Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 56: No option

Kren nodded and looked at me. He stared for so long that I wondered if he would ever answer, but then he spoke. "Your will. You will pledge yourself to our organization. Where we direct, you will go. What we say, you obey. That is the price you’ll pay for the power we plan to give you." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

I let out a bitter laugh. "And I’m assuming I have no choice in this. You plan to force me whether I agree or not. That was your plan all along, to make me into a slave you can use."

Kren shrugged lightly. "There’s no denying that. Look at it this way: we’ll give you power and save you from death. In return, you submit yourself to us."

I weighed his words carefully. From what I’d pieced together, I wouldn’t survive past the Squire rank as a Forbidden Mark Knight. Either the other Knights would hunt me down, or I’d turn into a monster, a corrupted. I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but it was clearly not something I wanted to find out.

My life for a lifetime of servitude. Was that such a heavy price for survival? I already made the decision not to die again. Then I must do everything to preserve my life. Everything.

I let out a shaky breath, my body trembling slightly before I forced it to relax. "You’re right. I’m too selfish, and a little power-hungry, to pass up something like this. If you know about me, then you also know about the family I’m from. You know what happened to me.

"But unlike before, there’s a new resolve woven into my body. It’s hardened my heart and made my bones steel. I won’t be under anyone’s whim ever again."

I paused, then said aloud, "So I’ll go with the third option."

Kren frowned. "Third? I don’t remember offering you that one. What are you talking about?"

I smiled, feeling the surge of power ripple through me. My green eyes flared as my body erupted into a wave of blue-white essence. I didn’t hold back, every doll, every trap, everything in the Soul Drainer’s reach was obliterated.

Kren lunged forward, a blast of darkness erupting around him, but it was already too late. Only three dolls fell to the ground, rotting and broken. Everything else had been erased.

I felt the essence, the souls, the life force of the workers gather around me. It slammed into the Forbidden Door, and I felt it groan as it swung open, revealing a world bathed in crimson.

My Forbidden Mark ignited on my right hand, drinking in the red light spilling through the door. The crimson energy surged, pulling me forward.

Woooosh!

The world behind me vanished as I was drawn inside. The door closed silently behind me, as if nothing had happened.

I knew Kren was frozen in place. He didn’t expect this. He didn’t expect me to enter without making the oath. I let the thought linger. Let him stew in it.

I caught sight of the three living workers, frozen in terror. They didn’t move, didn’t even breathe as I focused on them for a moment. They were spared. That much I allowed.

Emily’s eyes met mine, alien, deep purple, calm. Her voice carried like the force of waves crashing against stone. "You have failed," she said.

I felt the weight of her words press down on the room. Kren fell to his knees, shadows twisting around him. I didn’t move. I couldn’t.

Emily turned toward the door, watching the crimson world beyond. "So, it’s the moon this time. The Red Infernal Inferno."

Her judgment was brief, and then she withdrew. The room returned to normal. Kren remained on the ground, vanishing soon after as the shadows enveloped him.

I let the silence settle. The others were shaken, trembling, afraid to even speak. I watched as Syla collapsed, Taiwo froze, and Tiber’s hands shook uncontrollably.

They looked at me, across the threshold I had just crossed. I knew what they thought, I was dangerous, unstoppable, a force they couldn’t touch.

Yet I felt no malice toward them. They had survived. That was enough.

I turned my attention forward. The crimson light called to me, the power surging through my veins, and I stepped further into the world beyond the door.

I was no one’s pawn. I would die no more.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a world of sand and a crimson moon. The ground was made of red, shifting, hot sand, and the clouds were like clotted blood.

The moon wasn’t a moon but an eye that looked down on everyone. I stood up slowly and looked around. I saw sand stretching as far as the eye could see, with short red trees that seemed to be on fire dotting the ground.

"Where am I?" I asked aloud, as if expecting an answer. I looked down at my hand and saw that the black hole inside the purple circle was now filled with the image of the red moon.

"Is this the power that Kren talked about?" I wondered, but I felt nothing different inside me. My core didn’t react to anything, and the Mark Order felt the same. "But it’s not the same. I now have a red moon inside it."

The only thing I could do was look around, so I began to explore. As soon as I took my first step, my Mark Order finally reacted, yanking my hand upright to the left. I got the feeling it was directing me.

I began to walk where it guided me. The sand was hot enough to melt the flesh from my body, but I felt none of that, walking as if I were strolling on ice. The short trees I had seen earlier were indeed burning, surrounded by red fire. I felt the heat against my skin and knew it should have turned me to ashes, but it felt like nothing more than warm air.