Don’t mind the picture, because I already know some of you are gonna come in here for two reasons.
First: to criticize me because it’s AI-generated.
Second: to see what people are saying about it.
And probably a bunch of other reasons too, but whatever. The important thing is, what do you think about the chapter?
I’m waiting to make the poster, but I honestly don’t know what to do because I don’t like using AI, and on top of that I can’t draw, so I’m stuck. If anyone has an idea, tell me.
And don’t say “hire an artist,” I’m broke.
Any feedback about the chapter or any advice is welcome 🙂🙂,waiting for cover >
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On a clear moonlit night, Shin stood before the entrance of his massive palace, the pale moonlight reflecting off his white skin, beside him stood his thirteen-year-old son, Reinhardt.
A faint smile rested upon Shin’s face, he truly treasured moments like these, ever since Reinhardt’s mother was killed, the boy had drowned himself in training and learning for the sake of vengeance against the culprit, and today he had come to seek his father’s guidance regarding a certain matter..
Shin gave him the answer, yet Reinhardt realized it was only half an answer.!
“Mm, Father, this is only half an answer..”
Shin’s smile widened from ear to ear.
“My son, if I were to give you the complete answer then there would be no meaning in learning, and besides, the fact that you realized it was only half means you’ve already gathered some information, so tell me, how did you know it was incomplete?.. Was it luck, a guess, or do you truly know already..?”
Reinhardt’s eyes widened, only one thought echoed in his mind..
‘Amazing..!’
“Well, the thing is tha_..” before he could finish, he looked at his father’s face — Shin — only to see dark expressions clouding it, and before he could even ask what was wrong, Shin ordered him to get inside immediately..!!
Without wasting a second or arguing, he sprinted inside at full speed, yet instead of entering, he hid within the shadows near the gate like a hunter waiting for his prey..
Beneath the black night and the ghostly glow of the moon, dozens of yellow portals appeared!
And Shin remained standing exactly where he was, staring at the portals without moving, their yellow light reflecting upon his face.
‘Tsk.. they really love showing off..’
The portals soon opened, figures dressed in white stepped out from them, their bodies emitting a yellow glow similar to a candle flickering inside a dark room.
More importantly, only four of them had their faces exposed.
Shin cleared his throat.
“Oh, what a surprise, the Rulers themselves are here..!”
The one at the front spoke with a tone overflowing with arrogance and self-importance.
“It is truly your honor, Lord Shin, to allow beings such as ourselves to grace this place with our presence..”
‘What the fuck is this arrogant bastard talking about..?’
“But I never invited you here, nor will I ever do so, so how about you take yourselves and leave? The Bengshi Lantern Festival hasn’t started yet, we have no need for you..”
One of the Rulers immediately exploded in anger, specifically the Ruler of Light.
“You bastard! How dare you compare us to lanterns..?!”
‘Caught in my trap, sure, he’s the fastest among them, but he’s also the fastest to lose his temper.. idiot.’
“Stop it, Lux, he’s provoking you..” ordered the Sword Ruler.
“But my lord_..”
“Silence.. not another word, none of us are his equal.”
“Oh..? Seems the Sword Ruler knows his limits, then perhaps you’d kindly explain why exactly you all came here, and I assume it’s not to attend the festival as lanterns_.. I mean guests, sorry, my mistake.”
A vein twitched violently on the Sword Ruler’s forehead, his expression barely maintaining its dignity.
‘Let’s see how much you can endure, Toothpick Ruler..’
The Mind Ruler cleared his throat.
“Lord Shin, we came for.. the Emperor’s Eye.”
Shin’s smile widened even further, his expression turning more threatening, even his voice carried that pressure.
“Really now, and why exactly would I hand over the result of eight hundred years of research to you..?”
“It is for.. ah.. the balance of power.” said the Sword Ruler.
‘Balance?.. what a beautiful word coming from a monster uglier than a Jiogwi, and did this idiot just make that excuse up on the spot..?’
Shin stared at him with a threatening gaze.
“Oh..? If it’s truly for balance, then of course I’ll do anything to preserve the people’s safety, I shall gladly hand over the array..”
The Sword Ruler rubbed his hands together and smiled so widely it looked as though his face might split apart, exposing teeth as white as pure ice.
“Oh.. Lord_ I mean Emperor Shin truly understands what must be done, then where is the array..?”
Shin smiled arrogantly.
