Dancing on the golden ashes-Chapter 274: Wrath Ignites Again: A Transformation Forged in Fury

The eyes of an ancient being fixed upon me, cold and piercing—grey as storm clouds, sharp as a blade. There was something unnerving in them, something that made the very air around me seem to still, as if the predator of the ages had reawakened to drag the world back into shadow.

"RRROOOAAARRR!"

The beast's roar crashed through the air, a ferocious sound that slammed into me like a tidal wave, attempting to push me back, to scatter me away from its prey. But it had made a grave mistake. Seo-yeon wasn't its prey. No. This beast was mine. And I would make sure it understood that the moment it refused to cooperate.

"Empress!?"

In her eyes, I saw a flicker—a mix of confusion, fear... and something else. Joy. Despite everything, she smiled at me, though her body was trapped, buried deep in the snow and ice. The frost that shielded her sight gleamed, her expression fierce but laced with that familiar warmth I knew all too well. She looked every bit the Empress of Frost—yet she was helpless, pinned by a force that seemed beyond even her immense power.

Her shield of ice, shimmering with defiance, barely held under the beast's relentless assault. It was clear—this creature was no easy opponent. But I had no doubt. I had never doubted her strength before, and I wasn't about to start now. freewēbnoveℓ.com

"Don't worry," I said, my voice as cold and unwavering as the frost enveloping us. "I'll get you out of here. And when we're done, we'll laugh about this day—over a feast, over drinks, as if none of this ever happened."

There was no warmth in my words, no kindness. Only the promise of something better. Yet, I saw it in her eyes—the way her lips curled upwards, how her body relaxed, just slightly. She understood. She always did.

Despite everything—despite the ruins of her home that I had caused, despite the loss and the destruction—I had never seen her hold a grudge. Not once. She was loyal. To me. To this cause.

"I know, I trust you," she said, her voice steady despite the chaos. Then, as if she had become one with the world around her, her body melted into the snow, disappearing from sight. Where she went, I couldn't say—perhaps she had perished, or maybe she had slipped away, hidden somewhere, waiting for the right moment. But I couldn't afford to focus on that now. My attention was consumed by the massive wolf that stood before me.

A silent challenge passed between us. Our gazes locked, and in that instant, I felt the weight of its power, a force pressing against mine. It wasn't just a beast—it was something older, something stronger, a creature of legend. The beast was far beyond me, its aura radiating an intensity that told me one thing: it was in the Immortal Realm, a level above mine. That made it the most formidable opponent I had faced to date—excluding the creator. That being… it existed in realms far beyond even the Immortal Emperor.

The beast made the first move. Its massive left leg tore into the ground for traction before it propelled itself forward, launching at me with terrifying force. Its claws—sharp and black as obsidian—glinted like blades capable of cleaving mountains in half. Then, it spun like a deadly spiral, rushing toward me with the speed of a predator, as if I were a mere log waiting to be shredded by its power.

I didn't dare underestimate it. This monster was no simple foe. I couldn't afford to wait for death to claim me.

My clones surged forward, each wielding soul chains in their hands, ready to halt the beast's assault. But to my astonishment, it tore through them effortlessly—like a hot knife slicing through butter. The sheer power and speed were overwhelming, and it all happened in the blink of an eye.

I couldn't tank that.

In an instant, I shifted, becoming a specter—a ghost, drifting through the air. My control over space distortion had evolved. It was now so deeply ingrained in me that it had become part of my true form. The system fused with my body had birthed these abilities, and unlike before, I could now evolve them at will. As I activated my spatial distortion, my body dissolved into the void, turning spectral. It drained my energy rapidly, but I could now evade any attack—provided it wasn't void-related. If someone's understanding of space was greater than mine, they might touch me, but it was clear this beast didn't possess that capability.

My arms swung with powerful precision, twisting my body into an impossible angle as my scythe cleaved through the air, aimed straight at the beast's neck. It gleamed with golden light, a force that carried a suppressive power against beings whose souls were weaker than mine. But the werewolf's fur suddenly shimmered, and its eyes locked onto me.

Before I could process what had happened, it turned in mid-air—its body shifting and changing direction with such speed that I hadn't even seen it coming.

We collided.

My scythe slashed through its spinning claws, but the impact was so brutal that it sent me hurtling backward. The world spun around me as I was flung through the air, crashing through the ceiling of the cave with tremendous force. I continued to fly at incredible speeds, a hole opening up above me as I was forced out of the cavern's depths.

My wings wrapped around me in a protective cocoon, shielding me from further damage—but in doing so, they were torn and battered, the weight of the collision leaving them bloodied and ruined. When I finally burst through to the surface, moving at the speed of light, I could feel the monster following close behind, tearing through the earth in pursuit, its relentless pursuit giving me no time to breathe.

Fine, I thought, fury overtaking my soul. I'll slay you.

In that instant, my sin—wrath—burned to life within me. The power surged, violent and consuming, filling me with an eerie strength. My body began to transform, claws growing from my fingers, my very being shifting into something far more primal, far more deadly.