NOVPUBThe silence of the Spirit Realm was almost comforting. The ethereal air remained still, wrapped in floating particles of light — small echoes of ancient souls. Kazzes, the true King of Spirits, stood motionless before Strax, cloaked in an aura of ancestral energy.
Strax frowned, arms crossed as he stared at the transcendent being. The white vastness of the place seemed to fold in on itself — infinitely silent, infinitely watchful.
"So tell me," he began, his voice low and grave, "why was the Spirit Realm sealed? Why turn a space of rebirth into an eternal prison?"
Kazzes held his gaze, his galactic eyes reflecting both past and future. When he spoke, his voice echoed softly, yet with inescapable finality.
"Because the gods are afraid, Strax. Afraid of what's coming."
Strax narrowed his eyes, but did not interrupt. Kazzes continued.
"There is something beneath all of creation… something that has pulsed since the first breath of existence. The Core. The heart of the planet. A primary source of mana, spiritual energy, and vital essence. But the Core is not static — it grows. Evolves. Vibrates."
He turned slowly, watching a spiral of stardust swirl like a miniature galaxy.
"And now, it's on the brink of rupture."
Strax furrowed his brow, his tone sharpening. "Rupture?"
"Yes. The planet's Core is undergoing an internal collapse. A super-expansion. Mana in its purest and most unstable form is being compressed to absurd levels. It's as if the planet itself is trying to be reborn… or die trying."
Kazzes extended his hand, and before them formed a vivid image — a burning sphere spinning with violent eruptions of raw energy, surrounded by titanic structures of rock and arcane metal.
"This…" he murmured, "is the real threat. Not wars, not kingdoms, not demons. It is the heart of the world, about to explode. And the gods know it."
Strax watched in silence, his jaw tense.
"The sealing of the Spirit Realm," Kazzes went on, "was a desperate attempt by Artorias to prevent the gods from harnessing the power of the Spirit Realm. A barrier between the planes. They believed they could channel part of the Core's growing pressure here, into this realm, to dissipate its energy. But that would destroy everything. So, Artorias did what he had to."
Strax clenched his fists. "Artorias sealed this place to turn the spiritual world into a hope for the future, to deal with this…"
Kazzes nodded. "Yes. And the spirits… paid the price without knowing why. That's why they all hate your ancestor."
"Shit…" Strax muttered. "He knew he'd become an eternal target to the spirits. That he would trap souls here without rest."
"He knew. But he had no choice. Or rather — it was the best choice. But the fact remains: he sealed this realm so we wouldn't be used as an infinite battery of energy for gods locked in endless war. Because they all knew the Core of the planet — the Source of Creation — was on the verge of collapse."
Strax took a step forward, facing Kazzes closely.
"And now? What's being done?"
Kazzes closed his eyes for a moment.
"The war consuming the world right now… that's why."
Images began to form around them — like stolen memories of the present. The sky was torn by golden lightning. The earth split open into deep chasms, revealing blazing torrents of mana. Gods battled titans. A cosmic battlefield, chaotic, apocalyptic.
"Hades," said Kazzes, with an unusual reverence in his voice, "understood what was about to happen. And took the only sensible course of action."
Images of Tartarus appeared — not as the hellish prison described in legend, but as a living wall of crystallized mana. Titans, colossal in form, held the structure together with their own bodies, like eternal pillars holding up the heavens.
"He wrapped the Core with Tartarus. Used the Titans — the oldest and most resilient beings in creation — to contain the expansion of raw energy. They hold the spiritual plates of the planet together, preventing it from splitting apart from within."
Strax watched in silence, his breath heavy.
"And Zeus?" he asked, already dreading the answer.
Kazzes sighed — a sound that seemed to echo through the ages.
"Zeus wants power. He always has. But now… he believes he can absorb part of the Core's energy to become something more. A god above gods. A being capable of reshaping reality itself."
"Even if it destroys the entire world?" Strax growled, incredulous.
"Yes," Kazzes answered coldly. "Because he believes he can rebuild everything afterward. That he can remake the world in his own image, using the Core's energy as paint to craft a new reality."
Strax stepped back, shaken.
"That… that's insanity."
"Not to him," Kazzes replied. "To him, it's destiny."
For a moment, everything went quiet again. The particles of light around them seemed suspended in time, as if the Spirit Realm itself were listening.
Strax looked to the infinite horizon of that place, as if trying to see beyond existence itself. Frieren's words echoed in his mind. "Protect my daughter." "Don't try to bring me back."
He clenched his fists, the weight of what he'd heard falling hard upon his shoulders.
"If the Core explodes, there'll be no heaven or hell… no kingdoms, no memories. Just… the end."
Kazzes nodded slowly.
