Journey to Become the Zenith

The Weight of Emotions

Victor exhaled quietly.

Cold crept into the evening over Silverwind, where gusts slid through high grass as if murmuring secrets to the earth. Stretching overhead, the sky sprawled wide - flecked with distant stars barely glowing beneath wandering cloud cover.

A glow hung just above the ridge of packed soil, casting light on the tight space he’d built there. That faint warmth showed every corner where the dirt met sky.

Diana caught Victor’s eye just then.

A weight shifted within him when he realized she’d known all along about his history.

Alone, he held the truth - carried it through years without relief.

Now... someone else knew, he had begun opening up to her more freely.

Fooling anyone had become impossible.

Few people came close, yet she saw what others missed.

The others—Lane, Videl, Skyla, Clara—none of them knew.

And Victor preferred it that way.

Revealing that he was once Anos, the Supreme Demon Emperor, would only complicate everything.

But with Diana...

Somehow it felt different.

Perhaps because their souls were bound by contract.

Or perhaps because she had watched him longer than anyone else.

Victor leaned his back against the earthen wall again, resting one arm behind his head.

”Diana...”

His voice carried a quiet tiredness.

”I’ve been thinking about something.”

Diana stood nearby, the warm firelight dancing across her figure.

Her long black hair shimmered slightly as the wind brushed through it. The shoulder less black robe she wore clung softly to her curves, the slit along her leg revealing the smooth line of her toned thigh whenever she shifted her weight.

But despite her alluring appearance, her attention remained completely focused on him.

Victor spoke again.

”I’m disappointed in myself.”

Diana’s red eyes softened slightly.

Victor continued quietly.

”Not just because I’m weaker than before.”

He rubbed the back of his neck.

”But because my mindset is still wrong.”

For a moment he fell silent.

Then he continued speaking honestly.

”I still think like I’m the strongest being in the world.”

”The Demon Emperor.”

”The one who stood above everyone.”

”I still think like the strongest Demon Emperor.”

His fingers clenched lightly.

”For hundreds of years I lived as Anos, standing at the top of the world.”

”Back then... battle was simple.”

There was no bitterness in his voice.

Only quiet reflection.

”I fight.”

”I win.”

”That’s it.”

Victor exhaled slowly.

”But now...”

”...everything is different.”

His golden eyes lowered slightly.

”I know I’m not Anos anymore... I’m Victor now.”

His voice grew quieter.

”And that’s what’s frustrating.”

Diana listened without interrupting.

Victor continued.

”I don’t know what to do with these distractions and emotions.”

His fingers brushed through the grass beside him.

”This human life...”

”It’s completely different from what I lived for hundreds of years.”

He looked up at the stars again.

”In battle... I used to feel only one thing.”

”Excitement.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

”That was enough.”

But now...

Victor sighed.

”Now when I fight...”

”I feel fear.”

”I feel anger.”

”I feel hesitation.”

He clenched his hand slightly.

”And that makes the fight feel... impure.”

His voice carried faint frustration.

”As if I’m disrespecting the battle itself.”

Diana watched him carefully.

Victor continued.

”This confusion started after that battle with Alibaba.”

His eyes grew distant.

”If I were still the old me...”

”I wouldn’t have cared about Lane or Clara.”

”They chose to follow me.”

”They knew they could die.”

”I warned them.”

”They still came.”

His voice dropped slightly.

”But when the moment came...”

”When I had to decide...”

Victor’s hand tightened.

”I didn’t fight until the end.”

”I ran.”

”To save them.”

Silence settled between them.

Victor chuckled quietly.

”I’m changing.”

His golden eyes shifted toward Diana.

”I don’t know if that’s progress...”

”...or weakness.”

Then he laughed again, a little bitterly.

”Heh...”

”Look at me.”

”Telling all this to a spirit who’s probably been around for hundreds of years.”

He shook his head.

”What have I become...?”

Diana suddenly crossed her arms, the motion pushing her breasts upward and making her cleavage look fuller.

”First off.”

Her voice carried a hint of amusement.

”I’m older than you.”

Victor blinked.

”Even counting the time, you lived as the Demon Emperor.”

She lifted her chin slightly.

”I have existed for tens of thousands of years.”

