Adam walked slowly through the empty streets, his thoughts churning as the night pressed in around him. A cool breeze drifted past, carrying a strange charm—somber, unnervingly still. The streets belonged to the unsung terrors of the dark, and he let himself sink into them willingly.

  Did I make the right decision?

  He glanced back toward the tavern in the distance, its lights barely visible now, then turned forward and continued on.

  Fuck it. I’ll break into Elliot’s place if I can’t find anywhere else.

  This time, the street was almost entirely dead. The houses stood dark and shuttered, and even the stray animals had vanished, having found shelter from the night.

  “You should have wrung the neck of that insolent brat,” the demonic voice muttered suddenly.

  “What now?” Adam replied flatly.

  “That girl was clearly probing us,” the demon snarled. “You’ve grown soft. You should have—!”

  A system notification interrupted it mid-sentence.

  [Potential Sources of Danger Detected]

  Adam stopped walking.

  His frown deepened as he scanned his surroundings. “Who are you, and why are you following me?”

  He turned his head slowly from side to side. The street remained desolate.

  “Just because I can’t see you doesn’t mean you aren’t there,” he said calmly. “Last chance. Who are you—and why are you following me?”

  A faint gust swept through the street.

  Space distorted.

  Five figures stepped out of thin air—three men and two women. One of the men, clad in plain white mage’s robes marked with a tiger’s claw crest, moved forward.

  “My name is Samuel Devillers,” he said in a composed, practiced tone. “I’m a member of Sabretooth. The leader of this unit.”

  Adam said nothing, studying him—and the others.

  None of them wore matching uniforms. Each bore a different guild insignia.

  Samuel gestured toward his companions. “They are distinguished members of various prestigious guilds in Dratol. We represent the Coalition.”

  Adam remained silent, but his thoughts churned.

  Different guilds… I figured as much. But why are they all looking at me like that? And what the hell is the Coalition?

  Even without the explanation, the conclusion had already formed in his mind. Whatever this “Coalition” was, every single one of them shared the same thing in their eyes—a cold, almost murderous intent.

  “Now that I’ve introduced myself,” Samuel continued pleasantly, “it’s only proper that you do the same.”

  Adam looked back at him.

  Samuel was smiling—but there was nothing warm or genuine about it. The expression looked rehearsed.

  “I’m under no obligation to tell you who I am,” Adam said at last, returning the smile.

  For just a moment, the corner of Samuel’s eye twitched.

  He quickly masked it, but the others didn’t bother hiding their hostility.

  “I don’t believe you understand the situation,” Samuel said mildly. “If you did, I doubt you’d be behaving so… cheekily.”

  “Oh?” Adam raised a brow and crossed his arms. “Why don’t you enlighten me?”

  Samuel raised three fingers.

  “You have committed three violations,” he said evenly. “First, you breached the curfew issued earlier today. Second, you violated the Indemnification Mandate, which states that any individual within the southern region must identify themselves when approached by Coalition agents. Third—”

  He paused.

  “You violated the Terror Act, which mandates that all awakened citizens and foreign entities within Dratol report immediately to the Coalition Center.”

  He lowered his hand and gestured sharply.

  The group spread out, encircling Adam.

  “Please don’t make this difficult for yourself,” Samuel said, smiling—this time sincerely. “We will escort you to the Coalition Center for further investigation.”

  His voice hardened.

  “Arrest him.”

  Two of the men stepped forward.

  Adam laughed.

  The sound echoed through the empty street, sharp and out of place. Both men halted instinctively, hands hovering near their weapons.

  Adam met their gazes calmly. “I’m afraid I won’t be going anywhere with you.”

  “Resisting arrest will only add to your violations,” Samuel said dismissively. “With the current unrest surrounding the Labyrinth of the Nameless, you don’t want to earn the Coalition’s wrath.”

  He stepped closer, never breaking eye contact.

  “Come quietly, and this ends with a light punishment,” Samuel continued. “Resist—and under the Terror Act, Coalition agents are authorized to use excessive force during times of distress.”

  He stopped a few paces away.

  “What will it be?”

  “I’ll take the option where you all leave quietly,” Adam replied, “and this doesn’t escalate any further.”

  Samuel raised another finger.

  “That makes four violations,” he hummed. “Threatening a Coalition agent breaches the Peace Act.”

  He cracked his neck slowly. “Everyone,” Samuel said, “you are authorized to use your abilities as you see fit to subdue the suspect. Lethal force is permitted if you fear for your lives.”

  Samuel reached for the small grimoire at his waist.

  The two men drew their longswords. The women retreated several steps, chanting inaudible words as a dense emerald glow washed over the others.

  Adam felt his vision shift.

  The whites of his eyes darkened, blackened veins crawling outward as shadowy tendrils unfurled from his arms. Cataclysm’s twin axes manifested in his grasp, their arrival accompanied by bestial, echoing roars.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “This is your final warning!” Samuel shouted. “Come with us quietly, and this doesn’t need to escalate!”

