Dancing on the golden ashes

My body trembled, despite being battered and broken. A chill deeper than physical pain coursed through me—the fear of the Creator. The mere thought of Him finding us here and wiping us out sent waves of terror through my mind.

He erased entire civilizations from existence...

I wanted to kill him, to stop him before his madness could spiral further, but even I wasn't foolish enough to challenge a god. A god who had annihilated everything in His path.

"We must kill him!" Eun-Woo roared, his voice echoing with unrelenting determination.

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In an instant, his body erupted in a dazzling explosion of dual light. Moonlight and sunlight intertwined, wrapping around him like living flames, solidifying into radiant armor that gleamed with otherworldly brilliance.

Above him, the sky split open as a massive hammer materialized, its form shimmering with the combined energy of the sun and moon. The sheer weight of its presence was suffocating, its power undeniable.

"Let's freaking do it!" Seong-Hoon roared, his voice carrying an unyielding resolve.

A brilliant blue light erupted around him, wrapping his body in a spectral glow that solidified into an intricate soul armor. The icy sheen of the armor seemed to chill the air, each movement exuding raw, unrelenting power.

Behind him, an ice dragon emerged, its massive form coiling with ethereal grace. Its eyes glinted with a life of their own, piercing and fierce, as it radiated an aura of eternal frost. The ground beneath it seemed to freeze in its presence, the air biting with a frigid chill.

Seong-Hoon's sword vibrated with unrestrained energy, booming with an aura of pure killing intent and bloodlust, as though it thirsted for the life of its enemy.

"This big brother messed with the wrong gang," Jieun said with a confident smirk, her voice brimming with defiance.

She stepped forward, her body enveloped in a thick, radiant layer of celestial light. The glow was almost blinding, its purity unmatched as it pulsed with raw, unyielding power.

In her hand, a small orb materialized, unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It began spinning at an impossibly fast speed, its energy intensifying with every rotation.

The weight it radiated was staggering, as if she were holding a star plucked from the heavens. The ground beneath her feet trembled slightly, unable to bear the sheer force of the celestial object she wielded.

"This is not possible!" Lin Feng shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief. "Soul Bend stage cultivators should not possess the skills of Soul Lords! Did he send the four of you to kill me? Am I now a threat to that existence?!" He took a shaky step back, his confidence visibly wavering.

Soul Lord? The term rattled in my mind. But all we did was wrap our bodies in soul energy... isn't that something we're supposed to be able to do?

A sinking feeling settled in my chest. Are we still supported by the system's power?

"Fuck..." Lin Feng cursed, his voice tinged with both frustration and despair. "You can't even let me rest for a moment. This is ridiculous! The one you're talking about is our enemy, but you..."

I clenched my teeth, willing myself to move. Every muscle screamed in protest as I forced myself to stand, my legs trembling from sheer exhaustion.

"...You can't leave this place," I said, my voice firm despite the weakness in my body.

"Big sis, stay down, you—!" Seong-Hoon started, his voice filled with worry.

"No." I cut him off, a smirk tugging at my lips despite the pain wracking my body. "If we fight, we fight together. And we kill this bastard!"

"Hahahaha!" Lin Feng's laughter echoed through the battlefield, wild and unhinged. His eyes gleamed with sadistic delight. "You think the four of you can kill me? Keep dreaming! I'll crush your pathetic hopes and send you all to hell where you belong!"

I wrapped my body in a golden light, the comforting warmth contrasting sharply with the exhaustion that weighed me down. The darkness within me was spent, drained to its very limits, leaving me with no choice but to draw from a different source.

Golden flames danced along my palms and dress, their beauty rivaled only by their domineering intensity. They flickered and swirled as if alive, radiating an aura of pure, unrelenting power.

Then, unexpectedly, my scythe caught fire. The once-black-and-gold weapon blazed with radiant energy, the golden flames consuming it entirely.

For the first time, my scythe transformed before my eyes. Its solid, tangible form shifted into something ethereal, the blade itself now a searing flame. The golden fire flickered brilliantly, a weapon of pure energy, as if it were an extension of my very soul.

I gripped the fiery weapon tightly, the sheer power coursing through me giving me the strength to stand tall.

"Wha—! Tha—That's the golden fire of the chosen few!" Lin Feng stammered, his earlier confidence crumbling as he stumbled back, fear flickering in his eyes. "Who the hell are you?!"

I smiled brightly, the golden flames around me dancing with renewed intensity.

