Chapter 419: Shadow’s Marks

Priam read the message, and his heart began pounding in his chest. However, in the very next second, before he could even read the green screen that appeared afterward...

He was suddenly overcome by an extremely strange sensation. It was as if something dormant deep within his being had awakened after an eternity—a vibration coming directly from the Nexus Seed.

He felt as though another consciousness existed there. But at the same time... he sensed such a visceral connection that it seemed—no, he was absolutely certain—that it was an extension of himself.

He had experienced this exact sensation in the past, when he first activated the Manifestation of Heaven’s Will to save his mother. (Chapter 88)

This time, however, the intensity was devastating.

He could feel that presence incomparably more strongly, and at the same time...

That second half of himself began to move and merge with his consciousness, like a forgotten piece of his own soul returning to his body.

"?"

Suddenly, Priam’s vision went completely dark... all strength left his body, and he passed out on the spot.

***

An atrocious pain pierced XXXX’s mind—not like a mere thought, but like a red-hot blade driven directly into his soul.

He opened his eyes.

His world was covered in absolute white. In every direction, everything burned with immaculate flames. He floated a few meters above the ground, but that ground was nothing more than an ocean of pulsating magma.

Strangely, he felt no heat at all. He simply took a deep breath, allowing the purest Yang energy in the surroundings to circulate throughout his body.

Inside his chest, however, open wounds throbbed with visceral, excruciating pain, as if his organs were being forcibly rebuilt every second. And along with that pain came the tide.

’I’ll kill you... This is nothing... I swear I’ll get my revenge someday...’

The words echoed through his mind like a dark mantra.

An ancient, dense, and endless hatred flooded his consciousness, clouding every corner of his thoughts. It was a majestic rage, yet rotten at its core—the blind fury of one who despised an untouchable deity. And yet, he was firmly convinced that one day, he would be able to sever that head.

He closed his eyes again for a few moments.

’Only one day left... no, just a few hours...’

*!*

As he tried to relax, a sudden sense of mortal danger ran down his spine—a chill so intense that it made his boiling blood freeze in his veins.

When he opened his eyes and focused his senses, he saw nothing, felt nothing, and detected no presence whatsoever, even after expanding his perception across the entire galaxy.

Yet the threat was there: suffocating, overwhelming, and inevitable.

XXXX’s eyes instinctively turned toward the horizon of the solar system, near the Celestial Yang Sun where he rested.

There, he saw that figure emerge.

It was a young man dressed in red robes with golden details, floating in the void and emanating an absolute presence. His youthful face radiated an almost defiant vitality, but the depths of his eyes gleamed with a fascinating and cold combination of colors.

’Who...?’

XXXX’s mind faltered for a brief moment. Then, he remembered a young slave of Heaven’s Will, whom he himself had killed several thousand years ago.

A terrible anomaly, a boundless threat that he believed he had successfully eliminated—although the cost of doing so had been surprisingly high.

But there he was. Using another body and, clearly, even stronger than before.

’A resilient cockroach... great. He came to hand everything over to me this time.’

*!*

Suddenly, the distant young man brought his fingers together and snapped them with a soft click.

**KBOOOOOOOOOM!!!**

The universe seemed to implode.

A black, apocalyptic explosion tore through the white light of the Sacred Fortresses. Entire planets across the solar system were split in half and reduced to cosmic dust in the blink of an eye.

As soon as the apocalypse began to calm down, XXXX was able to take in the scene... that macabre destruction seemed almost hypnotic to him.

He snorted disdainfully.

Looking around, he saw his Generals and trusted figures emerging amid the chaos. Only those wearing armor imbued with his own power had survived, saved at the very last second.

A growl of pure arrogance escaped his lips.

With his immaculate white robe flowing and an immortal aura enveloping his tall, elegant body, XXXX emerged from the center of the Sacred Sun.

Forced calm and nobility concealed the beast roaring within.

"Oh? You really did come back... incredible. We’ve finally met again."

XXXX’s voice sounded strange even to his own ears—distant, yet resonating from deep within his throat.

Behind that young and terrifying figure on the horizon, a colossal army emerged from nowhere. At the same time, the shadow of a Primordial Dragon roared, coiling around the young enemy.

The decisive war would happen sooner than expected.

XXXX drew his white sword. The order to execute was given, and the armies collided in an apocalypse of light capable of eclipsing entire galaxies.

However, as he watched the battlefield, the tension in XXXX’s chest only grew. The enemy army’s forces were advancing with humiliating ease. His sacred army was being crushed.

"Looks like you’re forcing me to fight ahead of schedule," XXXX whispered, his jaw clenched as wounded pride and hatred burned in his chest. "Fine. I don’t mind ending this with my own hands."

XXXX advanced. He unleashed a single sword slash, and a world of immaculate white light tore through the spatial storms.

However, the response came with unbelievable violence.

A stunning woman covered in draconic scales emerged from the dragon’s shadow.

With eight celestial glows burning in her eyes, she threw punches that split reality into green and white.

Her fists collided with the White Sword with a thunderous sound.

’How can a mere third-level Immortal withstand my attack?!’ XXXX’s astonishment turned into blind fury.

Before he could regain his bearings, the void twisted. A girl in a blue feathered dress wielded a bone whip, pouring an infinite aquatic power over him. The impact made XXXX choke, the bitter taste of his own blood rising in his throat.

Pushed to his limits, he activated his defensive white circular barrier. But then, a cold and dry voice cut through the chaos:

*Blinding Break!*

The young enemy attacked, appearing with a dagger coated in the terrifying light of anti-life.

*CRAAACK!*

XXXX’s absolute barrier shattered like cheap glass.

That attack was the final straw. The humiliation and the caution of someone who had once ruled over universes fused into a definitive killing impulse.

XXXX retreated, letting out a roar that made the stars throughout the entire universe tremble. Behind him, the gigantic White Sun expanded, and XXXX absorbed every last drop of its energy, projecting an endless, nebulous domain where he was the sovereign emperor.

He stared at the young adversary with deadly contempt.

"You really thought I was some arrogant fool?... If you have nothing to say, then die!"

All of XXXX’s power was unleashed.

His aura was so devastating and overwhelmingly oppressive that the universe itself began to crack and break apart, like gigantic spiderwebs.

XXXX rose above the battlefield like an unstoppable calamity. Time froze. He extended his hands, ready to crush the young enemy, the dragon woman, and anyone else who stood in his way, fueled by limitless brutality, certain that victory was inevitable—

***

Priam awoke with a violent start, the air escaping his lungs in a desperate gasp.

His current body trembled uncontrollably.

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and his mind seemed impregnated with a sinister shadow, hungry for revenge and hatred. The lingering sensation of a megalomaniacal and merciless fury still vibrated in his chest, making him sick from the sheer intensity of the feeling.

’What... what the hell...’

He didn’t know who those figures were, but that battle he had witnessed... was that a true battle between Immortals?

He had seen everything from one person’s perspective. As if... as if... that person had been himself.

"..."

He couldn’t doubt it.

He couldn’t come up with an excuse.

Those were memories.

That really had been himself.

Those were the Shadow’s Marks of his past.

And above all, despite that man’s pain, immortal power, and arrogance... Priam had an instinctive, dark, and terrifying certainty echoing deep within his being:

That battle had not ended well for that hate-filled man.