Tonight, an unnatural silence hung in the air.
Parth and Dev sat quietly on the roof of their cabinet, staring into the endless darkness of the Abyss.
"Parth… can we really get out of this Dark Abyss?" Dev asked.
"We can," Parth replied calmly. "After the life-and-death tournament."
"Then let's go tomorrow," Dev said, a spark of excitement in his voice.
"No. The finals are three years away. The submission round starts in one and a half years."
"So… we're going?"
"Yes."
Time passed, and the two had grown close.
After countless missions together, their friendship had already crossed two years.
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the air.
"Meteor. Rain. Report to the Leader's cabinet immediately."
In an instant, both of them were teleported.
"Greetings, Master," they said together.
Raj nodded.
"Your mission is simple. Investigate the Soul Clan's current affairs. Slaves. Soldiers. Everything. And come back alive."
"Aye, Leader."
With another nod, Raj teleported them one kilometer away from the Soul Clan territory.
Parth clicked his tongue. "Trash clan."
"Trash? So we're destroying them?" Dev asked.
"Not yet. But kill whoever you want. Go Rain form. Start the massacre."
Dev smirked.
Mana began leaking from his body.
"Undying Rain."
"Demon Death God Rising Technique."
The moment he spoke, both their swords began glowing.
Space twisted around them.
One step.
They teleported a hundred meters forward.
Dev temporarily transferred his aura into Parth's sword and boots, matching their speed.
At the Soul Clan gate, four guards froze as they saw the two infamous assassins approaching.
Before they could react…
Heads rolled.
"Dev… are you sure you can read memories from the dead?" Parth asked.
"Yes."
Then—
A squad appeared.
The Crimson Squad.
"Charge!"
A hundred S-Rank soldiers rushed toward them.
Their eyes turned cold.
Merciless.
Scene Shift
A Black Fire Squad general was assaulting a girl.
One of his own soldiers was tied up, forced to watch his lover being violated.
Then—
Thud.
A severed head dropped in front of him.
The commander's head.
The general froze.
Behind him stood Parth.
"Looks like bad timing… but a mission is a mission."
"Pointless Freedom Sword Dance."
A blade pierced through Parth's body.
He coughed blood.
"Undying Blade."
His counter slash tore through the general's arm.
"Another coward playing with the weak to satisfy his lust."
But something strange happened.
An unknown energy flowed through his strike.
The general screamed.
Two energy arms replaced the severed one.
He charged.
CRACK.
Parth's sword shattered.
A punch slammed into him.
Another.
And another.
His body broke.
Blood exploded from every impact.
His breathing stopped.
"A pathetic F-rank insect tried to kill me… an SS-Rank," the general sneered.
He turned back toward the girl.
Then—
A terrifying pressure filled the air.
The temperature dropped.
Behind him…
Parth's corpse floated.
Black and white energy wrapped around him.
White healed.
Black turned crimson.
"Death… and Life…"
The general attacked like a madman, shredding Parth's lower body again.
Scene Shift
Dev crushed an SSS-Rank soldier's jaw with his bare hand.
His left arm was cut and poisoned.
Still, he slaughtered the Soul Locker in-charge and returned.
Then he saw Parth.
And froze.
That wasn't Parth anymore.
Parth bit chunks of flesh off the general's body.
Tore his throat.
Ripped open his stomach with his bare hands.
Finally, he crushed the man's skull.
Then collapsed unconscious.
That's when Dev realized—
Parth didn't have mana.
He had something else.
Something that shouldn't exist.
Parth woke up on Dev's back.
"You're awake… what was that?" Dev asked.
"I don't know… I just heard a voice screaming… kill… kill…"
After a pause, Parth spoke.
"Dev… can I ask you something?"
"Yeah."
"How did you fall into the Dark Abyss?"
Dev nodded.
Parth sighed.
"It started when my real mother died. My father remarried for my sake… everything was fine at first. Then her behavior changed."
"I wasn't mana-less from birth. I was the direct successor of a divine bloodline. Bones. Aura. Everything."
"My father was so powerful that even top Slayers of Eternal Paradise feared him."
"Then he disappeared."
"One day I woke up tied down."
"My stepmother said… 'You don't deserve this power. Your brother does.'"
"They drained my blood. Broke my bones. Rebuilt them. Took my eyes. Took my power."
"I died."
"I saw a white room."
"Then Father grabbed my hand… and placed me between two worlds."
"When I opened my eyes… I was falling into the Dark Abyss."
Dev stayed silent.
"That's… messed up," he muttered.
"Nothing we can do."
As they walked back, the poison started affecting Dev.
He collapsed.
Without wasting a second, Parth broke the emergency badge.
Both of them were teleported back to Raj's cabinet.