“In your mother’s womb.”
Apparently the Sword Ruler hadn’t heard him clearly, because he asked Shin to repeat himself, only to receive the exact same insult once again.
His face darkened terrifyingly, like the sky before black rain descends, his eyes no longer reflected any light at all, his face resembled a void crushing every fragment of pride left within him.
“And you dare repeat it..?!”
Shin thought for a moment.
“Mm, why not?”
The Sword Ruler’s face turned dark crimson, not from embarrassment, but like burning embers growing fiercer under pressure, even the breaths leaving his nostrils felt as though they carried invisible sparks.
‘Oh? Seems our little kitty is about to start scratching!’
‘Interesting!!’
The Sword Ruler clenched his fists.
His breathing grew heavier, even the aura pouring from him felt like lead crushing the lungs, but it still wasn’t enough to make me kneel.
“Attack..!” shouted the Sword Ruler.
‘Oh, he finally snapped.. good job, idiot!’
The Rulers began summoning their weapons in preparation for battle, they knew this was a losing fight, they knew they would leave with devastating losses, perhaps even ninety-nine percent casualties.
Yet despite that, none of them trembled, not because of their beliefs, nor for something stupid like “balance”.
No... it was because of their greed for the treasure Shin had spent centuries creating... “The Emperor’s Eye.”!
Shin smiled.
The air around him grew heavier.
A bloody crimson aura seeped out from his body.
He didn’t release his killing intent, fearing it might harm his son inside the palace.
The pressure surrounding the Rulers dropped under overwhelming fear, their cheeks trembled and lost all color, their faces becoming like dried autumn leaves cast into a merciless storm.
Only one among them resisted.
The Ruler of Light.
A freezing white aura surrounded him.
He screamed in rage.
“You bastard..!”
Within mere moments, the Ruler of Light lunged forward like a yellow thunderbolt, raining countless attacks upon Shin, yet in the Emperor’s eyes they were nothing more than weak strands of light, not impressive attacks at all, but rather the desperate flailing of a child trying to grasp a mirage.
Shin stood there relaxed, deflecting every flash with tiny movements, as though the legendary speed of the Ruler of Light was nothing more than slow meaningless nonsense unworthy of attention.
The Ruler struck and retreated repeatedly, but it was useless, every flash of light collided against an invisible wall of cold indifference.
‘Could Shin actually be faster than light itself?!.. No, that’s impossible!’
I tried to force those chaotic thoughts away, but the moment my eyes focused once more, the blood in my veins froze.
Shin still stood in the same spot, yet his hand — a hand I never even saw move — was already gripping the Ruler of Light’s head like one would grasp a ripe fruit.
A demonic smile spread across Shin’s face, a smile that made the very air around us grow heavy enough to suffocate us.
‘This bastard.. what is he planning to do?!’
Before any of us could even blink, before a single one of us could take one step forward, Shin tightened his grip.
The sound of shattering bones echoed throughout the area like thunder exploding in a silent night, he crushed the Ruler of Light’s skull the same way one crushes a dry branch.
The corpse collapsed lifelessly upon the stone floor, crimson blood erupting over the white marble, announcing the end of “Light” beneath the weight of the true “Shadow”.
The atmosphere turned even heavier.
The remaining Rulers trembled after witnessing what had happened, no matter how much weaker the Ruler of Light was compared to the others, his speed alone had always filled that gap!
Blood splattered across Shin’s clothes, irritating him slightly.
‘Fucking lanterns, these clothes were a gift..’
“Shin Zero, you have truly gone too far this time, therefore by my authority as the Lord of Rulers, I order you to surrender yourself..!” shouted the Sword Ruler.
“Hah...!”
“What are you doing?! Why are you just standing there?! You must pay for your crimes..!”
“Surrender myself? Funny, you pigs speak of purity while drowning in your own filth, you sell your dignity for an ‘array’ then demand I kneel before you? I crushed your fastest like an annoying insect, so what now? Will the rest line up so we can see whose skull is harder?.. Or are you all satisfied licking your comrade’s blood off my shoes?”
He took a single step forward.
The Rulers unconsciously retreated two steps backward, drenched in sweat.
“See? You’re nothing but a bunch of trash... and clearly in need of discipline, I’ve played with you long enough..”
The atmosphere around Shin turned violent with rage, the bloody crimson aura flowing wildly out of his body..!
The Rulers shrank back in fear.
