Liu Clan
Inside a dim, silent chamber, a man sat on a carved wooden chair. Only a single lantern glowed, its flickering light revealing a tall, shadow-like figure standing in the corner - eyes glowing blood-red.
Sheng leaned forward, voice cold and cruel.
"You understand the plan. The Xia Clan must be erased completely."
The dark figure slowly raised his head, red eyes sharpening.
"No one in this world can stand before me. This war will be over the moment I step on their land."
His voice was deep, heavy like thunder.
Sheng smirked and stood, gazing out the window.
"Good... then the war begins now."
Xia Clan - Training Grounds
Kuto was training furiously among the elite cultivators. Sweat dripped, dust swirled, and cosmic energy burst from his feet.
One arrogant cultivator scoffed,
"Come on, Leo. Try harder."
Kuto glared, cosmic energy erupting around him like a storm.
"Don't underestimate me."
His body blurred - one instant gone, the next behind the man - and he kicked the cultivator's head so hard he flew across the field and crashed, unconscious.
Kuto smirked, standing confidently.
"Get up! I wasn't even serious."
Zhong hurried in.
"Kuto, Mr. Rien has called you."
Kuto clicked his tongue but followed.
Rien's Room
Kuto entered and dropped onto a chair.
"So? What's the matter?"
Rien stood near the window, hands behind his back, watching the sky.
"I want you to help the Xia Clan in their war against the Liu Clan."
Kuto's eyes lit up immediately.
"A perfect chance to look cool in front of Lan..." he whispered, already dreaming.
Rien rolled his eyes.
"Stop dreaming."
Kuto leaned forward.
"Fine. What's the plan?"
Rien sat opposite him, eyes calm and eternal.
"I've already seen 23 million, 47 thousand and 34 possibilities. If we don't help, the Xia Clan doesn't win even once."
Kuto whistled.
"So weak, huh?"
Rien shook his head.
"Not weak. Their enemies have connections to divine figures. That makes them nearly impossible to defeat."
Kuto blinked.
"Divine figures?"
Rien nodded.
"Sheng Liu contacted the Domain Emperor. They're planning to bring powerful guardians into the battle."
Kuto frowned.
"But divine beings aren't allowed to interfere in mortal wars."
Rien smirked faintly.
"Rules matter only to the weak. The powerful write their own laws."
Kuto crossed his arms.
"So you're joining too?"
"Yes. I will support Miss Yin."
Kuto grinned like a fox.
"You're falling for her, right?"
Rien didn't speak - he simply grabbed Kuto and threw him into the wall.
"Don't annoy me."
Kuto slid down the wall slowly.
"...He's really strong."
Clan Hall - Miss Yin
Miss Yin sat alone on her throne when Rien entered.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Rien bowed his head slightly.
"The Liu Clan plans to start the war in two days."
Her eyes widened.
"Two days isn't enough to prepare."
Rien shook his head.
"Two days is plenty if used perfectly. You're the clan master. Form a team strong enough to win."
She stood and walked past him.
"I hope your confidence isn't misplaced."
Rien smiled softly.
"With me on your side... victory isn't hope. It's a guarantee."
She ignored his comment and left.
Xia Clan Garden
Rien walked quietly through the garden when Lan appeared suddenly.
"Hey, Disaster. How are you?"
Rien didn't slow down.
"I do not get sad or happy. Weak people cry at failure; strong people celebrate success. I stand above both. Nothing in this world can shift my mood - because the existence itself moves according to my will. When I close my eyes, I witness the destruction of universes. I am beyond emotion."
Lan blinked.
"...Sometimes I don't understand a single word you say."
Rien actually smiled.
"Just make sure you handle your team well in the war."
Lan puffed her chest proudly.
"No one can defeat me. Not even you. My 'minimum' is everyone else's maximum."
Rien walked past her.
"Confidence is good... but your maximum isn't even someone's minimum. Be humble enough to know you can be replaced. Wise enough to know no one like me will replace you."
Lan sat down, frustrated.
"This boy is too complicated..."
Rien & Kuto - Later
Rien entered the room and saw Kuto doing intense push-ups.
"What are you doing?"
Kuto didn't stop.
"Strengthening my body. If I get stronger, I can handle anyone's cosmic pressure during the war."
Rien nodded approvingly.
"Good."
Kuto sat up and wiped his sweat.
"But aren't you going to train too? It's war."
Rien leaned back.
"I don't need to train. I'm the strongest."
Kuto raised an eyebrow.
"There's someone who writes fate, right? Even you have a story written already."
Rien chuckled softly.
"I stand outside his existence. I don't follow fate - I overwrite it. Even the one who writes destinies cannot defeat me."
He closed his eyes peacefully.
"Remember, Kuto... even fate bends when I walk."
Liu Clan -
Sheng sat on his throne, reading war scrolls, when the torches in the hall suddenly flickered and died.
A chilling wind swept through the room.
Then-
A woman walked in.
Beautiful. Ethereal. Terrifying.
Her cosmic energy leaked out like a storm - and the guards near the door began choking, collapsing instantly as if their souls were crushed.
Not attacked.
Just unable to survive her presence.
Sheng shot up from his throne, stunned.
"Who are you? What did you do to my guards!?"
The woman smiled - slow, elegant, deadly.
"I am Seraphina... the creator of Cosmic Energy."
Her voice was a whisper that felt like a command.
"The ruler of this existence."
Sheng's breath shook.
His knees almost gave out under her pressure.
"W-Why are you here?"
Seraphina walked closer, each step heavy with cosmic authority.
Her eyes glowed like blazing galaxies.
"I heard you plan to wage war against the Xia Clan."
There was amusement in her tone - a bit of curiosity, a hint of danger.
Sheng swallowed hard and nodded.
"Y-Yes... I am."
His body trembled as her cosmic pressure kept increasing.
Seraphina tilted her head.
"You can't defeat them."
Sheng's eyes widened.
"Why?"
She chuckled softly, almost seductively.
"Because someone will be fighting for them. And as long as he stands with the Xia Clan... you won't even scratch their people."
Sheng clenched his fists.
"Who?! Who is this boy!?"
Seraphina's smile deepened - beautiful and terrifying.
"Rien Kinohutsu."
She spoke the name like announcing a natural disaster.
"The source of existence. Beyond imagination. Beyond fate. You cannot defeat him - forget about victory."
Rage and fear twisted Sheng's face.
"So you came here just to scare me!?"
Seraphina's expression sharpened.
A sudden pressure slammed the hall -
BOOOOM
-Sheng fell to his knees, screaming as if gravity itself crushed him.
Her voice dropped to a cold whisper:
"Do not raise your voice at me."
She bent down slightly, her presence suffocating.
"I am the only being in existence who can face Rien as an equal. Remember that."
Sheng gasped for air.
"H...How? He sees everything. He knows everything..."
Seraphina smirked.
"Not me. My cosmic energy is above his perception. He cannot see, sense or interfere with this conversation."
Her tone turned almost teasing.
"I am the blind spot of the omniscient."
Sheng coughed violently, struggling to breathe.
"Then... what do you want?"
Seraphina straightened, her cosmic aura calming.
"I will help you win this war."
Her eyes blazed.
"In return... you will let me fight him. That is all I desire."
Sheng stared at her, terrified but desperate.
"...Okay."
Seraphina smiled, satisfied.
"Good."
Her body dissolved into stardust -
vanishing into thin air.
The hall returned to silence.
Sheng collapsed, drenched in sweat, barely alive.