Two days after the "Blood Moon Slayers" team was granted a three-week break—a reward for winning the academy championship and securing first place—Tom found himself wandering the streets of Luxembourg City.
He was busy purchasing equipment and various supplies for his upcoming expedition, which would keep him underground for nearly three weeks—returning to the very tunnels they had explored just three days prior.
After spending several hours navigating the markets of Luxembourg City—a hub teeming with resources of every conceivable type, form, and function—he decided to head back to his apartment to rest. Upon arriving, he took some time to unwind and gather his thoughts regarding the journey ahead.
"What is the secret behind those tunnels? Why had I never heard of them in my previous life? Even the language found there was unknown—as if it didn't belong to this world—yet, I feel a strange, inexplicable sense of familiarity."
He mused, staring blankly at the ceiling. Then, rising from his seat, he glanced toward the window; it was still bright outside, the clock showing 3:00 PM (13:00). He reached for a ring resting on a nearby table—a storage ring bound to its user's soul, containing countless books, tomes, potions, and crafting scrolls, ranging from high-tier to legendary, all of mysterious origin. He pulled out a book with a blood-red cover, emblazoned with striking gold lettering: *Beginnings and Endings*. He opened the book, his gaze cold and fixed upon it, shutting out anything that might break his concentration. He began to read aloud in a calm, steady voice:
"Before existence and non-existence came to be—before anything at all existed within a darkness that could not even be called darkness, back when not even 'nothingness' had yet been created—there were two entities representing the beginning and the end: Creation and Annihilation. They forged this world, establishing its unique laws and concepts. Yet, a conflict arose between them: Creation sought to see things flourish, while Annihilation craved bloodshed. This led to discord, wars, and battles—all resulting in the ruin of both. Every million years, Creation and Annihilation would return to resume their eternal struggle, a conflict that invariably ended the same way: with the death of both. This cycle has persisted for eons—born only to die once more—yet neither has ever surrendered, despite countless battles. Will this endless, fated series of conflicts ever come to an end? And can the 'soul' resolve it all? If a soul exists, then for the body, good and evil act as two opposing scales, and the soul serves as the balance that weighs them..."
He closed the book, placed it into the bag containing his belongings, and then tucked the bag away into his own dimensional space. He muttered in a low voice, his brown eyes glowing with a cold intensity as he sheathed his sword:
"It seems this book is connected to those secret tunnels—and to my own reincarnation..."
His tone carried a profound sense of confidence and unyielding determination. He recalled a crucial detail he had previously noticed: a tiny, nearly invisible fissure in the book's cover. Retrieving the book from his dimensional storage, he searched for the crack, finally locating it after minutes of intense scrutiny—a thin, precise slit, no wider than a single strand of hair. He then pulled out a folded piece of parchment. Unfolding it, a satisfied smile crossed his face; it contained a message written in an indecipherable language. Setting the note aside, he turned his full attention to the parchment.
He realized it was a map of the secret tunnels—all of which converged at a single point, a full month's journey away!
Tom let out a deep sigh as he studied the map. He tucked both the map and the note back into his dimensional storage, then set off immediately toward the secret tunnels.
Inside the secret tunnels—
Several hours after Tom reached one of the entrances to the secret tunnels, the sun began to set.
*Slash... slash... slash...*
Tom moved forward with steady, deliberate steps, hacking away the vegetation that obscured one of the gateways leading into the tunnels.
His focus was split: while his attention was on clearing the overgrowth, he remained hyper-aware of his surroundings, ensuring he was prepared for any unforeseen trouble.
An hour and a half later, Tom had made his way inside the tunnels—passageways so vast they could easily accommodate monsters the size of large cities. He wandered inside, noting down the inscriptions carved into the walls.
After some time, he was set upon by a massive horde of monsters—over 4,000 of them, hailing from various races and species. The weakest among them was of the X-rank (Legendary), while the strongest reached the rank of Expert Sovereign. Tom, however, stood at the rank of High Sacred Sovereign—poised to break through to the Sovereign Master rank in a few months—placing him three full ranks above the strongest monster in the pack.
He struck at the creatures with terrifying skill and power, slicing through their bodies with clean, flawless precision. Yet, something felt wrong; his intuition, honed by a thousand years of travel across this world, was rarely off the mark.
Hours later, Tom ceased his assault, only to realize that the number of monsters had not diminished in the slightest! It remained exactly as it had been five hours prior: precisely 4,000 beasts.
Tom stepped back, attempting to assess the situation while parrying the monsters—which hurtled toward him like projectiles of flesh and blood—with fluid ease. Suddenly, he felt a sharp prick on his back and muttered, his voice strained with pain:
"Now is hardly the time for you to activate..."
On the back of his neck, a Yin-Yang symbol was etched like a tattoo. The Yin side was extinguished, while the Yang side glowed with a dark, violet radiance. Overcome by unbearable pain, Tom collapsed into unconsciousness—only for a surge of dark, violet energy to erupt, shaking the entire network of tunnels with terrifying force!
Tom rose once more; his black hair had grown even darker and now stood upright, while his brown eyes had transformed into deep, dark violet abysses.
He extended his hand toward the pack of monsters, unleashing a wave of black energy imbued with a power that annihilated everything it touched. The moment it made contact, the monsters were reduced to mere piles of dust.a dark, purplish hue scattered into the air, before he collapsed, unconscious from the massive drain on his energy.
The space had transformed into a void; nothing remained but the tunnel walls, whose inscribed runes—previously glowing with a soft, golden light—began to dim, gradually returning to their original state.
As for Tom, he lay on the ground. The 'Yang' mark, which had once shimmered with a dark, purplish radiance, had lost its luster, reverting to the appearance of an ordinary tattoo.
The Next Day
Several hours later—at 8:30 AM the following day—Tom awoke from a slumber that had lasted over ten hours; he had slept away more than half the day. He clutched his head, struck by a sudden, piercing headache.
"Ugh... my head! Why does it hurt so much?"
He cast his gaze around, noting that the tunnel was now pristine—entirely free of even a speck of dust. There was no longer any trace of those strange entities; all that remained were the tunnel walls, adorned with their intricate runes.
"What in the name of the Creator of Hell happened here? And why do I feel as though something else has changed—beyond just the surge in power I've gained? It seems I've truly broken through to the rank of 'Master Sovereign'!" Her tone carried a hint of bewilderment and surprise. He began to speak, recalling events from his past life:
"When I first attained the rank of Master, I was 365 years old. From that point on, things began to change, little by little. My strength would surge significantly after every life-or-death battle, and a strange mark appeared on the back of my neck. Even more peculiar was that, even after reaching the age of a thousand, I remained in the prime of my youth, my power entirely undiminished—unlike ordinary humans, whose energy gradually wanes until they grow completely frail. This led everyone to believe I was either a descendant of the Rulers or a Ruler myself, concealing his true identity."
He then decided to take a medicinal dose—purchased from an apothecary in anticipation of such situations—to alleviate his splitting headache. As he consumed it, his condition began to improve.
His gaze shifted toward the runes, which he could now decipher, his eyes having turned a solid, deep brownish-black. He realized they were advanced defensive, healing, and purifying runes—far surpassing any he had encountered in this world or the various fantasy realms he had visited in his previous life.
Returning the now half-empty vial to his dimensional storage, he pressed on through the tunnels with unyielding determination. He had added a new objective to his primary mission: to uncover the secret behind the mark on his neck—and to determine whether it was, in some way, linked to the concept of annihilation. There were many questions swirling in his mind for which he sought answers, yet deep down, he was certain that he would find them at the end of this mysterious maze.