An explosion echoed across the mountain range, powerful enough to make the entire sector tremble. Peaks cracked, stone avalanched, and the lightning storm momentarily warped under the violent surge.

Yet no one heard it.

The thunderstorm was too intense. The roar of endless lightning devoured the sound before it could travel beyond the range. What had occurred was swallowed by chaos, disguised as nothing more than another violent convulsion of nature.

At the heart of the mountain range, within a newly formed crater of molten stone and shattered rock, the Scarlet King stood above Zator. The hermit Royal Blutlinie's face was peaceful-serene, even-like that of a man immersed in profound cultivation. It was a striking contrast to the sword that had pierced through his skull, flooding his brain, soul, and body with the suffocating stillness of the Quietus Force.

Cain's eyes were cold and methodical as he confirmed the result. Zator was not dead.

He was in a deep coma-his consciousness suppressed, his soul paralyzed, his life force suspended in unnatural stillness.

Only then did Cain relax.

Immediately, exhaustion assaulted him.

Though the battle had ended the instant it began, it had pushed him to his absolute limit. Every aspect of the strike-timing, concealment, suppression, karmic distortion, temporal acceleration-had required flawless execution. There had been no room for error.

And yet, what he had achieved was astonishing.

Paradise could distort power scales and create a false sense of averageness, but what Cain did was truly amazing. He had just

neutralized a Peak Alpha-Omega Overgod in a single blow.

Robuke, the Monster of the Root, had displayed similar might during their last confrontation. Of course, Robuke's body was extraordinary, and his gifts were unique. Still, he was not overwhelmingly stronger than Zator.

"If I faced him right now," Cain murmured softly, "I could crush him under my feet."

A flash of cold brutality crossed his eyes.

The World of the Root was one of the Existential Threats menacing the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe. Once, it had been a towering existence.

Now?

He had grown strong enough to crush it.

Of course, Cain did not allow that realization to cloud his judgment.

He was still trapped within Paradise. And while he could traverse the Flow with his Primordial Essence, he had yet to discover a way to move through it with his physical body.

"I've greatly improved my domain and mastery over the Flow," he reflected, shaking his head slightly, "but there is still a long, long way to go."

Every time he reached what he thought was a peak of

comprehension, a higher summit appeared beyond it.

"The next level of mastery should allow me to move with my body," he thought. "But I'm still far from that tier."

Even so, he could not suppress a brief flicker of anticipation.

If he achieved that level, he could begin the unification of his bodies.

The body from the Crimson World.

The one from the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe.

The one forged within Paradise.

If he fused them into a single existence, he would transcend his current limits entirely. His potential might rise to rival exalted entities such as the Samsara Lord-or the Eternal of Freedom, the being who had destroyed the Ancestor of the Root with a single punch.

The thought lingered for a few seconds, easing the pressure that had accumulated during the assassination.

Then Cain refocused.

This was not the time to indulge in fantasies.

He activated the Power of Karma and Null Eternum, shaping a temporary clone of Zator within the mountain range. The construct would remain seated atop the central peak, radiating the faint fluctuations of deep cultivation.

It was not perfect. If someone truly interacted with it, the illusion would collapse. But Zator was known to isolate himself for extended periods. As long as no high-ranking authority had a reason to inspect him personally, the deception would hold.

And Cain had ensured there would be no reason.

Satisfied, he withdrew the Blade of the End of Time from Zator's skull. The wound sealed under layers of suppressed energy, preserving the

body.

Then he vanished.

He returned to the lake infused with the power of the Omen of Time.

Deep beneath its surface, after using his soul, the Power of Karma, the Power of Chaos, and the Flow to ensure absolute isolation, Cain

finally allowed himself a steady breath.

He grabbed hold of Zator's body.

Though the man's brain had been pierced, Cain had been precise.

From the very beginning, he had activated the Eternum Flame in a controlled manner, limiting physical destruction and preventing the

soul from destabilizing.

Given proper care, a Royal Blutlinie of the Eternal Soul Realm could recover from such damage.

But that was not going to happen.

Cain's eyes sharpened.

His heart began to glow with a gray radiance as the Hollow Star within

it slowly revolved. A monstrous bloodline power emanated outward. The Hollow Star had been forged using the essence of Cain's Perfect Ancestor Drop-it was a creation born of overwhelming purity and

potential.

