The Abyss of Eternal Ice was as silent as a cosmic grave.
But this silence wasn't due to time stopping; it was because every atom of mana, every current of air, and even the absolute cold... everything was being quietly swallowed.
At the bottom of the abyss, Akira opened his eyes.
There was no longer a blue system flashing warnings. There was no longer pain tearing his muscles, nor spiritual pressure crushing his chest. Instead, he felt absolute lightness, as if he had shed a heavy shell he had worn his entire life.
He raised his hand and looked at it. His skin was clearer, and his veins no longer pulsed with just red blood; there was a faint silver glow flowing beneath. When he looked up toward the throne room, thousands of meters above him, he didn't need to use any skill to jump or fly.
The mere "thought" was enough.
In the blink of an eye, and without any physical acceleration or the use of teleportation magic, Akira vanished from the bottom of the abyss and appeared in the middle of the icy throne room. He made no sound, nor did he displace a single speck of dust. He simply erased the distance between the two points from existence.
In the throne room, Guy Crimson sat with his chin resting on his hand, while Diablo stood silently, and Velzard was reading her book.
When Akira suddenly appeared out of nowhere, all their movements stopped.
The human boy Guy had thrown down days ago... was no longer human.
His right eye was black as the depths of space, while his left eye glowed with a blue light that swallowed the light around it. His black hair had grown slightly longer, but the true change was in his "presence".
There was no aura radiating from him. No spiritual pressure, no mana, no demonic energy. He was like a hole in the fabric of reality. A complete and utter absence of energy, which made the instincts of the strongest beings in the world scream with indescribable danger.
"Kufufufu..." Diablo broke the silence, placing a hand over his face, his body trembling with pure ecstasy. "What... perfection. You swallowed the energy of the oldest Demon Lord, and didn't leave even a single drop behind."
Velzard closed her book and slowly stood up. The air around her began to freeze automatically in anticipation of any attack. "Guy... this boy... he has no ceiling to his power. He is a walking void."
Guy Crimson stood up. He wasn't smiling; instead, his face held a serious expression no one had seen since his legendary battle with the Star Dragon (Veldanava).
"Akira Yuzuki," Guy said, his voice echoing off the palace walls. "Do you still possess your mind? Or am I speaking to a blind monster?"
Without any warning, Guy raised his finger and fired a thin beam of pure destructive energy. It was a casual attack, yet enough to wipe an entire mountain off the map.
The beam shot toward Akira's heart at the speed of light.
Akira didn't dodge the attack. He didn't draw his dagger. He didn't even raise his hand.
He merely looked at the beam.
[Ultimate Skill: Lord of the Void, Azathoth - Activation: Void Consumption.]
Before the beam could touch Akira's chest by a single inch, it stopped in mid-air, then began to fade as if someone were using an eraser to rub out a pencil line. There was no explosion, and no mana scattered. The beam wasn't blocked... it simply "never existed".
Guy Crimson's golden eyes widened in genuine shock, before he burst into his usual manic laughter.
"Hahahaha! Brilliant! Astonishing! You swallowed my attack and completely nullified its causality! I can no longer sense my own mana in that strike!"
Akira smiled calmly and closed his left eye, returning to his normal appearance. The cosmic pressure filling the room vanished, and he looked once again like a quiet, peaceful young man.
"The taste of your energy was a bit spicy, Guy," Akira said in a tone devoid of any tension. "But thanks to you, the throne is now mine. There is no longer a system telling me what to do. The 'Voice of the World' is all I hear now."
Guy approached and placed his heavy hand on Akira's shoulder. "An Ultimate Skill... Lord of the Void, Azathoth. I haven't heard that name since the dawn of creation. You now possess the ability to swallow energy, conceal existence, and sever the very threads of fate. You are the perfect weapon against those who call themselves the 'Administration'."
"That is my goal," Akira said, his eyes flashing with cold determination. "I will return to Tempest. That Overseer named 'Layla' and the boy 'Kaito' will definitely return. And this time, I won't just settle for forcing them to retreat."
Akira clenched his fist, and his hand glowed with a dark light. "This time, I will erase their system from existence."
Diablo bowed with profound respect, opening a black magical teleportation gate behind him.
"Everyone in the capital is eagerly awaiting your return, my new lord," Diablo said, acknowledging Akira for the first time not as Rimuru's guest, but as an entity worthy of absolute loyalty. "Let us return home. There is a war we must prepare for."
Akira turned toward Guy and Velzard. "Thank you for the hospitality, and for the drop of Origin. I won't forget this debt."
Guy lazily waved his hand and went back to sit on his chair. "Don't die too quickly, then. I want to see how you burn the script of those cheating 'writers'."
Akira stepped toward the magical gate, his Dusk Cloak fluttering behind him.
He had entered the Frozen Continent as a human fleeing his fate... and here he was leaving it as the God of the Void, ready to declare war on Fate itself.