Dancing on the golden ashes

But I regretted that thought almost immediately.

Suddenly, invisible blades began slashing at me from every direction, relentlessly cutting my flesh apart into thousands of tiny pieces. Pain flared through me like fire—but even that agony felt distant, bearable. My wounds continuously sealed themselves, regenerating faster than they could be inflicted, and a twisted smile crept onto my lips.

"Interesting…" My whisper was cold, dripping with dark amusement. "Is this really all you've got?"

In that moment, my senses sharpened dramatically. My cold gaze slid to the right, locking precisely onto Jeong Suhan, despite the endless curtain of blinding white separating us. My eyes pierced through his illusion with terrifying precision, as though he was nothing but a frightened rabbit trembling behind a thin veil of grass.

I smiled cruelly, my heart beating with quiet excitement. He felt it—I was certain. His arrogance shattered instantly, replaced by unmistakable fear. I inhaled deeply, savoring that familiar scent of terror radiating from him. He had underestimated me again, and it would cost him everything this time.

My hand rose slowly, darkness coiling hungrily in my palm until a swirling black hole took shape, eager and merciless. With a swift motion, I launched it forward, tearing through Jeong Suhan's white domain like a blade cutting through fragile silk. His illusion shattered instantly, the white expanse collapsing into shards like broken glass.

A desperate lightning bolt shot toward me from the side, Nam Ji-ho's pitiful attempt at a rescue, but it was instantly swallowed by my abyss. The bolt detonated inside the orb with a muffled explosion, sending ripples of darkness outward, yet leaving me untouched. I smirked coldly, relishing their futile struggle.

Amid the roaring explosion that followed, I silently split a clone away from my body, sending it like a ghost behind Nam Ji-ho. Before he realized what had happened, the cold blade of my scythe rested comfortably against his throat.

"You should have learned your lesson when I killed you the first time, Ji-ho," my clone whispered icily into his ear. "Struggle again, and I promise you, your next death will be far more painful."

Nam Ji-ho's golden eyes flashed with rage, humiliation, and fear—a look I'd grown to relish.

But my own eyes never left Jeong Suhan. My gaze was icy, emotionless, the piercing stare of a predator who had finally cornered her most delicious prey.

Nam Ji-ho erupted into brilliant golden lightning, instantly teleporting himself at least five hundred meters away, clutching his throat and gasping for breath. My lips curled into a chilling smile at the sight. Was this all that remained of the once proud Thunder God? Pathetic.

"Go, play with him a little," I commanded my clone casually, sending it streaking across the sky in pursuit. If he couldn't even handle a mere copy of me, what gave him the delusion he was qualified to fight the original? After all, I had far more important prey to hunt right now.

My scythe erupted with darkness as I lunged at Jeong Suhan. The immense shadow figure behind me followed, mirroring every lethal swing. A colossal, pitch-black scythe slashed toward him, radiating a binding darkness that wrapped tightly around his body, constricting his movements like chains forged from the deepest abyss.

Jeong Suhan reacted quickly, drawing on a surge of white energy to block my strike. Our attacks collided, causing a shockwave powerful enough to distort space itself. Yet his defenses trembled beneath the overwhelming force. He gritted his teeth and swiftly retreated backward, fleeing from my reach like a frightened rat.

What an absolute coward.

"Come here, you coward!" My voice echoed with freezing disdain, eyes gleaming dangerously like a beast spotting its prey attempting to slip away.

His retreat halted abruptly. He spun around, his expression twisting into madness as white energy erupted from his palms, forming a colossal longsword of pure radiance nearly a hundred meters long.

"Heh! Reckless fool, you've sealed your fate! Die!" he roared furiously, confidence flooding back into his voice as he swung down the massive blade, slicing apart the sky itself.

But his bravado only made my blood boil hotter with excitement. As the colossal sword descended upon me, my blood surged with dark delight, anticipating the thrill of crushing him completely beneath my feet.

The towering shadow of my soul, the colossal copy standing behind me, moved in perfect harmony, fiercely intercepting Jeong Suhan's radiant blade with its scythe. At that exact moment, my true form underwent a sinister transformation, darkness flowing over my body like liquid shadow. Gauntlets of pure blackness wrapped around my hands as I spread my arms, bracing myself to catch the crushing palms descending from the fractured sky above.

They slammed down upon me with overwhelming force, driving the air from my lungs and forcing a bitter mouthful of blood past my lips. My bones creaked dangerously, the pressure threatening to crush my very soul. This was not Jeong Suhan's strength—no, it belonged to someone far more terrifying. My horns glowed intensely, crimson light pulsing as if desperately fueling me with enough strength to endure.

In that brief moment of vulnerability, Jeong Suhan suddenly vanished.

Before I could react, a cold blade pierced through my chest, penetrating directly into my heart. The pain was sudden and brutal, freezing me in place. I could feel my heartbeat falter and stop. My eyes widened slightly, meeting the gaze of the man I despised more than anyone else in existence. He stood so close that his breath brushed my skin, his expression a mixture of satisfaction and—was that regret?

We locked eyes in silence, neither of us needing words. For just a second, the two massive palms vanished, and my soul avatar dissipated silently behind me.

"In the end, I always win… Gaon," Jeong Suhan murmured softly, an irritating sadness in his voice. As if he regretted doing this to me... how utterly disgusting. How dare he pity me now?

Gathering the last of my strength, I spat in his face. A cold, defiant smile spread across my lips, even as blood dripped from them.
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"Go to hell," I whispered, my voice colder than ice.

Suddenly, my body trembled violently. The chaotic storm within me awakened, emotions surging wildly as the darkness deep inside roared to life once more. The sinister power of sins rose swiftly, eager and hungry, granting me strength beyond limits, waiting to tear apart the man who thought he'd finally defeated me.