*Content Warning: This chapter contains mature themes, violence, blood, and morally dark actions. Reader discretion advised.*
No one in the world had expected it, but the Eternal Zenith Empire's madness was rewarded.
Their prayers reached the heavens.
Leon knew nothing about it. After pushing his body day after day without rest, he had finally collapsed into a deep, dreamless sleep beneath his tree. For the first time in a long while, he allowed his guard to fall.
Far away, the empire celebrated.
***
Inside the great hall, torches burned brighter than usual. Emperor Kaelen sat upon his throne, Empress Lyria at his side, elders and priests kneeling below. A strange pressure hung in the air, making every breath feel heavier.
"It answered," one priest whispered, voice shaking with excitement. "Your Majesties… something has responded to our prayers."
The words spread like wildfire. Faces lit with joy, fear, greed.
Lyria's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "You see?" she said. "The gods do not ignore a desperate empire. Now, all that remains is to see who descends. A god… or an apostle."
"An apostle would be more than enough," an elder said eagerly. "Even a single divine messenger could erase that boy."
Kaelen's gaze sharpened. "Or perhaps," he murmured, "a god will send down a fragment of its own will. If so, our chances will be certain."
Lyria laughed softly. "Either way, we will not be alone when we face him. Remember this moment. The day our empire made the heavens listen."
Below them, the citizens cheered, unaware that the thing they had invited might demand a price none of them could bear.
***
Meanwhile, Leon slept in the forest, unaware of the empire's prayers.
At first, the rest felt peaceful. His breathing was steady, his heartbeat calm. But slowly, something shifted.
An itch.
A pressure.
A crawling sensation at the back of his skull.
His instincts screamed.
Leon's eyes snapped open.
He jerked upright, heart pounding. The night around him was the same, yet… wrong. The air felt thicker, heavier, like it was being pulled toward a single point far away.
"What the hell…?" he muttered, frowning. "What are the people from the empire doing?"
The feeling intensified—an unknown power, distant but real, like a storm forming just beyond the horizon.
"Has someone surpassed the swordmaster realm?" Leon's face darkened. "Or… is it something worse?"
A cold, primal unease coiled in his chest.
"I have a really bad feeling about this," he said under his breath. "What should I do?"
The answer came quickly.
"I have no choice but to destroy the empire now," Leon decided, eyes hardening. "I don't know what that power is, but it's dangerous. If I leave them alone, it'll turn into a bigger problem later."
He tried to stand—
And the world lurched.
His vision blurred. The trees twisted, bending in impossible angles. A splitting pain tore through his skull, forcing him back to his knees.
"What… is this…?" Leon gasped, clutching his head. "My brain… it feels like it's trembling… ahhh—"
The ground rushed up to meet him.
He fell.
***
Leon had trained his body to the brink of destruction and dragged it back stronger again and again. His muscles had recovered. His bones had adapted.
But one thing had never fully healed.
His brain.
When he fought armies, swordmasters, assassins, and even the clone of a god, his mind had been pushed beyond human limits. When he forced his physique to mimic suffering every day, the strain often fell on his mind first.
While his body healed, his damaged thoughts festered.
From that damage… something was born.
Leon had unknowingly created a Mind Demon.
***
A Mind Demon is not a creature from outside.
It is born inside.
It is the shadow of one's own heart, forged from thoughts, fears, desires, and contradictions that were never faced.
Unlike external demons, a Mind Demon knows you perfectly—because it is you.
A cultivator can fight beasts, enemies, and even gods…
But a Mind Demon cannot be killed with strength alone.
***
A Mind Demon forms when inner imbalance reaches a breaking point.
It often arises from things like:
1. Suppressed Desire
Ambition.
Hatred.
Greed.
Regret.
Fear.
When these emotions are buried and denied, they do not disappear. They sink deeper, fermenting in the subconscious.
Over time, they gain form.
***
2. Contradiction Between Belief and Action
When someone:
- claims to seek peace but craves domination
- preaches righteousness but spills blood without hesitation
- desires freedom but fears the price
– claims they only want to survive, yet keeps walking into slaughter and bathing in blood
This contradiction fractures the mind.
