The Being Who Existed Before the Omniverse

The moment Aria’s blade cut Kajkha’s chest.

The world fell silent.

Not because the battle had ended.

But because everyone watching understood what had just happened.

The impossible had become reality.

The Demon General had been wounded.

A thin line of crimson blood slowly flowed down Kajkha’s armor.

Far below, across the ruined plains of Emberthorn, every surviving human soldier stared upward.

For a moment-

Hope returned.

A wounded soldier fell to his knees.

"She did it..."

Another clenched his fist.

"Commander Aria actually hurt him."

Even Roland Ashford’s eyes widened.

Not because Aria had landed a hit.

But because he had felt the change in her Dominion.

The 5th Stage.

A level that only King Aldric Valenhart rech this level before aria do.

High above the battlefield, golden light illuminated the heavens.

Aria floated silently.

Her golden hair danced within the storm of Dominion surrounding her.

Her silver armor had transformed.

Ancient golden patterns covered every surface.

Her sword radiated a brilliance that seemed capable of piercing reality itself.

Across from her stood Kajkha.

The Demon General touched the wound upon his chest.

His fingers became stained with blood.

For several moments he simply stared.

Then-

He laughed.

A deep laugh.

A genuine laugh.

The kind of laugh that came from excitement.

Not arrogance.

Not mockery.

Excitement.

The mountains shook.

The clouds shattered.

Even the oceans trembled beneath the pressure released by his laughter.

"Magnificent."

His crimson eyes locked onto Aria.

"Absolutely magnificent."

Aria pointed her sword toward him.

"I’m not here for your praise."

Kajkha smiled.

"Good."

The Demon General slowly raised his blade.

"Because I’m done holding back."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Crimson Bonimeris exploded from his body.

The earth cracked.

Continents trembled.

Volcanoes erupted across distant regions.

The atmosphere itself warped.

Across the battlefield, both human and demon soldiers were forced to their knees.

The pressure was unbearable.

Roland immediately planted his sword into the ground.

Golden Dominion erupted around him.

"Everyone stand!"

His voice thundered across the battlefield.

"If you fall now, you’ll never stand again!"

The humans gritted their teeth.

Slowly-

They rose.

One after another.

The sight caused Kajkha to glance downward.

Then he smiled.

"Even now they refuse to kneel."

Aria answered immediately.

"That’s what makes us human."

Their eyes met.

Then both vanished.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The collision shattered universe’s.

The battlefield disappeared beneath a storm of golden and crimson energy.

Their swords met.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Thousands of times.

Each strike carried enough force to erase realities and universe’s.

Yet both carefully controlled their power.

Not because they cared about the battlefield.

But because both wanted a proper duel.

A warrior’s duel.

Not a contest of destruction.

Aria stepped forward.

Her sword moved like flowing water.

Kajkha blocked.

Aria spun.

Another strike.

Kajkha answered.

The battle became a blur.

Neither gained an advantage.

Neither retreated.

Far below, the soldiers could no longer see individual movements.

Only explosions.

Only flashes.

Only devastation.

Then-

Kajkha suddenly stopped.

Aria instantly retreated.

Years of combat instinct screamed danger.

The Demon General lowered his weapon.

His smile vanished.

For the first time since the battle began-

His expression became serious.

Completely serious.

"Tell me, Aria."

The battlefield trembled.

"Why do humans keep fighting?"

Aria frowned.

"What?"

Kajkha’s crimson eyes narrowed.

"You die."

"You suffer."

"You lose everything."

Dark Bonimeris spread throughout the sky.

"Yet you continue standing."

The Demon General slowly raised his hand.

"I’ve ruled for thousands of years."

"I’ve witnessed empires rise and collapse."

"I’ve watched heroes become dust."

His voice echoed across the world.

"So tell me."

"Why?"

Silence followed.

Far below, countless humans listened.

Aria looked toward the battlefield.

Toward the wounded soldiers.

Toward the countless dead.

Toward Roland.

Toward humanity.

Then she smiled.

A small smile.

A human smile.

"Because we’re afraid."

Kajkha froze.

The answer surprised him.

Aria continued.

"We’re afraid of losing."

"We’re afraid of death."

"We’re afraid of failure."

Golden Dominion illuminated the heavens.

"But courage isn’t the absence of fear."

The humans below slowly looked upward.

"It’s moving forward despite it."

