Chapter 167: The King of Blackwood (2)
"System... what do you think?"
Krax stood alone on the highest ridge overlooking the barbarian territories, the wind dragging across the scarred plains below.
The camps that should have thundered with life lay unnaturally quiet, half-empty, the remaining warriors moving like men who had already tasted too much defeat.
HIS crimson eyes tracked the thin lines of smoke rising from distant fires, but his attention was turned inward, waiting.
The System’s voice echoed in his mind, calm and unwavering.
[Host... forget about the continents for now. Your focus needs to be on building your forces—more soldiers, stronger ones.] It went on without pause.
[With only seventy-eight years left, if you still aim to ascend as a Titan God, this world must be fully prepared for the arrival of the Titan God who bestowed this System upon you.]
Krax’s scarred brow creased in a deep furrow, though the expression wasn’t directed at the order itself; he had long since come to terms with the burden of that far-off deadline.
What twisted in his chest was the thought of simply walking away from a single king who had carved through his people like a reaper through ripe grain.
He let out a slow, heavy breath that curled into mist in the cool air.
"And the revenge?" he murmured, voice low. "How am I supposed to restore the Von’El name if I turn my back on those who disgraced us?"
It wasn’t that he was ignoring them—by the time he’d left, those responsible for his Clan’s exile had already begun to fade away.
The King and Queens of this world had fallen first, and now, one by one, the Academies and every other faction were slowly unraveling.
His goals had never wavered.
Deep down, he still longed to stand as King of the Von’El, to reclaim the throne that was his by right of blood and strength.
Yet the System and the Titan God behind it had given him a different charge: erase every stain clinging to the clan’s name and forge a faction powerful enough to serve as the foundation when the true Titan God finally descended.
The System’s reply came without hesitation.
[Host, you’re not forgetting about them... just focusing on what matters most,] it said.
[If you can build a force strong enough within the next twenty years, then neither the Blackwood Kingdom nor the remaining Academies will pose any real challenge.
Defeating them will be more than enough to cleanse the stains from the Von’El name.]
At those words, Krax’s massive hands curled into fists at his sides.
The wind pulled at his black hair as he stared out across the diminished territories, the quiet promise of future blood already settling into the hardened lines of his face.
"Alright... let me finish healing up first."
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HUMMMMMMM!!!!!
Across the world of Kalpa, the ground began to tremble, a deep, continuous roll that echoed the earlier transformation of Noxara.
This time the world itself was not changing shape.
The formation that linked the Divine Domain to the distant planet had reached completion, its final threads locking into place with a resonance that traveled through every layer of the planet’s crust.
Akasha, Luna, Yume, and Calista appeared high above the Eastern Continent in a single clean displacement of space. Cold wind immediately wrapped around them, sharp enough to bite.
The four of them hovered in the open sky while the last vibrations of the completed formation faded into the distance.
Akasha’s gaze swept the frozen landscape below as he spoke, voice calm and measured.
"I think it’s the perfect time to check in on Melvin. I haven’t seen him in a while, and it would feel wrong to leave again without visiting him, don’t you think?"
Before heading out, he also wanted to bring Melvin a few things, realizing it had been quite some time since he’d last given him a gift.
Beyond that, he expected the visit to be brief, especially since he had no plans to stop by the Academy or see anyone else along the way.
Luna’s pink-and-purple hair drifted in the icy current as a playful smile curved her lips.
"Indeed, what kind of master takes decades to check on their disciple?" She teased him before leaning in closer.
"On the bright side, we paid him a visit a few years ago... and he looked to be in quite the dark place."
Yume’s cooler voice followed, blue-streaked hair shifting like frozen mist.
"Mistress, dark is putting it mildly... That path he has chosen, it has not been gentle with him."
Akasha’s purple-and-white eyes narrowed slightly at their words.
From his members function, he clearly understood what had been happening with Melvin.
"Well, he did slaughter his entire family... so that’s not exactly a tough guess," he remarked, also aware of the star Melvin bore—a mark bound to absolute coldness.
It meant that within him, there was hardly any space for warmth of any kind, whether that warmth came in the form of actual fire or something more abstract, like an abundance of love.
With that, he leaned forward and took to the air, the three women slipping into formation beside him without a word.
From high above, the whole of the Eastern Continent lay sprawled in an unbroken expanse of ice. Rivers had solidified into sleek, gleaming ribbons, catching the cold light like silver threads.
Forests stood frozen in perfect, glassy silence, their branches encased in delicate frost.
Even the far-off mountains were covered in unyielding snow and ice. The sight stirred a quiet, almost absentminded reflection in Akasha as they drifted across the endless, frozen sky.
’Well... he’s definitely been working pretty hard, huh?’ he mused, figuring there was no other way the Continent could have turned into such a winter biome.
After a quiet stretch of flight, the group disappeared from the open sky and materialized inside the throne room of the Blackwood Kingdom.
----
The chamber was cold enough that their breath misted in pale clouds.
Melvin sat upon the high throne with his eyes closed, black hair falling around a face that had grown sharper and more severe since their last meeting.
The moment their presence touched the room, his eyes opened—cold, clear, and immediately alert.
Akasha’s voice carried across the silent hall, casual and lightly edged with the same dry humor he reserved for those who had earned it.
"Oh... look who decided to become a proper king while I was gone."