Chapter 49: Doom is an Open Door (5)

Three figures sat around a small campfire in a forest on the outskirts of the Devantor territory. Hidden deep within the woods to avoid prying eyes, Karnak, Varos, and Serati had settled into their secluded spot.

Varos gazed up at the night sky and asked, “How much longer do we have to wait, young master?”

“Not yet. It’s most effective when done at the peak of the night,” Karnak replied.

“The moon looks pretty high already...”

“Well, we’re close now,” Karnak conceded.

Serati, on the other hand, sat dazed, her expression blank. The shocking revelations she’d heard earlier still had her reeling.

Good grief...

World domination, time rewinding—it all sounded like grand, far-off tales meant for someone else. But this was no distant myth. It was the reality she had jumped into.

So this man... is the cause of all this chaos?

The chances of Karnak lying seemed slim. He had no reason to deceive her, and if he truly was the transcendent being he claimed to be—a godlike figure (or rather, a death god)—then his involvement in the current disaster wasn’t hard to believe. The only thing that felt surreal was how an ordinary person like her had become entangled in it all.

Well, I thought I was special in my own way...

She was, after all, a genius swordswoman who had awakened aura in her twenties. That was a rare and enviable feat, no doubt about it. But compared to these two, she might as well have been an ordinary Joe. All she could do was sigh.

“Ugh...”

After some time, Karnak rose from his seat by the fire.

“It’s about time,” he announced.

Serati already had a general idea of what was coming next, but she still asked cautiously, “Are you going to close the Door of Darkness now?”

If the gate were sealed, wouldn’t that stop the Shadow of Doom from pouring into the world? Wouldn’t it finally calm the chaos and end the calamities? Her question, tinged with hope, was met with a dry laugh from Karnak.

“Me? Close the door? What power do I have right now to meddle directly with time and space?”

Tampering with the fabric of time and space required extraordinary powers, far beyond Karnak’s current capabilities. It might have been possible during his days as the Monarch of Death, but not now.

“Then what did you mean by ending it?” Serati pressed.

“I meant I’m going to figure out

how

to close it.”

Creating a probe to explore beyond the constraints of time and space was a technical feat, not an act of raw power. It was something Karnak could still manage.

“Once I figure it out, I’ll quietly hand the information over to the churches of the seven goddesses.”

There was no need for him to personally seal the door. As long as someone did it, the problem would be solved. Delivering the information wouldn’t be difficult.

“I’ll just say I came across it while dealing with Straph. No need to bother forging ancient texts. I’ll pass it off as a handwritten copy.”

“And what if the churches ignore it?” Serati asked.

“They aren’t that stupid,” Karnak said confidently.

Having faced them directly in the past, he knew well enough what they were capable of. They would verify the information and realize it worked.

“After that, they’ll handle it themselves. They’ll rally their forces, call on the Three Archmages, and make it work somehow.”

Karnak spread his hands, and black energy began to rise, taking on an eerie shape. It was the Eye of Darkness

,

a construct designed to pierce through the fabric of time and space for exploration. Slowly, the Eye of Darkness floated upward, rising higher and higher.

The sky remained calm. No howling winds, no swirling clouds. No dimensional gates opened to spew void energy. There was no torrential rain or thunder cracking across the heavens.

The eye simply rose in silence and disappeared just as quietly. The utter lack of spectacle left Serati slightly disappointed.

“It’s... quieter than I expected,” she muttered.

“Of course it is,” Karnak said with a smirk.

“There’s no change to the fabric of time and space.”

The Eye of Darkness didn’t open a dimensional gate—it didn’t need to. The construct itself possessed the ability to traverse time and space.

“It’s like flying a kite. You don’t expect a storm to brew just because you sent one up into the sky.”

“Ah, so that’s how it works,” Serati said, nodding in understanding.

The eye had successfully entered the realm beyond time and space. Now, Karnak would need to focus entirely on the task at hand.

“I’ll be out of it for a while. Make sure nothing disturbs me.”

Tensing, Varos and Serati unsheathed their swords.

“Got it!”

“Yes, sir!”

Closing his eyes, Karnak directed his senses toward the Eye of Darkness as it ventured into the unknown.

***

A vast void stretched endlessly before him. This was the realm beyond the world, the far side of time and space. It was a boundless, incomprehensibly vast domain where no end could be discerned.