Victor stared at her.

Diana continued calmly.

”So, from my perspective...”

”The so-called Demon Emperor Anos...”

”...was nothing more than a child.”

Victor stared at her for a moment.

Then—

He burst out laughing.

”Heh...”

”I see.”

He leaned his head back again.

”So I’m a child, huh...”

The idea was strangely amusing.

For someone in this world to call the former Demon Emperor a child...

That was something Victor had never imagined.

Diana smiled faintly.

Then her gaze softened.

”Victor...”

”Let me tell you a story.”

Victor turned his head slightly.

”A story?”

Diana nodded slowly.

”Yes.”

Her eyes became distant, as if remembering something very far away.

”A long time ago...”

”I met someone very similar to you.”

Victor raised an eyebrow.

”This person...”

Diana’s voice carried a strange mixture of nostalgia and sadness.

”Was named Azriel Ruinous.”

Victor immediately sat up slightly.

Diana continued.

”His name has probably faded from history by now.”

”But once...”

”He was known as the strongest Vampire who ever existed.”

Victor’s interest sharpened instantly.

”A Vampire...?”

Diana nodded.

”Yes.”

”He loved battle.”

”Just like you.”

Her eyes reflected old memories.

”He felt excitement whenever he faced stronger enemies.”

”No matter who stood before him...”

”He fought dragons.”

”And killed them.”

”He fought conquerors who ruled entire continents.”

”And defeated them.”

”He even faced gods.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed.

”And he won?”

Diana smiled faintly.

”He always won.”

”From the moment he stepped onto the battlefield...”

”He never experienced a single defeat.”

Victor’s expression grew serious.

”So, Vampire can truly defeat light...”

Diana nodded.

”Yes.”

”Azriel proved it.”

The wind brushed softly across the plains.

Diana smiled faintly.

”He loved battle.”

”The thrill.”

”The challenge.”

”The feeling of standing before someone powerful.”

Victor nodded slowly.

”I understand that feeling.”

Diana looked at him.

”Yes.”

”That’s why he reminded me of you.”

She continued.

”But even someone like Azriel... who had power, a name, and everything he wanted within reach...”

Diana paused for a moment, choosing her words.

”But despite all of that... he still struggled with something.”

”He still struggled with something.”

Victor leaned forward slightly.

”His emotions?”

Diana nodded.

”Yes.”

”As Azriel kept fighting stronger and stronger enemies...”

”He began feeling things he never expected.”

Her voice softened.

”Responsibility.”

”Fear.”

”Concern.”

Victor frowned.

”For his companions?”

”Yes.”

Diana answered quietly.

”Azriel was the strongest.”

”But his friends weren’t.”

Victor listened quietly.

”They weren’t weak.”

”They were powerful warriors in their own right...”

”But compared to the enemies he fought...”

”They were fragile.”

Victor understood immediately.

Diana continued.

”Imagine fighting gods...”

”...while worrying about the people standing behind you.”

Victor remained silent.

Diana’s voice grew calm again.

”But Azriel never blamed those emotions.”

”He didn’t call them weakness.”

”He accepted them.”

”And kept fighting.”

Her red eyes reflected the firelight.

”And he kept winning.”

Victor leaned forward slightly.

”...Even at the end?”

Diana nodded slowly.

”Yes.”

”In his final battle...”

”Azriel died.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

”But...”

Diana smiled softly.

”He still won.”

”The enemy died before him.”

”He protected every single one of his companions.”

Victor remained silent.

Diana looked directly at him.

”Do you understand now?”

Victor didn’t answer.

Diana finished quietly.

”Azriel didn’t grow weaker because of his emotions.”

”He grew stronger.”

”Because he had something to protect.”

She stepped back slightly.

”I hope you think about that, Master.”

With that—

Her body slowly dissolved into dark mana.

Returning to the tattoo on Victor’s right arm.

The plains grew quiet again.

Victor lay back on the grass.

The night sky stretched endlessly above him.

Stars glittered faintly like distant embers.

Victor chuckled quietly.

”Emotions strengthening someone...”

”...Azriel Ruinous...”

He folded one arm behind his head.

”I see.”

His golden eyes closed slowly.

”So even I...”

”...am still just a greenhorn.”