THE GENERAL'S DISGRACED HEIR

David stared down at the shattered form of the demon beneath his foot, silver-threaded eyes cold with controlled fury. The creature struggled, its powerful regeneration already attempting to mend its broken body.

"You touched something that belongs to me," David said, his voice carrying a new resonance that seemed to vibrate through the chamber's very stones.

The demon's eyes widened with growing comprehension and fear. "What manner of human are—"

"Human?" David tilted his head slightly. "I suppose we'll see about that."

[System Alert] Warning: [Bookmark] remaining time: 20 seconds Temporal stability: Critical

David glanced at the notification with mild annoyance. "It seems I'm on the clock. I would have liked more time to make you suffer for what you did to Luna."

The avatar's struggles intensified, darkness gathering around its form as it attempted to channel power from its true body. The chained demon across the chamber roared, straining against its bindings with renewed desperation.

From above, Elara hovered near the hole in the ceiling, her eyes wide with disbelief as she witnessed David's casual dominance over a creature that had defeated five elite fighters.

"David, what are you—"

Suddenly, David's aura exploded outward. A wave of pure power erupted from his form, so intense that both Luna and Elara were pushed back by its force. The very air seemed to crystallize with its density, making breathing difficult for anyone in his presence.

Elara's eyes widened in shock. There was something hauntingly familiar in the energy signature—something that reminded her of her own [Sun's Doom]—but twisted, evolved into something she couldn't comprehend. It was as though he had taken her technique and transformed it into something that transcended its original form.

"What... is this..." she whispered, her body trembling not from weakness but from the primal recognition of power that exceeded her understanding.

David looked down at the demon, his face a mask of terrible serenity. His voice, when he spoke, carried the weight of cosmic judgment:

"I am not the light. I am not the darkness." His eyes blazed with silver fire as reality itself seemed to bend around his words. "I am the void that awaits at the end of all things. I am oblivion."

He stood at the precipice of oblivion, his form a shifting tapestry of darkness and light. Countless particles, each a minuscule ember of cosmic energy, whirled around him like an atomic storm. His eyes, twin orbs of searing brilliance, narrowed as he summoned Sun's Doom—but reshaping it into something else, something terrifying.

With a silent command, the air thickened, charged with an electric hum that vibrated through the bones of the dungeon. His hand pressed against the demon's head, and in that moment, the very fabric of reality trembled.

The particles coalesced, forming a seething vortex of energy that radiated outwards in blinding pulses. Every atom within him danced to destructive rhythm, the precision of their movements echoing the calculated cadence of the universe.

As the vortex expanded, shadows fractured into shards of light, and the world around him bent under the weight of his unleashed power. Time itself seemed to pause, every heartbeat aligning with the oscillation of the cosmos.

David raised his other hand, summoning great runes which acted as a barrier encasing the demon.

In that transcendent moment, his ultimate power erupted like a supernova, a dazzling explosion of energy that tore through the space where the demon was contained. The air split with the sound of a thousand celestial choirs, and a shockwave of atomic brilliance cascaded outward.

Through this act, he was not merely a master of Light, but the orchestrator of fate—a living embodiment of the unyielding, elemental force that binds the universe together. Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

When the light faded, nothing remained of the avatar but scattered particles of darkness that dissolved into nothingness. Across the chamber, the chained true form of the demon shuddered once, then went still, its connection to its avatar permanently severed.

[System Alert]

[Bookmark] deactivated

Temporal backlash imminent

David staggered slightly, the silver threads fading from his eyes as his body began to register the cost of wielding such power. Blood trickled from his nose, but his gaze remained steady as he turned to Luna's crumpled form.

The chamber fell silent, save for the soft sound of dust settling from the ceiling. Elara descended slowly, her face a mask of shock and awe.

"What... what was that?" she whispered.

David didn't answer. He simply knelt beside Luna, gently gathering her broken body in his arms.

The shadows in the chamber began to stir. Like liquid darkness, they flowed toward Luna, wrapping around her broken form in David's arms. Her wounds began to close as the shadows sank into her skin, her body absorbing their essence.

Her golden eyes flickered open, focusing on David's face with unmistakable devotion. She raised a trembling hand to his cheek, her touch gentle despite the claws that tipped her fingers.

"I missed you," she whispered, her voice carrying weight beyond the simple words.

David's expression softened, the terrifying power that had obliterated the demon giving way to something tender. For a moment, it was as if the chamber contained only the two of them, master and servant locked in a moment of communion that transcended their roles.

Across the chamber, Elara watched in silence. Her gaze drifted to where Salomonis lay unconscious, his body curled protectively around Yue's small form even in unconsciousness. A frown crossed her features as the implications settled in.

Salomonis couldn't defeat this creature, she thought, yet David destroyed it with barely an effort.

The realization struck her like a physical blow. The man she had considered promising but ultimately under her protection might actually be stronger than her. The display of power she had witnessed went beyond anything she could comprehend—a fusion of techniques that shouldn't be possible.

Her attention snapped back to David as something changed. His gentle caress of Luna's cheek faltered, his hand trembling. Without warning, he doubled over, blood erupting from his mouth in a violent spray.

"David!" Luna's cry was echoed by Elara as they both reached for him.

His sapphire eyes, no longer threaded with silver, became bloodshot, veins prominent against the whites. His body convulsed as he screamed in agony, the sound echoing through the chamber with such intensity that the walls themselves seemed to shudder in sympathy.

[System Alert]

Critical Warning: HP Rapidly Decreasing

Current HP: 50%... 40%... 20%...@@novelbin@@

Luna held him tightly, her own body still fragile from her earlier battle. "What's happening to him?"

"I don't know," Elara replied, her hands glowing with healing flame magic that seemed to have no effect. "My spells aren't working!"

[System Alert]

HP: 10%... 5%...

Warning: Death Imminent

David's vision blurred as consciousness began to slip away. So this is how it ends, he thought, the irony not lost on him. To survive battles with gods only to die from the backlash of his own power.

Just as darkness began to close in, a new window materialized before him—not the familiar blue of the system, but a golden hue that radiated ancient power.

[Tower Master's Summons]

Requirements Met

Connection Established

Chamber of Ascension: Opening

"What is—" David managed before his world dissolved into golden light.

The last thing he heard was Luna's desperate cry as his body vanished from her arms.