Chapter Five – Season Two
The Emperor Returned from Ruin
The clash of monsters faded before reaching its climax.
The will of the foreign guest and the planet's inner guardian was erased in a single instant—as if it had never existed—when an old, withered man appeared. He was tall, with a long beard and thick hair, his face carved with deep lines of exhaustion, as though time itself had passed over him again and again, leaving its marks without mercy. His eyes were drowned in forbidden knowledge—truths he was never meant to comprehend.
With his arrival, power ceased.
The chains fell silent.
The air froze.
Ethan stepped forward once and offered a calm, respectful greeting.
The old man looked at him and spoke a single sentence, without anger or emotion:
"You are unfit to protect a planet… you cannot even survive yourself."
Then he turned away and left, without waiting for a reply.
Ethan did not despair.
He approached one of the soldiers and asked about the planet's system.
The answer was shocking.
One single day on Earth…
was equal to an entire year here.
Ethan froze for a moment. Then he grasped the scale of the difference and understood the new reality. After further questioning, he learned that in just one year, the War of a Thousand Races would begin—a merciless conflict involving countless species across the galaxy, a war that acknowledged neither mercy nor the weak.
His thoughts were in chaos.
Jichang had told him nothing about this old man, nor about such arrogance.
But the truth was now clear:
Despite all his power, here he was a stranger—nameless, influence-less, possessing nothing.
Ethan began searching for work. Any work.
But wherever he went, eyes avoided him, faces tightened at the sight of him. His strange clothes, his presence, his aura—everything about him inspired fear.
He wondered about this fear, until one day he passed through a small square and saw soldiers beating three people mercilessly.
He did not think.
His body moved before his mind.
His eyes ignited crimson.
He grabbed one soldier's arm, and without realizing it, the man's soul began to be drawn out, dissolving like light swallowed by a black hole. Ethan stopped himself before the end and let the soldier fall.
The soldiers recoiled in terror. One of them shouted in threat:
"Our great commander will take revenge on you!"
Ethan ignored him and turned to the battered family. They thanked him with genuine gratitude, and the father asked him to stay the night with them. Ethan refused calmly, saying that what he had done was only his duty—nothing more.
Days passed. While wandering the markets, Ethan noticed something strange:
this planet was almost entirely devoid of solid metals.
He began collecting scraps of metal from fallen celestial debris and ancient meteors, repairing tools, helping people with whatever he could.
A full month passed.
Ethan became known for his kindness—for helping everyone without reward, without demand.
One sunset, he sat upon the remains of an old tree's roots. A tree that had once served people with its fruits and shade, now forgotten. Its last leaves fell. Ethan caught one between his fingers—and understood.
He understood that he was a pawn among people.
He served them without compensation, but once his leaves fell… he would be forgotten, just like this tree.
He realized this was a cruel world, with no place for goodness.
A world where each individual served only themselves—even if they had to drink from another's river to survive.
Goodness and principles…
were merely words spoken so others might open their rivers.
And those who lived serving only themselves—when their river dried up, their grave became a vessel for the greed of others.
Ethan was drowning in this destructive awareness when a massive explosion echoed from the city.
People panicked. Everyone fled.
Ethan stood still.
This time, his face was empty.
His eyes dry, without hesitation.
He moved toward the city and saw the three people he had once saved. He approached them—
But without the slightest pause, they grabbed him and hurled accusations:
"You're the reason!"
"If you hadn't interfered, this wouldn't have happened!"
"Everything that happened is your fault!"
In that moment, Ethan understood.
His river… had already dried up.
But this time, he would not let himself thirst.
He would drink from all of their rivers.
In a single instant, he seized the commander's face.
No scream. No resistance.
The face was utterly destroyed—erased from existence.
Ethan grabbed the corpse and hurled it toward the city.
And with one finger—
he collapsed the entire city into nothingness.
✦ End of Chapter Five ✦