[: Daniel POV :]

Even though I found myself consumed by the Blackhole, there wasn’t any evidence of panic on my face.

What surprised me even more was that it wasn’t just my consciousness pulled into this unknown realm; it was my entire body and existence.

Despite this unexpected turn of events, I was calmes.

After all, the completion of the Quest given by Sun wouldn’t harm me, hence, there was no reason to panic.

Even so, in this strange and seemingly infinite abyss, I took the opportunity to observe my surroundings.

What I discovered at the end was an endless pit with no hope of light.

“I never expected that I would see you soon, Daniel,”

All of the sudden, I heard a familiar voice echoed behind me.

As I turned around in surprise, I realized it was Sun.

“Sun?” I exclaimed, my face turned into astonishment.

“I thought you had… fused within me…?”

I voiced my initial thoughts, confused by this unexpected encounter.

The moment his powers were fused with mine, I thought that would be the end of it.

He chuckled at my reaction.

“That’s right, I had fused with you, and these are my remaining lingering essences left within you,”

He explained, shedding light on the situation.

Even though, it brought a moment of confusion, it wasn’t necessarily a bad encounter.

“Then, doesn’t that mean the other three Demonian Kings are here too?”

I inquired, connecting the dots.

If Sun was present, it seemed plausible that the other Demonian Kings might make an appearance.

And I was right.

“Yo, miss me?”

All of a sudden, Red’s materialised not far away from me.

He even acted as if we were both friends he had befriended for 10 years.

“It seems like we meet again, Daniel,”

On the other hand, Elos appeared right beside Red, chuckling at the unexpected reunion, adding an air of lightheartedness to the encounter.

Eventually, the last of the Demonian Kings, Grid, made his presence known.

“Just like what Sun said, I never thought I would meet you this fast.” He muttered in disbelief.

At the same time, he was observing me while revealing a mix of surprise and curiosity.

With all four Demonian Kings now standing before me, I wonder what kind of rewards would I receive.

After all, Sun did not reveal anything related to the quest, leaving questions that needed to be answered.

“I think we might have made our Successor far too impatient for his rewards,”

Sun chuckled as he noticed my thoughts.

In response, I scratched my cheek since he wasn’t wrong.

“What!? This monstrous bastard is even greedier than Grid! He became more powerful within hours and has the guts to be impatient!?”

Red playfully teased.

“Now that you mention it, he indeed has become stronger in just a few hours. I’ve never seen anything like this,”

Elos remarked in disbelief.

“What kind of human are you? Even when I was alive, I never met anyone like you,”

Grid observed me, treating me as if I were a rare and peculiar specimen.

“Now, now, don’t pressure him,”

Sun interjected, attempting to steer the conversation in a different direction.

“After all, we summoned him for a reason – to ‘give’ him something, not interrogate him,”

He explained, maintaining a calm demeanor.

“Well, you’re right. But I can’t help but wonder what kind of defying methods this bastard used to get stronger,”

Red chimed in, expressing curiosity and a hint of playful banter.

“He’s the first we’ve ever seen, and I can’t help but be curious about his existence,”

Elos added, pondering the uniqueness of the situation.

“Sun is right, and we don’t have much time to interact with him, so we should give the rewards and explain something that we all want to convey,”

Grid suggested.

However, his words introduced a sense of tension to the atmosphere, with all the Demonian Kings furrowing their eyebrows.

I was clueless and I didn’t know anything, but I sensed that the rewards carried a heavy truth.

“Sigh, what Grid said was right,”

Sun sighed with a heavy tone.

“There is a reward, but before the reward comes a heavy truth,” he explained.

“However, Daniel, the truth you will hear is something you have to shoulder, and it’s even far worse than the Apocalypse you will be facing in the future,”

Sun revealed, introducing a somber note to the conversation.

At this point, I couldn’t help but furrow my eyebrows.

While I knew the reason behind the occurrence of the Apocalypse, I never expected Sun to be aware.

“Surprise?”

Sun smirked, finding my reaction interesting.

“You think you’re the only planet to ever face an Apocalypse?” he teased.

I was aware that the Apocalypse didn’t occur only on Earth but also on other planets with life.

“Fun fact, the Apocalypse is only just the beginning at the tip of a surface,”

He revealed, injecting a sense of mystery. “But I can’t reveal more than that,”

Sun concluded as he expressed his regret.

“But what makes it frustrating is that, even though I wish to tell you the truth, I can’t reveal everything to you,”

Sun expressed, gripping both of my shoulders with intense emotions in his gaze.

The depth of his gaze conveyed boiling emotions and an unexpected amount of anger.

It startled me for a moment.

All this time, he had been calmed, hence, this was rather surprised for me.

“Daniel, what I’m about to tell you, even though it’s only a small part of the truth, would put a heavy weight on your shoulders,”

He declared, adopting a tone akin to a concerned older brother giving a serious warning.

“Even though you’re strong, as monstrous as you are, it won’t be enough for the upcoming ‘main challenge,’”

He hinted carefully, leaving me puzzled about the meaning of this “main challenge.”

What did he mean by the main challenge?

I couldn’t help but wonder.

Having not reached that point in the alternate future, I was rather curious yet worried about it.

Even with my enhanced powers, would I still be insufficient to face the future challenge?

“Listen to my words carefully, as this will be a heavy truth that perhaps only you on your planet would ever hear and receive,”

He declared, emphasizing the gravity of his revelation.

“It will be a truth that would consume your mind constantly, but even so, it’s something that I’m sure you could somehow withstand,”

He added positively, preparing me for the weight of the forthcoming revelation.

“Daniel… do you know why we lost? Do you even know why we were called the Rebellion?”

Sun questioned with a mix of sadness, regret, and guilt.

At the same time, the other Demonian Kings displayed visible anger and wrath on their faces.

For them to be so angry, I wonder what was the reason behind it?

“I…don’t know,” I admitted honestly.

Their entire history, the reasons for their rebellion, none of it was known to me.

Moreover, I don’t even know why the Goddesses were apologetic to them to the point of becoming obssessed.

“The reason we lost is because…we…didn’t choose…a…side,”

Sun revealed, gripping my shoulders with an overflow of emotions.

“Because of that…we had to rebel…and in the end…my people and my planet were wiped out…”

He declared and his voice heavy with guilt.

Numerous questions filled my mind, wondering about the significance of choosing a side.

However, instead of interrupting, I chose to let him continue.

If Sun didn’t control himself, he would be crying by now.

Meanwhile, the other Demonian Kings clenched their fists in expressions of regret, anger, and sadness, feeling helpless in their past.

Eventually, after a few minutes, Sun regained his composure, releasing his grip on my shoulders, and continued with his explanation.

“Well, I had told you the reason, and even if I wish to tell you more, I can’t. So, it’s time for the four of us to reward you,” Sun declared.

“Before that, let me tell you a bit of our origin,”

Sun added, surprising me.

The thought of the Demonians having their own origin piqued my curiosity even further.

“Even though it has been a long time and millions of years, we, the Demonians, are known to be long descendants of Eve,”

Sun revealed.

His words widened my eyes in astonishment.

“E-Eve? T-The first female human?”

I stammered, seeking confirmation about whether it was the same Eve I had in mind.

“That’s right, the Eve who was the first female human,” Sun confirmed.

“Even though we say we are her descendants, I think the time difference is too long to be even considered as a descendant,” he explained.

“However, the reason why we know this is because our ancestors passed down a Sacred Treasure that we have been keeping and praying towards, and it’s also the origin of our powers,” he continued.

The revelation left me increasingly shocked, and I gulped nervously, absorbing the weight of this unexpected history.