Unrivaled in another world

[: 3rd POV :]

Daniel stood in the silence that followed the vanishing of the last soul.

His body ached not from battle, but from something far deeper—an ache in his heart, in his soul.

Yet he knew…

This wasn't the end.

Not yet.

He turned his gaze slowly to the dark corridor beyond, where more doors waited, sealed and silent.

Each one pulsed faintly, like the heartbeat of something alive—something suffering.

His eyes narrowed.

He clenched his fists, drawing in a trembling breath as the Sword of Final Rule returned to his side.

"There are more," he muttered. "More like them. Trapped. Merged. Broken…"

He began walking.

His boots echoed softly against the metallic floor, each step a silent vow.

The next door stood before him, forged of some alloy thicker than the last.

It bore claw marks from the inside, dried streaks of blackened blood and runes burned into its surface—failed escape attempts, perhaps or desperation given form.

Daniel didn't hesitate.

He raised a single hand, calling forth the Flame of Destruction once more.

A small, crackling sphere of cosmic fire, laced with the element of absolute ruin, hovered in his palm.

He pressed it gently to the door.

The metal screamed as it evaporated, molecular bonds undone in an instant.

When the smoke cleared, the chamber beyond revealed its horror.

A creature stood chained to the walls — a malformed beast with six wings sewn into its back, mismatched arms, and faces layered across its body, each twisted in perpetual agony.

A massive mouth in its stomach murmured incoherently, words overlapping and choked by sobs.

"P…please…" one of the faces whimpered.

"Kill me… I don't want to be like this anymore…"

Another set of eyes flickered open above it.

"You'll… set us free… won't you…?"

Daniel's hands trembled, but he nodded.

"I will."

He stepped forward and raised the sword.

"I swear, I will."

With a soundless slash, he cut through the Heart Gem at its centre.

As the monster's body went limp, the faces closed their eyes in peace, and from the remains, a swirl of souls emerged — six in total, glowing with faint colours.

One of them, a man with dark eyes and feathers in his hair, hovered before him.

"You gave us an ending," he whispered.

"We waited… so long."

Another, a half-lion beastkin, offered a solemn nod.

"Go on, stranger. There are others waiting."

Daniel didn't speak.

He bowed his head and stepped out.

The next door was smaller. More personal.

He destroyed it with a flick of his fingers.

Inside… was a child-sized creature, curled in the corner, no chains—just isolation.

It looked at him with wide, distorted eyes, half its body covered in scales, the other in bruises. It whimpered as he entered.

"I… don't know who I am anymore…"

Daniel dropped to one knee. His voice was quiet.

"You were someone. You are someone."

He raised his blade slowly.

"And I'll help you remember… by letting you rest."

The creature gave a tiny smile, teeth cracked and crooked, yet its tears were pure.

"Thank you… big brother."

And as the sword struck, a single soul, countless souls floated out.

One of them was a young boy, clutched a piece of a wooden horse in his arms.

"Tell my sister I didn't forget her…"

"I won't," Daniel choked out. "I promise."

The third room was a battlefield.

Blood and bone lined the walls.

The creature within resembled a knight constructed from corpses, wielding a weapon fashioned from arms and skulls.

It turned to him, eyes burning red.

"I… killed them. My friends. I can't forget it…"

Daniel didn't answer with words.

He clashed with the being, blade meeting blade, until he broke through its guard and struck true.

The Heart Gem shattered like glass.

Dozens of souls burst forth—soldiers, warriors, heroes.

One of them, a woman clad in spectral armour, saluted him.

"We died fighting… but you gave us the honour of being remembered."

Another nodded, teary-eyed.

"You ended the nightmare. That's more than any hero could do."

Room after room, he continued.

Each creature was different—some hideous, some beautiful, some barely recognisable as once-living beings.

One was a man fused with a dragon, roaring in madness, flames consuming his body as he begged to be freed.

