Jade stood quietly beside the cooling remains of the lava lake.
The intense heat that had filled the chamber was gradually fading.
The molten rock slowly began to darken.
Without the constant supply of fire essence, the lava would eventually solidify.
Jade glanced around.
The chamber was almost completely silent now.
The Shadow Knights were gone.
The final notifications had already faded from his mind.
Only the faint sound of cooling stone remained.
Jade took a slow breath.
He was exhausted.
Not completely.
But enough that he could feel the difference.
His essence reserves had fallen dangerously low after the prolonged battle.
If he had continued fighting the entire army directly...
He might have died.
His tactics had saved him.
The footwork he had learned from the Shadow Knights had also played a major role.
Jade looked toward the corridor.
"At least I survived."
He turned around.
"Little Black."
The little black cat was still staring at the crystal ring on Jade's finger.
Its eyes sparkled whenever the light from the remaining flames reflected off the crystal.
Jade sighed.
"You stay close."
Little Black looked at him.
Jade pointed toward the corridor.
"And don't cause trouble."
Little Black immediately scoffed.
He turned his head away dramatically.
Then he walked away with exaggerated dignity.
His tiny tail swayed from side to side.
Jade stared.
"...That attitude."
Little Black didn't even look back.
Jade shook his head.
"Just don't destroy the citadel."
Little Black raised one paw without turning around.
It was impossible to tell whether he was agreeing...
Or simply dismissing Jade.
Jade decided not to care.
He pulled out the ancient map.
The parchment unfolded in his hands.
He carefully compared the markings on the map with the corridors around him.
"Left."
He looked toward the corridor.
"According to the map, I need to go left."
Jade began walking.
His footsteps echoed softly through the ancient citadel.
The deeper he went...
The quieter the surroundings became.
There were no more Shadow Knights.
No monsters.
No traps.
Just endless stone corridors.
Ancient walls.
And countless mysteries.
Then—
Jade stopped.
Something had been written on the wall.
Unlike the other inscriptions he had encountered, this one was unusually large.
The symbols covered almost the entire stone surface.
Jade narrowed his eyes.
He could now understand the ancient language far better than before.
Slowly...
He translated the inscription.
> **Before man existed, one world lingered in the void.**
>
> **And that was desire.**
>
> **Though forgotten, it is remembered within this very abode of oblivion.**
Jade remained silent.
He read it again.
Then a third time.
His eyebrows slowly tightened.
"Before man existed..."
"One world lingered in the void."
"Desire?"
He looked around.
Then back at the inscription.
"And this place is called an abode of oblivion?"
Jade scratched his head.
"Does that mean..."
"...this citadel is Oblivion?"
The thought made him uncomfortable.
He couldn't understand the meaning.
Was Oblivion a place?
A world?
A creature?
Or perhaps something much greater?
Jade stared at the words for several seconds.
Nothing came.
Eventually he sighed.
"Another mystery."
He had learned enough about the ancient world to know one thing.
Whenever ancient people used strange words like Oblivion, Desire, or Creation...
They were rarely talking about ordinary concepts.
Jade continued walking.
The corridor eventually opened into a small room.
Unlike the rest of the citadel, this chamber contained almost nothing.
No treasure.
No weapons.
No Data.
No ancient books.
Only a single drawing.
Jade stepped inside.
His eyes immediately locked onto the wall.
A strange being had been drawn there.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't a beast.
It wasn't a god in any form Jade recognized.
Its entire body was made from countless red threads.
Thousands upon thousands of crimson strands intertwined to create something resembling a humanoid figure.
The threads extended from its body in every direction.
Some disappeared into the darkness.
Others connected to strange symbols.
The drawing looked almost alive.
Jade froze.
Something inside his Soul Sea suddenly reacted.
His crimson ocean trembled.
His blood essence stirred.
The shadows beneath the blood-red sky began moving.
Jade's breathing slowed.
"...What is this?"
He took another step closer.
The strange connection became stronger.
His heart began beating faster.
The feeling was impossible to describe.
It was as if he were looking at something he had known for his entire life.