In the face of this void, even the world itself was no more than a speck of dust. For mere mortals, comprehending such infinity was impossible. Their feeble minds could only brush against its edges through inadequate imagination.

To even grasp it was unthinkable. The instant a mortal soul fully experienced this infinity, it would collapse into madness. Yet, without some level of perception, exploration was impossible. Navigating the void required a precise balance: perceiving only what was necessary, while ignoring the rest. It was a task of fine-tuned sensory control.

All right, let’s do this.

Perceive, then dismiss. Recognize, then let go. Karnak drifted through the infinite void, maintaining his soul and self through endless cycles of acknowledgment and disregard.

Eons passed. Or perhaps it was merely a fleeting instant. In this chaotic realm where time held no meaning, Karnak searched and searched for his goal.

At last, a colossal form emerged on the far side of the void. It appeared to be an enormous tree, or perhaps it was nothing more than a tiny, withered sprout. Karnak ignored the conflicting sensations and approached the tree.

As he drew closer, he realized it was not a tree at all. It was a mass of rotting, gigantic skeletons, with limbs spread like branches and countless bone appendages reaching outward. It was a ghastly figure suspended like a hanged corpse.

Karnak smirked bitterly. This grotesque form was the very essence of the power he once wielded as the Monarch of Death. A power that turned the world into hell, annihilated humanity, shattered the boundaries between life and death, and ultimately blurred the line between reality and illusion. It was corruption incarnate.

I was truly a strange one. What did I ever see in wearing this wretched thing?

Clicking his tongue, Karnak approached the tree-like form in the void, the Astra Shunaph

.

Its massive trunk was slick with congealed blood. Dark currents flowed along its branches.

A foul, deathly energy nourished its budding leaves and bore its fruit. The fruits ripened and fell, one by one. Each time a fruit dropped, the fabric of time and space trembled, and small rifts opened in the void. The fallen fruits vanished beyond the rifts, scattering Shadow of Doom into the world.

Ugh, I need to focus.

Karnak snapped himself out of the trance induced by the sight. The priority now was to stop this process.

“Let’s see...”

This power had once been his. It was a force he had nurtured and cultivated. Although it had warped beyond recognition, its fundamental flow remained unchanged. Using that flow as a guide, Karnak carefully maneuvered the Eye of Darkness through the raging storm of darkness, seeking the densest concentration.

There?

His plan was to penetrate the core of the power, extract information, and find a way to sever this corrupted void’s influence on the world. As he advanced, a flicker of doubt crossed Karnak’s mind.

I hope this works out...

He had boasted confidently in front of Varos and Serati, but in truth, he wasn’t entirely sure of his plan. He felt certain about navigating the void, but finding a clue? That wasn’t guaranteed. Even if he found one, there was no certainty it would lead to a solution. So why the bravado?

No need to make them worry unnecessarily. If this doesn’t work, I’ll deal with it then.

Finally, Karnak reached the vicinity of the Astra Shunaph. The ominous tree loomed before him, resembling a corrupted version of the mythical World Tree. The Eye of Darkness circled the massive structure.

Where do I enter?

As he scouted for a suitable path, a voice suddenly rang out.

“Turn back, mortal...”

Karnak froze. This was a voice that shouldn’t exist in the infinite void.

“What... what is this?” he stammered.

The voice continued, “This is a realm forbidden to those destined to perish.”

Startled, Karnak glanced at the dark tree that had once been his power.

Surely that thing isn’t the one speaking... is it?

Just in case, he ventured a cautious question, “...Who are you?”

“I am Death,” the voice replied immediately.

The answer was straightforward, yet it left Karnak more baffled than reassured.

“I am Death, Darkness, and the Fate that destroys.”

The sheer abruptness of the proclamation rendered Karnak momentarily speechless. At the same time, a violent storm surged forth, an unseen force tossing the Eye of Darkness about like a fragile leaf caught in a hurricane.

“Gah! Ugh!”

Karnak was thrown into disarray. The overwhelming power rendered the Eye of Darkness uncontrollable.

“Damn it! What the hell is going on?!”

What made the situation even more baffling was that this force pushing him back was none other than the Shadow of Doom itself.

“Something is manipulating my power for its own ends?”

A massive ripple radiated from the colossal spectral tree, the Astra Shunaph.

