The scene was quiet an ancient place above the clouds. Heaven itself.
A golden palace shone before a man, who was kneeling in silence. Behind him stood thousands of elite warriors who had lived for centuries. Towering behind them were even greater figures so powerful that light itself could not penetrate the divine aura shielding their appearances from this "disgusting demon."
The man's white wings had been severed from both sides, blood dripping like crimson tears forming rivers beneath him.
He knelt, his hands and feet bound by cold, white chains attached to a pale metal ball. Deep within it, a golden dragon was carved its form painted in fading gold.
His head hung low, eyes fixed on the floor where he knelt... and where he would soon die.
He wore a black robe stained with the dried blood of countless humans who had once tried to capture him. In the end, they failed. But so did he. Now, he simply awaited death.
"How pitiful…"
A man spoke. His appearance was obscured by Heaven itself. He sat lazily upon a golden floating chair, inhaling from a Hànyāndài and exhaling a trail of smoke.
"You were born into a promising clan of the mortal realm… yet not a single person has come to witness your execution. Not even one tried to save you."
The man leaned forward, revealing a chilling smile. Not even the blazing sun could hide the crimson glow of his eyes.
"Demonic path, huh? How pitiful."
A towering elder stepped forward. Each step echoed through the clouds like thunder. He too was hidden by Heaven's light. He wore a golden-white robe embroidered with symbols of sky-dragons and radiant suns.
"Park Haneul. You stand guilty before Heaven, charged with the slaughter of millions… all for your own selfish gain."
"Born into the Park Clan, hailed as a promising genius. Trained in a righteous sect of the mortal realm…"
"But it all fell apart when you discovered a demonic manual. A man blinded by power how classic."
"You achieved the absolute peak of the mortal realm… ascended into the Upper Realm… and still chose to go against the Heavens."
"All of this… in just 3000 years."
"You have no wife. No children. No master. That alone proves your talent."
"…That alone proves just how gifted you were."
"Tell me why would you choose to defy the Heavens? Why seek to destroy the very thing that blessed you?"
Park Haneul remained silent. His head still lowered.
"Tch…"
The elder's eyes glowed red. Even Heaven itself could not suppress the murderous intent now surging from him.
"Park Haneul, you are sentenced to death. In the afterlife, you will spend 300 years in the Void of Punishment."
"After that, you may be reincarnated again. Perhaps in your next life… you'll walk the righteous path."
As the elder turned away and walked back to his place, Haneul slowly raised his head.
His pale face was smeared in blood. His lips were split, the wound painting them even redder.
"Fuck off…" he muttered.
The elder stopped.
His eyes flared brighter, bloodier. Heaven could no longer hide them.
Haneul instantly coughed up blood. His head dropped again.
Haneul felt an intense grip in his heart. After a second that felt like an eternity, it was gone, and his body dropped to the ground, still conscious.
To the side stood a thousand elite warriors wearing golden-white armor. Each warrior bore unique symbols carved into their chestplates. Although their faces weren't visible, there was no heavenly veil shielding them merely faceless beings.
Yet one figure stole all the attention: a man dressed in a long white robe embroidered with strange symbols. His skin was pale white as the heavens themselves. His long hair was tied into a ponytail with a shang ji, the entire hairpiece crafted of gold, its end capped with a piece of jade about a quarter in size.
He stood over six feet tall, his hair flowing as the wind brushed past him. He was handsome no, he was the very definition of heavenly beauty. Although his eyes remained closed, like a hunter pretending to be prey.
"Ready," he said in a serious tone, though there was something cold beneath it.
The faceless elite warriors gripped their golden spears with both hands. The spears were engraved with images of a long dragon curling from the shaft to the tip of the blade.
They leaned forward their left legs advanced, right legs braced behind holding each spear tightly as they awaited the next command.
The man in white raised his right hand and formed a peace sign, holding it firmly.
Haneul Park struggled to raise his head from his pathetic posture.
"In the end, I still failed…" he murmured, his voice deep.
Deep within his tone lay a hint of regret, though he gritted his teeth. A smirk or perhaps a faint smile played on his lips.
"Talented? … What a nuisance…" he said, loud enough for the heavens to hear.
"The demonic path is really FUCKING pitiful!"
He screamed, a sadistic smile stretching across his face, veins bulging along his forehead.
"Tsk."
The man in the white robe tilted his head slightly, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face. But his smile remained. His two fingers forming the peace sign bent downward, signaling the attack.
The spear warriors' weapons glowed as massive inner Qi energy formed at each spear's tip, condensing into spherical shapes. Hundreds of thousands of star-like bursts shot toward Haneul's demonic heart.
Haneul gritted his teeth, still smiling as if accepting his fate. Qi blasts struck him some missing his heart but tearing into his arms, severing them. He kept his eyes wide open, maintaining his gaze fixed on the heavens above.
Then one spear's blast a precise shot from among the faceless warriors pierced his heart.
Boom.
His black blood erupted, spilling out like a volcano of hatred, corrupting the ground around him. The elders began murmuring among themselves:
"How disgusting."
"Tsk. Polluting the heavens' ground is such a heavenly crime it should earn at least five hundred years in the Void of Punishment."
"How pathetic."
"You're Courting death!"
As Haneul's heart was fully obliterated, the man in the white robe spoke softly:
"Farewell, brother."
He smiled gently, lowering the right hand he'd used to command Haneul's execution, now repurposed for a final gesture of farewell.
As Haneul's body fell slowly to the ground, his expression was not rage but confusion.
Thus ended the story of the man who dared go against the heavens.
…Or not.