"Me?" I said, my voice steady and filled with resolve. "I'm Lee Gaon, the Fire Goddess's successor."

The weight of my words hung in the air like a blazing inferno, and I could feel the power surging through me. This was my moment—to stand against the system and prove my worth.

The fire around me erupted violently, raging like a wildfire unleashed upon the world. Its heat was overwhelming, a living, untamed force that responded to my will as I pushed my power to its absolute maximum.

The scythe in my hands felt impossibly heavy, its fiery blade pulsing with raw energy. But I gritted my teeth, steadying my grip, and moved it with unwavering precision.

With a single, decisive motion, I swung at my target. The scythe cut through the air, leaving a trail of searing flames in its wake. The intense heat ignited the atmosphere, creating small explosions that rippled outward with every arc of the blade.

The battlefield seemed to hold its breath, consumed by the unrelenting fury of my flames.

However, it wasn't going to be that simple. The swords orbiting Lin Feng moved with unnatural grace, forming a protective shield as they deflected my fiery strike with precision.

"That won't be enough!" he roared, his voice booming with unrestrained fury.

Before I could react, an overwhelming pressure descended upon me, crushing and suffocating. It felt as though the very weight of the heavens had been unleashed, and I wasn't wrong.

Above me loomed a colossal mountain, forged entirely from soul energy. Its massive form was pitch black, absorbing all light as it slowly descended with terrifying force.

I stared in disbelief. This was no ordinary attack—it was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The sheer size and oppressive energy emanating from it made every instinct in my body scream in protest.

"Bring it on!" Eun-Woo roared, his voice echoing like a battle cry. Without hesitation, he rushed to my side, his massive frame towering above me.

The colossal hammer in the sky descended with terrifying speed, aimed directly at Lin Feng. At the same time, Eun-Woo's golden shield expanded, shimmering with moonlight as it grew to an imposing ten meters. The radiant barrier enveloped me completely as Eun-Woo braced himself to tank the incoming impact, knowing I couldn't move.

The hammer smashed into the earth with explosive force, leaving a massive crater where Lin Feng had stood just moments before.

But Lin Feng's speed was unmatched. He dodged the strike with a fluid motion, reappearing to the side with a sinister smirk. Had that attack connected, it might have left him with a devastating injury, but he wasn't one to be caught so easily.

Meanwhile, Jieun unleashed a relentless barrage of celestial attacks from the spinning orb in her hand. Each projectile shot out with incredible speed, creating a torrential rain of radiant energy that forced Lin Feng to stay on the move.

Lin Feng had no choice but to dodge her attacks while evading the massive ice flood dragon, which relentlessly chased him around the battlefield. Seong-Hoon joined the fray, firing ice arrows with deadly precision. Each time an arrow missed, a towering ice spear erupted from the ground where it landed, transforming the terrain into a treacherous forest of frozen spikes.

But Lin Feng wasn't playing defense alone. Every counterattack he unleashed sent a dark sword slicing through the air, each blade imbued with lethal intent. One managed to strike Jieun, leaving a deep, nasty wound on her shoulder. Yet, she didn't cry or flinch. Instead, her next attack was fueled by pure rage and pain, creating a swirling celestial vortex behind Lin Feng. The vortex howled like a storm, threatening to pull him in and grind him to dust.

Her resilience left me speechless. Jieun's talent was extraordinary, far beyond anything I could ever possess. If I had her gifts, this fight would already be over.

"Careful, Jieun!" I shouted, spotting another dark sword slicing toward her chest. My scythe moved instinctively, sending a wall of golden fire surging forward to block the strike. Lin Feng's focus was clear—she was his primary target.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Bastard, come at me!" I roared, the weight of the oppressive energy above me increasing dramatically. "I'll give you a proper fight!"

BOOM!

The mountain of dark soul energy crashed down on Eun-Woo, shaking the entire battlefield. "HAAAAA!" he screamed, his voice echoing with the strain as he bore the overwhelming pressure. My chest tightened with helplessness. I couldn't help him, but I was grateful beyond words for his sacrifice.

Then, with a deafening crack, the spectral mountain shattered, splitting in two. The massive halves crashed down on either side of us before dissipating into the air, their immense power vanishing before they could touch the ground.

Unbeknownst to us, a pair of pitch-black eyes watched from the shadows, observing the chaos.

"What are these four doing in this timeline?" a voice mused, smooth and chilling. "How wonderful. Lee Gaon, you never cease to amaze me."

The figure chuckled darkly, their voice reverberating through the void. "I'm looking forward to the day you reach the peak..."