The Dragon Realm was consumed by absolute darkness.
The darkness of the Abyss.
The last Dragon Man was slain.
Vast bodies of Dragons of Old lay scattered across the corrupted ground, while Lady Nova remained on her knees, begging for forgiveness.
Around her, the Draconic Angels had been reduced to kneeling figures, prostrating themselves before the white-haired youth.
Even the dead refused to remain still.
The bodies of dragons and Dragon Men began to twitch.
Their forms warped and mutated beneath the influence of the Abyss.
Everything had submitted.
The twin crimson moons hung silently overhead.
The white-haired youth smiled.
“Oh… and I thought this would be enough for my apotheosis.”
His smile widened.
“But being a corrupted, mad angel doesn’t sound bad.”
The moment those words left his mouth, his existence began to undergo a qualitative change.
More wings erupted from his back, spreading outward as his aura became increasingly dreadful.
His eyes seemed to contain every possible color—and colors that should never have existed at all.
The white-haired youth raised his head and gazed across the Dragon Realm, now completely consumed by corruption and madness.
He calmly smiled at the flying serpents drifting through the crimson sky.
“They don’t seem to be aware of the reason why I used madness as my fuel this time.”
He slowly turned his attention back toward the kneeling angels.
His expression became solemn.
“I am one… and also madness.”
His voice echoed throughout the corrupted realm.
“The destruction of anything and everything.”
A vast ocean of bloody red suddenly manifested around him.
Within it seemed to exist every creature imaginable—and countless creatures that should have been impossible.
A burning red sun appeared above his head.
To his left, a colossal giant sat upon a massive boulder.
It possessed eight arms and four heads, each staring in a different direction.
To his right, crimson planets orbited around an enormous clock seemingly carved from a human heart.
The impossible beings and objects surrounding him began to move.
One by one, they were drawn into his body.
They merged with him beneath the overwhelming influence of his authority.
Finally, the flying serpents in the sky shrank down and were absorbed into him as well.
The ocean containing every creature began to rise.
Higher.
Higher.
Then the white-haired youth expanded.
His body became colossal, growing until he resembled a giant capable of holding all of creation within his hands.
He slowly raised one arm.
His gaze fell upon the angels and dragons beneath him.
Then, with absolute solemnity, he declared:
“By the Abyss…”
The darkness trembled.
“Let there be madness.”
And there was madness.
The boy blinked into existence across a vast snowy plain.
White snow stretched endlessly in every direction, covering what seemed like millions of kilometers.
He had escaped the Dragon Realm before things became even worse.
The boy grimaced as a single thought returned to him.
That bastard really followed me.
He still didn’t understand what the old man wanted from him.
But one thing was certain.
He needed to become stronger.
Strong enough to defend himself.
The boy gathered what strength he had left and began walking through the snow.
As he walked, his thoughts drifted toward Zuko.
After the two of them had witnessed that harrowing sight, Zuko had vanished.
The boy didn’t know what had happened to him.
For all he knew, Zuko could have become some grotesque monster by now.
Yet Zuko had taught him how to use spirit energy.
The boy hadn’t even been able to thank him.
He continued walking.
His mind wandered, still struggling to understand why the old man had pursued him all the way from the Abyss.
Then—
He stopped.
A sudden terror seized his heart.
His emotions felt as though they had slipped beyond his control.
His eyelids twitched.
Slowly, he looked behind himself.
There stood the white-haired youth.
He wore the same ivory tunic as before.
The youth calmly stretched out one hand.
A bloodshot eyeball emerged from the void.
Without hesitation, he pushed it into his empty eye socket.
Then he looked directly at the boy.
The corners of his mouth curled upward.
“I found you.”
The boy’s entire being froze.
Fear.
Despair.
Exhaustion.
All of it surged through him at once.
He felt like giving up.
Anomaly.
Not God’s creation.
The same thoughts that had haunted him while being pursued by that strange creature returned to his mind.
Was this the true essence of the Abyss?
Was this what the old man truly was?
His thoughts raced.
The old man’s home.
The Abyss.
That disgusting stain upon creation.
It had truly come from nowhere.
Yet despite the terror overwhelming him, the boy remained composed.
He carefully considered every word.
Every movement.
Every reaction.
The white-haired youth’s piercing gaze remained fixed upon him.
Then the Angel of the Abyss spoke with brutal curiosity.
“Did you work with that child to subjugate me because you sensed me coming?”
The boy forced himself to remain calm.
He dared not utter the word anomaly.
Not in front of a being like this.
The white-haired youth missed nothing.
One careless reaction could have disastrous consequences.
The boy was facing something far beyond his comprehension—a being capable of possessing bodies and corrupting them through sheer authority.
His options were extremely limited.
He had to be careful.
The white-haired youth smiled.
“So…”
He stepped closer.
“How about we take a little journey?”
He gently placed a hand upon the boy’s shoulder.
Reality disappeared.
In an instant, the two vanished.
They reappeared within the Abyss.
The boy’s memories came flooding back.
The endless darkness.
The impossible journey.
The terror.
His breathing became unsteady.
“No… no…”
The white-haired youth spoke calmly.
“It’s a necessary journey.”
The boy tried to move.
He couldn’t.
The youth’s authority suppressed him completely.
They continued walking through the seemingly infinite darkness.
The white-haired youth remained strangely calm.
“Humans are so interesting.”
He glanced toward the boy.
“I didn’t think you’d still be alive after your encounter with me.”
He chuckled.
“I thought you’d be nothing more than a walking corrupted corpse by now.”
The youth’s smile widened.
“You amaze me, boy.”
He paused.
“So much so that I want to show you something.”
The boy lowered his head.
His voice was quiet.
“Just kill me.”
The white-haired youth laughed.
“I could.”
He looked ahead.
“But where’s the fun in that?”
He suddenly stopped.
The boy stopped as well.
For several moments, the Abyss was silent.
Then the youth’s expression changed.
Excitement appeared in his eyes.
“You learned how to use your spirit energy?!”
He laughed.
“Excellent work, boy!”
The white-haired youth extended his hand.
With almost no effort, he tore open a fissure in space.
Beyond it was something the boy couldn’t comprehend.
The youth stepped through.
The boy followed.
His vision was immediately erased.
He couldn’t see.
Couldn’t understand what surrounded him.
The youth’s voice echoed directly inside his mind.
“You can’t witness this layer of the Abyss.”
A pause.
“If you do…”
His voice became almost playful.
“Well, you know what comes after that.”
The despair inside the boy grew.
He could barely endure the pressure.
“Kill me.”
The white-haired youth chuckled.
“Instead of being so suicidal…”
His voice echoed through the darkness.
“How about you become my disciple?”
The boy remained silent.
“I can teach you the ways of madness and corruption.”
The youth’s smile returned.
“What’s the point of being human anymore?”
He looked toward the boy.
“Your species is destroyed.”
His voice became almost eerily gentle.
“You should have lost your mind a long time ago.”