The roar of General Marius, amplified by the chaotic demonic energy surging from the fissure, was the only sound that mattered in the Blackstone Fortress ritual chamber. The setting was a nightmare of screaming cultists, clashing steel, and the nauseating pulse of the tear in reality.
Kai stood alone against Marius, the disgraced Imperial General. The confrontation was an immediate, terrifying mismatch of raw physical power: 6th Circle + 4th Stage vs 8th Core Stage. Marius was two full cultivation stages above Kai's martial core and possessed a formidable 8th Core Stage energy base, now further corrupted and augmented by the nascent demonic power he channeled. Kai was outmatched in raw power.
Marius, however, suffered from the arrogance of his own might. He saw the Silver Mask as a nuisa
