Journey to Become the Zenith

The Endless White Soul Realm

Then Azriel suddenly smirked.

”Besides...”

Victor raised a brow, his golden eyes narrowing slightly inside the endless black space.

”You honestly think heroes can’t become monsters?”

Victor didn’t answer immediately.

The silence between them stretched strangely long.

It was not an awkward silence. It was the kind that carried weight. The kind born from memories soaked in blood and fire.

Far away, the black world around them trembled faintly, as though reacting to Victor’s emotions. Ripples spread beneath his feet like disturbed water despite the solid ground.

Because deep inside...

He already knew the truth.

Azriel watched him quietly. The vampire emperor’s crimson eyes glimmered with amusement, but there was something deeper hidden beneath that expression. Understanding. Experience. Perhaps even regret.

”I think,” Azriel finally said, his voice calmer now, ”you already know the answer.”

Victor slowly lifted his gaze toward him.

”...Yeah.”

A faint breath escaped his lips.

He remembered too many things.

Kings who called themselves righteous while slaughtering entire races.

Holy warriors who smiled while burning children alive because they belonged to the ”wrong” side.

Men praised as saviors by humanity while becoming nightmares to everyone else.

The title of hero had never truly meant goodness.

It only meant history favored your side.

Victor folded his arms as his black coat shifted lightly around him.

”So you’re saying our past selves were heroes...” he muttered. ”Then what kind of heroes were we?”

Azriel suddenly laughed.

It was low at first, then richer, fuller, echoing across the black world.

”Oh right... you’re worried about that.”

He placed a hand over his forehead dramatically before grinning.

”Don’t worry about it too much. I and the majority of your past incarnations weren’t anywhere near those justice freaks.”

Victor’s brow twitched slightly.

”Justice freaks?”

”Yes. Those annoying people who scream about protecting the weak while secretly enjoying power.” Azriel snorted. ”Most of us were only labeled as heroes by others, not because we actively tried becoming one.”

He stepped closer.

Long black hair swayed behind him while his crimson eyes gleamed sharply.

”We never served justice. We simply did whatever we wanted.”

Victor stayed silent and listened carefully.

Azriel’s grin widened.

”It’s just that many people who witnessed our deeds saw us as heroes. Heck, wasn’t that the same for you, Demon Lord Anos?”

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Azriel continued casually.

”Weren’t you the hero of the bad spirits?”

Victor immediately clicked his tongue in annoyance.

”...Don’t call them that.”

”Hm?”

”They followed me willingly,” Victor answered flatly. ”Most of them were abandoned by the world first.”

For a moment, memories surfaced inside his mind.

Countless beings kneeling before the throne of darkness.

Creatures feared by humanity.

Souls cursed by the world.

And yet...

Those same beings had laughed beside him.

Fought beside him.

Died for him.

Victor exhaled slowly.

”I never ruled them through fear alone.”

Azriel’s smirk softened slightly.

”Exactly.”

The vampire emperor spread his arms.

”That’s why people called you a demon lord while your own people worshipped you like a savior. Perspective changes everything.”

Victor thought about it carefully.

When he had been Anos, humans called him a calamity.

Yet among the races under his banner, he had been their shield.

Their king.

Their protector.

Suddenly the title ”hero” felt meaningless.

Not because it was false.

But because it was incomplete.

Azriel watched Victor’s changing expression and chuckled.

”You finally get it.”

Victor shook his head lightly.

”...Still sounds disgusting.”

”Hah! Good answer.”

Azriel laughed loudly again.

The black soul realm vibrated faintly from the pressure leaking from his laughter alone.

When Victor heard Azriel’s explanation he felt a bit better, but only a bit.

He calmed himself before speaking once more.

”Okay... So then, you are one of my past incarnations...” Victor paused briefly before continuing. ”I’m a bit curious. Among all my past incarnations, how strong was Demon Lord Anos?”

The moment those words left his mouth, excitement flickered deep within his golden eyes.

Ever since awakening fragments of those visions, Victor understood one thing clearly.

Every incarnation he saw was monstrously powerful.

Some wielded strength so absurd it distorted reality itself.

Compared to them...

Where exactly did Anos stand?

Azriel rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

”Hmmm...”

He looked genuinely serious for the first time.

”Among the count—including your current self as Victor—we make around the 777th reincarnation we’ve been through.”

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

Seven hundred seventy-seven.

Even hearing the number felt absurd.

Azriel continued.

”Demon Lord Anos is within the top three hundred.”

Victor blinked.

”Is that low or high in the ranking?”

Azriel smirked immediately.

”We had 777 reincarnations, so I’d say you’re pretty high up the list technically speaking.”

Victor silently absorbed the answer.

Top three hundred.

Meaning hundreds of mortals across countless eras had surpassed even the strongest version of himself.

But instead of frustration...

His blood began boiling with excitement.

A slow grin appeared on his face.

”So there were really that many monsters...”

Azriel noticed the excitement immediately and laughed.

