CHAPTER 260: FACING THE KING OF DRAGONS, USING ALL HOPE IS LOST BEFORE HIM!

Sam knew he could kill every single one of them without hesitation.

But the problem wasn’t whether he could.

It was what would happen after.

If he killed them all, it would instantly expose who... no, what, he truly was.

[Who cares, we’re strong!]

"You fail to take into account people saw me with Seraphine and Belle," Sam muttered under his breath. "If they find out I’m the Primordial, they’ll be in danger."

[Defend them =)]

"I can’t do that forever."

[They can defend themselves against pretty much everyone, anyway =)]

"True," Sam thought, "but I’d have to kill everyone stronger than them for that to stay true."

There was nobody in the realm who could actually kill Sam.

That much was certain. But that didn’t mean he wanted to cause chaos.

He’d seen what a true Primordial was like—the footage Seraphine had shown him replayed in his mind.

The thing that had once been human but no longer was.

And if Sam ever broke through his limit, if he truly gave in and went down the Forsaken path, would he end up the same?

Would he lose himself to that madness too? It wasn’t a risk he wanted to take.

Not because he cared about good or evil, but because the idea of becoming a mindless creature that lived only to slaughter sounded... dull.

Boring, even. He’d rather keep his sanity, if nothing else.

And there was still the chance that the Primordials weren’t insane at all—that maybe they chose to kill simply because they wanted to.

But that wasn’t the part that bothered him most.

It was the [Primordial Clone].

The clone looked identical to that creature he’d seen in the footage—same eyes, same aura, same hunger for destruction.

And he knew the clone’s purpose was singular: to kill anything that moved.

The only thing that stopped it from rampaging uncontrollably was Sam’s will.

Because it was a summon.

Because it obeyed him.

But what if there was something stronger than that clone—something that didn’t answer to anyone?

That was how Sam saw the Primordial he might one day become.

Something beyond reason.

Something even he wouldn’t be able to stop.

"You seem nervous," Alphox laughed, his voice booming through the restaurant. "But it’s too late to apologize!"

The sound echoed off the marble walls, rattling the plates still resting on nearby tables.

The people inside were already on edge, watching from the corners of their eyes.

They knew what was about to happen.

And none of them wanted to be here when it did.

Within moments, the air filled with panic.

Chairs scraped, footsteps pounded, and voices muttered in fear.

Even the stronger awakeners among them knew better than to interfere with the king of dragons.

In less than fifteen seconds, the restaurant was nearly empty.

Only Sam, Belle, Seraphine, Alphox, and his dragon followers remained.

The dragons all stood in humanoid form, their scales glinting faintly beneath the flickering lamps.

Their slitted eyes burned with arrogance.

"Customer, I’ll ask you to kindly leave—"

One of the NPCs approached Alphox, its voice calm and mechanical.

But Alphox didn’t even glance at it.

He simply lifted his arm and clenched his hand.

SPLASH!

The NPC’s head burst apart like glass, its body dissolving into particles of light before disappearing entirely.

The silence that followed was heavy.

"This is going to be you soon," Alphox growled, his tone low and filled with malice. "Unless you listen to what I say. Maybe I’ll let you off with just a few broken bones if you behave."

Sam didn’t move.

Didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink. He just stood there, his eyes empty.

He couldn’t feel fear. He couldn’t even remember what fear felt like anymore.

[We can defeat them all without even moving a finger, you know.]

Sam looked at the floating panel beside him and smirked.

He knew exactly what it was suggesting.

"I guess," he thought. "Right..."

Alphox took another step forward, the floor trembling under his weight.

He extended his arm, claws gleaming like black steel, ready to crush Sam’s bones to dust.

"Scared?" Alphox bellowed, his laughter shaking the room. "But that won’t save you!"

The other dragons grinned, their teeth sharp and shining, eager to see their leader tear a "lesser being" apart.

But then—

Right as Alphox’s claws were about to reach Sam, the air around them shifted.

Sam opened his eyes. And everything stopped.

All Hope is Lost Before Him!

---

[Description: Let them see who they are truly facing. If the user has ill intent toward another being, their eyes will flare, and anyone looking at them will be hit with "Doom." There is no cooldown.]

---

It was the final evolution of [Gaze of the Primordial].

A skill he’d never needed to use before.

The monarchs wouldn’t have been affected by it.

But these beings, these dragons, were far from that level.

As the skill activated, Sam’s eyes ignited with a deep crimson glow.

A vortex formed within them, swirling with shadows and countless trapped souls.

When he looked at Alphox, the air grew cold.

Time itself seemed to pause.

Unlike [Gaze of the Primordial], this version had no limits. No cooldown.

As long as he kept his gaze fixed, the effect would never fade.

And unfortunately for the dragons, every single one of them met his eyes.

The instant they did, they froze.

"Hah...?"

Alphox’s grin faltered. Then vanished entirely.

The color drained from his face, and his body refused to move.

His claws stopped inches from Sam’s chest, trembling.

All around him, his followers stood paralyzed—motionless, wide-eyed, shaking uncontrollably.

Fear. Pure, unfiltered fear. It consumed them.

Their eyes quivered, their breathing faltered, their instincts screamed to flee, but they couldn’t move.

Alphox’s pupils began to shake, his mind reeling as a wave of impossible pressure crashed into him.

’What the hell is happening...’ he thought, panic clawing at his chest.

Then—

Ding!

[You have been inflicted with "Doom."]

"Huh...?"

He couldn’t believe what he was reading.

He was the dragon king.

The strongest among his kind.

How could he, of all beings, be affected by something like this?

A mere human shouldn’t have been able to do anything to him.

But this wasn’t a human.

And deep down, he knew it.

He’d faced monsters, gods, and kings, but nothing like this.

This—this was something else entirely.

Something beyond comprehension.

He tried to look away, but couldn’t.

His muscles refused to respond.

Every nerve in his body screamed in agony, his vision trembling.

He glanced toward his men, desperate for reassurance.

But all he saw were wide eyes and trembling forms, every single one of them paralyzed by the same effect.

They were all terrified.

Shaking like prey before a predator that shouldn’t exist.

And when Alphox turned his gaze back toward Sam, something inside him snapped.

He realized then that the air itself had changed.

The restaurant... was gone. The light... gone.

The sound of the outside... gone.

He was standing in darkness. Pitch black.

Only one thing remained before him: Sam. The human who wasn’t human.

The figure stood there in absolute stillness, eyes glowing red like dying stars, staring directly into his soul.

Then came the panels.

Dozens of them, floating crimson screens appearing all around Alphox’s field of vision.

The same color as those eyes.

He could barely read them, the words pulsing as if alive.

But the first line he saw was clear.

[The Primordial is here.]

And in that instant, Alphox’s mind went blank.

"Oh..."

That was the only sound that could leave his mouth.

Because he finally understood.

The thing before him wasn’t something he could reason with.

Wasn’t something he could defeat. It wasn’t even something he could comprehend.

He realized he was already dead long before he could even lift a finger.

He realized that all hope, every ounce of pride, power, or defiance, had already vanished.

Because before the Primordial... There was only doom.