Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 1313 Eve of the Final Battle

Upon Max and Lucien’s return to Acaris, it felt as though the entire world had been drained of life. A heavy silence draped over every battlefield, city, and hidden corner of the planet. With every living soul already secured away, only the two of them remained under the vast horizon of a collapsing world.

They ascended into the open sky from the Four God Nation’s secret chamber. The moment they breached the heavens, the sensation hit them.

A suffocatingly familiar presence waited with calm patience. Mark hovered in the air ahead of them, his posture composed and his face nearly serene. Behind him, a legion of Ascendants stood in formation, their collective auras creating a wall of pressure that warped the very fabric of space.

Max’s gaze sharpened as he spotted a specific figure in the crowd. It was Cain—the same man he had encountered in the Lower Domain when the Ascendants first arrived to scout him. Despite the time that had passed, the icy pride in Cain’s eyes remained exactly the same.

Mark slowly extended his hand, pointing toward the far horizon. "Do you see that?" he inquired in a hushed tone.

Max and Lucien looked where Mark was gesturing. The sight caused even Max’s features to grow grim.

A colossal, dark red cloud was sweeping across the firmament like a sentient disaster. It pulsed and churned as it advanced, consuming everything in its path. Great swathes of the Middle Domain had already been snuffed out, erased so completely that not even ruins were left behind. Judging by its current velocity, the entire Middle Domain would be devoured within a few days.

"This world is finished," Mark stated flatly, his voice devoid of both grief and rage. "In our current states, neither of us has the power to halt it."

Max turned back to him with a piercing stare. "Are you claiming that even at your peak, you are helpless here?"

Mark gave a soft, mocking chuckle. "No. If I possessed my full strength, there is a possibility I could combat it and force that crimson cloud to withdraw. A possibility," he stressed. "However, that is only feasible if I am whole."

He fixed his gaze directly on Max. "So, answer me. Will you surrender the final two pieces of my soul?"

Max didn't respond immediately. A long silence hung between them before he finally spoke. "How can I possibly trust you?"

Mark offered a genuine smile this time, as if the question genuinely amused him. "That is the beauty of it, Max. You can't."

His grin grew wider as he added, "You lack any other options. You either hand over my soul fragments, or this world is swallowed by that mindless spirit. Those are the only two paths."

He made a casual gesture toward the heavens. "The ascension tunnel has been destroyed. You cannot depart from this world, nor can you flee to another realm. Every person you value is trapped here, just as I am. So, make your choice."

Mark’s eyes remained locked onto Max’s. "Choose carefully."

Max looked at Mark and let out a soft laugh, one free of both spite and triumph. "You know, there was a time I loathed you with every fiber of my being," he remarked quietly. "That hatred was the fuel that kept me moving for a long time. But I realized something recently. I can no longer bring myself to hate you. I only feel pity. You were destined to be the savior who protected this world from every disaster, yet you stand here as the total inversion of that fate."

He held Mark’s gaze, his voice dropping an octave. "Do you even recall what happened to you? Do you grasp what pushed you down this road, or has the taint of that blood erased your memory?"

"I know! I know!" Mark’s voice erupted in a fit of fury, as if Max had touched a raw nerve deep inside him. His calm mask shattered, and his aura began to surge violently. "I bled for this world a thousand times. I gave my life for it more times than I can count. And what was my reward? I was blindsided by those four beasts, betrayed by the very world I sought to save, and transformed into this nightmare."

His eyes blazed with fire as he went on. "I craved vengeance. I wanted to tear those four beasts apart with my own hands. But they vanished. They hid so effectively that no matter how long I searched, I could never find them."

Mark’s tone shifted into something much darker. "That was the moment I saw the truth. My suffering happened because I wasted my time guarding these pathetic humans. Once I realized that, something inside me snapped. Ten thousand years ago, I began a slaughter. Millions perished. My Ascendants razed cities, and the Nulls wiped out entire territories. People wailed, begged, and cursed the heavens. And you know what?" His mouth curled into a sadistic grin. "Watching them die filled the void. It made me feel alive again."

He balled his hands into fists as the memories flooded back. "But the feeling was fleeting. Shortly after, a being descended from the Divine Realm and nearly ended me. Had I not been immortal, I would have died then. That only fueled my loathing for humanity. They were weak, fragile, and brought nothing but ruin."

Mark stared at Max with violent determination. "So, save your pity. Never assume I am just the product of some cursed blood. This is who I am. I chose this path and embraced it. This isn't just the blood talking. This is me. I am an immortal; I am a god. The god of this world."

Max observed Mark in silence for a long time, his gaze deep and steady, as if searching for any remnant of the man hidden beneath the insanity.

Then, without a word of protest, he raised his hand and produced the two remaining fragments of Mark’s soul. The surrounding air vibrated slightly, reacting to the proximity of something that was never meant to be torn apart.

"Take them," Max said softly, his voice unwavering.

The moment the soul fragments were revealed, the environment shifted. The sword once buried in the heart and the blade hovering near the tainted crown suddenly began to dissolve. It wasn't a violent shattering.

Instead, they crumbled into countless golden sparks that glowed like fragments of the sun. These shards did not drift away; they were pulled toward the evil sword Max held, merging into it as if returning home.

As the pieces united, the sword flared with a magnificent golden light. The dark, foul aura that had gripped it was instantly purged, washed away by a wave of absolute purity.

In a heartbeat, the infernal and wicked energies that had corrupted the blade for eons vanished. What remained was its true shape—a divine sword restored to its former majesty, glowing with a calm radiance as if it had never been tainted.

Mark didn't even glance at the transformation. The restored divine sword, the vanishing shadows, and even Max himself were irrelevant. His focus was entirely on the crown and the heart, his expression one of intense, almost holy longing.

He could feel it. The two missing pieces of his soul were right there, trapped within those objects, calling to him with a magnetic force. The hunger and the sense of being incomplete that had tormented him for ages flared up painfully in his chest.

In that instant, Mark’s entire universe narrowed to a single point—the promise of finally being whole again burned brighter than anything he had ever known.