Parallel Memory

Chapter 658: When the Sky Bled

The world answered their clash with a scream.

The instant Zero’s blade met Aamon’s claw, a pulse of pure destruction rippled outward. The shockwave tore through the palace walls, raced across the cursed plains, and hit the battlefield like a falling star. The crimson clouds above twisted violently, splitting into spirals of black and gold.

Kaelion was the first to react. He slammed his sword into the ground, planting his stance as the surge of energy crashed into him and his soldiers. Dust and flame swept through the field, tossing armored men like leaves.

"Shield formations—now!" he roared, but even his voice was drowned by the roar of wind.

The Saintess barely managed to raise a barrier of divine light. It flared around her, forming a trembling dome that shielded dozens of soldiers. Yet, cracks began to spread across it almost instantly, golden threads snapping one by one.

Her lips trembled as she whispered a prayer. "This... this isn’t mana from this world."

Kaelion could feel it too—the distortion that came with the wave. It wasn’t merely power. It was presence, as though the air itself now bent to something greater. He squinted toward the palace in the distance, where a pillar of light and shadow intertwined, reaching far into the heavens.

He had fought devils before. But this... this was different. This was the birth of a being who commanded devils.

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Miles away, at the secondary front, Mia Frostine felt the tremor like a hammer blow. She stumbled mid-battle as the sky above her army flared red, lightning striking in unpredictable bursts.

Hiro rushed to her side, gripping her arm. "Mia!"

Her breathing was uneven, her hands trembling as the frost aura around her surged uncontrollably. "It’s... not a spell. This pressure—it’s alive."

The soldiers around them fell to their knees, clutching their chests as their mana cores screamed in protest. Some fainted. Others prayed. Even the monsters that had been raging in the fields went eerily still.

And standing at the center of it all, Aaron smiled.

He didn’t kneel. He didn’t even flinch. The scar on his chest glowed faintly, tracing lines that pulsed with the same rhythm as the red storm in the distance.

Hiro noticed it first. "What the hell is that on your—"

Aaron’s laughter cut him off. "Don’t bother, Hiro. None of this is about us anymore."

Mia’s eyes narrowed. "Explain."

Aaron turned toward the sky, where the swirling crimson light was devouring the clouds. His voice came calm—too calm. "That... is no magic ritual. No summoning. That’s awakening."

Mia froze. "Awakening? You mean—"

"Yes," Aaron said, his smirk widening as his eyes reflected the blood-red sky. "Lord Aamon has fully awakened."

The ground beneath them rumbled as if affirming his words. Cracks spread across the earth, leaking faint red mist.

Kaelion’s front, miles away, would be feeling it too—the exact same tremor that now made the entire region quake.

Aaron continued, his tone carrying a strange mix of awe and devotion. "The seal beneath the palace was never meant to hold him forever. The battles, the sigil, Bael’s death—it was all to buy time. Every second of this war was a distraction until Lord Aamon’s soul fused completely with the vessel he chose."

Hiro’s grip on his sword tightened. "You’re saying Bael died for this?"

Aaron chuckled darkly. "Bael was a fool who believed himself the centerpiece. But he was merely the key." He looked at Mia, eyes gleaming like molten amber. "And now, the true Devil King has returned. The balance between heaven and hell is gone."

A silence fell over them. Only the rumbling sky answered.

Then, with a thunderous crack, the horizon split.

A beam of red light surged upward from the Devil King’s palace, piercing through the storm clouds and stretching to the edge of the world. The pulse that followed shattered the land itself—mountains crumbled, rivers reversed their flow, and magic arrays flickered across the continents as though the very laws of the world were being rewritten.

Mia staggered, clutching her temple as visions flooded her mind—brief flashes of crimson wings, of molten eyes opening beneath the throne, and of something standing before that power... a lone figure in black.

It was too quick to see clearly, but she felt the familiarity. That stillness. That quiet strength.

Zero.

Her heart dropped. "No..."

Hiro saw her expression and shouted, "Mia, what did you see?!"

She looked toward the palace, her breath quick and uneven. "Someone’s in there. Someone’s fighting him."

"Who?" Hiro demanded.

She hesitated, whispering barely audibly, "...Zero."

Aaron laughed again, the sound echoing like broken bells. "So that’s who the interference was. Of course it’s him. The boy who slipped through everything—how fitting."

Mia’s ice aura exploded outward, freezing the ground around her. "You knew? You knew he was there!?"

Aaron raised his hand lazily, brushing a lock of hair aside. "Of course. But it doesn’t matter. Not even he can stand against what’s been reborn today."

Hiro drew his blade, fury burning in his eyes. "You talk like you’ve already won."

Aaron’s smile deepened. "Because we have."

The air itself shifted again—the pressure doubling, crushing. Every soldier, every beast, every living thing felt it. The line between the two battlefronts blurred as both sides witnessed the same horror: the crimson pillar widening, swallowing the palace’s silhouette until it became a massive vortex in the sky.

And within that vortex, the faint shape of wings began to form.

Kaelion’s soldiers dropped to their knees, some shouting prayers, others weeping. The Saintess fell to the ground, clutching her chest as divine energy poured uncontrollably from her, reacting to the corruption that had spread too far.

Kaelion gritted his teeth. "Hold the line! We fall here, and the entire domain falls with us!"

His voice steadied his men, if only barely. But inside, he already knew—they were standing before something beyond mortal resistance.

The Saintess whispered through heavy breaths, "If this continues... the world will break."

Kaelion’s gaze never left the swirling sky. "Then we stop it before it does."

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Meanwhile, at the other front, Mia’s knees nearly gave way as the tremors grew stronger. Hiro held her up, staring in shock as the horizon itself cracked apart.

The armies that had once fought humans and devils alike now froze in awe and terror.

Aaron, still standing tall, lifted his arm as if greeting the rising storm. "Do you feel it? The air itself kneeling before him."

The wind howled, carrying whispers that weren’t words but pure intent. Aamon’s presence—vast, cold, absolute—spread across the battlefield like a tide of despair.

Aaron turned back to them, smiling with quiet certainty.

"Lord Aamon has returned as the true Devil King of Edolas. And from this moment on—"

He lowered his hand, eyes glowing crimson.

"—this world belongs to him."