CHAPTER 753: YOU CAME HERE—NOW YOU STAY

Ethan rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

"Sol’Rakka... Is it a place? A ruler’s name? Or something that shouldn’t exist in this world at all?"

He was still lost in that spiral when Elira came running, clutching the remains of the giant bird in one arm and a rolled-up parchment in the other.

"Master, I found this," she said, breathless. "On the map... Sol’Rakka doesn’t look like just a desert. It’s more like—some kind of sacred kingdom buried deep in the sea of sand."

Ethan took the map, and his brow twitched.

The spark of curiosity caught fire.

But he didn’t let it burn away his reason.

Emerald Castle had taken years to build into what it was now. If Sol’Rakka was powerful enough to drive an envoy to suicide, then it might be strong enough to wipe out everything he’d built.

He wasn’t about to march his army into a death trap.

So he made the call, fast and clean.

"I’ll go first. Just me, Idra, and Auri. We scout it out. If it’s not a death sentence, then we bring the others."

Idra and Auri both nodded. They’d felt it too—that crushing pressure behind the giant bird, like something ancient and watching.

Ethan left a string of quick orders behind: reinforce the defenses, repair the barrier, keep the castle running smooth.

Then—

He shot into the sky, Idra and Auri flanking him, heading straight for Sol’Rakka.

They flew for what felt like forever.

Eventually, the endless desert came into view. Ethan touched down in the golden sands and realized—this place was even more lifeless than the legends claimed. No wind. No sound. No sign of life. Just an ocean of gold and a silence so hot it burned.

He steadied his breath and pulled out the energy orb he’d extracted from the golden core of the Sky Citadel.

It had soaked up the special energy he’d infused into it, and now it trembled faintly in the air, like a hound catching a scent.

A moment later, a clear direction shimmered inside the orb.

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He launched into the sky again, following the path it revealed.

Time blurred. Then—something shifted.

A strange ripple hit him square in the chest, invisible but sharp enough to raise every hair on his body.

Thump—

Then came the collapse—waves of energy crashing outward like a dam breaking.

Ethan hurled an energy sphere ahead of him on instinct.

It detonated with a roar, tearing through a shimmering veil in the air. Behind it, a city emerged—half-hidden, half-dragged from some pocket of space, like a mirage being forced into reality.

"...Found it."

His pulse kicked up. He dove straight toward the phantom city.

The moment he crossed the threshold, his body seized.

A cold force, like a snake slithering into his veins, pierced through him and began draining his energy.

"Shit."

He locked down his breath, forced his power back into place.

Then the air ahead twisted—and a massive figure stepped out.

A giant of a man, clad in heavy armor, eyes burning with raw violence.

"Where the hell did you crawl from, maggot? You dare step into Sol’Rakka? Tired of living?"

He didn’t wait for an answer. In a blink, he was a blur of thunder, charging forward with a force that tore the air apart. Every step cracked the space around him.

In his hands was a monstrous blade, etched with dense, glowing runes—dozens of miniature spell circles pulsing at once, each one leaking warped, unstable energy.

The pressure alone forced Ethan back midair. He gritted his teeth and summoned a massive energy disc, hurling it with all his might.

BOOM!

The two forces collided. The shockwave ripped through the city, sending buildings flying and sand spiraling into the sky like a golden cyclone. The ground beneath them gave way, crumbling into darkness.

Both men plunged into the void below.

They landed in a vast underground palace.

Wide. Damp. And terrifyingly still.

The air was thick with something wrong—an oppressive shadow that clung to the skin.

There was almost no light. Ethan moved to summon a glow, but the moment he tried, he felt his power being siphoned away, like something had latched onto his core.

He froze, scanning the walls.

They were covered—wall to wall—with strange, writhing creatures.

No eyes. No mouths. Just pulsing, boneless bodies and long, twitching tendrils.

And with every twitch, they pulled another thread of energy from his body—small, but deadly.

"Damn it!"

Ethan exploded with power, energy wings flaring wide behind him as he prepared to launch himself out of the pit—

But that rough, mocking voice rang out again, thick with greed and scorn.

"You think this is some place you can just drop into and fly out of? You came here—now you stay."

The brute’s power surged again.

This time, it resonated with the energy of the leeching creatures clinging to the walls.

From the depths of the palace, tendrils of dark energy erupted—dozens, then hundreds—twisting like living shadows. They merged with the giant’s aura, forming a suffocating tide of force that pressed in from every direction.

The entire palace trembled, as if the place itself had decided to devour Ethan whole.

In an instant, the pressure closed in like a net spun from gravity and malice, wrapping around him with crushing force.

His chest screamed with pain. Breathing became a struggle.

Ethan gritted his teeth, forced his footing, and took a single step back. Then—light and flame burst from within him.

The radiance of the Fairy God. The wrath of the Dragon God.

Two rivers of power, one silver and serene, the other molten and wild, spiraled around him in a storm of divine energy.

He clenched his fists. The energy surged into his palms, then exploded outward, forging a massive battle axe—taller than he was, its edge gleaming with raw fury.

"You want to keep me here?" Ethan’s voice echoed through the dark like a blade drawn in silence. He gave a cold, sharp laugh. "Not gonna happen."

He raised the axe high.

Even before it fell, the weapon began to scream—a deep, vibrating hum that rolled through the chamber like thunder. The pressure it unleashed surged outward in waves, and light burst from the blade, tearing through the gloom.

And in that sudden blaze—

Ethan saw the palace clearly for the first time.

It was vast. Vast enough to make his stomach drop. The ceiling arched high above, the walls stretched endlessly in every direction. But what made his skin crawl wasn’t the size.

It was the walls themselves.

They weren’t made of stone.

They were alive.

Covered in writhing black runes, each one squirming like a parasite. They shifted constantly, devouring the light around them, rearranging into new patterns with every twitch—each new formation pulling harder at his energy.

Ethan froze for a heartbeat.

Living runes. He’d never seen anything like them.

And in that flicker of hesitation, the giant struck.

With a roar, the man summoned every ounce of his power, forging a massive scythe of black iron. Its blade shimmered with the same shadowy energy as the runes, as if the weapon had been born from the palace itself.

It looked like it could cut through souls.

They moved at once.

Steel met steel.

CLANG!!

The impact detonated in a burst of sparks and raw force.

The ground shook like an earthquake had hit.

Shockwaves tore through the chamber, ripping cracks into the very air. Each time their weapons collided, the runes on the walls flared violently—then shattered under the strain, breaking apart into clouds of black smoke.

The palace groaned under the weight of their battle. Chunks of wall collapsed. Runes were ripped away, screaming as they died.

Ethan’s breath came harder now, ragged and fast.

This power...

It was too much.

Even with the combined strength of Auri and Idra flowing through him, power that should’ve been enough to overwhelm most enemies—he was barely holding even.

No. He was slipping.

This guy was stronger than anything he’d expected.

Far stronger.

...