Dancing on the golden ashes

The vortex above radiated a mysterious, overwhelming aura, and I could feel its undeniable connection to me in this moment. A flow of energy, vast and infinite, poured down like a cosmic waterfall, as though the universe itself was offering its power. My soul surged, the intensity skyrocketing beyond anything I'd ever experienced.

Within me, the four souls began to change. They grew rapidly, reshaping themselves into what resembled the figure of a woman. They were faceless, yet unmistakably identical to me, each sharing my body's features but emanating distinct and powerful auras.

The ethereal glow surrounding them became breathtaking, their forms pulsating with energy as if the very universe might soon bow before their might. Each soul carried a unique element.

"The pressure inside me… it's too much. At this rate, I'm going to pop like a balloon…" I gasped, my body trembling violently. I dropped to my knees, unable to stand against the torrent of power coursing through me. It was like a floodgate had been opened, and my cultivation was being forced upward too quickly.

Yet, to my astonishment, the energy didn't spiral out of control. It surged with terrifying precision, stable and steady, but the strain on my body was unbearable. Every fiber of my being screamed in protest, as though I might shatter at any moment.

[The system has awarded you 10 levels worth of experience]

[You have reached level 61]

[300 skill points have been awarded as compensation for the chosen one. Please use them wisely as you overcome this tribulation]

[Total stat points: 750]

My eyes widened as a realization hit me—I had completely forgotten about my stat points. The past days in the world of beasts had been consumed by endless growth and survival, but I never stopped to consider what I had been accumulating.

Now, seeing the sheer number of unspent points, I felt my heart race. The amount was absurd. With these points, I could dominate this world, crush my enemies, and reshape everything to my will.

A deep, unsettling desire began to stir within me, rising from a part of my heart I wasn't ready to confront. My fingers twitched, and I found myself whispering the words before I could stop them.

"I... This power," I murmured, my throat dry. "I want it. I shall dominate this world. Yes... if I control everything, I'll control those who hurt me in the past. They'll all bow before me!"

The temptation was overwhelming, intoxicating, and I felt myself slipping into it.

"Snap out of it, you freaking idiot!"

The eerie voice screamed in my mind, snapping me back to reality with a force that sent a chill down my spine. This time, its tone carried an unfamiliar weight—something deeper, something that calmed my raging thoughts.

I blinked, the haze clearing as I regained focus. My heart still thumped erratically, but clarity returned, and the storm within me settled.

"Thank you..." I murmured under my breath, barely audible. For all its annoyance, the eerie voice had saved me yet again.

Pushing myself off the ground, I stood tall, my resolve hardening.

"These stat points," I said firmly, my voice steady and resolute, "I'll save them for the day I truly need them. For the day I must protect those who are important to me. For now, they will rest within me. This is my choice, my path."

The moment I made my decision, the vortex above seemed to shift, as if reacting to my resolve. Its swirling mass of power reached out, and in an instant, lightning roared from the heavens, slamming into my body with a force beyond comprehension.

The sheer power coursing through me was unimaginable. It was nothing like the endless torture I had endured before—it was far worse, searing every nerve, testing every limit of my endurance.

For a moment, I almost blacked out.

But what truly shocked me was the black, ooze-like substance beginning to seep out from my body after the lightning struck. It felt foreign, yet strangely cleansing, as though my very essence was being purged of impurities. At the same time, the four souls inside me burned brighter, their auras radiating an incomprehensible power.

The vortex above spun even faster, the surge of soul power flooding into me doubling in intensity.

BOOM!

Another bolt of lightning, even fiercer than the first, crashed down onto me. I hadn't even had time to recover.

This time, I couldn't even scream.

The pain was so excruciating that my senses simply shut down. I couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't even feel the ground beneath me. All that remained was a faint awareness of my body's fragility—my heartbeat slowing to a crawl, barely clinging to life.

Yet, strangely, my body had never felt so pure.

Deprived of all other sensations, I became acutely aware of the energy flowing through me. Each strand of soul power coursing into my body was clear, distinct, and unimpeded. It was mysterious. Calming. For a moment, amidst the agony, I found an odd serenity.

The four souls within me burned with an unimaginable ethereal light, their glow so intense it became almost unbearable to perceive, even within my mind.