And that was only the foundation.

Soon, golden and scarlet energies surged from within.

Cain's Ancestor Power was extraordinary in terms of raw strength and purity, but the scarlet Power of Chaos and the golden essence of the Flow did not fall behind.

If anything, they existed on an even higher scale.

The Power of Chaos and the Flow intertwined around the Ancestor

Power, forming a golden and scarlet yin-yang pattern. Within it, a white stream revolved endlessly-an eternal cycle of continuity.

This was a Hollow Star only the Scarlet King could forge.

A vortex formed at its core.

It seized Zator's body.

And in a single second-

Swallowed him.

Cain immediately adopted a meditative stance. His posture was steady, his breathing controlled, his eyes sharp as blades.

It did not take long.

The Hollow Star began to tremble violently.

The pressure it endured was overwhelming.

Even in a coma, Zator's soul and life force instinctively resisted. The

innate vitality of a Peak Alpha-Omega Overgod was monstrous. That unconscious resistance alone would have shattered any ordinary Hollow Star.

But Cain's was not ordinary.

The forces of Chaos, Ancestor Power, and Flow were not merely

mixed together. Cain had used his knowledge of Neo-Demons' Astral Black Holes to forge them into something far more intricate-a construct designed specifically to suppress and seal life-forms of immense power. Even so, success was not guaranteed.

The Hollow Star vibrated with increasing intensity as Zator's essence struggled within the seal. Fractures of distortion spread along its inner structure, thin cracks threatening to split the construct apart. Golden, scarlet, and white energies collided in violent cycles while Cain reinforced the containment with every ounce of control he possessed. Failure remained a very real possibility. If the Hollow Star shattered, the backlash would not merely wound him-it could cripple his cultivation, forcing him to spend years healing. That was a price he could not afford.

More powerful fluctuations emanated from the Hollow Star as the

Royal Bloodline's body and soul refused to become the spark that would ignite the star. The entire lake trembled, waves of power spreading across the zone, flooding it with destruction and erosion.

Only the seal placed by the Scarlet King barely kept the devastation contained.

Cain did not care about the feelings or desires of his prey. He had captured Zator, and his destiny was already sealed.

His eyes glowed as the Power of Chaos and the might of the Flow

surged into the Hollow Star, enhancing every aspect of the construct. They suppressed Zator's soul while simultaneously subjecting it to visions of a realm where individuality was erased-where resistance

was meaningless. With each passing second, the Royal Bloodline was dragged deeper into the Hollow Star, and the structure grew increasingly stable.

Until finally-

"BOOOOOOOOOMMMM!"

An explosion erupted inside Cain's heart.

His entire body trembled, and blood leaked from every orifice on his

face. Yet a wide, bloody smile spread across his lips.

He had succeeded.

When Cain glanced inward, what he saw stole his breath. Within his

heart blazed a majestic golden sun, radiating a flame so brilliant it was almost blinding. He had completed the First Level of Apollo's Speed.

Taking a few moments to calm his heart and stabilize his power, Cain rose into the air. After ensuring that all disturbances had been concealed, he tested his speed.

His body moved from one side to the other, flashing like a radiant

shooting star.

Immediately, Cain's eyes widened, and the smile on his face grew even broader as he realized his speed had increased beyond expectation. Thanks to his previous technique, his velocity had already reached the Peak Alpha-Omega Overgod level. The First Level of Apollo's Speed was supposed to grant that same power-meaning there should have been no major improvement.

But Cain had chosen an extremely unconventional path. By using a living and extraordinarily powerful Royal Blutlinie as fuel,

he had shattered the theoretical limit of the First Level of Apollo's

Speed. He was now moving at a velocity that matched the Limit. Alpha-Omega Overgod.

"Hahahaha! Just like they say-great risk, great reward!" the Scarlet King shouted in exhilaration.

And things were far from over.

His eyes glowed once more as he took a deep breath and uttered two words:

"Apollo Burst."

Instantly, the radiant sun inside his heart began to revolve faster. His

flesh and blood gained a brilliant glow, as if his entire body had been

forged from living fire. In the next instant, he shot forward with even greater speed.

He could cross entire continents in the blink of an eye.

"Amazing!"