Stranger: Back Home

The four of them collapsed to their knees, their voices trembling as they murmured, "The future? How… how can it be? There's no way."

Xenos watched them, his eyes narrowing. "They're still kids. Naturally, they'd fall into despair." Rising to his feet, he strode toward them, commanding the room.

"Why do you despair?"

They looked up at him, their eyes wide and filled with uncertainty. Xenos's voice cut through the silence like a blade. "What you've seen is just one timeline. One possible future. It's already been reset by the divine weapons. You've been given a second life. So why are you in despair? Is it fear? Or do you think you can't change what's ahead?"

Valdir, his voice shaky but honest, was the first to respond. "It's not fear, Senior. It's helplessness. You've selected us for reasons we don't understand. One of us is crippled, and the rest... we're seen as the weakest, the least talented. How can we change anything when we're powerless?"

Maximo, Kōri, and Misaki nodded in agreement, their faces pale.

Xenos let out a deep, rumbling laugh that echoed through the chamber. "Ha ha ha… You misunderstand, children. You think you're talentless?" His eyes gleamed with intensity. "You, the most talented humans I've ever seen. Whose words do you trust—yours or mine?"

Misaki's voice trembled as she spoke. "We've worked so hard to cultivate, but no matter how much effort we put in, our progress is stuck. Maximo… he has so little time left. How could we ever hope to change our fate?"

Xenos's gaze softened, understanding their fear. "And what if I told you... I have a way to change that fate?"

Their eyes widened, hope flickering like a spark in the darkness. They rose, hearts pounding as they fixed their gazes on Xenos.

Xenos smiled, the weight of his words filling the air. "Do you think I brought you here to show you the future just to make you feel despair? No… I brought you here to rewrite that future. You are destined to create a new path for humanity."

He paused, letting the gravity sink in. "Your so-called 'lack of talent' is due to Devil Lord's corruption. Your providence has been twisted by misfortune. But that ends now."

Maximo's heart pounded as the words sank in. Without hesitation, he dropped to one knee, his voice steady but laced with raw emotion.

"Senior," he began, eyes locked with fierce determination, "I don't know what you seek from me, but my path has always been clear. All my life, I've wanted just one thing—to protect my sister and see her live happily. For that, I would do anything. If I must, I'd face the heavens, defy fate, and bend destiny." His hands clenched, knuckles white. "Please... accept me as your disciple."

Kori, Valdir, and Misaki dropped to their knees in unison, their voices trembling with determination. "Master Xenos," they said in unison, their eyes locked onto him, "please accept us as your disciples."

Xenos looked down at them, a faint smile playing on his lips. His calm yet assertive voice echoed through the air.

 "From this day forward", he declared, his gaze piercing into their souls, "you are mine. My disciples. Your fates are bound to me; together, we will rise beyond all limits."

"Let's first start with dealing with corruption; corruption is intangible fused with your providence. There are two ways: the first is to turn the misfortune into a source that will help your providence evolve, and the second is to forcefully remove the misfortune, which in turn will prevent you from evolving your providence."

" the first way will be required using hell flame; it will not only help to purify the corruption and also remove impurity from your body; any type of filth will be removed, but the drawback is you will experience the mental and physical torture you will feel. The second method, you will not feel anything, but you will also not get any benefit from that."

"What method do you want to use?"

Without hesitation, they answered in unison, their voices unwavering, "Master, we choose the first path."

A smirk tugged at the corners of Xenos' lips. "Good... just as I expected from my disciples."

With a single gesture, Xenos led them to the back of the sect hall, where a dense, eerie forest stretched before them. The air grew thick with the scent of damp earth and the distant growls of unseen beasts. As they ventured more deeply, the trees seemed to whisper of ancient power, their gnarled branches reaching toward the darkening sky. 

Then, the forest opened in the distance to a terrifying sight—the Hellfire. Towering flames, black with veins of crimson, roared hungrily, their heat so intense it warped the air around them. The fire hissed and cracked like a living beast, its fury palpable.

 It wasn't an ordinary flame—it was pure, otherworldly rage. The fire twisted and surged, devouring everything in its path, but it wasn't burning mere flesh or wood. This was a fire of judgment, a searing blaze that consumed the essence of sin, corruption, and the darkest emotions that tainted the soul. 

The air felt alive with the weight of despair and retribution, and even standing at a distance, the disciples could feel their darkest fears clawing to the surface.

Xenos stood before the blazing Hellfire, its blackish-red flames roaring almost sinisterly. He turned to the group, his voice steady but laced with a gravity that sent a shiver through the air.

"As I warned you, the path ahead is not for the faint of heart. It will be thorny, and you will feel the Hellfire burn. But understand this—those flames are not meant to destroy you. They will purge the impurities from your body and, more importantly, strip away every ounce of your negative emotions." His gaze hardened, locking onto each of them. "It does that by trapping you in your nightmares—your darkest fears and deepest regrets. You will face them. And you will overcome them."

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. The crackling of the flames grew louder, more menacing.

"Only when you conquer those nightmares will your emotions be purified. Your soul will ascend to a realm far beyond anything you've ever known. You won't feel pain physically because your mind will be elsewhere—in that mental realm. But if you break free too soon... grit your teeth and endure the following agony. It will be unlike anything you've ever felt."

As he finished explaining, his eyes gleamed with a focused intensity. With a wave of his hand, the air around them hummed as his spiritual energy surged, lifting each of them effortlessly into the air. Slowly, they hovered toward the cave's entrance, suspended just above the searing flames of the Hellfire. 

"This cave," his voice was low, almost a whisper, yet it cut through the crackling fire, "will shield you from the full force of the flames. It will filter the Hellfire and release only what you need… no more, no less. The formation within will control the fire's volatility, purge the impurities from your bodies, and reshape you." He paused; his gaze was sharp as steel. "Survive this, and you won't be the same. You'll be stronger."

Without another word, he guided them into the cave. The heat pulsed like a living thing, but the formation held firm, just as he said. As they vanished within, he stood outside, silent and unmoving.