Power of Runes

Not knowing that Saints from other continents and even a being from the void were rushing toward him, Orien's gaze burned with unnatural vigor, as if the world itself no longer mattered to him. His focus was absolute, locked onto the moment he had prepared for over countless years.

Even if he had known, he would not have cared. In his mind, anything that stood in his way was already irrelevant.

His eyes flashed as he sensed the abyssal energy pillar surge upward, tearing through the sky and smashing violently against the world barrier. The impact was immediate, and numerous cracks spread across its surface, branching outward like fractures in glass.

Initially, the world had been protected by two barriers. One was formed by the World Tree when it was still whole and uncorrupted, but after suffering under the influence of the Demonic Heart, it had weakened significantly and lost much of its strength.

Now, only the final barrier remained, trembling as it endured the pressure.

And at this very moment, that last barrier was being broken by the abyssal light.

Seeing the cracks rapidly spreading, Orien did not hesitate. He wasted no time and summoned the Demonic Heart, knowing that this was the only chance to push everything forward.

[T-This energy, this feeling....its the Abyss.]

The voice that emerged from the heart trembled with excitement, unable to hide its anticipation.

"Do not get too excited. Remember our deal. You have to open the path of Abyss for me."

[Hahaha, do not worry. Why would I go back on my words? We even formed a soul pact. I would not dare go back on my words.]

As the words faded, the heart floated on its own and slowly moved above the small unicorn body resting on the altar. The body was surrounded by countless black symbols floating in the air, revolving in fixed paths, orderly yet ominous, like planets orbiting a sun that radiated darkness.

The Demonic Heart positioned itself directly above the unicorn and began to radiate dark, oppressive energy. The symbols reacted instantly, as if they had been waiting for this moment, responding to the energy without resistance.

They started to move faster and faster, their rotation accelerating as if something was forcing them to reach a critical point. Their speed continued to increase until it reached such an extreme that, from a distance, it appeared as though a circle of pitch black darkness had formed above the altar, swallowing all light.

As if responding to this change, a deafening shattering sound echoed throughout the world itself.

The ground trembled violently. Earthquakes tore through continents. Tsunamis rose along the coastlines. Volcanoes erupted without warning, and ancient glaciers that had existed for countless years collapsed and shattered.

The world barrier finally broke, and its destruction was reflected across the entire planet. With multiple natural disasters occurring at the same time and without pause, lives were being lost at an insane speed, far beyond what anyone could contain.

The Saints who were rushing toward the Dwarf Continent witnessed this apocalyptic scene and were about to intervene when the voices of the World Tree and the Whisperer echoed directly within their minds. They warned them that this outcome could no longer be avoided, and that if what was happening in the Dwarf Continent was not stopped immediately, far more lives would be lost in the near future.

Thus, with heavy hearts and clenched resolve, the Saints abandoned all hesitation and pushed their speed to the limit, using every method available to them.

It was not as if the people were completely abandoned. Awakened beings and mythical rank existences quickly stepped forward, moving to take the places left behind by the Saints and doing everything they could to suppress the spreading disasters.

However, the natural disasters were not the only consequence of the shattered world barrier, as its collapse triggered a dangerous chain reaction.

With the barrier gone, the space restrictions that governed the world were lifted, causing countless dungeons to open across the planet. They were not instant break dungeons, but their sheer number alone was enough to turn the sight into a nightmare. Dungeons continued to appear one after another, wherever the eye could see, with no signs of stopping.

"Oh no, we are all going to die!!!"

"Heavens, please do not punish us!!"

"So many dungeons, so many, so many, so many..."

Ordinary people who were already fleeing from earthquakes and other disasters froze where they stood. Many fell to their knees, crying uncontrollably and shouting toward the heavens, begging not to be punished for sins they did not even understand.

The sight of countless dungeons shattered their remaining courage. Some lost their sanity entirely, while others cowered in fear, unable to even move, as despair swallowed them whole.

Even the awakened who were desperately trying to stabilize the situation had dark expressions as they witnessed the overwhelming number of dungeons appearing across the world. No matter how experienced they were, the sight alone was enough to shake their resolve.

Is the world going to end?

Looks like we all will die soon.

Such thoughts quietly formed in their minds, heavy and suffocating, but none of them allowed those fears to stop their actions. This was exactly what they had been trained for. Even as despair crept into their hearts, they continued to move, coordinating with one another and doing everything within their power to stabilize the situation, even if the effort felt painfully insufficient.

Meanwhile, back in the Dwarf Continent, Orien watched the black sphere formed by the high speed movement of the symbols. The air around it felt distorted, and even space itself seemed unwilling to remain stable in its presence.

With measured steps, Orien slowly walked toward it.

Upon arriving in front of the sphere, he raised his hand and summoned two girls from his space artifact, an artifact capable of storing living beings.

The girls were none other than Elysia and Aurora. Both were unconscious, their expressions peaceful, completely unaware of the fate awaiting them.