The Mind Demon is born from that fracture.
***
3. Sudden Power Without Mental Growth
Rapid breakthroughs are dangerous.
When power grows faster than understanding, the mind cannot keep up. Surplus strength pours into unresolved thoughts, giving them weight.
That weight condenses into will.
That will becomes a Mind Demon.
***
4. Trauma and Unresolved Past**
Guilt.
Loss.
Humiliation.
Failure.
Memories that were never accepted become hooks. The Mind Demon uses them as anchors, whispering through them, questioning every step, corroding confidence.
***
A Mind Demon does not strike immediately.
It waits.
It questions decisions.
Amplifies doubt.
Twists logic.
Imitates reason.
Then, at a critical moment—during a breakthrough, a battle, a decision—
It attacks.
Not to kill you directly…
But to make you destroy yourself.
You cannot run from it.
You cannot lie to it.
You cannot overpower it with brute force.
The stronger the cultivator, the more terrifying the Mind Demon.
Some go mad.
Some stagnate forever.
Some lose their path and turn into monsters.
***
Leon never realized how abnormal his growth had become.
He gained strength at a pace no human should reach, devouring battles and suffering like fuel. Every day, he stepped further away from ordinary humanity.
Before he could act on his decision to destroy the empire, darkness swallowed his senses.
When he opened his eyes again, the forest was gone.
He stood in a vast, empty space of pure black, as if someone had erased the world with ink. There was no ground, no sky—just endless shadow.
In front of him stood a boy.
Same height as Leon.
Same hair.
Same build.
The boy faced away at first, staring into the void.
Leon's eyes narrowed. "Who is that…? And where am I?" he muttered. "Why does he look so much like me? What is he looking at?"
The figure tilted his head.
Slowly, he turned around.
A wide smile split his face—too wide, too sharp. Laughter exploded from his mouth.
"Kahahahahahahahaha!"
Leon froze.
The boy's face, hair, and body were identical to his own. Only one thing was different.
His eyes were blood‑red.
He stared straight at Leon and shouted cheerfully, "Hey, hey, Leon! Do you recognize me?"
Leon's breath hitched. "Why… why does he look exactly like me?" he muttered, shock flooding his features. "Does he know me? Where is this place? How does he know my name… and why is he *me*?"
Confusion twisted quickly into killing intent.
"What's really going on here?" Leon growled. He took a step forward, eyes cold. "Who the hell are you?"
The other Leon grinned wider.
"How foolish," he sneered. "Don't tell me that damn Void bastard never mentioned me?"
He burst into shrill laughter. "Kekekekekeke!"
"How should I put it… hmm, hmm, let me think," he said, tapping his chin playfully. "Let's just say—I am you, and you are me. Does that answer… satisfy you, hmm? Hahahahaha!"
"Cut the crap!" Leon shouted, fury igniting. "Just tell me who you really are. No—forget it. I don't need to know. I should just kill you."
The red‑eyed Leon lifted his hands, as if to calm him.
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down, man," he said, smiling like a lunatic. "Let me introduce myself properly. I'm a demon… but not an ordinary one."
"A demon, huh?" Leon's voice dropped, wary now. "And not ordinary. Then what the hell are you?"
The boy threw his head back and laughed.
"Kekekekeke… I'm not gonna tell you that. Hahahahaha!"
He tilted his head, eyes gleaming.
"Figure it out. Noo… should I tell you? Or not? Should I? Or not? Should I? Or not? What, what, what, *what* should I doooo—ahhhhh!"
His laughter echoed through the endless black, twisting around Leon like chains.
Somewhere deep inside, Leon finally understood.
He wasn't facing an enemy from the empire.
Not a god.
Not a beast.
He was facing the thing born from all his rage, fear, ambition, and contradictions.
His own Mind Demon.
***
**Author's Note:**
If you re
ad this far, you're a real one.
Leon just unlocked the worst kind of boss fight: himself. Do you think he'll try to crush the Mind Demon with brute force, or will it force him to admit things he's been running from?
If you're here, comment "Mind Demon" or share one line you'd want this demon-Leon to whisper to him. Your comments help a lot and push the story forward.