Another was a mother figure, fused with the bones of children, endlessly weeping in silence.

In every room, Daniel delivered the final mercy.

In every room, he heard the voices of the saved:

"You heard our cries…"

"Even gods had turned away from us… but you didn't."

"You did what no one else could."

"Thank you…"

Each soul left a mark on him—words that etched themselves into his heart.

He reached the 2nd Final door.

It was different—larger, breathing like lungs, like it was alive.

The system whispered:

[: 187 souls… compressed into one form :]

Daniel closed his eyes.

"…Let's end this."

He stepped through the door.

The creature inside was beyond monstrous.

A shifting mass of limbs, wings, eyes, torsos, and throats, each screaming in dissonance.

"HELP—!"

"KILL US—!"

"I WANT MY FAMILY—!"

"IT BURNS—!"

"MAKE IT STOP—!"

Daniel's hand gripped the hilt of the Sword of Final Rule so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

He stepped forward.

His tears fell freely, streaking down his face.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

He leapt.

And he struck.

The room was consumed in radiant light.

This time, the wave of souls was massive — they poured out like a tide, a hundred and eighty-seven in all, hovering above him in the darkened space.

They did not scream.

They sang.

A soft, quiet melody — like a lullaby, or a farewell.

They circled him, shining gently, one by one whispering:

"You freed us…"

"You heard us…"

"You gave us back our names…"

Daniel fell to his knees as the final soul — a young dragon girl with broken horns — approached.

She cupped his cheeks in her glowing hands and smiled faintly.

"Now it's your turn… to rest a little, okay?"

And with that, they ascended.

The room emptied once again.

Daniel was left kneeling, sword shattered into light beside him, chest heaving, tears falling.

He stared up at the empty air where they had vanished.

"…Rest well," he whispered again.

"Rest… all of you."

Daniel placed a hand over his heart, closing his eyes.

"I couldn't save them… not how I wanted… but I gave them peace."

And as he stood once more, broken yet resolute, he made a vow in the silence:

"I'll find every last one of these places… and I'll end them all. For good."

The corridor had grown unnaturally quiet as Daniel approached the final door — no hum of energy, no whispers of souls, no lingering remnants of sorrow.

Just… silence.

And that silence weighed heavy, thicker than anything he had faced before.

His fingers hovered near the hilt of his blade as the towering structure of the final door loomed before him — smooth, cold, metallic, and unmarked by claws or runes.

No cries. No blood.

It was almost serene.

He extended his hand.

With a pulse of Void Matter, the door was undone in a single instant, dissipated into motes of nothingness.

What greeted him wasn't a prison, nor a battlefield — but a white chamber, illuminated by soft golden light.

At the centre stood a single capsule made of translucent crystal, humming with steady energy, clean and untouched.

Inside… was a being.

Not a monster. Not a fused abomination. Not someone crying or clawing at the walls.

No — it was a young figure, beautiful and still, suspended in stasis.

They were genderless yet radiant, their body perfectly symmetrical, skin unblemished, hair shimmering with every colour of the elements.

Wings of every race — dragonic, seraphic, insectoid, demonic — folded behind them like a sacred sculpture.

Their hands were clasped like someone in eternal prayer.

They looked at peace.

But Daniel's gaze wasn't on their beauty.

It was on the system screen that appeared the moment he stepped closer:

[: Contained Soul Fragments: 1000 :]

Daniel's breath hitched.

"…A thousand souls… in one…?"

No cries. No screams. No pleading voices like before.

Nothing.

Just… silence.

His frown deepened, his heart twisting.

Why… was there no pain? No resistance? No sorrow?

It was unnatural.

He took a cautious step forward—when suddenly, without warning, a presence bloomed beside him, subtle yet jarring.

Not teleportation.

Not stealth. It was as if he'd been there all along, watching quietly.

Daniel turned slowly, gaze locking onto a figure dressed in white robes, skin pale, and eyes wild — eyes that gleamed with brilliance and madness in equal measure.

