Chapter 521: Black Sun

The snapping sound echoed across the battlefield.

And reality began to wrap as the Domain of Despair materialized.

The ground beneath everyone’s feet turned pitch black.

The storm clouds overhead vanished, replaced by a crimson sky that pulsed with energy.

The boundary of the Domain remained open and visible at the edges.

Two kilometers in all directions, the space belonging to Damian’s authority completely.

And suspended in the crimson sky, hundreds of wolf corpses hung motionless, their eyes still closed, waiting for the command that would give them purpose.

But this time, something was different.

High above, in the center of the blood-red sky, something began forming.

A black sun, radiating darkness itself, growing larger with each heartbeat until it dominated the entire sky.

The instant the black sun fully formed–

BOOM

Pressure crashed downward like the weight of mountains falling from the sky.

Krazgor’s knee buckled, his massive frame slamming into the void-ground with force that sent shockwaves rippling outward.

BAM

Blood exploded from his mouth, his nose and his ears.

His hands pressed against the ground, trying to push himself up, but the pressure kept building, kept crushing him down.

’What... what is this?!’

His thoughts came fragmented, his mind struggling under the weight.

’This pressure... it’s not just physical... it’s crushing my mind... my will... my very existence...’

His vision began swimming, reality distorting at the edges.

And then he saw him.

Khra’gath stood before him, fifty meters of absolute perfection, his armor gleaming with power that made Krazgor look like a child playing at war.

The unification leader’s voice boomed across the void, carrying disappointment that cut deeper than any blade.

"Weakest among the fourteen chiefs, Krazgor. I gave you command of this portal, one simple task, and you couldn’t even handle a single human."

’No...’

Krazgor’s hand reached out, trembling.

’This isn’t real... He’s not here... I know he’s not here...’

But everything felt real, looked real and sounded real.

Khra’gath’s massive boot came down toward Krazgor’s head, about to crush him like an insect.

"Pathetic."

"No... no no no..."

The whisper escaped Krazgor’s bloodied lips, his entire body shaking.

"Khra’gath... please... I can still fight... I can still prove myself..."

His words dissolved into incoherent muttering as blood continued pouring from his orifices, the Domain’s mental effect tearing into his exposed mind.

****

Meters away, the giant commanders who’d been rushing to save their chief hit the ground simultaneously.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

All of them collapsed at once, their bodies crashing into the void-ground as pressure slammed them down.

"GAAHHH!"

One of them screamed, his hands clawing at his helmet as if trying to rip it off.

"MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!"

Another was weeping, his massive frame curled into a ball.

"I failed them... I failed them all... Everyone I was supposed to protect..."

His voice cracked completely.

"They’re all dead because of me..."

The oldest among them, a scarred veteran who’d survived hundreds of battles, tried to push himself to his knees.

Blood ran from beneath his helmet, streaming down his armor.

’Our helmets... they’re too low quality compared to the Chief’s...’

His thoughts came through the agony, through the despair trying to drown his mind.

’They can’t protect us from this... whatever this is...’

He forced his head up, his voice emerging as a roar that cut through the screaming.

"EVERYONE! OPEN YOUR DOMAINS!"

His hands slammed against the ground, his own Aura flooding outward in desperate patterns.

"COUNTER HIS AUTHORITY WITH YOUR OWN! IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO–"

His Domain began manifesting, reality warping as his personal authority tried to assert itself over Damian’s.

A mountainous landscape started forming, his family’s inherited Domain beginning to take shape–

CRACK

And it shattered instantly, pieces of his Domain breaking apart like glass.

The backlash hit him like a physical blow.

"AGHHHHH!"

His scream tore across the battlefield as blood erupted from every orifice simultaneously.

His eyes, his nose, his mouth, his ears, all bleeding at once as his consciousness nearly broke from the feedback.

He collapsed forward, his body convulsing.

’Impossible...’

His thoughts came barely coherent.

’My Domain... it didn’t just fail to manifest... It was crushed the moment it tried to form...’

The other commanders stared at him with expressions showing pure horror.

If the oldest and strongest among them couldn’t counter this with his Domain, what chance did any of them have?

"We’re going to die here..."

One of them whispered it, the words emerging broken and accepting.

"All of us... we’re all going to die..."

****

[Outside the Domain]

The Giant army stood frozen, watching everything through the Domain’s open boundary.

They saw their Chief bleeding, saw their Commanders collapsing inside, and heard the screaming carrying across the distance.

And then the crushing silence broke.

"CHIEF!"

The younger warriors surged forward, their weapons raised, fury blazing in their eyes.

"SAVE THE CHIEF!"

"KILL THE HUMAN!"

"CHARGE!"

Thousands of boots began moving as one, the entire army breaking into a run toward the Domain’s edge.

The ground shook from their combined weight, war cries building into a deafening roar.

But just as they were about to reach–

"STOP."

Krazgor’s voice cut across the battlefield, weak but absolute.

The word carried command that had been drilled into them through years of following his orders.

The army’s forward momentum halted, confusion spreading through their ranks.

"Chief!"

One of the younger warriors shouted it desperately.

"We can save your life! We just need to–"

"Save my life?"

Krazgor’s laugh emerged wet and broken, blood bubbling from his lips.

He struggled to his knees, his massive frame shaking from the effort, his hands pressed against the void-ground to keep from collapsing completely.

More blood escaped him with each word, each breath and each heartbeat under the black sun’s crushing weight.

"What life are you talking about saving?"

His head lifted, his eyes finding the army beyond the boundary.

"Don’t you understand?"

His voice became quieter, carrying terrible certainty.

"The moment this Domain materialized, my fate was already sealed."

He looked toward where Damian stood, the armored figure barely visible through the crimson haze.

Standing upright despite the pressure, unaffected by the weight that was crushing everyone else.

"The reason he kept the boundary open..."

Krazgor’s words came slower now, each one requiring enormous effort.

"It isn’t because he’s exhausted from the battle."

His gaze tracked back to the army, to the thousands of warriors ready to rush in and die for him.

"It’s because he wants you to enter."

Silence crashed down across the assembled giants like a physical weight.

Every warrior processed those words, understanding settling with cold clarity.

The open boundary wasn’t mercy or weakness or oversight.

It was bait, a trap laid by a predator confident in his ability to slaughter anyone foolish enough to step inside.