Dante watched as the remains of the giant dissipated, turning into a black mist that floated over the desert. The dense, oppressive energy permeated the air, and he could feel how it was corrupting everything around it. The once golden sand was slowly taking on a dark, almost putrid hue, and the feeling of decay spread for miles.
Valentina, standing beside him, frowned, sensing the same distortion. "Shit, this energy... it's disgusting. It's corrupting the desert little by little as the wind carries it."
He knew she was right. What remained of the giant wasn't just a physical manifestation but something deeply rooted in the fabric of this world, an essence of death and destruction threatening to consume everything around it. If it wasn't contained, this corruption would spread like poison, turning the land itself into something monstrous.
"I know," he murmured, his gaze fixed on the pulsating mist. Dante felt the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders. With the newly awakened demonic power surging through his veins, he knew what needed to be done.
"We have to stop it," Valentina said, her voice firm though her eyes betrayed a hint of worry. "But how? We can't just disperse this energy."
Dante, silent, weighed his options. Absorb the energy. It was a dangerous thought, but the only solution that came to his mind. He had absorbed forces beyond his understanding before, but this energy... it carried a different weight. The giant, a monster born of chaos and death, had left a mark he couldn't simply ignore.
"I'm going to consume it," he said bluntly.
Lilith looked at him, alarmed. "Dante, that's insane! You have no idea what could happen if you absorb that thing. We've seen how much it corrupts. What if it destroys you?"
Dante met her gaze, his golden eyes glowing with unwavering determination. "If I don't do this, that energy will spread. It'll contaminate everything, maybe the whole world. I can't let that happen."
Before she could protest again, Dante began walking toward the black mist. He raised his hand, feeling the pulsating energy react to his presence. Every cell in his body screamed in warning, but he ignored the fear. He opened his soul, allowing the darkness to begin seeping in.
The moment the energy flowed into him, an unimaginable pain hit him. He felt as if his very essence was being torn apart and rebuilt, as if every fiber of his being was being ripped and corroded from within. The death energy was relentless, trying to dominate his body and mind, to consume what remained of his humanity.
"Damn it! Not again!" Valentina shouted, but her voice seemed distant, echoing in the void.
He fell to his knees, his teeth clenched from the intensity of the pain. The darkness was absolute, and for a moment, he believed he had made a fatal mistake. He felt himself being pulled into an endless abyss, where light did not exist, where only death prevailed.
Tiamat chuckled darkly, the sound reverberating off the chamber's walls. "Borne? Or merely moved on, replacing them without ever truly learning from the past? They were sacrificed on the altar of your ambition and carelessness. And now, here we are again, aren't we? Your new wives... do you really think their fate will be any different?"
Dante clenched his fists, feeling anger and frustration boiling inside him. "Keep talking, you worthless dragon... and I'll kill you."
"I've already died," the dragon retorted with a cruel smile. "But Chaos, Dante, is a force you cannot control. You think you can carry that darkness within you and somehow prevent it from destroying them? Chaos is unpredictable, and it consumes everything... including you."
A heavy silence hung between them. Dante felt the weight of Tiamat's words like a looming threat. He knew the dragon was right—at least partially. Carrying Chaos within him was a dangerous burden, and even someone with his immense power couldn't foresee all the consequences. But he also knew that allowing the desert and the world to fall to that corrupted energy would have been an even greater mistake.
"I'm not the same as I was before," Dante finally said, his golden eyes glowing with intensity. "Maybe I failed in the past, but this time it will be different. I'll protect the ones I care about, even if it means walking over the ashes of entire worlds. You can keep talking about the past, Tiamat, but I'm already looking toward the future."
The dragon studied him silently for a moment, its fiery eyes seeming to probe Dante's soul. Then, Tiamat let out a long, deep sigh, its tail swaying slightly against the stone floor. "You've always been stubborn, Dante. It's one of your greatest virtues... and also your greatest flaw."
"And do you actually know me? Or are you just reading my memories for your own amusement and attacking me on a personal level?" Dante asked, a sarcastic smile spreading across his face.
"I don't need that to understand you, after all... A dragon recognizes another, doesn't it? Azidahaka," Tiamat said, as his massive heads shimmered, all eyes locking directly onto Dante.
"You keep repeating the same cycle, expecting a different outcome," Tiamat continued, his fiery gaze fixed on Dante. "You tangle with power, toy with fate, and in the end, those around you pay the price. Your new wives... what makes them so different from the ones before?"
Dante stood in silence, reflecting. He knew Valentina, Sara, and the others were different in many ways, but Tiamat was challenging something deeper—his ability to truly change. Was he, in fact, repeating the same mistakes? He had vowed to protect the ones he loved, but the price of power always demanded something in return. And now, with Chaos inside him, that price could be even greater.
"They are strong," Dante responded, his voice firm with conviction. "They're not just spectators in my journey. Each one of them has their own power, their own will. Together, we're stronger than we ever were."
"Strong... I wonder just how blind you really are," Tiamat sighed. "I'm not here to lecture you, but... wake up and start unlocking your power. Kill Lucifer and take control of the Underworld completely before the Sector Shift happens, because there won't just be one Beast of the End when that time comes," Tiamat said, looking deeply into Dante's eyes.
"The grandest stage in the world is about to be born, so get ready to return to Earth. The true beginning of everything... after all, your rival has already been revived."