The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order - Chapter 1651

Chapter 1651: Moonless Reflection
Everything seemed to freeze for the Sorcerer as Cain’s right eye began to glow.

Suddenly, the world around him was drained of color—time itself warped, and everything turned black and white. Cain vanished from sight in an instant, his presence seemingly erased from existence. But that was only the beginning.

A wave of dread swept over the Sorcerer as every ounce of his power flickered out like dying stars. His energy vanished. The spell he had been preparing crumbled into nothingness.

“What… is happening?”

A mixture of fear and confusion gripped his ancient heart. Looking up to the sky, his eyes widened in horror. A black moon loomed above, its surface eerily similar to Cain’s glowing right eye. It hovered there like an omen, casting an oppressive shadow across the monochrome dimension.

“An illusion!” he spat.

As a master of countless arcane disciplines, it didn’t take the Sorcerer long to understand what was happening. He immediately gathered his willpower and soul force, preparing to shatter the illusion like he had done countless times before. But this time—nothing happened.

His heart began to pound as he tried again. And again. But his power remained locked away. His soul force was sealed and even his willpower was inaccessible.

“What… what is wrong with me?!” he growled, panic beginning to set in. “It’s like—I’m nothing more than a mortal!”

The fear that followed was unlike anything he had ever known. In all his millions of years, he had never encountered an illusion that could suppress his very essence. This wasn’t some hallucination—it was a prison that stripped him of all strength, all control.

“You cannot escape.”

Cain’s voice echoed across the dimension, ethereal and omnipresent.

The next moment, Cain materialized in the sky above, eyes calm, expression cold. He looked down at the old Sorcerer, who now seemed frail and insignificant beneath that looming black moon.

“This is Moonless Reflection,” Cain said, his voice sharp as blades. “The moment you’re trapped within it, all your power is sealed away. There is no escape. The only way out is when I can no longer hold it. Which, in this case… will be in eighty-one hours.”

The Sorcerer’s eyes narrowed. He was shocked that Cain had so openly revealed the power and duration of this technique. But before he could consider why, the pain began.

From thin air, thick black chains tipped with cruel hooks materialized and shot toward him. They pierced his flesh, digging deep into muscle and bone before hoisting his body into the sky like a broken marionette. Blood dripped down his robes as Cain clenched his fists, causing the chains to pull taut.

The pain was unimaginable.

His limbs were stretched and torn, bones snapping one by one. Flesh shredded like paper. His chest split open in a gory mess, but even then, he did not die.

And then—just like that—his body reformed. Every wound vanished. He was whole again.

Eyes wide, he realized the truth.

“So this is the nature of this world,” Sorcerer muttered, voice rasping.

He looked toward Cain, face pale but his mouth curling into a twisted smile. “Hmph. Is this your best? I’ve lived through hells beyond your imagination. You truly think that eighty-one—hours of pain will break my mind?”

Cain said nothing. Instead, he raised his hand once more.

This time, he opened his palm.

The Sorcerer’s body suddenly trembled, and a chilling sensation ran down his spine. The next moment, he felt his form split apart, dividing into ten separate incarnations. They hovered in the air, staring at each other with wide eyes.

And then—terror.

An indescribable horror twisted their faces as they realized the full horror of Cain’s ability. Each of them could feel everything. Their senses were shared. Every spark of pain experienced by one was felt by all.

The chains reappeared—tenfold.

Each of the Sorcerers was impaled again. Flesh ripped. Bones cracked. And now, the pain was magnified ten times over. Each one screamed—not just from their own agony, but from the compounded torment of all the others.

Cain showed no mercy. His fist tightened, and the chains pulled again, tearing all ten Sorcerers into shreds of blood and shadow.

But the torment did not end there.

They reformed again. And now—there were one hundred of them.

“Wait—”

That was all they could say before the chains appeared again.

…

In the real world, Cain’s Dark Moon Eye flickered, glowing ominously for a single second before it closed of its own accord.

Cain staggered slightly, catching his breath. A trail of blood leaked from his right eye.

“That took more energy than I anticipated,” he muttered, a rueful smile curling on his lips.

While his right eye was immensely powerful, its usage came at a steep cost. If it weren’t for the constant enhancements of the [Gluttony Module], constantly reinforcing his energy pools and soul force, he would’ve collapsed.

But the battle was over.

There was no longer any trace of concern on Cain’s face. The Sorcerer stood still, his body untouched, his aura seemingly intact. And yet…

His eyes were empty. Lifeless.

The man was still breathing and his soul was still present. But everything that made him who he was had been shattered inside the Moonless Reflection. His mind had broken, leaving behind nothing but a hollow shell.

Grabbing the Sorcerer by the throat, Cain took hold of the treasures spread across the battlefield. With one last glance at the desolate land around him, he retracted the forcefield and left the area in silence.

The battle had been short—but devastating. The explosions, distortions, and warping of reality had undoubtedly drawn attention. Cain couldn’t afford to linger in his weakened state.

Fifteen minutes later, he appeared within the heart of a massive volcano.

Using his Laws, he generated a void within the molten chamber, carving out a stable space in the sea of lava. After a few minutes of rest, his energy began to stabilize.

Cain’s eyes flickered, and then glowed with a monstrous golden radiance.

The power of the Laws of Space-Time surged through his arm. At full strength, his Royal Space-Time Supernova Eye ignited, focusing all of its might into a single point.

Cain thrust his hand forward, piercing the Sorcerer’s lower abdomen.

Carefully, he extracted the Evolution Core.

Unlike any core he had taken before, this one pulsed with celestial power, glowing brighter than any Inner World. It wasn’t merely a planet… it resembled an entire cosmos in miniature.

Cain’s eyes widened, filled with awe.

“So this is what an Inner Universe looks like…”