”That reaction right there... yeah, you’re definitely one of us.”

Victor ignored the comment.

Instead, he asked another question.

”So tell me, Azriel... how high are you in the rankings?”

Azriel immediately straightened proudly.

”Not to brag or anything...”

”You’re absolutely going to brag.”

”Correct.”

Azriel pointed at himself dramatically.

”Even among our numerous reincarnations, I stand near the top. We didn’t have a meeting to decide it or anything, but we could all feel it instinctively.”

His crimson eyes gleamed fiercely.

”I, Azrial Runious, Vampire Emperor, Blood Monarch, God of War and Victory...”

A dangerous pressure suddenly exploded outward.

”...am within the top ten.”

Victor’s eyes sharpened.

Azriel smirked proudly.

”I guess you could say I stand near the top five.”

Victor genuinely stared at him now.

The man he saw in his visions...

The one who fought horrifying beings capable of making gods look like insects...

Was not even among the strongest five?

Then what kind of monsters were the top ranks?

Victor slowly exhaled.

”...Ridiculous.”

Azriel grinned wider.

”You’re damn right.”

Victor crossed his arms again.

”So then... who’s the strongest among us?”

This time Azriel’s expression changed completely.

The joking disappeared.

Even the air itself seemed to grow heavier.

”The strongest...”

His crimson eyes narrowed faintly.

”...is obviously the first one.”

Victor silently listened.

”The one who started our unreasonable cycle of death and rebirth.”

”The one who began this never-ending chain of reincarnations different from everyone else.”

Azriel’s voice became quieter.

”His true name is something you wouldn’t understand. The language he used exists beyond the comprehension of beings from your era.”

Victor frowned slightly.

”So what do we call him?”

Azriel looked directly into Victor’s eyes.

”Let’s just call him... the Original.”

The moment those words were spoken, Victor felt a strange chill run through his soul.

Not fear.

Something stranger.

Like instinctive recognition.

Like a distant memory trying to awaken.

Victor quickly suppressed the feeling.

”I see...”

He shook his head slightly before sighing.

”Thanks for answering those questions.”

Then his gaze sharpened again.

”Now let’s return to the real topic. Why did you say I’m here to cheat?”

Azriel instantly grinned again.

”Obviously I know why you’re searching your soul.”

He pointed directly at Victor.

”You plan to steal the techniques of your other incarnations.”

Victor opened his mouth to reply.

Azriel immediately interrupted him.

”It’s not like you’re the first incarnation who tried this, so it was easy to predict.”

Victor clicked his tongue.

”You already know what I’m about to say, don’t you?”

Azriel smirked knowingly.

”If we are all one and the same, then it isn’t stealing because it belonged to you originally. Right?”

Victor stayed silent.

Because that was exactly what he had been thinking.

Azriel shrugged.

”Well, in one way that’s true. And in another way... completely wrong.”

Victor narrowed his eyes.

Azriel slowly walked around him while speaking.

”Yes, all your past incarnations are technically you.”

”But at the same time, we are individuals sharing the same soul.”

His voice echoed through the endless black world.

”We may resemble each other in many aspects, but ultimately we lived different lives.”

”Different personalities.”

”Different races.”

”Different worlds.”

”Different techniques.”

Victor quietly listened.

Azriel stopped walking.

”So if you want to learn our techniques, you can’t do it the same way you did before.”

Victor frowned.

”...Meaning?”

”You merely glimpsed fragments and tried replicating them.”

Azriel shook his head.

”That method will never let you fully inherit anything.”

Victor folded his arms tighter.

”Then how do I learn them?”

Azriel’s grin turned vicious.

”That’s easy.”

The pressure around him suddenly intensified.

”You must defeat the incarnation who created the technique.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Azriel spread his arms slowly.

”Basically...”

His crimson eyes gleamed with battle lust.

”...you must win against your past selves.”

The moment those words were spoken, Victor suddenly felt reality distort.

The black space shattered like broken glass.

Victor’s pupils contracted.

When he opened his eyes again—

He was no longer standing within the dark soul realm.

Nor was he inside the forest where Clara, Lane, Brinda, and Eon were training.

Instead...

He stood inside a massive endless white world.

No sky.

No ground.

No horizon.

Only pure emptiness stretching forever.

And directly before him stood a man smiling viciously.

Long black hair.

Crimson eyes.

A regal black coat lined with blood-red patterns.

An overwhelming aura of death and war.

Victor instantly recognized him.

Azrial Runious.

The Vampire Emperor.

The Blood Monarch.

The God of War and Victory worshipped by both humans and vampires after saving the world from the Abyssal Empire that once tried consuming entire civilizations.

The same monster from his visions.

The same warrior who fought horrors beyond imagination.

When Victor saw Azriel standing physically before him, realization struck instantly.

He had manifested fully inside his own soul.

Azriel cracked his neck lightly.

A predatory grin spread across his face.

”So tell me, Victor...”

A terrifying pressure exploded outward.

”...what do you want to learn first?”