Then suddenly, a bloody red light appeared above their heads, and when they forced themselves to look upward beneath the crushing pressure, they saw a blood-red moon staring down at them like the eye of an ancient being preparing to devour them whole..!
Before they could even react, demonic crimson hands descended from the bloody moon, grabbing the Rulers one after another.
They had no time to escape or defend themselves, those hands crushed them the way one crushes mosquitoes, and even those who resisted were overwhelmed as multiple hands grabbed and squeezed them mercilessly.!
The entire area turned red, the smell of blood filled the air along with the horrifying sounds of bodies being crushed..
After some time, the hands finally stopped, the demonic moon disappeared, and the pale ghostly moon returned once again..
But... more than seventy percent of the Rulers had been slaughtered.
And that man called Shin watched us die as though he were enjoying some entertaining play...
Fuck him.
“You’ve already lost over seventy percent of your Rulers, so go back where you came from and stop bothering me.” Shin mocked.
He turned and calmly walked toward the palace.
Then suddenly, a short figure emerged from the shadows.
It was Reinhardt, Shin’s eldest son.
The child ran forward and threw himself into his father’s embrace, shocking even Shin himself.!
Shin knelt down to lessen the height difference between them and see what was wrong.
“What is it, Rain..? Why are you so scared..?” asked Shin.
“Father..” Rain muttered.
Shin replied gently.
“What is it..?”
“Will you forgive me..?” Rain asked.
Shin looked confused.
“What could you possibly have done to ask something like that..?!”
‘Did mana mess with his head or what..?!’
Darkness deepened upon Rain’s face.
“It’s not something I did... it’s something I’m about to do.”
Shin became even more confused, to the point he genuinely started suspecting mana had affected the boy.
“What do you mean by_...”
Before he could finish, Shin suddenly felt something pierce through his heart!
Looking downward, he saw a black blade extending from Rain’s hand straight through his chest.
Normally he could heal himself instantly, but this was no ordinary blade, it was forged from Kytherin, the strongest legendary metal in existence, a material whose nature completely opposed Shin’s own.
Shin shoved his son backward, then turned around with immense difficulty, only to see smiles spreading across the Rulers’ faces.
Now he understood.
They had brainwashed his son into doing this.
Fog clouded Shin’s mind, his vision growing darker and darker.
A sharp ringing pierced his ears, though at least it spared him from hearing their arrogant laughter.
Using the last remnants of his strength, he raised his hand, revealing a beautiful white book adorned with elegant designs.
“This... is the Emperor’s Eye...”
The Sword Ruler immediately ordered one of the remaining Rulers to retrieve it.
As the Ruler descended toward him...
Shin smiled bitterly.
“But unfortunately... you won’t obtain it.”
The Sword Ruler instantly realized what Shin intended to do and ordered the other to hurry.
In a single movement of his finger, the book vanished.
And along with it, the Emperor’s Eye disappeared as well, taking away every last hope the Rulers had of obtaining that power.
That final action drained the last fragment of life within Shin.
Darkness consumed his vision.
And he collapsed face-first into his own blood...
Suddenly, my sense of time itself changed.
After those strangely silent moments, something bizarre overtook me.
It wasn’t simply coldness, it was something deeper... something dangerous.
I felt as though I were floating above a bottomless sea where endless darkness devoured everything around me.
I saw nothing except endless blackness.
I heard nothing except the echoes of my own scattered thoughts.
Then suddenly, memories began flooding through my mind like a violent waterfall.
Fleeting memories from days long gone, peaceful days filled with quiet happiness.
I saw familiar faces.
I heard loving voices.
I felt warmth I hadn’t experienced in ages.
But...
One face stood above all the others.
Freya.
Pain stabbed my chest as I remembered the promises I once made to her, and in a faint voice, I whispered:
“Freya... I’m sorry..”
Amidst that chaos, a powerful voice thundered throughout the endless darkness.
It wasn’t human.
It was something else...
Something majestic and terrifying at the same time.
I froze in place, fear spreading deep through my veins.
The voice spoke words I couldn’t fully understand, yet they sounded like either a promise... or a threat.
“This is not over yet... I am the one who decides..”
Immediately afterward, an unbearable frost struck my body.
A frost unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
It wasn’t merely external coldness, it was something invading my very soul...
Something threatening to consume me entirely.
I felt my existence fading away.
And slowly, everything around me turned into a pale white light.....