The pain he felt exceeded any pain he went through in the past by countless times. He didn't even know how to describe it. At one moment, he felt like he was being cut down by numerous sharp knives from inside and out, and in the next, his body was scorching hot like it was lit on fire.

Zenith endured pain like never before. His eyes were bloodshot, and his veins bulged all over his body. However, despite all the pain that he experienced, he had never once made a sound. He refused to show any weakness to the enemy in front of him.

"You can actually withstand such torment to your soul? How admirable!" said the woman with an impressed tone. "This sister is starting to like you more and more. I feel really bad, but I need this body of yours."

The pain Zenith felt increased. Even so, he endured quietly and didn't give her the satisfaction of seeing him suffer in pain.

He felt that once he succumbed to his pain, his soul would disperse. If that happened, the woman would be able to possess him and have full control over his body. He would die for good.

"It's painful, right? Why don't you close your eyes and give up? I can end your suffering. I can end your agony. Just leave everything to me. I will make you feel at ease," the woman whispered with a seductive and alluring voice.

With her continuously tempting him at the side, anyone else might've already given up at this point. Unfortunately for her, the one she encountered was Zenith.

"This sister likes handsome men like you. It doesn't need to be like this. The sooner you give up, the less pain you will feel."

"How about this? Give me your body, and this sister will make you feel good. The two of us will feel pleasure, and you will no longer have to suffer. That's a good deal, right?"

In the next few minutes, the woman kept whispering and tempting him. However, it was like her words fell on deaf ears. It didn't have any effect on Zenith. She was completely ignored.

The smile on the woman's face gradually disappeared. She let go of Zenith and took a few steps back before giving him a cold stare.

"This is getting quite troublesome. This is the first time I've met a mortal as tough as you are," the woman said without any emotion on her face as she finally showed her real self to him. "I'm giving you one last chance. Give me your body. It will only be more torturous from here on out."

Zenith stared back at her and simply said, "Get lost."

The woman nodded thoughtfully at him. She didn't mind his rude words. Instead of being offended, she just gave him a sweet smile.

"Let me see how tough you really are then."

After she finished speaking, Zenith found himself submerged in the ocean, his body weighted down by a heavy ship anchor.

There were huge chains wrapped around his body which were restricting his movements. Zenith tried to get himself free, but it was of no use. He couldn't remove it even when he used his Nu. As he struggled to escape from his restraints, he was slowly dragged down to the deep ocean floor.

Because of his continuous descent, Zenith suffered decompression sickness. Bubbles escaped from his nose and mouth after he ran out of air. Eventually, he unintentionally drank and inhaled some water, further increasing his torment. He felt his lungs burning as water slowly filled up his lungs.

Zenith's vision darkened, and just as he was about to pass out, he heard the woman's voice in his mind.

"I can't have you passing out on me. You must stay awake and feel every bit of pain until you die."

In the end, Zenith's lungs collapsed, and his veins and organs ruptured before he got crushed by the ocean pressure and died.

1

When Zenith came to, he took a deep breath and greedily inhaled the air. This was the first time he appreciated breathing fresh air so much. After undergoing that torture, Zenith felt that he took breathing for granted.

He really felt he had died earlier. The sensation of death was all too real, but strangely, he was actually still alive.

"So that was just an illusion," he thought after he composed himself.

Thinking back, he should've realized sooner that everything was merely an illusion. However, because he was put into that situation so suddenly, all he was thinking about was how to get out of his restraints. His thoughts were all dedicated to his survival. But after experiencing a single death, Zenith realized that it was merely an illusion.

At this moment, the devilish woman appeared before him with a charming laugh.

"How was it? Did you enjoy that experience?" she asked with a smile. "Was it scary? Do you feel like giving up now? Trust me, there's still something much scarier than that."

Zenith narrowed his eyes at her. Her body was a little transparent compared to before. He inspected her carefully and saw the immortal seed glowing within her chest. When the light died down, her body returned to normal.

"Is she using the immortal seed to put me into an illusion?" he thought calculatingly. "If so, where did she get her Nu from? My spirit core shouldn't be able to support the usage of an immortal seed."

"What are you thinking so much for? Get ready because the next one is coming."

At this moment, Zenith was tied to a pole. He tried to break the ropes around him with his Nu, but he had the same results as earlier. He couldn't break free at all.

A faceless man slowly walked toward him with a gas can in hand.

"I am very merciful, so I will give you another chance. By now, you should have an idea what's coming next, right?" she asked playfully.

The faceless man poured gasoline on him, drenching his whole body wet. After that, the man took out a match.

Zenith watched the faceless man's action from beginning to end in a calm manner. He acted like a spectator that had nothing to do with the situation at hand.

"Will you hand over your body to me or not?" the woman asked for the last time.

Zenith looked her straight in the eye and said, "Do your worse."

She sighed exasperatedly. She thought that his earlier experience would make him think twice, but clearly, she thought wrongly.

"You really don't know how to appreciate my kindness. Do it."

The faceless man ignited the match and threw it on him, instantly lighting his whole body on fire.

Zenith felt an immense heat and unspeakable pain from his body burning. This kind of excruciating agony could easily drive someone to insanity. As dozens of seconds passed, he could even smell himself slowly being cooked alive. Anyone burned at this point would have already gone into shock and lost consciousness before dying. However, the woman didn't allow him to have the easy way out.

Even when his nerve endings were destroyed by the fire, he still felt pain. In fact, the pain only got worse. She forced himself to stay awake and made him watch his skin slowly melting into a dark liquid from the intense heat. She didn't want him to only feel the pain. She wanted to break his mind from seeing his body dissolve so he'd be much easier to deal with later.

While his whole body was engulfed in fire, the woman saw his eyes from within the fire, looking straight at her. His eyes didn't give any sign of pain at all, as if he wasn't the one being immolated at all. He didn't scream nor make noise despite the agony he went through.

She saw his skin melting into a dark puddle from the intense heat while his face had become hideous, with the other half already showing his skull. Even so, Zenith continued staring at her silently and stoically.

Then, he opened his mouth as he inspected his body.

"So this is how it feels to be burned alive. It feels quite unpleasant," his hoarse yet amused voice sounded out from within the fire, making the woman dumbfounded.

"This human..."

For the first time, she stopped looking down on him. She began to regard him as someone who couldn't be underestimated. This mortal wasn't normal. Even gods wouldn't be as nonchalant as him after undergoing the same experience he had.

The fire continued burning for several minutes until there was nothing left but his bones. Only then did the fire finally die.

And with that, Zenith experienced his second death.

2