Max, however, had already turned his eyes away, his face calm and unreadable. None could guess at the thoughts that stirred within him.

During his month-long stay in the Four God Nation, he had wrestled with the question of purpose. At some point, he had lost the will to care for such matters. Why was he fighting with such desperation? For whom did he pour his strength into endless battles? What meaning did fighting for the human race hold for him? Was it worth enduring all this?

His sister had been the only one he truly cared for, yet even she, despite knowing he was in the Middle Domain, had not come to see him. That absence weighed heavier than any battlefield. It left him questioning everything. If not for her, then for what reason was he standing here? For what purpose was he walking this path? For whose sake was he fighting?

Even now he had no answers. He walked through his thoughts as if moving along a path swallowed by night, each step met only by the cold press of uncertainty. The ground under his feet felt indistinct and unreliable, and he could not tell whether his footfalls led him forward or deeper into a place from which there would be no return.

The absence of a map or a sign made every choice heavier, and the weight pressed down on him until his shoulders ached.

He had known purpose for so long that the emptiness felt foreign. Fighting had once given him direction, and hatred had once given him momentum. He had sworn to protect the human race and to wipe out demons, and he had sworn to kill Mark. Those vows had burned bright enough to push him through pain and fear.

Now those fires had been reduced to embers that offered only a faint, unreliable glow. He asked himself what victory would buy him and whether any triumph could call his parents back or bring his sister to his side. No answer came.

The world around him had shifted in ways he could not mend. The Valora Continent, the cause that had driven him to stand and fight, no longer existed in the same way, and the people he had wanted to protect had become shadows in his memory.

He realized with a cold clarity that removing the monsters from the world would not stitch back the parts of his life that had been torn away. In the quiet that followed this realization, his obligations sounded hollow.

The inability to fix what gnawed at his core made him feel smaller than he had ever felt on a battlefield. Strength meant nothing when it could not change the things he most wanted to mend.

He became isolated not because others abandoned him but because the compass in his chest broke. He stood among allies and titans and yet felt the distance between himself and everyone else widen until it became an ocean.

Conversation grew thin and hollow, and laughter no longer reached him. He watched people pledge fealty and counsel strategy and realized he could no longer locate his place among them. Where he once moved like a blade through the crowd, he now lingered like a ghost at the edge of a feast.

The emptiness was not merely loss of direction. It was a loss of self. He had measured himself by the battles he chose and the people he protected. Now those measures had vanished, and the reflection he saw in still water no longer matched the memory he carried. He did not recognize the man who remained, and the unfamiliarity frightened him more than any enemy ever had.

He stood in the square and felt utterly, painfully alone. The Heavenly Lord Secret Domain might open or might not, and either outcome felt detached from his questions. He wanted answers and remedies and a reason to rise again, but none came.

For the first time since he had begun the long, brutal search for his parents, Max felt lost in a way that was not simply physical. He felt lost inside himself.

"For what am I doing all this for?" Max muttered unconsciously, his voice so soft it was almost swallowed by the wind.

"What did you say?" Lyra and Alice asked at the same time, both turning sharply toward him, their eyes searching his face.

"Nothing," Max replied after a brief pause. His tone was quiet, and without explaining further he walked away from them. His steps carried him to the edge of the square where the vastness of the world opened before his eyes.

The Four God Nation did not rest within any of the thousand regions of the Middle Domain. It stood apart, perched upon a massive floating island that drifted like a throne above the clouds. Smaller islands surrounded it in every direction, forming a natural barrier that shimmered faintly with protective arrays.

From the edge of the square, Max could see the endless clouds wandering aimlessly, parting and rejoining with no sense of destination, free from all burdens.

A sudden laugh broke the stillness, loud and sharp as it rolled through the skies. "So the humans are also preparing for the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain."

In the next instant, the space above the surrounding clouds tore apart, and countless demons emerged from the rift. The air grew heavy under the pressure of their auras, the sky darkening as if it could no longer carry the weight of their presence.

Thousands of demons revealed themselves, their wings spread wide, their eyes burning with hunger and disdain. At their head was a towering figure, a level ten Divine Rank demon whose presence alone was enough to shake the heavens. It was one of those who had escaped from the ancient seal in the Bright Buddha Palace.

The appearance of the demons drew immediate response. The human leaders who had remained hidden until now emerged one after another, streaking into the sky to confront them. The combined authority of the Middle Domain overlords and the rulers of the Four God Nation filled the air, forming a barrier of human will that clashed against the demonic aura.

The demon leader sneered, his voice rumbling like thunder. "Do you humans think the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain belongs only to you? That treasure trove is not the inheritance of a single race. It is the legacy of the Heavenly Lords themselves, and we demons have just as much right to it as you do."

A human elder from the Absolute Sword Palace stepped forward, his sword intent spilling out like an endless tide. His face was cold, his tone sharp. "The Heavenly Lord Secret Domain is meant for geniuses of the human race. The legacy does not belong to demons. You were sealed away for a reason, and now you dare to come forward as if you are equals?"

The demon's laughter boomed once more. "Sealed? We were never sealed by your strength. We were sealed by trickery, by desperate measures from your forefathers who feared the truth of our power. Now that the seals are broken, nothing will stop us from claiming what should be ours."

Damien, the leader of the Black Tortoise God Nation raised his sword and sneered. "If you wish to enter the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain, then be prepared to fight for every step you take. The humans will not allow you to lay your hands on the inheritance so easily."

The demon leader's gaze swept over the gathered humans before settling on Max for a brief instant. His lips curled into a sinister smile. "Then let us see whose side fate favors. The secret domain will open soon, and when it does, blood will decide the rightful heirs."

The air trembled as the two sides stared each other down, the space between them heavy with tension. Neither moved to strike, yet the atmosphere already carried the weight of a battle that could ignite at any moment.

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