contorted and his eyes were wide. He was filled with fear.

"What the hell is this?!"

After all this time, the pressure was intense. The wind whistled in his ears and raindrops drenched his body. His hair was very short. If it had been longer, it would have been blown back and forth in the hurricane.

Kai glanced at Emma one last time and leaned into her ear, which was still intact. His voice was a whisper.

"Don't worry... I'll return soon to bury you in the Skylands. Soon... It will all be over."

As Kai stood up, the hurricane intensified. Before Kronos could see his face, Kai was lost in it. The hurricane transformed into a tornado and black lightning bolts rained down from the sky. The tornado lifted the earth and engulfed it. Trees were blown away and kilometers of space were torn apart by the hurricane's force. The Cultivators fled the storm, but Kronos couldn't move. He couldn't move. The pressure was directed entirely at him.

"You will be judged, Kronos..."

A divine voice rose from within the tornado.

"Even though I know it's meaningless, I ask you to accompany them. So many have already died. After all, nothing would change if you died too..."

"Do you understand, Kronos? Do you understand the price of your crime?"

Kai's voice was eerily calm. Kronos didn't want it. Every time he heard that voice, it was as if he heard screams within the silence. He didn't feel capable of answering Kai's questions. He didn't feel capable of standing against him. But when he saw a pair of black eyes within the tornado, he realized he understood. When he saw the hatred in those eyes, he knew.

"I WILL EXECUTE YOU!"

A black light struck Kronos from within the hurricane. Kai's fist collided with Kronos's jaw, breaking it. As Kronos flew into the air, the black light on Earth rose into the sky. Before Kronos could react, Kai grabbed his head. Realizing his head had been grabbed, Kronos tried to swing his arm back. But before he could, his head crashed into the ground, crumbling it within a 100-kilometer radius.

Before Kronos could move, Kai attacked again.

'Too fast!'

With a single strike, Kai crumbled the ground within a 100-kilometer radius, leaving just 1,000 kilometers of land intact.

'Too strong!'

Kai slammed his foot into Kronos's head, burying him in the ground. The King of the Beasts was crushed like an insect. How could there be such a difference between them? Kronos didn't understand. He could feel the incredible power that Fenrir's Curse had bestowed upon him down to his very bones. This power was intense. They were both Half-Step Step 2. Even in his current state, he was pushing the limits of humanity. He was a beast. He was a beast feared by everyone, capable of killing even those in Step 2. But Kai?What kind of creature was Kai?

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'This is clearly beyond humanity!!! How could a human be so powerful? How can a human be so powerful when they're Half-Step Step 2?!!?'

'And also...'

That's when Kronos remembered something he had overlooked all along.

Kai was missing an arm!

He said he was injured!

As Kai pressed against his head, cracking sounds echoed through Kronos's skull. He was in disbelief. He couldn't believe such a person existed.

'Impossible! Impossible! A human can't be this powerful!'

No one could have been this strong when Step 2 was the half-step. Not even the Curse's killing intent was gone. Kronos was shocked that the Curse had vanished. But that didn't matter to Kai.

The hatred in his eyes had never faded. When he lifted his foot, there was no mercy in his eyes. Only an endless, unquenchable fire of hatred burned.

"Tell them I'm sorry when you go to the other side."

Kai lowered his foot. In one fell swoop, he swept away all of Kronos's dreams and hopes. He was killing again.

"Kai..."

The intensity of the rain mixed the voices, and no one could understand what was being said. Even if someone shouted in the midst of Kai's hurricane of hatred, no one could hear them.

But Kai had heard. He had heard that thin, soft voice. It was that voice that stopped him in his tracks. He looked up and realized someone was staring at him from beyond the storm. He couldn't see their eyes, but he recognized the body. He recognized the blonde hair.

"Emma..."

As Kai stared at her, Kronos's fear transformed into a survival instinct. Suddenly, his body transformed into the form of countless beasts. His back bore the wings of an eagle; his palms held the claws of a tiger; and his chest was covered in the armor of a turtle. His hair was draped in phoenix feathers and engulfed in flames. Many parts of his body had taken on the characteristics of beasts. At that moment, a name appeared in Kronos's mind:

'The Fire of the Monster King!!!'

All of the monsters he had created burst into flames. In that brief moment, as Kai looked at Emma, they advanced toward his chest.

"You bastard kid!

A cursed voice rang out from within the tornado. Then, a robot-like object with flames emanating from its legs flew up and slammed hard into Kronos, who was on the brink of death. It seemed genuinely intent on killing Kronos.

However, the attack had already left Kronos's grasp, and Kai didn't seem to notice. His eyes were fixed on Emma, who was inside the tornado. No one could fool Kai now. The Emma before him was real. Not an illusion, not a fake body.

As the flame advanced toward his chest, another figure burst out of the tornado—a girl with short hair that reached her shoulders.

"Stupid Kai! Back off!"

His face was covered in blood and he was missing a few teeth. Toma grabbed Kai by the neck, pulling him back and countering the attack with his own spear and several flying spears.

"Reflect!"

His Lord Skill countered his King Skill.

There was no way Toma could resist.

"Let me help you, Toma!"

At that moment, someone unexpected appeared, completely bare-chested and seemingly unfazed by the rain. His muscles were incredible—like muscle within muscle—and his red hair fell into the center of the attack like a savior.

"Raiya!"

But Raiya heard nothing. His body seemed to grow as he fell from the sky onto the Flame. His fist collided with the flames.

Yes, his fist collided with the flames.

This was the Body Guardian's ability. Everything was physical to him now.

As the flames collided with his fist and slowed, Toma absorbed their power with his spears. Then, he immediately thrust his spear into the tornado, directing the reflected fire towards it.

When the fire struck the tornado, it dissipated completely and reached the clouds in the sky. Naturally, such a powerful reflected attack was enough to shatter the air.

A few more people had arrived at the scene by the time the tornado dispersed. Shortly after, Jack arrived with his gray hair. Then, Jace appeared before them, followed by Lena on his back. Finally, Melony appeared with Kevin's transparent-haired corpse in her arms.

Kai appeared before Emma and stared at her in astonishment. He had thought she was dead for sure, but she was alive. He couldn't tell if it was because of the blood dripping from her eye or her divine lineage. But he realized something.

"The prophecy was right. Everything is progressing as it should. They will be safe."

Kai turned his head toward Kevin's body. An incredible pain rose in his heart.

'At least that's what I hoped.'

Kai glanced at Emma once more, then took a deep breath. His cold gaze returned involuntarily. He couldn't change it, not even for her.

"Let's go, Emma."

When he finally looked into her eyes, he remembered that nothing comes without a price. He saw it: Emma had been resurrected. But her power wasn't curiosity anymore. It was anger. There was something even more terrifying. Something that could change the expression on Kai's face. Another lightning bolt rose above the lightning bolt of anger. Smaller, but definitely present. Kai could understand how it felt. He could feel the broken connection he had with that emotion.

"Hate... My hate..."

His hatred had passed into Emma when she came back to life.

However, Kai realized that wasn't the real price when Emma spoke.

"You... Who are you?"