  Adam didn’t answer.

  He simply beckoned them forward.

  “I suppose there’s no saving you,” Samuel said coldly. “Take him down. I’ll support—”

  Adam flicked Cataclysm forward.

  The axes split mid-flight, veering past Samuel and screaming toward the two women behind him.

  “No, you don’t!”

  Samuel’s hands blurred through a rapid sequence of signs as he muttered inaudible incantations. His grimoire trembled violently, bathing the street in a pulsating cyan glow. A moment later, a translucent barrier flared to life in front of the two women.

  “That won’t be enough,” Adam grunted.

  Before anyone could register his words, Cataclysm struck.

  The twin axes slammed into the barrier with a thunderous echo that rippled through the night. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface almost instantly. A heartbeat later, the barrier shattered, exploding into fragments of fading light as the axes tore through and surged onward.

  Straight toward the women.

  “What are you doing?!” Samuel shouted. “Dodge—get out of the way!”

  His voice might as well have been silence.

  All the women could see were the axes screaming toward them, their minds locked in terror. Their bodies refused to respond, no matter how desperately they willed them to move.

  The blades smashed into their midsections, sending both agents hurtling backward. Their bodies spiraled through the air before crashing through the skeletal walls of an unfinished building. As they vanished into the rubble, the emerald glow reinforcing the remaining agents flickered—and died.

  The street fell silent.

  Cataclysm whirled through the air once more, spinning back into Adam’s waiting hands as if summoned by instinct alone.

  Samuel stared at the gaping hole where his companions had disappeared. No sound came from within. No movement.

  He swallowed.

  “Why do you look so shocked?” Adam laughed. “You weren’t expecting me to fight fair, were you?”

  He turned slowly toward the remaining two agents.

  Like Samuel, they stood frozen—eyes wide, faces stiff with disbelief.

  “Don’t tell me you’re scared too,” Adam added lightly.

  No one answered.

  Adam sighed. “If you’re not coming to me, then I’ll come to you.”

  He vanished.

  The space between the two men collapsed as Adam reappeared in the narrow gap separating them.

  “What the—?” one of them began.

  Too late.

  Adam slammed the flat sides of his axes into their chests.

  Blood sprayed into the air as both men were launched backward. A deafening crash followed as their bodies disappeared behind a collapsing brick wall.

  Silence returned once more.

  Adam turned back to Samuel, his smile bordering on playful. “Looks like it’s just the two of us now.”

  He took a step forward, idly swinging Cataclysm at his sides.

  “I have a few questions,” he continued. “Answer them properly, and you won’t end up like your friends. Let’s not make this worse than it already is, alright?”

  Samuel stumbled back two steps.

  “So,” Adam said, tilting his head, “what’ll it be?”

  Samuel didn’t answer right away. The mask of casual authority he’d worn earlier was gone entirely.

  “W-what… what do you want to know?”

  Adam stopped and smiled. “Good choice. Now tell me why—”

  “What’s going on here?!”

  The voice slammed down with authority, cutting him off mid-sentence.

  Adam’s head snapped upward.

  A woman stood atop a nearby building, clad in a fitted blue suit beneath a snow-white trench coat. Her hawkish gaze swept between Adam and Samuel with razor precision.

  One look was enough.

  That trench coat… Varidan.

  Adam stepped back instinctively, eyes narrowing.

  Below, Samuel visibly relaxed. A smile—genuine this time—crept onto his face.

  “Samuel,” the woman called, her eyes never leaving Adam. “Explain. Why did you summon me? Where are the others?”

  I was careless, Adam thought grimly. I should’ve finished him off earlier.

  He considered retreating—but the woman’s gaze never wavered. He knew better than to turn his back now.

  “He committed four violations and resisted arrest,” Samuel said quickly. He gestured toward the ruined buildings. “Ige and Arnold were thrown in there. I don’t know if they’re alive.”

  His hand shifted. “Daniella and Kweve are in that structure. Their condition is unknown as well.”

  The woman finally glanced at the wreckage—then jumped down, landing a few feet from Adam without a sound.

  She drew the short sword at her waist.

  “Who are you,” she demanded, “and why did you attack my men?”

  “Self-defense,” Adam replied evenly.

  “Self-defense?” she echoed, one brow lifting.

  “Yup.” Adam nodded once. “Self-defense.”

  She glanced at Samuel. “Get the others out of here. I’ll deal with him.”

  “Be careful, ma’am,” Samuel warned. “Those axes aren’t ordinary.”

  Without another word, Samuel pricked his finger with a small dagger and pressed the bleeding digit against his grimoire.

  “My summons—heed my call and retrieve my companions!”

  The street erupted in crimson light as the grimoire shook violently. A chorus of shrill cries pierced the air as four blood-red shadows emerged, twisting into avian shapes. The spectral birds dove into the rubble, lifting the unconscious agents before soaring skyward.

