The moment Kai gripped the hilt, everything changed.
The world around him — vast, powerful, and brimming with energy — fell utterly silent.
Even the ever-present hum of the pocket dimension vanished.
The scrolls. The wind. The waterfalls.
All stopped.
Only one sound remained.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His own heartbeat.
The blade began to hum — not audibly, but through his very soul. It whispered, not in words, but in intent. An ancient dominance. A will forged in battle, baptized in blood.
Kai's crimson eyes widened.
"What's going on…?"
He lifted the blade — not of his own will, but as if something had guided him. He turned to a training dummy, ten meters away.
Before he could think —
He swung.
BOOM.
The air cracked. Space shuddered.
The training dummy exploded, reduced to splinters and dust.
Kai's hand trembled. Not in fear — but in recognition.
He could feel it.
"Yes…"
"This is it."
That void he'd carried his whole life, that hunger for something more — this was the answer. This blade… this moment… this was who he truly was.
He stepped back, lowering the sword as its edge glowed with a thin line of red — his spiritual energy flowing into it effortlessly.
Then something caught his eye — a black-covered book resting beneath the altar the blade had rested on. No title on the spine, but inside the first page, a single line:
"Blade of Dominance."
An unranked technique — meaning it had no limit.
Ten forms. Each one more overwhelming than the last. A technique that evolved with its wielder.
Kai didn't hesitate.
He dove into training, the sword dancing in his hands like it had been waiting for centuries.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three.
Each movement carved through the air, shaking the space around him.
One form. Two. Three…
Soon—
Ten.
He had mastered all ten. But not like others would — with slow progress or trial and error.
No. With each swing, his blood sang, and his smile grew darker.
His red aura surged, spilling like wildfire into the blade.
And when he reached the final form — the world paused again.
He grinned.
Not with joy — but with purpose.
"Ahhh… I can't wait to kill someone."
His voice was calm, but his tone carried the weight of centuries lost and memories stolen.
"I can't wait to face the ones who tried to erase me. Who betrayed my bloodline. Who hid the truth."
He raised the sword once more, pointing it at the horizon of the pocket realm.
"I, Kaiser Valerion, have returned."
"And this time… I will not be erased."