Rin carefully lowered himself and peeked through the crack above.
Below him lay a hidden chamber deep beneath the ground.
It was small—built like a prayer room—yet the air inside felt suffocatingly dark, as if light itself feared entering.
Ancient symbols were carved into the stone floor, and in the centre of the room, a massive circle had been drawn with black markings.
Rin remained hidden above, his breathing shallow as he watched everything unfold.
Ronan stepped forward.
His cold eyes swept across the chamber before he raised his hand.
"Stand inside."
At his command, the civilians moved without hesitation.
One by one, each of them entered the black circle.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
The symbols ignited.
A wave of darkness burst upward like smoke from the abyss.
Rin's eyes widened in horror.
He knew that darkness.
There was no way he could mistake it.
Void.
The eternal enemy of the world.
The forbidden god.
The destroyer worshipped only in whispers.
Rin's heart pounded violently.
No... this can't be...
Void was no longer waiting beyond the boundaries of the world.
It was expanding its kingdom into the human realm.
And humans...
Humans were helping it.
Something black and alive slithered from the center of the circle like countless worms of shadow before piercing into the bodies of every soldier standing inside.
The soldiers trembled but did not scream.
Their eyes turned pitch black.
Rin covered his mouth.
They're implanting something into them...
Using humans as vessels...
Ronan and his subordinates immediately dropped to their knees.
Their foreheads touched the cold ground as if standing before a divine throne.
Together, they began to chant in a low, reverent voice—
"O ruler of this world..."
"O creator of sin..."
"We, your faithful followers, kneel before you."
"Grant us your overwhelming power."
The chamber shook.
The darkness thickened.
And from the centre of the circle...
something began to awaken.
The rulers of the Human Nation had captured countless cultists who worshipped Void over the years.
Yet none of them had ever revealed the true purpose behind their devotion.
Now Rin understood everything.
The darkness that entered the soldiers' bodies—
it was no ordinary magic.
A forbidden seed born from Void itself.
A seed capable of turning human emotions into brutal physical weapons.
Anger became strength.
Fear became speed.
Hatred became destruction.
And those who carried the seed possessed one terrifying possibility—
they could evolve without limit.
Again and again.
Breaking their own boundaries endlessly.
But at a horrifying cost.
At any second...
they could lose control of their minds and become nothing more than monsters of slaughter.
It was a forbidden art.
A power humanity was never meant to touch.
Rin slowly clenched his fists.
His breathing turned uneven.
I need to leave...
I need to get out of this kingdom now.
He shut his eyes for a brief second, forcing himself to think.
There was only one option left.
Escape with his friends.
He would leave the Kingdom of Death as soon as possible.
Rin opened his eyes—
—and his blood ran cold.
Ronan stood directly in front of him.
Beside him were his companions, all smiling.
Not a single trace of surprise on their faces.
Only amusement.
As if they had been watching him the entire time.
Rin's body moved on instinct.
He turned to flee.
But before he could take even one step—
a massive hand seized his entire body.
"GHK—!"
Rin choked.
He looked back in terror.
Ryzan.
The man's right arm had grotesquely swollen into a monstrous size, veins bulging like twisted ropes beneath the skin.
It was his ability—
Body Bulk.
The power to enlarge and harden any part of his body into monstrous proportions.
Rin struggled violently, but Ryzan's grip was like iron.
Ronan walked closer, the smile on his face deepening.
"So..."
"You've seen too much."
Rin gritted his teeth.
A sharp pain exploded at the back of his head.
Everything went black.