The moment Ethan and Rick crossed the glowing boundary, the temperature dropped instantly.A heavy fog rolled around their ankles, thick and cold enough to sting like dry ice. The air felt wet, stale, and old—older than any place Ethan had ever sensed. His Abyssal core pulsed uneasily.Rick rubbed his arms. “Why does it feel like the air is… watching us?”“Because it is.” Ethan tapped his chest. “The Veil King’s influence. He’s probing.”“Great,” Rick muttered. “We’ve been here five seconds and already I want to go home.”Ethan smirked faintly. “Too late. Our bond makes that impossible.”Rick groaned. “I’ll regret this later.”They followed the rune-lit path down the cliff, stepping between broken statues, shattered obelisks, and trees twisted into unnatural shapes. Some had grown into sharp spirals, others were bent like they were bowing.Rick pointed at one. “That tree is literally kneeling.”“That’s not kneeling,” Ethan said quietly. “That’s submission.”The wind carried faint whis

The storm over the Frostspire Mountains raged like an angry beast, lightning shredding the sky as Haleema and Remiel stood behind Caelum, each of them staring at the glowing crevice that had appeared at the heart of the frozen valley.A low hum echoed from the depths—ancient, powerful, and terrifyingly familiar.Caelum stiffened.That energy… it was the same he had felt in the Abyss Temple, the same presence that once tried to claim his soul.The Nexus Sovereign.But this time, the energy wasn’t trying to devour him.It was calling him.“Caelum,” Haleema whispered, her hand tightening around her frost dagger. “Something wants you to go inside.”Remiel’s golden wings flared.“Not something. Someone.”Suddenly—The frozen ground trembled.Three pillars of light erupted from the crevice, each a different color: blue, crimson, and white.A mechanical chime echoed inside Caelum’s mind.---[DING!]SYSTEM ALERT: THE THREE VESSELS OF FATE HAVE AWAKENEDRequirement: Chosen Heir must establish

The white light of the Paradox Vessel pulsed like a heartbeat—wild, unstable, alive. Each pulse distorted the air, bending the very rules of the world around Caelum.Rick, Haleema, and Remiel stepped back as cracks of raw reality split across the ground.Caelum took one deep breath.Then stepped into the light.---The Collision of WorldsThe moment Caelum’s foot crossed the threshold, the world shattered.Not metaphorically.Literally.The sky splintered like glass, revealing layers of different timelines flickering behind it—thousands of versions of himself, some weak, some monstrous, some unrecognizable. All of them mirrored his movement, stepping toward their own white pillar.Haleema gasped.“Is this… every possible Caelum?”Rick nodded grimly.“This is the nature of the Paradox Vessel. It merges potential futures with the present.”Time folded inward.Light spiraled.Reality twisted.Caelum felt everything and nothing.---Inside the VesselHe found himself suspended in a void m

The valley shattered.The moment Caelum declared,“I bow to no timeline.”—everything exploded into motion.A shockwave split the ice beneath their feet.Rick stumbled backward as Haleema yanked him out of the blast zone.“Stay behind me!” she snapped.But Rick wasn’t looking at the ice.He was looking at Caelum.Because Caelum—calm, silent Caelum—had changed.His aura rippled like a living storm, shifting between colors no human eyes were meant to see.Rick whispered under his breath:“…What are you becoming?”---THE FIRST STRIKE — XYLENXylen moved first.The Whisper of Ruin blurred forward, his porcelain face cracking into something that resembled a mocking smile. His fingers extended into long shadow-blades.“Let us begin.”He flickered—And reappeared at Caelum’s side.Rick didn’t even see the movement.He only saw Xylen’s blade plunging toward Caelum’s neck.Haleema gasped.Remiel cursed.Rick froze.But Caelum…didn’t move.He raised one hand—two fingers only—and caught the

The ancient door of obsidian stone trembled as Leon placed his palm against it. The Nexus Ruins were unlike anything he had encountered before—older than the Abyssal Temples, older than the Celestial Thrones, even older than the Soul Epoch itself.The moment his hand touched the cold surface, a pulse of energy spread outward like ripples through water.BOOM—!The entire chamber lit up.Symbols—thousands of them—spiraled outward from the door, glowing in a golden radiance that seemed to respond to his inner force. Aria stepped back, shielding her eyes.“Leon… this isn’t normal ancient energy,” she whispered. “This is far beyond even the Old Gods’ remnants.”Rick, who had returned to the group in the previous chapters’ background journeys, narrowed his eyes.“This isn’t a ruin. This is a gateway.”Leon didn’t answer. His breathing slowed as the Core inside him hummed louder than ever before.The Eternal Origin Core was reacting—violently.Suddenly—CRACK!A fracture split across the gia