Smoke rose from Audi's body, his form still trembling from the purification that had stripped him of his monstrous power. The hunger was gone. The corruption had been burned away. And yet, something inside him still stirred.

  Before he could fully grasp it, the ground beneath him shifted.

  Hel activated "Digger!"

  A sudden force pulled at Audi, breaking the grip of the surrounding waters. The purifying tide, which had nearly consumed him, was funneled into the earth, giving him a moment of reprieve.

  But Nile did not falter.

  The 10th Vessel of the Plagues continued his approach, his piercing gaze locked onto Audi.

  Then, he stopped.

  A flicker of something unreadable crossed Nile's expression as he observed Audi's true human form—not undead, not corrupted, but pure.

  "This form…" Nile muttered. "How is this possible?"

  For the first time since his summoning, Nile hesitated.

  Audi's face… his figure… it was the same as the old King Lexus.

  The very king Nile had the one who summoned Blood as the 10th Plague.

  A Forgotten Past—The Ice Awakens

  Audi took a step forward.

  The moment his foot touched the ground, the waters beneath him froze solid.

  Step.

  More ice.

  Another step.

  A trail of frozen land stretched behind him, creeping outward, claiming the battlefield.

  A memory struck him like lightning.

  He wasn't just returning to his human form. He was returning to who he was before he became a zombie.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "I… was never just a Deathbound Ascendant."

  "Before I died… before I was reborn…"

  "I was surrounded by ice."

  His mind reeled, visions of a past life unraveling.

  Flashes of a frozen throne.Blizzards roaring at his command.The cold that bowed to his will.

  Then, the realization.

  "I was a High Wizard of Ice."

  His very first life. His original existence before he fell into undeath.

  Everything made sense now.

  "That's why my zombie class evolved into a Lich… because even in death, my true essence was always ice."

  Nile took another step forward, snapping Audi from his revelation.

  But Audi was no longer the same.

  He raised his hand, and the temperature plummeted.

  Frozen Will—A World Enshrined in Ice

  Audi whispered the incantation, his breath crystallizing in the air.

  "Frozen Will—Global."

  A silent pulse spread from his body.

  In an instant-

  The 80th to 100th Floors of the Tower froze over completely.

  The battlefield turned into an endless, glacial wasteland.

  The purifying waters that once belonged to Nile? Turned to ice.

  The sky, once heavy with rain, now shimmered with falling snow.

  Everything, except Hel ,was caught within the frozen domain.

  Nile's eyes narrowed, his body resisting the freezing effect, but before he could react—

  The Blade That Cuts at the Atomic Level

  Audi lifted his hand once more.

  His fingers moved in a practiced motion—one he had not used in countless lifetimes.

  A technique from his past.

  "Glacial Cleaver."

  A blade of absolute zero formed in the air.

  Not fire, not blood, not even light could escape its edge.

  And with a single slash—

  Nile was cut apart.

  The effect wasn't physical.

  It wasn't even visible to the naked eye.

  Nile was severed at the atomic level.

  The towering force of the 10th Plague, the purifier of corruption, was undone in an instant.

  The battlefield fell silent.

  The Aftermath—Half-Human, Half-Zombie

  The frozen wasteland stood still.

  Audi exhaled, his body flickering.

  The purification had been undone.

  His form twisted, shifting between human and zombie.

  The battle was over.

  Audi"So Blood was the Plague.. and Nile was one of the Legendary Heroes."

  And Audi had won.

  As the exhaustion overtook him, his vision blurred.

  His mind, filled with unanswered questions.

  But before he could think further—

  Darkness claimed him.

  To Be Continued…