Abyssal Lord of the Magi World

The power of the dark supernova spread across the Emptiness, and its range was so large that it even crashed against the force field protecting the Ice-Fire World. Luckily most of its power had faded by then, or else it would have been extremely dangerous for the inhabitants of the world.

Zatiel's breathing was rough, and he was having difficulty regulating the energy inside his body and Inner Universe. The Thanatos Eye closed on its own, and the Eros Eye glowed, using its power to heal the internal damage.

That dark supernova was the culmination of the End Force under the control of the Samsara Thearch, and it required everything he had to unleash it. With the pupils holding the white sun and Samsara Force locked, it was one of Zatiel's strongest weapons.

If the Samsara Thearch ended up wounded by releasing such a powerful technique, then the state of the Ice Roc and Fire King could be expected.

The Ice Roc was forced to remodel its body due to the severe damage it had endured at the last moment of the battle, and it went from a massive figure of thirty meters to one not larger than thirty centimeters.

As for the Fire King. He lacked the power to rearrange his body like his ice counterpart. Eight of his arms were gone, just like everything beneath the waist.

Both monarchs of the Ice-Fire World stood together in the distance, trying to regulate the internal wounds and chaotic soul force as they stared at the Samsara Thearch with an expression of utter defeat on their faces.

The duo unleashed everything they had and even managed to trap the Samara Thearch in an inferno that embodied the core of their cultivation and powers, but they still failed, and there was no more strength left in their bodies.

Zatiel stared at the duo, and there was coldness in his eyes. Even though the dark supernova had weakened him, there was still enough power on him to give the final blow to the duo or at least force them to run away.

Venturing into the deep region of the Emptiness in their condition could be deadly, especially since their battle drew the attention of several Rank 10 life forms.

Although part of the Samsara Thearch wanted that fate for the Ice Roc and Fire King due to all the problems they gave him, he was not merciless and understood the instincts of life forms to fight for their home.

"Surrender now, and I will spare your life and keep my promise of returning the runic formation after I am done with it. I will not ask again."

Zatiel's voice was cold at the end, making it clear that there were only two paths ahead, obedience or death.

The Ice Roc and Fire King looked at each other and sighed before bowing toward the Samsara Thearch. If they keep resisting, the Samsara Thearch would kill them and still take the runic formation. There was no point in choosing death.

Zatiel nodded, and then he and the Ice Roc and Fire King returned to the Ice-Fire World.

The world continued shaking with more and more strength as the runic formation reached closer and closer to its death and rebirth.

The Fire King returned to his castle, and the Ice Roc to his mountain range. The duo used the power of the world to heal from their injuries while at the same time using their Truths to stabilize the world's foundation.

Zatiel reached the middle line and put his hand over it. He closed his eyes and sent the full power of his consciousness into the runic formation.

The process was much faster because he could directly guide the Samsara Force. In just a few hours, the runic formation finally reached its death, cutting the connection with the Ice-Fire World before attaining its rebirth.

Before the runic formation could fuse again into the Ice-Fire World fabric, the Samsara Thearch contained it into a small sphere and sent it into his Inner Universe.

"RUMBLE!"

A cataclysmic event began when the runic formation vanished from the Ice-Fire World's middle line. The nature of the force that covered each half of the world could not tolerate each other, so they took the path of dominion, trying to overcome the other.

Even if one side managed to win, a world with a single elemental force could not create a force field capable of enduring the radiation or chaotic waves from the Emptiness. If nothing reverted that path, the Ice-Fire World would become a barren heavenly body with nothing alive in it other than the two Fourth Realm life forms.

The Samsara Thearch saw the state of the world and immediately acted. His hands moved at supernatural speed as he forged runes with the power of Karma and Causality, using his blood and soul force as raw materials.

Those runes began to fuse into the Ice-Fire World's middle line, and slowly the tremors that covered the entire surface began to calm down.

Zatiel spent nearly a week infusing runes into the middle line until a new runic formation finally took place in the center of the Ice-Fire World.

The Fire King and Ice Roc focused on the new runic formation born out of the powers of Karma and Causality, and while they were happy it managed to stabilize the world, they understood it was only a temporary fix. That formation only kept the forces of ice and fire in the world at bay, stopping them from trying to consume the other, but it would not last for long.

Zatiel was a powerful Runemaster, but the runic formation left behind after that golden giant's death surpassed his abilities. He even deduced that the giant had a strength similar to his own, with a step on the Late Stage.

"The Karma-Causality Dual Seal Formation should be enough to stabilize your world for one hundred thousand years. If everything goes well, I should have already returned by then. In the case that something goes wrong..."

The Samsara Thearch did not finish his sentence but sent a meaningful gaze to the Ice Roc and Fire King. He could not return the runic formation to them if he perished.

Although the Ice Roc and Fire King had every right to hate Zatiel, they found themselves praying for his victory since that was the only way their world could survive.

Zatiel gave one final glance at the duo before leaving the Ice-Fire World and marching across the Emptiness. The idea of asking the Ice Roc and Fire King to join his side during the war against the Beyonder's Knight did cross his mind, but he immediately discarded it.

There was bound to be resentment in the hearts of the Ice Roc and Fire King, making them wild cards, not to mention that the Samsara Thearch was aware of the origin of the Knights, so he would only put people of complete trust in the battlefield.

Zatiel's body began to drive the chaotic energy that flooded the Emptiness into his body. That would normally be poisonous for most life forms, but thanks to his unique constitution, he was able to adapt to it and use it as fuel.

'One treasure down, ten to go.'

As he remembered all the effort it took to obtain the runic formation, Zatiel could not help but sigh as he understood there were still another ten treasures he needed. He hoped the others would be easier but knew there would be no such luck.

Where there was a treasure, there was danger. That was a fundamental truth of life, just like the duality of good and evil.

The next target of the Samsara Thearch was a Fourth Realm Phenomenon. Those were events that occurred after the clash of extremely powerful life forms or forces.

The one Zatiel was after was a massive realm of shadows and darkness he saw in the memories of one of the slayed Rank 10 life forms. It had an incredibly destructive nature, and that Rank 10 did not dare to get near it, so Zatiel had very little information about it besides its power.

After a month of traveling through the Emptiness, Zatiel had managed to recover just in time to witness the phenomenon he was looking for.

The Samsara Thearch's eyes widened as he saw the domain of darkness and shadows in front of him. Seeing it through the memories of a weak Rank 10 life form and staring directly into it were two very different things.

It embodied the convergence of death, destruction, and the erosion of meaning on a cosmic scale. It was an event that transcended the boundaries of life and extended its influence to the realm of the mind.

"Exactly what I was looking for."

Zatiel smiled as he felt the nature of the phenomenon, but his focus soon returned to his face since he had to find a way to encapsulate it, so he could use it to form a weapon.