Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, humans successfully formed an alliance with the elves, and both civilizations began collaborating with each other. Resources were shared, information was exchanged, and limited military coordination slowly began to take shape as both sides tested the fragile trust between them, learning how far they could rely on one another without risking too much.

The Human Association managed to pacify the raging crowd of people. Although now, instead of anger, a quiet fear pulsed beneath the surface, it was far more controlled than before. When the news regarding the alliance with the elves was made public, it gave people something to hold onto. It gave them hope, however fragile, and the anger that had once burned so fiercely gradually faded away.

Although there were still many dissatisfied people, mainly the families of the deceased students, they slowly lost their voice as public support weakened. Survival became the priority for most, and people began to care only for themselves and their immediate safety. The justice they had once shouted for and demanded was gradually forgotten, slipping quietly from their minds as fear and self-preservation took its place.

People's integrity was paper-thin. If one placed too much trust in it, the flames of corruption would eventually burn their hands, and those who clung to ideals too tightly would find themselves powerless when reality demanded compromise.

While humanity, on one side, seemed to have stabilized its condition for the time being, the demons had no intention of allowing peace to last. In the shadows, they moved carefully but steadily, inching closer to the moment when they could shatter the fragile balance of the world and leave destruction in their wake.

**

Dwarf Continent – Central City

In the underground city of the dwarfs, for the first time in a long while, there was no smoke rising through the air. No forges burned. No hammers struck metal. The silence felt unnatural, heavy, and almost alive, pressing against everything in the vast underground expanse.

The central city of the dwarfs was the core of their entire civilization, a massive underground expanse carved through stone and reinforced with countless layers of ancient craftsmanship. Its scale was immense, stretching far beyond what the eye could follow, with tunnels and halls branching endlessly into the darkness.

At the heart of the city stood a towering castle, forged from high-quality ores and rare materials. Its walls bore the marks of generations of master craftsmen, every corner and pillar radiating the weight of history. This was the castle of the Dwarven King.

Around the castle, dwarfs of small stature filled the enormous plaza. Every road leading toward the castle was packed, leaving no space for movement. Those who could not find room on the ground stood silently on rooftops and balconies, all facing the same direction, their eyes fixed, their bodies still.

An eerie calm blanketed the entire city.

No voices rose in conversation. No laughter echoed. No one drank or celebrated. In the vast underground city, not a single unnecessary sound could be heard. The stillness itself felt like a warning, as if even breathing could disturb the balance.

Inside the castle's grand hall, the space was almost completely occupied.

At its center was a massive brain. Countless ugly and horrifying eyes covered its surface, blinking at irregular intervals, shifting subtly like restless thoughts made flesh. Thick, writhing tentacles spread across the hall, crawling over pillars and stone like living shadows.

It was the Hollow Mother, or rather, the Hollow Queen.

This abomination was at least ten times larger than the Hollow Mother. Its presence alone was overwhelming, and the oppressive aura it released pressed down on everything around it, making even Saints feel a suffocating weight in their chests.

Standing before the Hollow Queen were Orien, General Yama, two other Generals, and the Visionary. The Dwarven King was also present, along with the seven other Saints of the dwarven race, though they were nothing but puppets.

The Dwarven King himself was a Saint, making a total of eight Saints among the dwarfs.

Lilith had yet to regain consciousness, so she was not present.

At this moment, the Visionary stepped forward. He bowed deeply, bending at a perfect ninety-degree angle, his hands extended carefully as if presenting something sacred, his movements deliberate and reverent.

"My King, this is the 'Key'."

Resting in his hands was a key.

Its appearance was otherworldly, simple yet refined, carrying a quiet elegance that spoke of power and purpose.

A crescent moon formed its crown, deep blue and softly glowing, with faint traces of starlight etched across its surface. Beside it rested a single star, small and steady, its light gentle enough to complement the moon instead of overpowering it. Together, they created a calm and balanced beauty that felt deliberate and complete, like a moment of order in a chaotic world.

The body of the key was smooth and slender, lined with subtle golden patterns that only revealed themselves when light brushed across them, glinting like tiny threads of destiny.

A faint ethereal glow surrounded the key, as if quietly declaring its sacred nature, filling the hall with a presence that could be felt even without understanding it.

Orien looked at the key and carefully took the key into his hands.

Feeling its weight, he fell into deep thought, his mind wandering into the shadows of what had to come…..

I just hope father will not get too angry about me doing something that was never part of his plans.....

Although he was going against his father, he respected him and hated him at the same time. These conflicting feelings toward the Demon King had existed for a long time, yet he had never been able to resolve them. No matter how much time passed, the emotions refused to settle.

With time, the conflict only continued to grow, piling layer upon layer, and now he stood at this very juncture, unable to step back.

