Jin-Woo stood amidst his shadows, the weight of the Arbiter’s words pressing against him like an unseen force. "You should not exist." The phrase echoed in his mind, gnawing at his very being. He had defied fate before, crushed enemies far greater than himself—but something about this being felt different.

His golden eyes gleamed as he assessed the figure before him. The Arbiter was no Monarch, nor was he a Ruler. He was something else entirely—an entity beyond the war that had ended.

The Monarchs were gone. Jin-Woo had slain them with his own hands. The Rulers had retreated after their war was won. Then what was this being? And why was he only appearing now?

Jin-Woo’s voice was steady despite the storm in his mind. “What exactly are you?”

The Arbiter’s expression did not change. "An observer. An enforcer. A being that ensures balance remains intact. And you, Ashborn’s successor, are the one mistake left uncorrected."

Jin-Woo’s jaw clenched at the mention of Ashborn. He had inherited the power of the greatest Monarch, yet now he was being called an anomaly. “The war is over. The Monarchs are dead. The Rulers live on. What balance are you trying to enforce?”

The Arbiter took a step forward, and reality itself shuddered. His presence was suffocating, pressing down on existence itself. "That is exactly why I am here." His golden eyes darkened. "Monarchs and Rulers were two sides of the same coin—forces that kept the world in balance. Their battle was necessary. Their deaths were accounted for."

He lifted his hand, and the space around them rippled. "But you… You defied the system. The Shadow Monarch was never meant to remain beyond the war. Yet here you stand, immortal, transcendent, a force that should have faded with the rest."

Jin-Woo narrowed his eyes. “So, what? You want me dead?”

The Arbiter tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "Not dead. Erased."

Before Jin-Woo could react, a pulse of energy erupted from the Arbiter, targeting his very essence. Shadows flickered violently, some of them vanishing into nothingness.

Jin-Woo gritted his teeth, immediately commanding his mana to surge. A barrier of pure darkness surrounded him, shielding his existence from the Arbiter’s attack. But he could feel it—the force wasn’t just trying to destroy him. It was trying to unmake him, as if he had never existed at all.

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His golden eyes burned with defiance. "You think I’ll let you erase me?"

The Arbiter did not flinch. "It is not a matter of permission. It is a matter of inevitability."

Jin-Woo smirked. “Inevitable, huh?” He clenched his fist, and his mana erupted in a storm of black flames. “Then let’s see if inevitability can bleed.”

The battle for existence had begun.

The world itself trembled as Jin-Woo’s mana surged, his shadowy aura billowing like a storm. His golden eyes locked onto the Arbiter, who remained unfazed, his presence distorting reality itself. This was not a battle against another Monarch or a Ruler—this was something beyond the conflicts Jin-Woo had known.

The Arbiter raised a hand, and with a mere flick of his fingers, the space between them collapsed. A force unlike anything Jin-Woo had ever felt pressed against him, suffocating, absolute. It wasn’t just an attack; it was an attempt to erase him from existence entirely.

Jin-Woo gritted his teeth, shadows surging beneath him. “Ruler’s Authority.” The very fabric of space twisted as he exerted his will, counteracting the Arbiter’s crushing force. The air cracked and splintered around them as two immeasurable forces collided.

Beru and Igris stood at Jin-Woo’s side, their blades drawn, ready to fight. Jin-Woo could feel their unwavering loyalty, but he knew—this was a battle only he could fight.

“Stand down,” Jin-Woo commanded, his voice calm yet firm. “If he can erase my shadows, then you two wouldn’t even last a second.”

Beru trembled but obeyed, while Igris silently stepped back, his grip tightening on his sword.

The Arbiter tilted his head. “You understand the futility of this battle, yet you resist. Why?”

Jin-Woo smirked, his fingers curling into fists. “Because I don’t care about balance or your so-called inevitability. I exist because I fought for my life. And I’ll keep existing, no matter who or what comes after me.”

The Arbiter’s expression remained unreadable. “Then you leave me no choice.”

He lifted his hand again, and in an instant, the entire world darkened. The stars vanished, the sky warped, and Jin-Woo felt an oppressive force unlike anything before.

Absolute Nullification.

It was not an attack of power or destruction—it was the complete rejection of existence. Everything within its reach ceased to be, as if it had never been there to begin with. The very concept of reality was being rewritten to exclude him.

But Jin-Woo was not one to let reality dictate his fate.

His shadows flared violently, the very essence of his being resisting the overwhelming force. “Shadow Authority.” His own authority as a Monarch erupted, spreading outward, anchoring himself to existence. The Arbiter’s power sought to erase him, but Jin-Woo’s defiance prevented it.

The two forces clashed, the world itself acting as their battleground. The ground cracked beneath them, storms of black energy and golden light intertwining in chaos. The Arbiter stepped forward, his movements precise, inevitable. He was an executioner delivering a sentence long overdue.

Jin-Woo met him head-on, his fists coated in raw, unfiltered power. He swung, and the Arbiter raised his hand in response. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the void, fracturing the space around them.

This was not a battle of dominance—it was a battle of existence itself.

Jin-Woo refused to fade. And the Arbiter refused to let him remain.

Their war had only just begun.