And then… he appeared.
A creature that should not exist.One no refuge dared name without trembling.One whose very presence turned battlefields into graveyards before ever setting foot upon them.
He wasn't a general.Not a leader.
He was a force.
A calamity given form.
And his name, carved into forgotten reports and whispered in terrified accounts, was only one:
Zhar'Kan, the Prince of Destruction.
He descended the hill without touching the ground.His body floated—wrapped in liquid shadows that twisted and writhed as if alive.
He was tall—well over two meters.His torso vaguely human, but his limbs… wrong.Elongated beyond reason, stretched by malice itself.His hands didn't have fingers, but floating blades of pure black energy that circled his wrists like satellites.
Where a face should be, there was a vertical fracture—from his forehead down to where a mouth should be.And within that crack…light pulsed.
A deep, sickening violet glow that burned to look at.
His eyes, two white orbs, never blinked.
The creatures dropped to their knees when they saw him.
Not in reverence.In fear.
Because Zhar'Kan didn't lead.
He devoured.
I knew what he was.
Even if I'd never faced him directly…I had studied him in my past life.
Classification: Level 8.Catastrophic entity.Spiritual power—unknown.Able to summon and command up to 200 lesser creatures simultaneously.Body: partially intangible.Claws: capable of slicing not only flesh, but essence.
Some secret reports claimed he could invert protective barriers, twist magical fields, and cause spontaneous mutations in humans exposed to his aura.
He was confronted only once by an elite squad—six high-tier Awakened warriors.
None survived.
The only record: a thirty-second video clip.No attacks seen.Just floating blood.
And now, he stood before us.
Approaching Echo-Zero.Approaching me.
Without speaking.Without rushing.
As if he already knew how this would end.
Vega stepped up beside me, spear in hand.She didn't ask questions.But I could hear her breath catch when she saw him.
—What… what is that?
—Level 8 entity —I said quietly.We were never meant to stand in front of something like this.
—Can we win?
I didn't answer.
I just stepped forward.
Because even if I couldn't tell her that I had seen thousands die because of this monster…Even if I couldn't explain why my hands were shaking…
I knew one thing with certainty:
This time, I wouldn't run.
And if Zhar'Kan wanted this refuge…
he would have to tear it from me in blood.