Devourer: Rise Beyond Celestial

"You've been playing with me, manipulating me... Just get out of my way and let me finish what I started!"

Lofiel's gaze softened a bit, almost like that of an indulgent mother.

"I can't let you destroy your soul, my dear."

Linfer furrowed his brows, his mind turning. He had always known that his mother was extremely powerful, and even after reaching this level, after making the lower world his playground with Ahskharsh, he still felt inferior to her.

"What do you want-"

Lofiel interrupted him by gently placing her finger on his forehead.

"We'll meet again, my son. Now wake up!"

Before he could react, everything turned black.

...

POV: Linfer

"Where am I?" I thought. "Am I... dead? Like this? That bitch killed me?"

I stood naked in a crimson world, an infernal landscape where desolation and fear seemed to breathe around me. The sky was veiled by thick, red clouds. Beneath my feet, the coppery earth stretched out, crisscrossed by rivers of blood that snaked lazily, nourishing a world of morbid terror. Grotesque creatures slithered along these rivers of horror, some even leaping into the sky, casting nightmarish shadows over this apocalyptic landscape. Around me, dark-barked apple trees grew in this dead soil, bearing vivid red apples, shiny and tempting.

"Is this my inner world?" I wondered, plucking one of these glowing apples. Everything seemed eerily familiar, as if I had trodden this infernal ground before. But as I brought the apple to my lips, I noticed with horror that my hand was cracked, like fragile ceramic ready to shatter at any moment.

"My spiritual body is disintegrating..." I thought, a shiver of dread running through me. "How much time do I have left?"

I took a bite of the apple, which burst into juicy, sweet nectar on my tongue. Looking down at this inner world from above, so haunting, stretching for hundreds of kilometers, it reflected the primal form of my soul: that of a serpentine being with a thousand heads. Every moment in this place felt both real and unreal, a fragment of eternity stretched beyond time itself. I didn't know if years, decades, or centuries had passed. But I remember spending these endless days gazing at the crimson sky, bathing in the bloody rivers, and mingling with the gigantic serpentine creatures that populated this macabre kingdom. I knew them all, every form and movement. As if they were part of me, and they were.

Sitting on the red grass, gazing at the horizon as usual, an unexpected sound echoed.

*Crack.*

I looked up. There, in the sky, a gaping fissure was opening, tearing through space-time itself. A portal hung in the sky, gradually widening. The other side of this breach was not just a cosmic void. It was a vision, no, a creature. A monstrous entity.

It emerged, colossal, nightmarish. Its dark tentacles floated in the air, each swaying like undead serpents, held by black thorns that dominated it. Its head was bordered by smaller tentacles forming a crown around its multiple glowing eyes, each eye fixing on me with terrifying intensity. Gigantic wings stretched behind it, tattered membranes extending in dark hues on the outside and purple on the inside. These wings seemed to engulf much of the environment, making the atmosphere oppressive.

Its skin was thick, like a black carapace, embedded with patterns that pulsed with chaotic energy. Yet, this creature, despite its unimaginable power, was immobile, bound by the thorns that held it. But these vegetal chains were constantly disintegrating, eaten away by a force I didn't understand. They quickly regrew, tightening their grip, in a perpetual struggle, as if its own power eroded the roots that held it.

A deep rumble shook my inner world, and the creature finally spoke. Its voice resonated like an earthquake, making the ground tremble beneath my feet.

"So, you're finally ready?"

I felt my entire body vibrate under the magnitude of its presence. My already weak soul contracted to resist this overwhelming force, keeping me from collapsing. I clenched my fists, struggling to stay standing.

'This bastard!'

"Who are you?" I shouted, my voice weak against this titanic entity.

The creature ignored my question, its attention momentarily turning elsewhere, as if it perceived something hidden. Its gaze lingered on a detail I couldn't understand.

"That necklace? So, she did it... as expected," it murmured, almost to itself, before returning to me, its piercing eyes plunging into mine. "I see you've already forged your inner world. But your soul is cracked."

It coldly analyzed my state, "It's not enough if you want to avenge me."

'Avenge you? I don't even know who you are! Is he messing with me?' I thought, hiding my irritation as best I could behind an impassive facade.

"You know I can hear your thoughts, boy?!" it growled.

"Damn!"

"Never mind. I think she did a good job. But the rest is up to you. Prove your worth, and only then..."

Before I could grasp the meaning of its last words, my vision blurred. Everything around me cracked, shattering like glass, reality exploding beneath my feet.

And in an instant... everything disappeared.

***

*Second Heaven, in one of the worlds distant from the lower plane.*

*ZiXiao Kingdom*

In a hall bathed in soft light, a man stood silently, visibly immersed in deep meditation. His face, finely chiseled, bore an ethereal and inhuman beauty. His skin, of an almost supernatural whiteness, seemed to shimmer under the cold glow of the lantern floating beside him.

He wore a sumptuous black robe, richly embroidered with elegant floral patterns. Long, silvery hair, fluid and silky, framed his face, cascading over his shoulders and mingling with the subtle smoke swirling around him, suggesting the serenity of the atmosphere. His expression was impassive, cold, yet exuded a quiet inner strength, like a sleeping tiger.

The environment around him appeared to be a meditation chamber, marked by a palpable silence. Smoke rose delicately in the air, and the dim lighting from lanterns created a mystical ambiance.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and instantly, a violent earthquake shook the room for several minutes. The man remained in the lotus position, completely unmoved.

His eyes, shining with a piercing and luminous glow, emitted a silvery aura. They fixed on an invisible point in space, his ethereal concentration unbroken. When the earthquake subsided, silence settled in, disturbed only by a heavy, dull heartbeat. The aura surrounding him slowly dissipated, as if he were emerging from a state of enlightenment.

Linfer, disoriented, looked around, his face shifting from confusion to annoyance.

"Where am I, again?"