Orien's gaze lingered on Elysia for a brief moment, and a trace of regret flickered through his eyes as a thought crossed his mind.

It is a pity I was not able to use her to bring that thief pain. But I do not have much time. If I do not open the Abyss soon, father will realize the absence of the Heart of the Demonic God, and everything will be exposed...

Shaking his head as if casting away unnecessary emotions, Orien showed no further hesitation. He kicked their unconscious bodies toward the illusory black sphere. Their bodies curved under the force, tumbling helplessly before vanishing into the darkness.

-THRUMMM!!!!!!

A deep, resonating sound erupted from the sphere, and the array surrounding it seemed to sink into even deeper shades of darkness. At the same time, the light pillar that had pierced the sky retreated, no longer spreading outward, and instead poured all of its energy directly into the black sphere.

Inside the black sphere, the moment the unconscious bodies of Elysia and Aurora entered, countless black symbols surged toward them. They forced their way into their bodies through their mouths and noses, spreading relentlessly and wrapping around every inch of their forms.

Under the influence of the black symbols, their bodies began to melt. Their appearance aged rapidly, flesh deteriorated, and even their bones slowly turned to dust. Before long, their physical forms were completely destroyed, leaving behind only their souls.

One soul shone with a pure and brilliant light, bright enough to illuminate the surrounding darkness. The other was filled with deep darkness, yet within it countless stars twinkled endlessly, shining with an infinite and mysterious radiance. Neither soul fell short of the other.

However, the black symbols did not stop. They continued to encroach upon the souls, and with abyssal energy fueling them, their speed increased steadily. Slowly but surely, the symbols covered the souls entirely, sealing their fate beyond resistance.

With the destruction of their bodies complete, both Elysia and Aurora died, leaving no path of escape behind.

If Ash ever learned that his decision not to come and save Elysia had led to her death, how would he react? No one knew.

But unknown to everyone, whether it was Orien, the Demonic Heart, a screen suddenly appeared in front of Elysia's soul, and words burned themselves directly into reality.

**

[Forced intrusion detected.]

[Foreign authority identified.]

[Commencing deep analysis…..]

[Analysis complete.]

[The Fragmented Rune of Wish has already chosen its bearer.]

[After being swept into the River of Time to evade the cycle of reincarnation, the fragment inherited the imprint of the past.]

[But now, the past was being eroded by the Abyss. Abyssal Authority could not be overridden by fragmented authority of the Rune.]

[Host status: Confirmed deceased.]

[Temporal anchor lost.]

[Detaching Fragment of the Past…..]

[Detachment successful.]

**

At the same moment, a small ball of silver light slipped out from Elysia's soul. It shimmered faintly, as if hesitating for the briefest instant, before turning into a blur and shooting toward the sky at an unimaginable speed.

Its passage was so swift and subtle that not a single being noticed its journey, nor anything was able to restrict its movement.

In the blink of an eye, it left the world behind and vanished into the infinite, star filled sky.

Once the fragment departed from Elysia's soul, the black symbols surged without restraint. They completely engulfed her soul, no longer facing any resistance. From that moment onward, the souls were no longer treated as sacrifices alone, but as power sources.

Even in death, they were being consumed, burned as fuel, and once fully extinguished, their souls would dissipate forever, leaving no chance of return or reincarnation.

At the same time, the black sphere began to change. What had once been an illusory mass of symbols and energy slowly started to gain substance, becoming increasingly real with every passing moment.

The souls of millions of dwarfs.

The sacrifice of eight Saints.

The souls of those blessed by the Star and the Moon.

The body of a Unicorn.

The Heart of an Abyssal God.

All of these elements were now merging together, intertwining and deforming as they were forcefully compressed into a single thing. The black sphere continued to expand without pause, its size increasing steadily as if it had no intention of stopping.

At that moment, the ceiling of the underground city, and the ground far above it, began to crack. Deafening sounds of explosions echoed throughout the land.

At first, no demon paid much attention to it. The Land of Forge was home to countless volcanoes, and such disturbances were not unheard of. And with the world barrier shattering, this much was to be expected.

The Central City of the dwarfs itself was reinforced by innumerable arrays, powerful enough to protect it even if every volcano erupted at once...

But then,

-BAAAMMMMMMM!!!!

The ground above shattered completely. Massive fissures tore through it, revealing cracks that exposed the azure sky itself. Through the opening, more than fifteen Saints, a combined force of humans and elves, floated in the air, their gazes fixed on the scene below.

They saw everything.

The countless dead dwarfs scattered around the whole city.

The Hollow Queen, partially visible through the massive crack in the castle left behind when the abyssal light had pierced the sky earlier.

Soon, their eyes were drawn to the black sphere that was steadily growing in size, as well as the ritual array beneath it, continuously feeding it with abyssal energy.

Then, their gazes finally met Orien's.

Upon seeing them, Orien's lips curled upward into a wide smile, one filled with confidence and unmistakable mockery.

"Did you all forget your way?"

***