"How do you like my creation?" the man asked, smiling with glee, tilting his head like a curious child observing his masterpiece.

Daniel's voice was sharp, low, filled with restrained fury.

"…You. You created all of this?"

The man placed a hand on his chest with theatrical flair.

"Of course! Who else but the brilliant mind of Alzimar, Architect of Soulcraft, could bring such symphony into being?"

He gestured toward the capsule like a proud artist unveiling a masterpiece at a gallery.

"A thousand souls… not just stitched together, oh no. No vulgar melding like those early failures. No screams. No suffering''

''They have ascended beyond identity — unified into singular perfection. A being without fracture. A soul without noise."

Daniel's jaw clenched.

"You erased who they were. Families. Children. Warriors. People with dreams. You turned them into a statue for your vanity."

"I gave them purpose," Alzimar hissed, his tone sharpening.

"They were drifting! Cast aside! Broken by the world! But now — look!"

He motioned again to the figure in the pod.

"They are whole now. Not fragmented. Not crying. Not fighting. Still. Beautifully, perfectly still."

Daniel took a step forward, his presence darkening.

The air shuddered. The veins in his arms began to glow faintly with dark essence.

"…You call that perfection?"

His voice was like a blade.

Alzimar's grin twitched.

"What will you do then, oh intruder? Oh… I know you. You're the 'saviour,' aren't you?''

''The one who's been killing all my workroom darlings? Giving them your precious mercy?" He scoffed.

"You misunderstand. This is not something to pity. This is the future. A form that surpasses gods. I even removed the urge to suffer — it doesn't even want to be freed."

Daniel's heart thundered as he stepped closer to the capsule, and as he stared into the serene face of the fused being, something in his soul cracked.

He couldn't feel them.

Not sorrow. Not joy. Not rage.

Not even fear.

It was like looking into a graveyard made of light.

And yet… he whispered, "Even now… they're still alive in there."

Alzimar's smirk faltered for the first time.

"They're still listening," Daniel continued, voice rough with pain. "They're just too far buried beneath your madness to scream."

He placed a hand on the capsule's surface.

"But I hear you," he whispered to the souls. "I promise… I'll let you rest."

Alzimar's voice grew sharp.

"If you destroy it, you'll be committing true murder. Unlike the others, this one is clean. Beautiful. Entire. You'd throw away my finest—"

"I don't kill for justice," Daniel interrupted quietly. "I kill to end suffering."

"…And you've given them the worst kind of pain."

Daniel summoned his Sword of Final Rule once more — this time its edge gleamed with a violet-black brilliance, humming with unshed emotion.

He raised the blade.

And from the stillness of the capsule, a single tear slid from the perfect being's closed eye.

Daniel froze.

"…You're still in there," he said, voice trembling. "You want to be freed."

''DON'T YOU DA-

Alzimar screamed with madness but Daniel ignored him.

The sword came down.

A clean strike — no violence, no explosion, just light.

An immense, blinding light that enveloped the entire room — followed by a sudden rush of wind, warmth, and voices.

A thousand souls.

They didn't scream or cry.

They sang — soft, harmonious, like wind chimes in a summer breeze. A chorus not of agony, but relief.

They surrounded Daniel, some bowing, some smiling, some weeping quietly.

A dwarven child held her father's hand. A dragonkin placed a clawed hand on Daniel's shoulder. A fairy wept against his chest. An old elf saluted with trembling fingers.

"…We waited a long time," one whispered.

"Thank you for freeing us," another added.

A human boy, no older than ten, said with shining eyes, "We didn't think anyone would come…"

And the final soul — a tall woman with shimmering eyes, the very first fragment — approached him last. She cupped his cheek gently.

And with that, they faded.

One by one.

A thousand lights… vanished into peace.

Daniel knelt, placing his sword to the ground, heart shuddering in silence.

And behind him, Alzimar was frowning, scratching his head with madness.