Karyk stepped through the portal, emerging on the other side, only to be greeted by a horrifying sight. Desolation... it was complete and utter desolation. The entire area lay in ruins, with no semblance of life or remnants of anything remaining.
The world that had flourished for millions of years was now left in ruins, its vibrant colors turned to shades of gray.
As Karyk took a cautious step forward, a gust of wind carried a haunting silence that whispered of a forgotten past. The destruction didn't seem recent; it was as if time had frozen amidst the chaos.
Rubbles could be seen floating through the endless space. Many items from ordinary lives of people had survived this destruction and were floating in space, asking for justice.
What was even worse was that souls were trapped in this space...they were vengeful souls that hadn't managed to pass through to the Soul Land.
Most people couldn't see these souls, but for Karyk, they were right before his eyes. It was similar to the day he had gained the Element of Death. That day, the souls of the dead were blaming him, cursing him and hating on him.
Even now, the souls were blaming him for not being able to protect them. Billions of souls, all in the endless space, questioning Karyk. But his eyes were only looking for one particular soul... the Soul of his sister.
He searched through the billions of souls, absorbing them one after another to send them to Soul Land. He could bring a soul back to life by giving them a body, but when there were billions of souls, it was unjustified. They had to go to the Reincarnation Cycle to maintain the balance of the universe.
As he absorbed screeching souls one after another, he noticed one particular soul in the distance. It was the Soul of Avilia...the person who had helped Gabriel.
Her soul was still intact and it didn't appear to be crazy like others. Instead of blaming him for not protecting them, Avilia's soul had her head down, as if she was ashamed that she couldn't protect Karyk's sister.
She had failed her responsibility and now she couldn't look Karyk in his eyes.
Karyk appeared next to Avilia's soul.
Feeling his presence, Avilia raised her head in confusion. She looked at Karyk, whose face was still similar to Gabriel. Avilia didn't know that Gabriel and Karyk had separated.
Guilt welled up in Avilia's heart as she looked at Karyk.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Karyk reached out and gently cupped her face, his touch filled with forgiveness and understanding.
"It's not your fault," he said softly, his eyes filled with compassion. "I'm sure you did your best in my absence. But don't worry. Now that I'm back, leave everything to me."
As Karyk was touching Avilia's soul, the glyphs all around his body started shining in a mysterious light. The mysterious light soon shrouded Avilia as Karyk stepped back.
The mysterious light had formed something akin to a cocoon around Avilia. Now that Karyk had realized what he was truly capable of, he didn't need Blood Crystal to create a body. And bringing one or two souls back to life wasn't destroying the balance of the universe either.
Inside the Cocoon of Mysterious Light, a new body was prepared for Avilia that was fully compatible with her soul. Nothing about her was changed.
While Avilia's revival was going on, Karyk continued absorbing the other souls and sending them to the Cycle of Reincarnation.
Other than Avilia, he didn't bring anyone back to life. Even the people of the Empire who had helped him in the past... he didn't bring them back. The world's balance was fragile.
After half an hour, Karyk had searched the entire space for every soul that he could find. He absorbed all of them and sent them all to a Cycle of Reincarnation, but strangely enough, the ones that he was looking for...he didn't find.
He didn't find the soul of his sister Zena. He didn't find the Soul of his Demigod Friend Alion, and he didn't find Nyx. It was as if their souls weren't here.
For a moment, he wondered if their souls was destroyed in the attack, but that also seemed unlikely since he couldn't feel anything like that.
"Did they survive?" he wondered to himself before flying back to Avilia's Cocoon.
Only a few minutes had passed but the creation of Avilia's new body was complete.
As he watched, he felt a surge of energy emanate from the cocoon, a glimmer of possibility. It was clear that Avilia was alive again. Her return was successful.
As Avilia came back to life, the Cocoon of light shattered into thousands of light specks, revealing a beautiful woman inside, who was completely without clothes.
Her flawless body was so beautiful that it could make anyone fall for her, but not even a shred of feelings flashed in Karyk's eyes.
Karyk waved his hand. Clothes appeared around Avilia, covering her body. The clothes were also similar to the clothes that she usually wore.
Not only did Karyk return Avilia's body, but he also returned her element. Her connection with the Element of Summoning was once again established, and this time even stronger than before since the Goddess of Summoning was killed long ago.
If anything, Avilia was even stronger now. She had become a partial god, with a fraction of Control over her element. Her strength wasn't derived from another god now.
It was a power that came from deep within her, a power that resonated with every fiber of her being.
Avilia could feel the surge of energy coursing through her veins, empowering her with an unparalleled level of control and command over the Element of Summoning. With this newfound strength, she knew she had evolved.
Opening her beautiful eyes, she looked at Karyk.
Karyk only asked her one simple question.
"Where is my sister?"