"So one side will win, and the other will lose," Strax said, his voice unsteady. But he shook his head and continued, "That's not going to happen. Not like this."
"Probably not. After all, just like in the Ancient Era, between Hades and Zeus, your ancestor did what they all eventually do: chose himself."
Kazzes spoke with bitterness, arms crossed, eyes locked on Strax. Silence lingered until he finally let out a long breath, his gaze beginning to flicker with rising irritation.
"Anyway… seems like you've had a run-in with that flaming bastard."
"Hm?" Strax arched an eyebrow, caught off guard by the sudden change in tone."That's… a shift." 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
"You know who I'm talking about." Kazzes' voice turned rough. "That damned redhead. You met him, didn't you?"
Strax's gaze darkened, growing as dense as the spiritual energy surrounding them.
"Yes. I met the flaming red bastard. Embroidered kimono with golden dragons, arrogant aura, smile like someone who's sinned a thousand times and still finds it amusing."He nodded, his voice tinged with restrained fury.
"Ah… shit…" Kazzes dragged a hand across his face, exasperated. "I hate being an existence that transcends realms, ages, and curses. My daughter and I are, honestly, doomed for all eternity."
He muttered now, more to himself than to Strax.
"Did he say anything to you?" The question came thick with tension — as if Kazzes needed the answer to decide whether to flee or annihilate an entire universe.
"Hm… nothing that made much sense." Strax rubbed his temples. "He rambled about how we're alike, how we both lost our wives, our souls, how we carry the same ghosts. But ever since I met that bastard… my mind's been strangely clouded."
Kazzes nodded with a grim look, as if piecing together a puzzle he'd tried to avoid for millennia.
"Do you even know his name?" Strax asked. The question sounded casual, but his voice betrayed the unrest — as if finally naming the monster might help him grasp the full scope of the threat.
Kazzes scoffed, almost laughing in despair.
"Yes… Dante. Dante Scarlet." He spoke the name like an ancient poison, still burning in his throat.
"Supreme Emperor of Demonic Chaos. Demon Dragon God of Chaos. Emperor of the Celestial Cult of the Dragon King. Progenitor of the Infernal Demonic Dragons..."
Strax narrowed his eyes.
"Are you making up titles now, or is he really that egocentric?"
"He created them all. And he lives them all."Kazzes crossed his arms again and stared into the void, as if watching a tragedy unfold.
"He sat in one sector, dominated every plane in it, built an entire world from scratch, ruled only by him. And now... he lives like a family man. A family man with a multiversal harem that consumes entire sectors like fuel for his chaotic existence."
"A... child factory? Is that what you're saying?" Strax asked, incredulous.
"More than that. A dynasty. Each of his children is an abomination of power. Incomprehensible beings. He took the idea of leaving a legacy very seriously... twisted, but efficient. Dante isn't just a lunatic — he's a fundamental problem in reality. An entity who decided that, since he can't die, he'll spawn gods until the end of time."
Strax rubbed his chin, thoughtful.
"He told me we're the same... That we're two sides of the same broken coin."
Kazzes stared at him for a long moment."Maybe he's right. Maybe you are. But you still have a choice, Strax. You still have a path. He... abandoned his a long time ago."
"You knew him?"
"I knew him. Fought beside him. Against him. On top of him. Under him. I've killed him. Been killed by him. We've been trapped in the same cycle for millennia. And after all of it... he always comes back. Always bigger. Always stronger. And always... more insane."
Strax clenched his fists.
"If he crosses my path again, I won't hesitate."
Kazzes gave a humorless chuckle.
"Good luck with that. Last time someone tried facing him head-on, a new galaxy was born from the impact of the punch."
"Yeah... that sounds like something he'd do."
The two exchanged a look, sharing a rare moment of understanding between two beings broken by forces far beyond mortal comprehension.
"You'd better head home," Kazzes said, opening a portal."You'll need to learn how to deal with Dragons now. Seems like you stirred up quite the Chaos out there."He added with a smirk, "Pro tip — stop turning all your women into dragons, okay? That's going to be a problem."He said it like it had already happened.
"R-right... see you later," Strax muttered, stepping through.
Kazzes turned around and muttered to himself,"I shouldn't be getting involved in these things..."
Only to come face to face with a short, furious girl wearing a crown.
"Hi, Daughter," Kazzes said, looking at the little girl.
"I WAS WORRIED, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she shouted, fuming."Just because we're multiversal entities doesn't mean you can go around getting sealed! Especially after that time I stopped that damned vampire from getting a familiar! THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN AGAIN!!"
Kazzes quickly rushed over and covered her mouth.
"Hey, Titania, shut the hell up because that man is probably still listening!! I've talked about him way too much today, so just BE QUIET!!!"
