"the beginning and the end"

Gasp... Gasp..."

The echoes of Jowalin's exhausted breaths reverberated through the Great Pyramid as the overwhelming energy that filled the space began to fade. His weary body was drenched in sweat, yet his eyes held a fierce glimmer of determination.

"It seems this body is weaker than I anticipated... but this pain... it's nothing compared to what I've faced before."

Jowalin sat cross-legged, steadying his breath until his spirit calmed and his chest eased. After a moment, he reached forward and whispered, "Book of Life and Death... emerge."

The book responded instantly to his call, materializing between his hands; its cover was a striking blend of black and white, adorned with ancient hieroglyphs that read "Life and Death."

"Haha... I've missed you too, old friend."

Jowalin chuckled as the book leaped toward him, swaying playfully as if it were a living being, gently brushing against his face. This wasn't unusual for him; the book and the black ring that had accompanied him throughout his life were mysteries he could never fully grasp, even after all these years.

He grasped the book and began to turn its carefully polished pages. Each page bore its own color and was inscribed with ancient hieroglyphs, holding secrets and techniques from a bygone era.

"Technique of Bone Refinement through Hellfire" – a dark red page filled with enigmatic seals.

"Tempestuous Breath Style" – a colorless page exuding an aura of fierce winds, inscribed with ancient seals.

"Ultimate Devil Art" – a pitch-black page radiating an impending sense of danger, etched with seals that enhanced its power.

Despite the variety of techniques, the seals scattered across the pages clearly indicated that Jowalin had sealed his powers after mastering each technique. He wasn't undergoing ordinary training; he practiced arts from the very dawn of time.

"I'm torn... All these techniques are incredibly dangerous... which one do I choose?"

Then he smiled, glancing at his own body: "But this is my true form... and this is the final age. So..."

He continued flipping through the pages until he stopped at a gray one, filled with more seals than any other page. An ominous aura emanated from it, surpassing all other techniques.

"Technique of Abyssal Ruin..."

He said it with a chilling smile.

"This technique harnesses the power of the giants, and it's perfectly suited for my lineage. I've used it a little in the main palace." He paused for a moment, reflecting: "I devised it with the help of my ancestors in the pre-flood era... the people of 'Aad, who first inhabited Kemet."

Lost in thought for a moment, he didn't notice the red engravings on the ring in his hand beginning to glow.

"Crack... Crack..."

The sudden sound of breaking interrupted his thoughts.

"What's happening?!"

He looked at the book in shock, finding that the seals holding the technique of Abyssal Ruin were rapidly disintegrating, while the ring in his hand began to emit strange and terrifying energy.

"Is it returning me to that immortal body?! No! I can't let my mother suffer from my absence again..."

He tried to resist, but there was nothing he could do. The ring and the book remained an impenetrable enigma, one he couldn't solve even at the dawn of creation.

With every passing moment, the seals on the other pages began to collapse one by one.

"Fire and ice... together?! How is this possible?!"

The gray void on the page, which had replaced the technique of Abyssal Ruin, began to consume all the sealed powers. The energies vanished, yet the inscriptions remained on the pages as a memory of what once was.

"Damn it... it took me centuries to gather these powers!"

The five energies rushed in sequence: fire, ice, then demonic energy, followed by thunder energy, and culminating with external energy – the stellar energy.

After the last shred of power was drained, Jowalin waited silently, his gaze fixed on the book, but the gray void was far from over.

"No...! What's happening now?!"

A vortex of immense suction power appeared, drawing the book toward Jowalin's chest, and then suddenly, the ring detached from his finger and entered the gray void.

"Ah...!"

Jowalin felt a pain tearing at his heart, but he saw that what was being drawn from his chest wasn't just blood... it was crimson droplets infused with strange runic letters.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. "The book won't harm me... but the ring? That's something entirely different."

After the book absorbed the blood, Jowalin's face paled, and he was on the verge of losing consciousness. Suddenly, a tremendous energy surged from beneath the pyramid, rushing into his body, compensating for what he had lost.

"Crackle... Crackle..."

The book shook violently, and the ring emerged from it once again, but this time it was saturated with blood – Jowalin's blood mixed with strange energies.

The gray void returned to its original state and began to transform into a massive, completely blank page. In an instant, the black ring turned into a giant pen covered in inscriptions, then absorbed the blood and energies it had collected.

With every letter the pen inscribed on the page, the void trembled violently, as if the universe itself was reacting to what was being written.

Once the ink was exhausted, the pen returned to its original form as a ring, and the book shrank back to its smaller size, disappearing within.

The ring soared once more into the air and landed on Jowalin's finger, before the glow of the runic letters dimmed.

"Gasp... Gasp..."

Jowalin wiped the sweat from his brow and took a deep breath: "It seems you... gasp... have exhausted your energy too... gasp... gasp."

"There are very few things I don't know in this life... gasp... the two greatest are you and the Book of Life and Death... gasp..."

Then he smiled slyly as he looked at his finger: "Let's see what you two have crafted together this time..."