Lu Cheng's figure completely vanished beyond the barrier, as if he had never appeared.
But the "gift" he left behind, those few light words, were like an invisible curse, dragging this divine palace, which had been pure for ages, into another abyss.
In the deathly silent courtyard, the first sound to break the stillness was Ise Ryuichi's heavy breathing.
His crimson-gold eyes, stained with ink-black, stared intently at the dark crystal in his palm, as if gazing at the only step to the divine throne.
Humiliation?
Charity?
What did it matter!
As long as he could gain power, as long as he could tear that man apart with his own hands, and stomp his damned face underfoot, he would accept any humiliation, no matter how great!
"Hahaha...!"
A laugh, suppressed to its extreme, rumbled from deep within his throat, crazed and twisted, sending shivers down one's spine.
He no longer seemed like the Son of Amaterasu, but merely a mad dog, willing to swallow any poison for revenge!
Beside him, Kamiya Makoto's body trembled uncontrollably at the sound of the laughter.
He looked at the maddened Ise Ryuichi, yet felt no ripple in his heart, only a cold numbness.
Lu Cheng's final remarks, "useless" and "incompetent," though directed at Ise Ryuichi, were like steel needles, piercing deep into Kamiya Makoto's heart.
Yes, useless, incompetent.
Was he, Kamiya Makoto, any different?
In fact, he didn't even have the right to be looked at properly by that man.
He was just an irrelevant extra, a true piece of trash forgotten in a corner.
This realization was more devastating than any direct blow...
On the way out of the divine palace, a stretched Rolls-Royce drove smoothly through the night.
Lu Cheng leaned back comfortably in the rear seat, while Ruzuki Rin knelt beside him, brewing tea.
"The seed of doubt has been planted."
Lu Cheng picked up the teacup, blew on the rising steam, and a playful curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"The seed of greed has also sprouted."
Through the car window, he seemed to see the two vastly different faces within the divine palace.
"Ise Ryuichi's pride is the best soil for cultivating greed; he will devour that power at all costs, and then be devoured by the power itself."
"And Ise Hinata's soul, confined for too long, is the perfect breeding ground for the seed of freedom."
His voice was calm, yet carried an indifference that saw through everything.
"Now, all that's needed is a little time, for them to rot completely from within, by themselves."
"By then, I will come and personally harvest the sweetest fruits on this land."
Ruzuki Rin listened respectfully, her purple eyes reflecting a profound reverence and adoration for her master, deeply ingrained in her bones.
Her master's game was never about fighting and killing.
It was about human hearts... Deep within the divine palace.
Ise Ryuichi's wild laughter abruptly ceased.
He suddenly turned, and in a commanding tone, said to Kamiya Makoto.
"You, come with me."
Having said that, he didn't even wait for Kamiya Makoto's response, but strode towards an ancient stone chamber in the back mountain of the divine palace.
Kamiya Makoto numbly followed behind him.
"Boom!"
The heavy door of the stone chamber was forcefully pushed open by Ise Ryuichi.
He turned and looked at Kamiya Makoto, his gaze like one would look at a true dog.
"From now on, I will be in seclusion."
"You, stand guard outside this door."
"Without my command, no one is to approach even half a step!"
"Do you understand? My... shadow."
He bit down hard on the last two words, filled with sarcasm and contempt.
Kamiya Makoto's body stiffened slightly.
He slowly lowered his head.
"...Yes."
That single word drained all his strength.
Ise Ryuichi snorted, ignored him, turned and entered the stone chamber, and the heavy door slammed shut once more.
Inside the stone chamber, it was pitch black.
Ise Ryuichi sat cross-legged, and without hesitation, pressed the black crystal to his chest!
"Come on!"
"Let me see what kind of power you can bring me!"
Buzz—!
The power of the Underworld, carrying the aura of death and decay, surged into his limbs and bones like a breaking dam!
"Ugh ah ah ah—!"
A heart-wrenching scream instantly erupted from his mouth!
Pain!
Unimaginable pain!
The Amaterasu Divine Power within him was the most supreme and sacred light of judgment.
But this power of the Underworld was the most yin and evil source of decay!
Two completely opposite forces clashed and fought within his body in the most primal, most brutal way!
Golden divine light and dark demonic energy, like two mad dragons, tore at each other in his meridians, almost ripping his body apart from the inside!
His skin cracked inch by inch, and golden blood and black mist simultaneously seeped from the wounds, creating an extremely bizarre scene.
In the midst of extreme pain, his consciousness began to blur.
Lu Cheng's face, with its contemptuous smile, flashed and magnified repeatedly in his mind!
"Useless people are always afraid of power they can't control."
"Because they know in their hearts that once they accept this power that doesn't belong to them, it's tantamount to admitting their utter incompetence."
"No! I am not useless!"
"I am not!!!"
The obsession for revenge became his final anchor, firmly holding his sanity, which was on the verge of being torn apart by the pain!
His personality, in this inhuman torment, began to twist, becoming more violent, more suspicious, and even more... insane!
And outside the stone chamber.
Kamiya Makoto sat kneeling on the cold ground, like a stone sculpture.
He could vaguely hear the uncontrollable, beast-like cries of pain from behind the stone door.
But there was no expression on his face.
As night deepened, several shrine maidens on patrol passed by.
When they saw Kamiya Makoto at the entrance of the forbidden area, their faces simultaneously showed disdain.
"Look, it's that guy."
"I heard it was him who brought that evil star from outside, causing Lord Ryuichi to suffer such a great humiliation."
"A useless man who can't even keep his own woman, does he still have the face to stay in the divine palace?"
"Shh... quiet down, he's Lord Ryuichi's shadow now, a loyal dog."
Those whispers, though deliberately lowered, clearly reached Kamiya Makoto's ears, not missing a single word.
His fists clenched tightly.
Humiliation, like a tide, engulfed him.
Now, he was not only trash in Lu Cheng's eyes, a dog at Ise Ryuichi's feet, but also a sinner in the eyes of the entire divine palace...
After an unknown amount of time, the painful roars from within the stone chamber gradually subsided.
They were replaced by a deeper, more dangerous, beast-like panting.
Kamiya Makoto slowly raised his head, looking at the tightly shut stone door, and in the depths of his deathly gray eyes, a flame named "hatred" was quietly burning.
He hated Lu Cheng.
He hated Ise Ryuichi.
And he hated this unjust, damned world.