Her voice became stronger.

"We fight because we’re afraid."

"We stand because we’re afraid."

"We protect each other because we’re afraid."

The golden light intensified.

"And because we know fear..."

Her sword pointed toward Kajkha.

"We know courage."

The battlefield fell silent.

Even the demons listened.

For several moments-

Kajkha said nothing.

Then he laughed.

Not mockingly.

Not cruelly.

Simply honestly.

"I understand."

The Demon General raised his blade.

"Then let us finish this."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The greatest clash of the war began.

Aria’s Dominion erupted.

Kajkha’s Bonimeris answered.

The earth beneath them shattered.

Mountains vanished.

Oceans rose into the sky.

Storms consumed entire continents.

Across existence, neighboring universes collapsed from the pressure leaking through reality.

Yet the battle itself remained centered above Emberthorn.

Aria attacked first.

"Dominion Art!"

Golden light flooded the world.

"Thousandfold Horizon!"

Millions of golden sword slashes appeared simultaneously.

Every attack converged upon Kajkha.

The Demon General answered instantly.

"Bonimeris Art!"

Darkness erupted.

"Eternal Crimson Abyss!"

The attacks collided.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The resulting shockwave split the continent.

Far beyond the horizon, entire mountain ranges disappeared.

The battlefield became a storm.

Neither side stopped.

Aria attacked again.

Kajkha countered.

Kajkha attacked.

Aria answered.

Hours seemed to pass within moments.

Both were wounded.

Both were exhausted.

Yet neither retreated.

Then-

Aria felt it.

The limit.

Her Dominion was reaching its end.

The Second Stage had granted immense power.

But her body could not endure it forever.

Kajkha noticed immediately.

"You’ve reached your limit."

Aria tightened her grip.

"Maybe."

Blood flowed from her lips.

"But not yet."

The Demon General smiled.

"Good."

Then-

Crimson Bonimeris exploded.

The sky disappeared.

The stars vanished.

Everything became crimson.

Kajkha slowly raised his blade.

The pressure generated by the attack surpassed anything before it.

Even Roland’s face paled.

"What is that...?"

A human captain whispered.

"I can’t breathe..."

Kajkha’s voice echoed across existence.

"Bonimeris Art."

The heavens trembled.

"The Final Feast."

A gigantic crimson maw appeared in the sky.

It resembled a monstrous mouth capable of devouring worlds.

Everything it touched vanished.

Space.

Time.

Matter.

Concepts.

All consumed.

Aria stared upward.

She understood immediately.

This attack would decide everything.

Victory.

Defeat.

Life.

Death.

Everything depended upon this moment.

She slowly closed her eyes.

Then remembered.

The soldiers who believed in her.

The children the demons had taken.

The kingdoms she swore to protect.

Roland.

Humanity.

Every sacrifice.

Every loss.

Every hope.

Golden tears of light drifted through the sky.

Then-

Aria opened her eyes.

The brightest Dominion of the war erupted.

The battlefield disappeared beneath golden radiance.

Every human felt it.

Their belief resonated.

Their courage resonated.

Their hopes resonated.

Everything flowed toward Aria.

Her sword began glowing.

Brighter.

Brighter.

Brighter.

Until it resembled a star.

A star born from humanity’s will.

Aria raised it.

"Dominion Art."

The entire world trembled.

"The Final Dance."

Silence followed.

Then she swung.

A single golden slash crossed the heavens.

Simple.

Beautiful.

Perfect.

The attack met Kajkha’s Final Feast.

For a brief moment-

Nothing happened.

Then-

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The greatest explosion in history erupted.

The sky shattered.

The earth trembled.

Neighboring universes collapsed one after another.

Reality fractured endlessly.

Golden and crimson energy consumed everything.

No one could see.

No one could hear.

No one could even think.

Then-

The light slowly faded.

The battlefield became visible once more.

Human soldiers looked upward.

Demons stared in silence.

Roland held his breath.

And in the center of the sky-

Two figures remained standing.

Aria Valencrest.

Kajkha.

Both covered in blood.

Both exhausted.

Both barely able to stand.

The war’s outcome had not yet been decided.

But one thing was certain.

For thousands of years to come, every kingdom, every warrior, every survivor would remember this day.

The day two legends shook the Multiverse.

The day humanity’s greatest commander stood against demonkind’s strongest general.

And refused to kneel.