Something deeply connected to him.
Something connected to his blood.
Jade raised his hand.
His fingers almost touched the drawing.
Then—
His entire Soul Sea trembled.
The crimson ocean surged.
The countless shadows standing within it slowly turned their heads.
Jade's eyes widened.
The Bloody Shadow.
His shadow army.
The crimson figures that had once knelt before him.
For some reason...
They were reacting to the drawing.
Jade stared at the red-thread being.
Then suddenly understood something.
"This..."
"...is connected to my shadow."
He stepped closer.
The sensation became overwhelming.
It wasn't merely connected to his shadow.
It felt as though his entire Bloody Shadow had been created from these threads.
Every soldier.
Every strand.
Every crimson shadow.
Everything.
Jade's heart pounded.
"It's like..."
"...I'm looking at the core of my Bloody Shadow."
His voice became quieter.
"No..."
"The core of my entire shadow army."
The moment that thought appeared—
The world disappeared.
---
Darkness.
Absolute darkness.
Jade opened his eyes.
He was standing inside a black void.
There was nothing around him.
No ground.
No sky.
No horizon.
Only endless darkness.
Yet directly before him...
A single red thread floated in the void.
It was incredibly thin.
Almost impossible to see.
But Jade could sense its existence.
It was alive.
It moved.
It writhed gently in the darkness.
Jade stared.
Then something appeared beneath it.
A body.
A dead being.
Its corpse lay motionless in the void.
Jade couldn't identify its species.
It looked ancient.
Older than humanity.
Older than anything he had ever encountered.
Then—
Its shadow moved.
Jade's eyes widened.
The dead body remained completely still.
But its shadow slowly separated from it.
It walked toward the red thread.
One step.
Then another.
The thread suddenly began moving.
It twisted.
Writhed.
Then slowly descended toward the shadow.
The moment the thread touched it—
WHOOSH!
The red thread entered the shadow.
It wrapped around the dead being.
More threads appeared.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
They intertwined throughout the corpse.
They entered its body.
Its heart.
Its soul.
Its core.
Then—
A symbol appeared.
Right at the center of its existence.
Jade stared at it.
Something inside him suddenly clicked.
He understood.
Not completely.
But enough.
The symbol represented something fundamental.
Something that existed before strength.
Before cultivation.
Before power.
Before civilization.
Jade's lips moved.
His voice came out without conscious thought.
"The creation..."
He paused.
His eyes widened.
"...of life."
The moment he said those words—
CRACK.
Something broke.
Not around him.
Inside him.
A terrifying sound echoed throughout his existence.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
The black void disappeared.
Outside the room...
The entire citadel trembled.
Thunder exploded across the heavens.
But it wasn't ordinary thunder.
Crimson lightning tore through the sky.
The entire citadel was illuminated in blood-red light.
Jade's body remained motionless inside the mysterious room.
His eyes suddenly opened.
Both eyes had turned crimson.
His entire body began glowing white.
Not ordinary light.
A pure radiance surrounded him.
His black hair slowly changed.
Strands of darkness faded away.
They became golden.
Then brighter.
Until Jade's hair shone like sunlight.
His appearance had completely transformed.
For a brief moment...
He no longer looked like an ordinary Initiate.
He looked like a god descending upon the world.
Crimson veins appeared across his body.
They glowed beneath his skin.
The white radiance surrounding him intensified.
Then—
BOOM!
Blood-red armor formed around his body.
The armor appeared ancient.
Elegant.
Terrifying.
Crimson plates covered his chest and shoulders.
Red patterns crawled across its surface like living veins.
Yet the armor itself radiated pure white light.
Jade's presence exploded.
The entire room trembled.
The ancient walls began cracking.
Then the System spoke.
Its voice echoed throughout his mind.
Congratulations.
Initiate Shadow of Blood .
Jade's eyes widened.
The System continued.
God Body acquired.
Crimson God Body acquired.
Jade's breathing stopped.
Then—
Legacy Practice acquired.
Blood Dance.
The crimson lightning outside the citadel intensified.