Boom!

The ripple tore into the Eye of Darkness

,

shredding it apart bit by bit. As Karnak’s consciousness began to waver, a majestic voice resounded.

“In the name of Tesranach

,

I command you.”

That was the last thing he heard.

“Begone, pitiful mortal...”

Karnak’s awareness plummeted rapidly toward the ground.

“W-whoaaaah!”

***

A buzzing sound filled his ears.

“...rn...!”

“...rnak, sir!”

It was Varos and Serati’s voices. With great effort, Karnak opened his eyes. Slowly, his vision returned.

“Are you awake? Can you see me?”

“Are you all right?”

Groaning, Karnak barely managed to sit up. Looking around, he asked weakly, “Did something happen?”

“Did something happen?” Varos repeated, incredulous.

The two of them had been vigilantly standing guard when Karnak’s body suddenly began trembling violently before he collapsed. Alarmed, they’d quickly laid him down and started massaging his limbs, trying to rouse him. That was Varos’s account.

“Did the plan go awry?” Varos asked.

“It’s not just that...” Karnak muttered, trying to piece together his scrambled thoughts. He turned to Varos. “What... what was the name of that god the cultists worshipped? The death god, or whatever...”

“Huh? Oh, um...”

Varos hesitated, the question catching him completely off guard. He hadn’t bothered to commit such a ridiculous detail to memory.

Serati, however, chimed in. “Are you talking about Tesranach? The god of death, darkness, and destruction worshipped by the black god’s cult?”

“That’s it. Tesranach.”

Karnak nodded grimly. That voice had unmistakably called itself Tesranach

.

“I... I met him.”

“What? Tesranach?”

“Yeah, that.”

Varos blinked in disbelief.

Met? Tesranach? The god of death and darkness?

“...Is Tesranach something that could actually exist?”

Karnak frowned, tilting his gaze toward the sky.

“No. Absolutely not.”

The sky was just as ordinary as ever—a calm, dark night. But what had happened beyond that sky had been anything but ordinary.

“Then why... why does that thing exist?” he muttered.

***

In a void where only darkness existed—no up, no down—three figures hovered, faces obscured by dense veils. The Pope of Death, the Hierophant of Darkness, and the Saintess of Destruction. These were the three revered leaders of the Black God’s Church. They were devoted to Tesranach.

To the outside world, they were labeled as heretical leaders and vile forces sowing chaos in the order of existence. But to their followers, they were the most sacred beings of all.

A man’s voice reverberated through the darkness. “There has been a disturbance in the Sanctuary.”

“How could such a thing happen?” another man asked, his tone laden with disbelief.

“The Sanctuary is impenetrable, a place that nothing can touch.”

“I do not know. But it has undeniably occurred,” a woman’s calm voice cut through their exchange. “We must confirm this.”

The darkness dissipated, and the forms of the three figures melted away into the shadows. The scene shifted to an elegantly adorned chamber of white marble. In the midst of this refined space, a woman opened her eyes. Her vivid blue irises contrasted against her bronzed skin, and her cascading golden hair fell all the way to her waist. She was stunningly beautiful.

Rising to her feet, the woman murmured to herself, “The Sanctuary was breached? How intriguing.”

She rang an enchanted bell.

Ding ding!

Moments later, a young maid hurried into the chamber, trembling visibly as she bowed her head.

“Y-you summoned me, Lady Elezar.”

Elezar let out a soft chuckle at the maid’s obvious nervousness. She had intended to send the maid to fetch one of her trusted confidants, but it seemed this was a new hire, far too tense for such a simple task. Elezar offered a gentle smile to put her at ease.

“There’s no need to be so frightened, dear.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Of course, the maid couldn’t possibly relax.

Though Elezar appeared to be a woman in her early thirties, she was well over fifty. Her immense magical power had long since transcended human limitations, slowing her physical aging to a crawl and leaving her with a youthful visage.

Elezar was one of the three Archmages who had reached the pinnacle of magic, a court mage of the Lacania Empire. She was the Seeker of the Tenth Circle, Elezar de Reflasion. As one of the most powerful beings in existence, how could a mere maid remain calm in her presence?

Observing the maid’s still-shaking figure, Elezar issued her command, “Please summon Hudel for me. Just tell him I am looking for him.”

“Yes, Lady Elezar.”