Chapter 606: The Choice of Defiance...

The entity in Sophia's visage stepped closer, her voice echoing with a chilling, unnatural resonance.

"Sophia is special… far more special than what you can ever hope to be…"

She paused, letting the weight of her presence press down upon the broken figure before her.

"As such, for your countless transgressions, you must pay the appropriate price… Tyler Cross."

After the faceless entity uttered those words, the silence that permeated the dark torture chamber felt deafening. The thick air hung heavy with the smell of rust, sweat, and dry blood. Damp stone walls enclosed the narrow space, trapping the suffocating quiet like a tomb.

Yet no trace of surprise crossed Axel's face. He only let out a deep, weary sigh, his breath rasping softly in his chest. "So, you knew all along that I was an Outsider?"

The entity nodded slowly. "I did, and I was only tightening my grip around your neck, suppressing you more and more, the stronger you became. But you grew faster than I anticipated. Enough to force awake part of my true consciousness governing over Humanity."

Axel raised his bruised head and asked in a hollow tone, "And what price must I pay, and am I not already paying the price?"

The manifestation of the World Will of Eldarion shook her head, looking down at him with unyielding coldness. "Just the damage to your Soul Sanctum or the loss of your Runic Eyes is not enough."

She stepped nearer, her presence suffocating the faint light in the room. "You have to give up the thing that is most valuable to you, the 'Existential parameter' that makes you be you."

The World Will finally reveal the price that must be paid. "If you want to have a chance to continue living, then you must sacrifice the entire spectrum of your emotions, and I will remove the title 'The Cursed One' from your soul."

For a moment, the demon laughed. It was a dry, raspy sound that rattled in his throat, as if he had heard wrong, simply because of the sheer horror and implications of the word the World Will had just uttered. But as the true gravity of what was being asked of him finally settled into his mind, the brief amusement vanished entirely.

Axel's eyes widened in terror. He spoke in a mirthless, trembling voice, "YOU????? No, you… can't do this to me…"

He shook his head violently, struggling against the heavy shackles binding his body. "I would be worthless without my emotions; my very demon bloodline would be nothing without my emotions, and I… would not be me anymore."

His voice cracked, the raw desperation leaking through every word. "I… would be… nothing."

His tone held both desperation and madness, along with a distinct sense of pleading.

The World Will remained unmoved, her expression flat and merciless. "That is why you deserve to be nothing; you were born in this world with the unmatched Runic talent as Axel Nomrad only because of Sophia's sacrifice."

She tilted her head, watching his desperate struggle. "Your Demon bloodline was given to you by the grace of that hateful parasite, Prime Nexus."

"Not a single power that you wield in this world was earned by your own merit."

"You were given everything on a silver platter."

"And if you are nothing without those things, you should not have them in the first place."

Axel gritted his teeth, his jaw aching from the strain as his mind raced violently with countless thoughts. He sifted through every piece of knowledge he possessed, every detail of the story, every secret he had come to learn in this world. He scrambled to think of something, anything, a loophole or hidden rule to avoid this disastrous outcome.

Without his emotions, the foundation of his power would collapse. He would lose his Demonic Might right alongside his Runic Expertise. And without enough strength to protect himself, he would die a dog's death in this wretched place. It was an outcome just as terrible as death itself.

Before he could find a way out, the World Will spoke again, cutting off his frantic thoughts. "Axel Nomrad, you don't seem to understand; my main consciousness of the World Will has locked your fate into two branches."

Her voice echoed directly inside his mind, heavy and absolute. "One is that you give up all your Emotions, or two… you die at Mason's hand. And unless a living being on this continent crosses into becoming a 7th phase Seeker, they cannot escape the Lock of fate done by my Core consciousness."

She paused, letting the cold reality sink into his soul. "So, only the Demon Emperor's Fate is free of control upon this entire continent of Eldarion."

"He is the only Fateless One."

Axel's expression fell completely. The faint spark of madness in his eyes flickered once more, replaced by the grim realisation that he was truly cornered like a rat in a trap.

Axel knew the World Will's ability to lock the fate of its residents was absolute. No act could override or circumvent it, no matter the method. Either outcome must come true, one way or the other. There was no in between.

Meaning, he must either accept his complete physical death or resign himself to his spiritual demise, leaving behind only a hollow, emotionless husk of himself.

Only the sound of Axel's heavy, uneven breathing could be heard in that dark chamber.

Until the wooden door opened with a slow, creaking sound…

Mason Vex was back. But unlike Axel, the Vex powerhouse could not see the divine manifestation of the continent's World Will standing right next to Axel's bound frame.

Mason came close, standing right beside the invisible World Will, wearing a dark, cruel smile, ready to start the torture session once more.

The entity ignored Mason entirely, keeping her cold gaze fixed on Axel. "So, what will you choose, Tyler? Will you choose to live or die?"

"Will you make the sacrifice, or will you die holding onto your worthless pride?"

Axel's head hung low. He didn't answer as the silence stretched between them. Mason chuckled softly under his breath and walked forward, adjusting his iron tools, unaware that Fate dictated his every action as the World Will manipulated him.

Slowly, Axel looked up once more. A tiny flicker of something unrecognisable and dangerous lay hidden deep within his bloodshot eyes as he spoke, "The real reason why you are here is that you can't kill me. Can you?"

The World Will tilted its head slightly, but did not respond.

The demon continued, his tone growing colder and sharper. "No… more precisely, you cannot kill me directly. You're only here to force me… to force me to make a choice…"

Axel stated coldly, "Because you have already interfered too much, am I right?"

A faint, sinister smile touched his lips. "The reason why you repeatedly call me Tyler is that you're trying to make me accept that I am an Outsider; you're trying to make me admit that I have sinned."

"So that you could justify all of your interferences…"

He leaned forward against his chains, his eyes burning with intense conviction. "The very reason you orchestrated all this, your reason for breaking my willpower… my sanity, it was to fool me… isn't it?"

With every word that Axel spoke, the World Will clenched her fists tighter and tighter. It was a realisation she had not anticipated. For the demon to figure out the underlying truth, despite his broken mind and shattered indomitable will, was impossible.

Yet, she scoffed arrogantly, suppressing her irritation. "So what? In the end, none of it matters. Your fate has been locked into either of the two routes; there is no other path."

Her tone returned to a flat, indifferent state.

"Not making a choice is the same as making the first choice; that is, being killed by Mason Vex," she added, as if talking to an enemy at his dead end.

Instead of breaking under the declaration, an incomparably ruthless and mad expression appeared on Axel's face.

He stared directly into the divine entity's eyes and declared, "No, I refuse."

"I reject both of your given choices… Eldora."

The instant the demon revealed the true, ancient name of Eldarion's World Will, the atmosphere of the dark chamber shifted drastically. The surrounding air compressed, and the very world around them seemed to change shade.

Mason paused for a split second, feeling a sudden, inexplicable drop in temperature, though he remained blind to the entity standing beside him.

The Runecaster, uncaring of any of those details, arched his head high and declared in a thunderous voice that shook the room's foundation.

"I, Axel Nomrad, hereby sacrifice all my emotions to PRIME NE..."

BANG!!!!

Before the demon could even finish his words, a devastating punch landed flat on his stomach. The impact carried enough raw force that it broke his spine, sending a violent shockwave through his internal organs.