Thunder rolled across the heavens.
Jade stood motionless within the white radiance.
The golden hair.
The crimson eyes.
The glowing veins.
The blood-red armor.
For a brief moment...
He looked completely different.
Like something that had existed long before the current age.
Then—
The radiance slowly faded.
The crimson lightning disappeared.
His hair returned to black.
His eyes returned to normal.
The blood-red armor dissolved into countless crimson particles.
Jade staggered.
His consciousness returned all at once.
He looked around.
The mysterious room remained exactly where it had been.
The drawing was still on the wall.
But something had changed.
Jade could feel it.
Something inside him had awakened.
Something hidden.
Something ancient.
He slowly looked down at his hands.
"...I broke through."
He could barely believe it.
He had entered this room simply because he felt a strange connection.
He hadn't expected anything.
Yet this place had awakened something buried deep within him.
A hidden God Body.
A new Legacy Practice.
Blood Dance.
Jade stared at the drawing again.
His expression slowly became serious.
"What exactly is this place?"
The question remained unanswered.
If the drawing represented the core of his Bloody Shadow...
Then who had created it?
Why was it inside this ancient citadel?
And why had it reacted specifically to him?
Jade slowly summoned his profile.
A translucent screen appeared before him.
---
Name: Jade
Rank: Initiate
Class: Devil
Data:
- Obsidian Vine Shadow
- Blood Wings
- Sharp Beast
- Fire Defender
- Return Sword
Flaw: Blood Debt
When your essence is completely exhausted, corruption consumes your body. Drinking blood infused with essence restores your essence and suppresses the corruption.
God Body:
- Beast God Body
- Crimson God Body
Pure Blood: 2,569 / 4,000
Shadow Fragments: 93 / 1,000
Echoes:
- Ant Demon
- Titan Beast
- Elephant Carriage
Legacy Practice:
- Beast Sutra
- Blood Dance
Mastery Level: 0
Powers:
- Blood Control
- Shadow Control
True Name: Shadow of Blood
Description:
Blood King desired greater power.
Thus, he abandoned his throne...
and became the Shadow of Blood.
Citadel: None
Master: None
Shards: 500 / 500
---
Jade's eyes immediately moved toward the newest Legacy Practice.
Blood Dance.
He opened it.
Another screen appeared.
Blood Dance
A dance once practiced by the Blood Nation.
Blood God eventually transformed the ancient dance into a martial art.
The technique grows stronger when practiced in unison with beings connected through blood.
Jade stared at the description.
"Blood Nation..."
He frowned.
"Beings connected through blood?"
His mind immediately returned to the strange crimson army inside his Soul Sea.
The Blood Army.
The Bloody Shadow.
The red threads.
The mysterious drawing.
Everything seemed connected.
Jade slowly clenched his fist.
"So..."
"Blood Dance isn't simply a martial art."
His eyes narrowed.
"It's meant to be practiced with others."
With people connected by blood.
Or perhaps...
With an entire army connected to the same source.
Jade looked toward the drawing once more.
A strange feeling settled inside his chest.
The ancient room had given him an answer.
But somehow...
That answer had created even more questions.
The citadel wasn't simply a ruined structure.
It wasn't simply a place filled with Shadow Knights.
Something had been waiting here.
Waiting for him.
Jade slowly turned away from the wall.
His eyes remained serious.
"What exactly are you hiding?"
The ancient room remained silent.
No answer came.
Only the faint crimson glow of the mysterious drawing continued illuminating the darkness.
And somewhere deep within Jade's Soul Sea...
The Blood Army slowly raised its heads.
As though they had sensed something.
As though they had felt their king become stronger.
And for the first time...
Jade wondered whether the ancient words he had read earlier had been a warning.
Before man existed, one world lingered in the void.
And that was desire.
Though forgotten, it is remembered in this very abode of oblivion.
Jade looked toward the doorway.
"Oblivion..."
He whispered the word.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Is this really..."
"...the abode of Oblivion?"
He didn't know.
But he was beginning to suspect that this citadel was far more important than Kelvin had ever realized.