Days passed after the strange dream.
The world outside WHU slowly returned to its rhythm, but inside the headquarters the atmosphere was still heavy. Everyone knew the war was not over.
Not yet.
One afternoon, Asher sat on a stone bench in the training yard beside Wang Wei. The wind moved gently through the tall trees surrounding the compound.
Wang was holding a cup of tea.
Asher stared at the sky.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Finally, Asher broke the silence.
"I have to face him."
Wang looked at him calmly.
"Lord," Asher continued. "When I look at him… something inside me changes. It's like every dark thought, every fear… tries to take control of me."
Wang nodded slowly.
"That is natural."
Asher frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Wang leaned back.
"Lord doesn't just fight with power. He fights with presence. His existence presses on the human mind. Fear, anger, hatred… he amplifies those emotions."
Asher clenched his fist.
"But if I avoid him… nothing changes."
Wang looked directly into his eyes.
"That's true."
For a moment, silence returned again.
Then suddenly—
A loud alarm echoed through WHU headquarters.
BEEEEEP.
Both of them instantly stood up.
A soldier ran toward them.
"Emergency report!"
Wang's expression turned serious.
"What happened?"
The soldier spoke quickly.
"A massive energy anomaly has appeared. But it's not like before… it's worse."
Asher's eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
The soldier swallowed.
"It's not energy…"
He hesitated.
"It's absence."
Wang's eyes sharpened.
"Void?"
The soldier nodded.
"Yes. An entire area is being swallowed by something like… nothingness."
Asher immediately stood up.
His heart started beating faster.
"Lord…"
Wang looked at him.
"You think it's him?"
Asher didn't hesitate.
"He's here."
Without another word, Asher began walking.
Then running.
Within minutes, several heroes were already preparing to move, but Asher had already taken off toward the anomaly zone.
Wind roared past him as he traveled across the mountains.
The sky above the region had turned strange.
Dark.
Silent.
Even the air felt wrong.
Then—
He landed.
The ground beneath his feet was cracked and lifeless.
Trees had turned gray.
The wind had stopped completely.
And in the center of it all…
Someone stood there.
Waiting.
Lord.
His black cloak moved slowly in the unnatural stillness.
He turned his head slightly.
And looked directly at Asher.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So…"
His voice echoed through the empty land.
"You finally came."
Asher's eyes burned with determination.
He walked forward slowly.
Every step felt heavy, like the air itself was resisting him.
Lord watched him carefully.
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"Interesting…"
He looked deeper at Asher.
"Your aura has changed."
Asher stopped about twenty meters away.
"Sebastian," Lord said quietly.
"So his light found a new vessel."
Asher's fists tightened.
"Don't say his name."
Lord chuckled softly.
"Oh?"
"You carry his power, yet you react like this?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Tell me, Asher… do you feel it?"
Asher didn't respond.
Lord slowly raised one hand.
The space around them began to distort.
Black fractures spread through the air like cracks in glass.
"This world is fragile," Lord continued calmly.
"And people like Sebastian… tried to protect it."
His smile widened slightly.
"But protection is temporary."
The void behind him expanded.
"Destruction is eternal."
Asher stepped forward.
The air around him began to glow faintly.
A quiet silver light surrounded his body.
Lord noticed immediately.
"Ah…"
His eyes sharpened.
"So it awakened."
The ground beneath Asher trembled as his energy rose.
Calm.
Controlled.
But immense.
"I'm not Sebastian," Asher said quietly.
"But I will finish what he started."
For a moment—
Neither of them moved.
Wind suddenly exploded outward from Asher's position.
Lord smiled again.
"Yes."
"This is exactly what I wanted."
Darkness and light collided in the air between them.
The battlefield had been chosen.
The silence before the storm lasted only a second.
Then—
Lord disappeared.
And the fight began.