The smile on my face lingered.
Calm.
Satisfied.
The brief exchange had already accomplished its purpose.
I now understood exactly where my brother stood.
I turned away.
One step.
Then another.
The Artificial Breach shimmered in the distance, its surface rippling like an endless sea of crimson and black.
Every step brought me closer to Neraphyx.
Closer to the battlefield I had long awaited.
Yet...
A strange feeling stopped me.
Not danger.
Not hostility.
Curiosity.
I instinctively glanced back.
Azharyon still stood where we had exchanged blows.
His breathing had already returned to normal.
The black tiger stripes covering his body slowly faded.
His Prime Form was beginning to recede.
Then...
Something caught my attention.
My footsteps halted.
My eyes narrowed.
His pupils...
No.
Not his pupils.
The slit within them.
A vertical line had always existed in the eyes of a White Tiger after entering their Prime Form.
It represented instinct.
Dominance.
The natural authority of a supreme predator.
Yet now...
A second line slowly appeared.
Faint.
Blurred.
Almost impossible to notice.
It stretched horizontally across the first.
Forming...
A cross.
No.
A plus.
For only the briefest moment...
It shone with an almost invisible golden radiance.
Then disappeared.
My heartbeat paused.
...
Impossible.
The ancient records flashed through my mind.
Thousands of books.
Ancient scrolls.
Countless forgotten inheritances.
Years spent searching for fragments of knowledge.
All pointing toward a single existence.
Seraphim.
The Eyes of Heaven.
A state said to exist only within the legends of the White Tigers.
The first step toward absolute instinct.
A realm where one's body reacted before thought itself could form.
No unnecessary movement.
No wasted strength.
Only perfection.
It explained everything.
My first punch...
Caught.
My second...
Evaded with the slightest tilt of his head.
My third...
Redirected effortlessly.
It hadn't been luck.
Nor talent alone.
His instincts...
Had awakened.
Not completely.
Only the beginning.
A single glimpse of the path.
Yet...
That alone was enough.
I slowly closed my eyes.
An amused smile appeared on my lips.
"...The Sons of Heaven..."
I muttered softly.
"...Truly are terrifying."
I had spent seven brutal years chasing every fragment of knowledge related to Seraphim.
Years studying.
Years fighting.
Years forcing my body beyond its limits.
Only after endless life-and-death battles had I barely begun to understand its principles.
Meanwhile...
Azharyon knew nothing of its existence.
Nothing of its history.
Nothing of the countless geniuses who had spent entire lifetimes pursuing it.
Yet...
His instincts had naturally begun walking that path.
Heaven truly favored its own children.
I opened my eyes once more.
The slight frustration within my heart disappeared almost instantly.
Instead...
A quiet excitement replaced it.
Good.
Very good.
If Azharyon continued growing...
Then perhaps...
One day...
He would truly stand beside me.
Not behind me.
Beside me.
A rival.
A brother.
An equal.
That thought alone made the journey ahead feel less lonely.
Without another word...
I resumed walking.
The Artificial Breach loomed before me.
Crimson and obsidian currents twisted endlessly within its surface.
Demonic energy leaked from every ripple.
Cold.
Ancient.
Oppressive.
Each pulse carried an indescribable aura.
As though the gate itself separated two completely different worlds.
When only a few steps remained...
I stopped once again.
The violent demonic energy brushed against my skin.
Instead of rejecting it...
My bloodline stirred.
The Beast Blood System remained silent.
The Tower remained silent.
Even the Shadow Realm showed no reaction.
Only my own bloodline...
Responded.
Almost...
As though it had finally returned home.
The heavens rumbled once more.
RUMBLE...
Dark clouds stretched endlessly across the sky.
A cold wind swept through the island.
Every cultivator instinctively looked upward.
It felt...
As though Heaven itself were watching this moment.
Watching my choice.
Watching my first true step beyond Zeraphyx.
I took a slow breath.
Behind me...
My family remained silent.
No one called my name.
No one tried to stop me.
Some farewells...
Didn't need words.
I slowly lifted one foot.
Then...
Stepped forward.
The instant my body touched the surface of the Artificial Breach...
The crimson portal rippled violently.
Its demonic energy surged around me like a living ocean.
For a brief moment...
Everything disappeared.
Light.
Sound.
Time.
Even space itself became meaningless.
Then...
Darkness swallowed my vision.
And the world beyond the gate...
Welcomed me.