Three months later, it was no longer rumors.
It was reality.
Something far worse than Regional Devourers… descended.
A being beyond the understanding of mortals and Mobs alike… landed on the Western Continent.
He appeared not with a roar, but with a whisper that silenced entire cities.
He called himself...
> "A God."
And unlike the mindless beasts before him, this one spoke.
He reasoned.
And he declared—
> "I sent the Devourers. This is the true beginning."
He was not a 6th, not a 7th.
He was something more—an entity of 8th Stage.
A title not known to exist until now:
> "Transgence."
In three hours, half the Western Continent was annihilated.
Not scorched—erased.
This was the beginning of the First True World War.
---
The Nine Days of Hell
Every 6th Stage warrior from every continent answered the call.
The last 7 World Class Mobs stood as humanity's final weapons.
Other races—Demi-humans, Elves, Beastkin, even ancient Dragons from the North—joined in.
And amidst this storm, Ryu and Reina met again.
No words needed. They stood side by side.
Two of the finest of their generation.
Fighting as one.
The enemy forces were led by the self-proclaimed God and his 4 Regional Devourers.
The war raged for 9 days.
Each day—tens of thousands fell.
Mountains shattered. Skies bled.
Seas boiled red.
On the final day, the tide turned.
Reina, with her flawless technique and terrifying precision, led one of the strike teams that critically wounded one Devourer.
Ryu, in raw power and adaptability, carved paths through beasts and monsters alike, displaying growth even mid-battle.
Together, with others, they brought the "God" to his knees.
But victory came with a cost.
---
The Mark of the God
As the world prepared to strike the final blow…
The "God" suddenly teleported to Ryu, ignoring the rest of the battlefield.
> "You. The most unstable one. The one with... potential."
Before anyone could react, the entity forced a dark energy inside Ryu—its shape unclear, but pulsing and cold.
Ryu fell to his knees, screaming in agony.
A black heart engraved itself within his chest.
Not a literal heart—but something deeper.
Something that couldn't be detected.
Then the being smiled, even as his form disintegrated.
> "9-18," he whispered.
"The day you'll understand."
"Seven years from now."
And with that, he vanished into dust.
The God was gone.
---
Sealed
Panic followed.
Reina rushed to Ryu's side. So did others.
He was unconscious. Breathing. Alive.
But different.
They examined him for days, then weeks.
No trace of the black heart.
No foreign energy signature.
No disturbance in his internal flow.
Yet every expert, every top healer and energy seer… agreed:
> "Something is hidden. Something we can't find."
They had no choice.
Ryu, savior and hero of the war, was now a risk.
He was sealed in one of the highest protective barriers ever made.
Not as a prisoner.
But as someone to be protected—and watched.
And as the world began rebuilding, whispers spread again.
> "What was that black heart?"
"What does 9-18 mean?"
"Will Ryu return?"
"Or… will he be the end of us?"
The war was over.
But something darker… had begun.
---
To be continued..