"I figured that I'll find you here."

An old man wearing a very old black robe riddled with holes appeared next to a black-haired woman. He didn't stare at her but looked at the person she was watching with an absent-minded look.

"I'm not stopping you so why don't you go talk to him?"

Death looked at his student, Anastassia, and spoke, his tone gentler than usual.

For some time, the woman didn't talk and only looked at the frail and thin young man who was doing harsh manual labor to support himself and his sick mother. Seeing that he got no response, the elder spoke again:

"That is right, the current him hasn't met you yet."

"…"

Anastassia jet black pupils shook as her eyes became a bit watery but she turned her head away, afraid that the old man might see.

"You had only one path and you chose it. It is too late for regret now, child."

After he said that, both he and his student vanished, appearing in a desolate place far away. The two crossed the river of time and went back to one fateful day.

"It is almost time to pass my duty to you. You've learned almost everything and it is time to harvest the first soul."

He raised his bony hands and pointed a figure shrouded in black not far away from them. They were floating in space with only darkness surrounding them, the only source of light was of the faraway stars.

The woman looked at the two silhouettes a distance away, her hands slightly shaking.

"In fact, the one and only way to become Death itself is by erasing that which should not have existed."

The old man sighed as he stared at the shrouded silhouette. Facing the target was a youngster wearing a jet black armor which made him merge with his surroundings. He was holding a two-handed sword which was soaking with fresh blood.

"I, I can't."

Anastassia staggered a few steps and hid her shaky hands under her sleeves. She didn't even dare look at Zodiak, who had a gaping hole in his chest and was soon about to die.

"He's my-"

The old man cut her off and retorted:

"Arthur is, no, was your friend. Zodiak is not him and if you wish for your friend to return, you must do this!"

Without even realizing it, both she and Death were getting closer to the old man, Zodiak. As for Leiu, he glanced at them before turning around leaving.

********

It was a sky-piercing mountain, its size was truly absurd. It towered over everything on this planet and remained unscathed despite the Celestial Tribulation hovering around it. Red and purple lightning danced in the air, sometimes striking the mountain but damaging only a minuscule part of it.

Currently, this place, which was the boundary between the Cloud See Universe and the System Universe, was filled with people. It's a dangerous place where only the strong can enter but in the recent period, many cultivators and players have come, expectantly waiting for the tribulation to erupt.

In the sky, you could see a massive spaceship which was a third of this ginormous mountain. It was moved relying solely on very advanced technology, it even had thousands of cannons ready to fire.

Both on the peak and foot of the mountain, there stood numerous people, most notable of them were Marshals belonging to the Cloud Sea Empire and high-leveled players belonging to the System.

However, many other factions were quite curious about the tribulation so they sent their best experts, eager to witness what's going to happen. There were even second-grade clans and sects but they stood a distance away from the mountain, afraid to anger the big heads.

"Is this distance enough?"

Jian Si, now officially the sect master of the Mountain Ba Sword Sect, spoke to a woman standing next to her. The woman had black hair and was wearing a mask which covered the entirety of her face.

"Yes."

Cold Sword didn't know what exactly happened to Arthur but she did hear about Lucy's raid and how the Cloud Sea Sect put a hefty bounty on her head. It wasn't surprising to see her cover her appearance but she didn't know why she'd come here, moreover, she even personally came and requested her help.

As it was quite a dangerous place, Jian Si only brought the grand elder of the sect with her, excluding Lucy, of course.

The elder was curious about the sect master's friend but he remained silent, fully trusting Cold Sword.

Lucy's reply was short as she was busy cleaning the silver revolver, which seemed a bit different. She didn't know how exactly but when she came to her senses, she found her saber and gun next to her body. Her first guess was Timos, who highly praised this masterpiece crafted by her husband.

"What exactly are you going to do?"

Though she was usually brave and didn't fear anything, Jian Si felt intimidated by the suffocating tribulation and the several powerhouses present today.

"Pay back my debt."

Before he was pulled in Riarravar by the chains, Arthur said it clearly. He will never forgive or forget what they did and it was time he and Lucy stay true to their words. When the times comes, those who need to die will die, no matter what.

*******

"Ah… you're really good at tracking, the best one after Xyktia, actually."

A brown-haired man and gulped down one big bottle of alcohol before saying that. He wiped his lips and stared at the man holding a cane and hiding his face, which was very blurry.

"Your compliments are an honor, Sir."

'X' politely bowed to Timos before walking closer, his eyes curiously glancing at a nearby girl with blue hair. He could feel dangerous fluctuation emanating from her but he refrained from asking anything.

Timos didn't need to hear anything from 'X' to know what he wanted.

"I assume you want the Dark Blade? But, let me ask you… I even took it from Arthur so what makes you think I'll give it to you?"

After a brief silence, 'X' replied:

"Sir, with all due respect, I only need something inside the blade. The extraction will only take a short time."

"Maybe if I like your reason, I'll allow you. Here, sit and empty your heart."

Timos smiled and motioned for 'X' to sit opposite of him. Although reluctant, 'X' still sat and gazed at the bonfire, which was the only separating him from the Black Devil.

"Sir, actually, it's about your son, Sol'khin."

The moment he mentioned that name, Timos' smile vanished and an ugly frown appeared.

"Why are you mentioning him? Speak."

"He… escaped."

'X' immediately regretted saying that as a suffocating pressure spread from Timos, shattering the earth and splitting the sky. Only the little kid remained unaffected, she was so long in her mysterious trance that didn't notice anything.

"Escaped, you say?"

Though he appeared very angry, he managed to calm himself surprisingly fast. He took a deep breath and regained his calm expression before speaking again:

"Explain."

**********

"Ah! It hurts! Ouch!"

Aneirin jumped around while holding his aching butt. They had inspected the Well of the Lost before jumping in but they ended up in this strangely normal place. The fall did hurt a bit but it didn't really cause any serious injuries.

Zodiak slowly get up and studied his surroundings, curious about mysterious and small moving things. They appeared to be in some kind of laboratory but their vision was blurry due to a lot of steam caused by some kind of explosion.

Their attention was soon grabbed a machine which was emitting a loud noise while sucking all the steam inside of it. Soon, there appeared a middle-aged man in a lab-coat, a disheveled hair and a pair of round glasses.

Aneirin found him unfamiliar but Zodiak was shocked. He dumbly stood there, staring at this man, who was very similar to the one he dreamed about… their faces looked exactly the same, more or less.

"I succeeded, hahahaha"

The man joyfully celebrated while circling around the two oblivious guests.

"I must say, stranger, your sense of fashion is lacking but your room is fascination so it's a plus for me."

Aneirin studied the place while nodding his face, clearly not bothered by this sudden and very strange chain of events. As an explorer, he had been in situations much weirder and illogical than this.

"Ah-please pardon my late introduction."

The man wearing a white lab coat stretched his hand to the troubadour while saying:

"I am Claud Venice. A human scientist."