Suddenly, something inside me cracked—an internal explosion that shattered the outer layers of my souls. Like a shell peeling away, they shed their previous forms, revealing an inner core of raw purity and unparalleled power.

In that instant, all my senses returned in a deafening rush.

An uncontrollable surge of energy erupted from my body, reducing everything within a two-kilometer radius to ash. The once-brilliant Blazelia trees that surrounded me were obliterated, leaving nothing but scorched remnants.

Holy shit! Just what is this power?

The souls, now transformed, radiated dominance so profound it seemed to rewrite the very fabric of existence around me. Words, etched in power, floated above each soul like divine decrees, their meaning undeniable and absolute.

The ghastly soul bore two words: Life and Death.

The darkness soul was branded with a single, stark word: Darkness.

The golden fire soul shone with the word Light.

And the final soul, the most radiant of all, multicolored and shimmering, displayed five words: Fire, Wood, Water, Metal, Earth.

I stared, awestruck. The implications were staggering. These weren't just elements or concepts—they were the very Heavenly Laws.

Is this the legendary stage after Soul Split—the Heavenly Soul Stage? Was I truly glimpsing what it meant to comprehend the laws of heaven?

It felt overwhelming. Too much, too fast. Yet, I couldn't deny the truth staring back at me.

The souls radiated energy that healed my battered body within moments. But before I could fully recover, I saw the sky above darken once more. Another thunderbolt, larger and more ferocious than the last, began to coalesce.

This one wasn't just lightning. It was judgment.

I gazed up at the roiling heavens, my chest heaving as a deep disdain rose from within my very soul.

"Come!" I roared, extending my hands upward. "I'm not afraid!"

The bolt struck.

This time, it was five times stronger than the last. Its raw force slammed into me with unrelenting fury, but instead of tearing me apart, my own red lightning surged to life.

The crimson energy coiled around me like a hungry beast, devouring the heavenly lightning with an insatiable appetite. I could feel its power growing, feeding off the divine energy as if this was the sustenance it had craved for eons.
Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

When the onslaught ended, a new presence took root within me.

The red lightning, now tamed, took its place as a fifth soul within me. Dominating. Fierce. Its ethereal body bore a single word, blazing with overwhelming authority: Lightning.

I stood there, my breath ragged, my body trembling. The vortex above began to dissipate, its task complete. Around me, silence reigned, broken only by the crackle of residual energy in the air.

My body alone felt at least ten times as strong, though it was entirely covered in a mysterious black substance. I didn't know what it was, but it felt… cleansing, almost as if it had purged the impurities from my body. My movements were lighter, swifter. For a fleeting moment, I dared to imagine myself powerful enough to pluck the stars from the heavens. But I knew better. That was just my imagination… wasn't it?

[The first step to become the Demon Lord has been completed. Proceeding to the second step]

The system's message jolted me from my thoughts. First step? The words lingered, heavy with implications.

And then the sky roared.

Darkness descended, turning the world pitch black. Above, the vortex surged back to life, swirling with terrifying intensity. The energy it exuded was endless, and I could feel my Darkness soul pulling it in greedily, devouring every ounce of power.

My horns began to glow, their shape shifting subtly. I couldn't see the changes, but I could feel them—heavier, more solid, radiating a terrifying strength. My demon wings, which I could only summon as a skill before, now grew naturally from my back, their leathery expanse unfurling with dominance.

My long ball dress warped, shrinking into a shorter, sharper design. The golden accents vanished, replaced by pure crimson that radiated a deadly aura. My hair, once snow-white, now shimmered with a spectral glow, its aura heavy with deathly energy. Even my nails lengthened, turning jet black.

And then, from behind me, I felt it—the slow growth of something new. My tail. Slim and scaly, yet agile and brimming with power, it swayed slightly, asserting its presence.

Around me, the beasts from my beast world emerged one by one. Their auras were wild, raging like hellfire, and each of them now stood in a hybrid human-beast form. Even those I had never seen transform before had changed. An army of five thousand, radiating unmatched power, stood ready to obey my command.

This was the army that would one day sweep across this world, leaving none to question its might.

I had become the Demon Lord.

"I, Lee Gaon, accept my fate," I declared, my voice echoing with unwavering resolve.

[CONGRATULATIONS!]

[You have become the Demon Lord]