Chapter 33: Freedom [1]

The Spirit Realm was a place beyond humanity’s understanding.

It was unimaginably vast, with no known boundaries. Despite countless expeditions, no one had ever discovered where it ended—or whether it even had an end.

Even the four Overlords, the most powerful beings in existence, had yet to uncover its true limits.

Unlike Earth, where the World Government held authority over most of humanity, the Spirit Realm lay beyond its control. Its influence there was negligible at best.

Instead, the Spirit Realm was ruled by the four Overlords, each governing the territories encompassed by their respective Domains. Their authority extended only as far as their Domain boundaries allowed. Beyond those boundaries lay territories controlled by other powers—or lands where no ruler dared to venture.

And the Overlords weren’t the only beings that ruled this vast world.

Abominations and monsters roamed its countless territories, some possessing intelligence and power that rivaled the strongest Awakeners. Others were little more than mindless predators, driven by an insatiable instinct to hunt and devour anything that crossed their paths.

Some creatures were so powerful that even Saints avoided their territories.

Others were so dangerous that an Overlord’s intervention was required to deal with them.

Yet the most unsettling thing about the Spirit Realm wasn’t its size or the creatures inhabiting it.

It was the environment itself.

The atmosphere was fundamentally different from Earth’s. The mana was denser in some regions, so concentrated that breathing alone could overwhelm an unprepared Awakener. In other places, the mana was so thin that even powerful abilities became difficult to use.

There were territories where the sky remained permanently crimson, forests where trees grew to impossible heights, and wastelands where the very ground seemed to reject the existence of living beings.

Some regions defied the laws of nature entirely.

Rivers flowed upward. Mountains floated in the air. Certain areas distorted space so severely that a traveler could walk for days without moving any closer to their destination.

Normal humans could not enter the Spirit Realm. Only Awakeners were permitted to cross into this world, and even they needed sufficient strength to survive its dangers.

Yet strength alone could not guarantee survival.

A single careless step could lead an Awakener into the territory of a creature capable of tearing them apart. A moment of inattention could leave them trapped in a region where the laws of nature no longer applied.

And for those who entered the Spirit Realm without sufficient preparation, death was often the only outcome.

Sofia struggled to catch her breath as she stumbled through the wilderness of the Sword Domain, a vast territory ruled by Dreck Storms, one of the four Overlords of the Spirit Realm.

Her legs ached, and every breath felt heavier than the last.

The unfamiliar mana pressing against her body made it difficult to determine whether her exhaustion came from the journey or the hostile environment itself.

Nevertheless, she continued walking.

She couldn’t afford to stop.

Not here.

Not when she had come so far to escape the life that had been forced upon her.

A gust of wind swept through the wilderness, carrying the distant cries of unknown creatures. Sofia immediately stopped and looked toward the surrounding trees.

Their enormous trunks stretched toward the sky, their branches casting long shadows across the uneven ground.

Something moved between them.

Her hand instinctively reached for her weapon.

She waited, barely daring to breathe, but nothing emerged. After several tense seconds, she finally relaxed her grip.

Whatever had been watching her was gone—or had decided not to approach.

Sofia resumed walking, more cautiously this time.

’I can’t keep living like this.’

The thought brought back memories she had desperately tried to bury.

The past few days had been a nightmare, and no matter how far she ran, Sofia feared those nightmares would continue haunting her.

It had all begun in Nova City.

One and half month earlier, Sofia had been walking past a coffee shop with her friends, celebrating their graduation from the military academy.

They had spent years training together, enduring exhausting examinations and dangerous combat exercises. Now that they had finally graduated, they wanted nothing more than to enjoy themselves.

Sofia had been laughing at something one of her friends said when a man suddenly appeared in front of her.

He looked at her as though he had discovered something extraordinary.

Then, without even bothering to introduce himself, he declared, "You are perfect existence, be mine."

Sofia stared at him in disbelief.

For a moment, she genuinely thought he was joking. After all, who approached a woman they had never met before and declared that she was a perfect existence?

But the man wasn’t joking.

He continued looking at her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable, as though he had already decided what their relationship would be without considering whether she wanted one.

Before Sofia could even process what was happening, he introduced himself.

Lorenzo Riina.

The only son of Don Aldric Riina.

The heir to the Riina family.

Sofia had heard that name before. Everyone in Nova City had.

The Riina family was one of the most influential organizations in the world, and its patriarch was an Overlord whose name alone was enough to make powerful Awakeners think twice before acting recklessly.

Aldric Riina was known as the Overlord of Death.

His influence extended far beyond the territories controlled by his family. His enemies feared him, his allies obeyed him, and even those powerful enough to challenge him understood the consequences of making him an enemy.

Naturally, Sofia had assumed Lorenzo would be just like the rumors surrounding his family.

Arrogant.

Self-centered.

Accustomed to getting whatever he wanted.

And that was exactly what he was.

Her friends, meanwhile, had been thoroughly entertained by the encounter. Some had even encouraged her to accept his proposal, joking that she would never have to worry about money again.

Sofia hadn’t found it funny.

She wasn’t interested in Lorenzo, and she certainly had no intention of becoming involved with someone simply because his family possessed extraordinary wealth and influence.

So she rejected him.