The temporary base Helios-Resistance had offered them stood on a desolate plateau overlooking the Lion City, its abandoned military structures reinforced by ancient relic-infused wards that glowed faintly whenever Sahara walked past them. The morning sun rose in thin streaks of pale gold, casting long shadows that stretched unnaturally across the cracked ground, reminding everyone that the world felt increasingly unstable with each relic awakening.Andrew stood at the edge of the training ground, gripping the railing with weakened hands as the Sapphire’s fractured glow pulsed erratically beneath his ribs. His breathing was uneven, and every inhale carried a burning sensation that felt disturbingly close to internal collapse, yet he refused to sit or rest despite Yuki’s repeated warnings.Jiro approached from behind with a tired expression, adjusting his gloves before glancing at Andrew’s posture with concern. “If you push any harder, something inside you will literally snap apart,” he

The atmosphere inside the abandoned military hangar felt suffocating, heavy with tension so thick it clung to the walls like oil, refusing to dissipate no matter how long the desert wind howled through the broken steel shutters. Every heir stood scattered across the space, separated physically by distance yet mentally separated by something far more dangerous: doubt.Andrew remained near the center, resting against a metal crate while his body shook subtly, the Sapphire’s glow flickering in chaotic pulses that made the cracks across his chest spread slightly wider. Yuki hovered near him with trembling hands ready to channel healing, yet Andrew kept pushing her away with quiet insistence because he did not want to appear weaker than he already seemed.Noir stood on the opposite side, flames simmering around his fingers as he refused to meet anyone’s gaze, especially Sahara’s, whose trembling vision had nearly driven the entire team into panic earlier. The prophecy hung between them lik

Andrew regained consciousness inside a world that felt wrong in every imaginable way, a place where the sky pulsed like living muscle tissue and the ground writhed in slow undulations as though breathing beneath his unsteady feet. Every surface glistened with a wet sheen, reflecting sickly hues of red, gold, and obsidian that dripped like liquid marrow down walls made of shifting organic structures.The air tasted metallic, thick, and warm, carrying the unsettling scent of blood, ash, and unfamiliar chemicals that reminded him of laboratory halls where William once conducted experiments on relic hosts. Andrew forced himself upright while fighting waves of dizziness that made the entire landscape twist like molten bone reshaping itself with unnatural elasticity.The Sapphire inside his chest throbbed painfully, each pulse echoing like a fractured heartbeat trying to synchronize with the Gate’s warped rhythm. Andrew clenched his teeth, breathing deeply as he looked around for the others

Andrew hit the ground inside the next chamber with a force that nearly knocked the breath from his lungs, though the surface beneath him felt disturbingly soft, almost like falling onto layers of cold moss mixed with skin. The darkness around him thinned just enough to reveal a vast expanse shaped like a cathedral made of bone and fractured glass, each shimmering shard reflecting different moments of his life like scattered pieces of stolen time.He pushed himself upright slowly, every muscle trembling from the combined weight of Sapphire pain and the Gate’s crushing psychological pressure. His heartbeat thudded irregularly, echoing inside his ribcage like a dying drum desperately trying to keep tempo with a melody that no longer existed.The chamber felt colder than the previous two—colder in a way that reached into the marrow of his bones. This was not a test of strength or body. This was a test of truth. A test of identity. A test of the memory he had spent most of his life trying

The Gate reassembled itself with a violent shudder, twisting the labyrinth into a colossal arena made of spiraling obsidian platforms suspended above a void so deep it swallowed even the faintest echo of sound, while arcs of pale golden lightning crackled across the distant walls like veins pulsing within some cosmic organism. The heirs materialized at separate points around the structure, each pulled by invisible force into positions arranged with surgical precision by the Gate’s unseen will.Andrew appeared on the lowest platform, clutching his chest as the Sapphire convulsed inside him like a dying star struggling desperately to stay lit against a collapsing horizon. His breath came in short, ragged bursts, yet his eyes immediately scanned the arena for the others because he feared more for them than he ever did for himself.Noir emerged across from him on a separate platform, the Phoenix fire swirling violently around his shoulders as the shadow of Solus trembled faintly behind hi