  Adam raised a brow. That’s… an interesting Blessing.

  Samuel didn’t follow them.

  Instead, he turned and fled down another street.

  “Are you sure you want to look away right now?” the woman asked calmly.

  He shifted his attention fully to the woman. “Relax,” he said. “You’re the only one I’m interested in.”

  He stepped forward, lifting one of Cataclysm’s axes and pointing it at her.

  “So,” Adam continued, “are you going to attack… or should I do the honors?”

  “You’re arrogant,” she replied coolly.

  She raised her short sword into a cutting stance. Her brown eyes turned silver. Her long black hair lifted as if caught in a rising storm.

  The blade screamed. Pressure flooded the street, heavy and suffocating—unmistakably familiar.

  Adam’s expression hardened instantly. A Domain?

  “What’s wrong?” the woman called, her voice ringing through the domain. “Didn’t you say you’d attack? Or should I make the first move?”

  She slashed the air.

  A brilliant arc of silver light tore forward with a furious howl, racing straight toward Adam.

  Adam tilted his head, his entire body flowing with the motion as he evaded.

  The silver arc tore past him and slammed into an unfinished building. A deafening explosion followed—concrete, sand, and splintered wood blasted outward in every direction. The shockwave rippled through the street, tremors racing far beyond the impact zone.

  “Impressive,” the woman said calmly. “But I won’t miss a second time.”

  Adam lifted his hand and wiped away the thin line of blood running down from a shallow cut inches from his eye.

  He smiled.

  [Activating Domain – World of Phantasm]

  [Domain successfully activated!]

  The notification had barely registered when a thunderous hum tore through the air.

  Electric sparks erupted across the street, ripping through asphalt as shockwaves and tremors followed in violent succession. The ground split and writhed beneath the pressure. A gust surged toward the woman, forcing her to brace herself, fingers tightening around her sword.

  For the first time, emotion cracked her composure.

  Her eyes widened. Her lips parted in disbelief.

  Both staggered backward—neither able to advance, neither able to attack.

  So, this is what happens when two domains collide, Adam mused.

  Between them, sparks screamed and clashed midair, as if the domains themselves had met first—a raw confrontation of will before blade or spell.

  “Believe it or not,” Adam said casually, “this is my first time seeing a clash of wills.”

  He chuckled. “It’s even better than I imagined.”

  The woman gritted her teeth and opened her mouth to respond, but Adam cut her off.

  “Still,” he continued thoughtfully, “I wonder what happens when more than two domains overlap.”

  His smile widened. “Aren’t you curious too?”

  Confusion flickered across her face. Her gaze darted around the battlefield, searching—expecting another presence.

  She misunderstood, Adam realized, amused. She thinks I’m talking about someone else.

  [Activating Domain – Absolute Control]

  [Domain successfully activated!]

  The sparks intensified violently and then the world detonated.

  An ear-splitting bang tore through the night. The ground between them shattered, asphalt and stone erupting skyward. Buildings collapsed one after another, their foundations shredded by lightning-like arcs ripping through the air.

  The woman was thrown back several meters, barely managing to stay upright. Sweat streamed down her face, veins bulging beneath her skin as terror finally surfaced. Her sword screamed in protest, but its cry was drowned beneath the thunder of colliding wills.

  Adam took a single step forward.

  “I’m not done yet.”

  [Activating Domain – Conqueror]

  [Domain successfully activated!]

  The third domain expanded outward like a crushing tide.

  Night turned into day.

  The electric field exploded in brightness and force, pressing down with overwhelming dominance. The woman collapsed to her knees, her face contorted in agony. Standing was impossible—fighting unthinkable.

  Adam tightened his grip around Cataclysm’s handles.

  “Alright,” he said quietly. “Let’s begin.”

  He advanced with slow, measured steps, watching her struggle beneath the weight of his presence.

  On his fifth step, a voice reached him.

  “Sorry to interrupt your fun, my friend—but we need to leave. Now.”

  Adam recognized the voice instantly.

  Before he could turn, the world drained of color, as if reality itself had inverted into a photographic negative. The roaring clash of wills vanished in an instant.

  Frozen in place, Adam watched as a small, mannequin-like lizard scuttled toward him in a stiff, unnatural gait.

  With each step, it grew. From lizard to drake. From drake to a wyvern twice his size.

  The creature opened its jaws directly in front of him and swallowed him whole.

  The wyvern shrank as it sprinted down the street, disappearing into the darkness.

  Minutes later, the distorted space dissolved.

  Sonia and Samuel collapsed to their knees, gasping for breath. They stared at one another, struggling to process what they had just witnessed.

  All they remembered was that strange, cheerful voice—followed by the world being devoured.

  Samuel swallowed hard. “Ma’am… what was that?”

  “T-the ability to suppress inferior domains,” Sonia said weakly, her head hanging low. “That was the domain of an S-rank Awakened… at the very least.”