The Hall of Judges was a place
few had ever seen
— and even fewer had left unscathed.
It was an enormous, cathedral-like structure, carved from obsidian and etched with
thousands
of ancient energy runes. These runes pulsed faintly, a testament to the sheer amount of power that had been gathered here over
centuries.
It wasn’t just a hall.
It was
a throne room
for those who dictated the very laws of the world.
And now,
Echo stood before them.
The Masters of Power
Seated before him were the
Judges of Energy.
They were
not warriors.
They were
not kings.
They were something
beyond that.
These were the beings who had spent centuries some even millennia
studying, refining, and controlling
the very essence of power itself.
And yet, as they looked at Echo,
there was unease in their eyes.
A man who should have been at
Unified Energy Third World
had somehow
transcended.
Not just to
Celestial Energy Fourth World.
No.
They couldn’t categorize him
at all.
The Question That Needed Answering
The silence was thick, but it was broken by a single voice.
An old man, draped in golden robes, his beard long and white, leaned forward.
His voice was
dry, almost lifeless.
"Echo..."
He let the name settle in the air.
"
You have transcended the limits of humanity. Where did you get this power from?
"
For a moment, there was no answer.
Echo simply
stood there.
His gaze swept across the room, lingering on each of the
Judges
as if he were assessing them instead of the other way around.
Then
He smiled.
It wasn’t a warm smile.
It wasn’t a cocky grin.
It was
cold. Sharp. Dangerous.
And then, he spoke.
His voice was steady. Calm.
And yet, it sent a
chill
through the air.
"
From hell.
"
The words
rippled
through the Hall of Judges.
A few of them tensed.
A few frowned.
And one of them
a woman with crimson eyes and dark robes
actually
smiled.
But the old man in golden robes remained silent for a long time.
Then, he finally spoke again.
"
Elaborate.
"
Echo didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, he
took a step forward.
The moment his foot touched the ground
These were
ancient inscriptions
, written by masters who had long since passed from this world.
Runes that had withstood the presence of
kings, warlords, and even gods.
And yet
For a
brief moment,
they
dimmed.
That was when the Judges
realized something terrifying.
Echo wasn’t just
powerful.
His very existence was
rejecting the natural laws
that governed this world.
He wasn’t just
above
their classification.
He was
outside of it.
The man in golden robes finally leaned back, his fingers steepled.
"
Hell, you say?
"
Echo’s expression remained unreadable.
"Yes."
Silence.
Then—
Laughter.
It came from the
woman with crimson eyes.
She leaned forward, resting her chin on one hand, amusement dancing in her gaze.
"You say it so casually," she mused. "Do you expect us to believe you?"
Echo tilted his head slightly.
"
Believe whatever you want.
"
Her smile widened.
"Interesting."
But the others weren’t as amused.
A
bald, muscular man
with arms thick as tree trunks slammed his palm against the table.
"
Enough games!
" His voice was like rolling thunder. "
What is your goal, boy?! Why have you entered this tournament?
"
Echo slowly turned his head toward him.
For the first time, there was
a hint of something else
in his expression.
Not amusement.
Not coldness.
But curiosity.
Then, he answered.
"
I came to see what the so-called strongest of this world looked like.
"
The Breaking Point
The bald man’s face
darkened.
"
Arrogant brat
"
But before he could finish his sentence, the
crimson-eyed woman
raised a hand.
"Enough, Gorath."
The bald man, Gorath,
gritted his teeth but obeyed.
The woman turned her gaze back to Echo.
"I like you," she said simply. "But you’ve made a mistake."
Echo raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Her eyes
glowed.
And then
The entire
Hall of Judges shifted.
It wasn’t
illusion.
It wasn’t
mind tricks.
The very
space around them changed.
The walls of the Hall
stretched into infinity.
The runes
blazed
, reshaping themselves into something
stronger.
And the
Judges themselves
They
stood.
One by one, the
most powerful controllers of energy
rose from their seats.
"Since you are beyond categorization," the woman said, her voice filled with
deadly amusement
, "we must see it for ourselves."
The bald man, Gorath,
cracked his knuckles.
The old man in golden robes sighed, but his
aura
was already condensing around him.
The rest of the Judges followed suit.
Each of them carried
centuries
of experience.
Each of them had
stood above entire civilizations.
They were
not ordinary warriors.
They were
not elite fighters.
They were the
Judges of Energy.
And now
They were all
preparing to fight Echo.
Echo’s Response
But Echo?
He didn’t move.
His eyes remained calm, watching as the most powerful beings in the world prepared to
erase
him.
Then
He spoke.
"
That’s fine.
"
The crimson-eyed woman raised an eyebrow.
Echo
tilted his head slightly.
"But don’t blame me when this Hall becomes a
graveyard.
"
BOOM.
A shockwave exploded from his body
Silence.
That was the only thing that remained in the
Hall of Judges.
The six elite warriors masters of
Celestial Energy
, wielders of
ancient techniques
, men who had shaped the fate of
empires
Were dead.
And Eiko?
He
hadn’t even moved.
The Judges, beings who had lived for
centuries
, beings who had seen
gods rise and fall
, beings who dictated the
laws of power
They were frozen.
Their expressions
weren’t of anger.
They weren’t of
hatred.
They were of
pure, unfiltered terror.
A single thought echoed in their minds:
What... is he?
Because this wasn’t just
power.
This was
something beyond understanding.
The silence was broken by the old man in golden robes.
His voice, usually calm and steady, was
shaking.
"...Impossible."
His hands, aged by
centuries of experience
, tightened into fists.
"These men... were the peak of Celestial Energy... And yet... you..."
His voice trailed off.
Because he
couldn’t find the words.
Because there
were no words.