The Riftborn Heir

Bonus Side Story: The General's Defeat – A Myth Among the Golden Sect

10 Years Ago – The Battlefield Outside the Sect

The earth trembled beneath the weight of marching warriors. The banners of the Golden Sect stretched as far as the eye could see, their forces vast enough to overwhelm entire nations.

At the center of their formation stood General Jang Mu-Yeon, one of the Golden Sect's greatest warriors. A man who had climbed to the Sixth Stage of Martial Evolution—Heaven's Gate.

Few in history had ever reached that level. He was a monster in human form, his mere presence causing the air to vibrate with contained power.

And yet, despite his overwhelming strength, he had one concern.

He was facing a single opponent.

A lone figure stood before the entire Golden Sect army. Unarmored. Unarmed. Unshaken.

No name. No sect allegiance.

But the battlefield would forever remember him as The Nameless Demon.

---

The Clash Between Two Titans

Jang Mu-Yeon's expression remained cold as he studied his opponent.

"You should not be alive." His voice was steady, but beneath it, there was something else—unease.

The white-haired warrior said nothing. His golden eyes gleamed under the setting sun, unreadable.

The Golden Sect's warriors held their breath. They had heard the rumors—the whispers of what this man had become.

And then—Mu-Yeon moved.

A single step.

A deafening crack split the battlefield as his foot touched the ground. The very land beneath him fractured from the force.

His blade flashed forward at impossible speed, aiming for the man's throat.

A single attack, infused with all the power of a martial artist at Level 6—the peak of mortals.

And then—his opponent caught it with his bare hand.

Silence.

The entire battlefield froze.

Mu-Yeon's eyes widened as he saw his sword, an artifact passed down through generations, trembling in the man's grip.

A second later—it shattered.

A weapon forged to cut through mountains, blessed by grandmasters of the Golden Sect—reduced to dust in a single moment.

Mu-Yeon staggered back.

This… was not the power of a normal martial artist.

This was something else.

Something that should not exist.

---

The Unstoppable Force of Martial Evolution

Mu-Yeon clenched his fists. He was no fool. He had to end this quickly.

A surge of power erupted from his body—his Qi manifesting into something beyond human. The battlefield trembled as an enormous golden dragon coiled around him, its eyes burning with divine energy.

Level 6 warriors had long surpassed human limitations. They were walking calamities, capable of bending the world to their will.

"Die, exile!" Mu-Yeon roared.

The golden dragon lunged forward, its very presence distorting the battlefield. Warriors who stood too close were thrown back by the sheer force of its existence.

The ground beneath the Nameless Demon's feet cracked open. The sky itself seemed to darken.

And then—he raised his hand.

A low hum filled the air.

It was not Qi. It was not a technique.

It was something more fundamental.

Reality itself tilted.

And then—the golden dragon vanished.

Not destroyed. Not deflected.

It was simply gone.

As if it had never existed in the first place.

Mu-Yeon's body seized in shock. His connection to the attack had been severed—no, erased.

His eyes snapped to his opponent.

"What… what are you?"

The man stepped forward. His presence alone was suffocating.

"You are at the peak of mortals," he said. "But I have already walked beyond it."

A single palm strike.

Mu-Yeon barely had time to react before the world exploded.

His body was launched across the battlefield, his golden armor crumbling into dust. He crashed into the ranks of his own army, blood pouring from his lips.

For the first time in his life, he felt true despair.

This was not a battle.

This was annihilation.

---

The Legend of the Nameless Demon – A Golden Sect Myth

The battlefield was silent.

Tens of thousands of warriors, each trained to follow orders without hesitation, stood paralyzed.

Their general—one of the strongest warriors in Murim—had been crushed like an insect.

Mu-Yeon struggled to rise, but his limbs refused to obey. His very Qi had been shattered.

He looked up at the white-haired warrior, his vision blurring.

"You… should not exist…"

His opponent's expression remained unreadable.

"You are not the first to say that."

He turned, walking away from the battlefield.

And with that single act, the Golden Sect lost its strongest general.

The war had only just begun.

But for the first time, the Golden Sect felt fear.

From that day forward, whispers of the Nameless Demon spread across Murim.

Some said he was a warrior who had broken the limits of reality.

Others believed he was a forgotten ghost of war, seeking vengeance.

But no matter what version of the story was told—one truth remained.

No one ever saw him again.

Until now.

---

The Unwritten One & Mu-Seol Observe

Far beyond the battlefield, in the deepest halls of the Golden Sect's palace, the air grew cold.

A ripple passed through the grand chamber as a tall figure stood before a massive, ancient mural—one depicting a war that had long been erased from history.

The mural shifted.

Time itself distorted.

The silhouette of a golden-eyed warrior appeared for a fraction of a second—a ghost of a forgotten past.

Mu-Seol watched with interest.

"So… the slumbering beast is starting to wake up."

In the void beyond reality, where only anomalies could exist, another figure watched.

The Unwritten One.

Mu-Seol smirked, turning his gaze toward the void.

"You're watching too, aren't you?"

There was no response. Just the slow, steady unraveling of time itself.

The war was far from over.

It had only just begun.

---

The Rumors Begin – Present Day

Inside the Golden Sect's hidden chambers, warriors gathered in hushed whispers.

"It's him."

"You mean the one from the old stories? The Nameless Demon?"

"Ten years ago, he wiped out General Mu-Yeon. No one believed it was real, but now…"

They turned to each other, their voices growing uneasy.

"If that really was him back then…"

One warrior swallowed hard.

"Then what level has he reached now?"

Silence.

No one wanted to know the answer.

Because if the Nameless Demon had returned—then nothing could stop what was coming.