I do not want to follow the path of my father. I want to take things into my own hands. I do not want to live my life following orders.....

The Demon King's goal was simple and ruthless. To seize control of as many worlds as possible while searching for information related to the Runes. To him, power was something accumulated through endless conquest. But this way of becoming powerful was never what Orien desired.

Across the entire galaxy, planets where life could truly bloom were extremely rare. Among them, planets that could support intelligent races were even rarer.

There were places in the galaxy where mana did not exist at all. In such regions, the chances of life were already close to none. And even if life somehow existed, it would not be intelligent. Even if intelligence emerged by some miracle, it would certainly lack powers, abilities, or any form of growth potential.

Because of this, finding suitable worlds that possessed intelligent races, natural energy, and the potential to grow stronger was unimaginably difficult.

Until now, the demons had only discovered seven such worlds, all of which had already been converted into demon worlds. The world of Akumia was the eighth.

Even now, the search for life bearing planets continued among the upper echelons of the demons. Finding one was already difficult, and with the vast void and endless space between celestial bodies, the process became even more exhausting. Ancient technologies, massive spatial ships, and forgotten methods were constantly being used, yet progress remained painfully slow.

But these methods are far too slow, and I do not want to spend my entire life like this. I am special. I want to know who hunted my family and forced us to flee from the Abyss..... I want revenge for my mother.....

That was his reason. That was his motivation.

And because of that, he was determined to open a path to the Abyss within the world of Akumia. He had already been researching this method for a very, very long time, long before anyone else had even considered such a possibility.

According to information found in old history books of the demons and knowledge unearthed from the Ancient ruins, there was mention of a great war in ancient times.

The records were incomplete, and he had no clear idea who had fought or why, but it was noted that this war had weakened the boundaries between the Three Realms, opening paths to both Heaven and the Abyss.

The Three Realms were the Heavenly Realm, the Mortal Realm, and the Abyssal Realm. Together, they formed the foundation of the entire Cosmos.

The Cosmos itself was the collection of hundreds of universes, each universe containing hundreds, if not thousands, of galaxies. Each galaxy contained millions of solar systems and countless planets.

One could imagine the Cosmos as a coin: one side Heaven, the other side the Abyss, and the thickness in between being the Mortal Realm.

During that great war, the paths to both Heaven and Abyss were carved open. From that moment, they never fully closed, forming what could be considered a permanent path.

Abyssal beings sought to destroy everything, while the Heavenly beings opposed them in every way. Gentle in appearance, the Heavenly beings were far more shrewd and dangerous. They wrapped control in sweet words, offered food and protection, and guided mortals under the guise of justice and purity.

What happened immediately after the paths opened remained unclear. However, the method to access both Heaven and Abyss was recorded.

Heaven and Abyss were like fire and water—they could not coexist. To restrict the Abyss, the Heavens sacrificed two of their most powerful beings. Their sacrifice prevented the Abyss from opening more paths, while Heaven retained the ability to create new ones if necessary.

The first path, however, remained permanently open. Even the Heavens could not close it, so they stationed their strongest guardians at the Abyssal gate.

The two beings sacrificed by Heaven were none other than the Goddesses of Star and the Goddess of the Moon. They wielded the power of all stars and all moons, and through the constellations, they sealed the Abyss, at least temporarily.

No seal or barrier was perfect, of course. There was always a way to undo it. Why this method was recorded in the Ancient ruins remained a mystery to Orien. Perhaps it had been preserved by civilizations that studied these forbidden techniques.

The only possibility to open the Abyssal door lies in the birth of two girls blessed by the Moon and the Stars.

The chances of such a blessing occurring were incredibly low, and finding such individuals was even harder. Although unverified, Orien believed the method would work—after all, the 'key' had successfully formed.

There were three conditions to open the Abyss:

The first was a way to weaken the barrier between the realms. All cosmic barriers were formed from Aether, that was the reason why he had killed the daughter of the unicorn couple. Her body was needed for the sacrifice, and he had been fortunate to discover that her soul was very unique—but Ash had taken it away before he could use it for himself.

The second condition was the 'key'. Gathering the enormous number of materials needed for it had taken him over two hundred years, with the final items, the Moon Stone and Star Stone, delivered personally by Ash.

They took control of all the dwarfs and made them make the key day and night without stop. When thousands of dwarfs worked on it, the process became even more fast.

The third and final condition was the souls of the Moon-blessed and Star-blessed, accompanied by a large number of soul sacrifices.

As long as all three conditions were met, any restrictions could be bypassed, and the path to the Abyss could be opened directly.

Orien clenched the key in his hand, his eyes burning with fierce determination. Every fiber of him conveyed the same message: anyone who dared block his path on this journey would die.

***

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