A gigantic explosion erupted from the cave, releasing a wave of crimson-red energy that was so nefarious in nature that it actually began to slowly erode the ambient Magical Energy. Not enough to make any significant kind of effect, but enough that if that energy was constantly released into one place, with enough time, that place would definitely be ruined. And that was even despite the innate defences of the planet.

So what would happen when that kind of energy came into contact with ordinary lifeforms? The answer was provided very quickly. All of the Dragons who didn’t get out of the range of the explosion on time were swiftly dealt with a hefty amount of damage, but that was the least of their troubles, because they were soon besieged by the malevolent energy and within a few seconds their bodies began to erode.

Fear and agony clawed at their hearts as they tried their best to purge the heinous energy out of their systems, but their ordinary Mana simply could not combat the newly combined essence of Wrath and Destruction. A mere 47 seconds in they had all died with half of their bodies destroyed; open flesh and even bones exposed. But it didn’t end there.

Their bodies naturally fell out of the sky and crashed into the Heavenly Dragon mountain, beginning a long journey to the bottom that would certainly reduce what was left of them to paste, but before that could even happen, the destructive essence continued to claim the rest of their bodies, only coming to a stop when the only thing left of their bodies were a bunch of very damaged bones and a few scales.

All of this was watched by the remaining Dragons in the air, and they were very frightened. None of those Dragons that had died were weaker than the 4th Realm. Although none of them were Supreme Dragons or even Elder Dragons, they were still in the 4th Realm. And yet, they had died so quickly, and in such a gruesome manner too.

What on Eridius was the meaning of this?

Gaia’s eyes narrowed as she watched the pitiful remains trickle down the mountain. This was beyond her expectations. Naturally, having watched the evolution process for quite some time, she had already suspected that there was a possibility of neither the Essence of Destruction or the Essence of the ruthless Sin winning over the other, and consequently reaching a state where they either disappeared together… or fused together.

Obviously, the latter scenario is what had occurred, creating an energy so vicious that its mere existence eroded the things around it. It wasn’t hard for Gaia to observe what was happening to the ambient Magical Energy. For such a thing to occur…

Gaia let out a long sigh.

It had to be known that energy was immaterial, it could be absorbed, it could be expelled, or it can even change states and forms, but there weren’t many things in existence that could cause it to be directly destroyed, even if slowly. Such things were extremely rare to see and weren’t too inferior when compared to the Laws of Chaos, an existence that was even more incomprehensible, but Aeshma had obtained this power.

However… at what cost?

Having 100% affinity with the Laws of Destruction, his personality had always been one that was concentrated around brutality. He had an innate desire to ruin all things, something that his twin sister also had despite her calm nature, and it had taken him a very long time to learn how to act civilised.

The only reason his twin sister had always been able to remain peaceful was because her comprehension of destruction imitated the sea. The sea had many states and ‘calm’ was one of them. On the other hand, Aeshma’s comprehension of destruction imitated fire. Fire was a chaotic force that was always raging and destroyed everything it touched. Fire had no peace.

Although Aeshma being a complete sapient lifeform with infinite capacity to learn prevented him from being a slaughter machine, it was still quite impressive that he had learnt to associate with his brethren, even forming selfless bonds with certain individuals.

But now, there was a new, equally vicious energy that his body was hosting, something that had fused with his Laws of Destruction to form something new, and that new energy had thoroughly integrated itself into his body, down to his very DNA, by riding the waves of an evolution.

There was absolutely no way that he would remain the same.

And as if to announce that, a roar that could only be labelled as hell-raising exploded out of the cave. It was a roar that sounded both sharp and deep, courtesy of its multi-layered effect, but none of that information was enough to convey the amount of HORROR that it had inflicted on every lifeform that could hear- save for Gaia.

Every one of them, including the Crystal Dragon King, felt terror clutching at their hearts with a death-like grip as the roar continued to go on and on, increasing in volume, depth and ruthlessness as it did so. It was as if they were insignificant rabbits in front of a mighty yet hungry apex-predator and there was nowhere to escape.

They had only felt this kind of feeling from 2 people before; Gaia and Jörma, the 2 existences on the Continent closest to the title of Kaiser, but now, all of a sudden, there was a 3rd.

Everybody remained silent as the knowledge of what this meant sunk in, and their fear only continued to grow. Normally, having another supreme existence in one’s race was a thing of great joy. This should have certified their race as the rulers of the continent without contest, however…

There was one more thing about the roar they were hearing and the aura that was accompanying it. And that was that it was by far, the most evilest thing they had ever experienced. Gaia and Jörma’s auras and roars induced similar levels of fear, but that was just instinctual fear to the mighty. But not only did Aeshma’s roar induce the same feeling, it also made them feel as if they were in front of a being who wanted them to SUFFER, rather than just die.

Whatever had happened to Aeshma, he was now 100x times worse, not 100x better.