The silence that followed the fight felt strange and heavy, like the Pit itself was holding its breath. Draven stood over the Custodian’s body, breathing slowly. His strength at Organ Refining Stage 6 pulsed steadily inside his chest. He could feel the power. It was real. It was solid. But it did not feel like victory. Not really.The Pit smelled of dust and burnt metal. Soldiers walked around quietly as they began to gather the bodies. No one cheered. No one celebrated.Something fell from the Custodian’s jacket and landed with a small clack on the ground. It was a black data slate, thin and cold.Elara picked it up and scanned it with a small tool.“It is safe,” she said. “No traps. But it is encrypted.”Draven took it from her. The screen lit up and showed a crest. A bright sun over a tall mountain.“House of Myriad Dawn,” he murmured.He knelt down and lifted the Custodian’s limp hand. Then he pressed the man’s thumb to the slate. It unlocked instantly.Inside were files. Reports.

For seven days, Draven moved like a ghost. He kept the Beacon’s Controlled Resonance at its quietest level. No monsters followed him. No beasts even looked at him. For once, the world felt calm. He moved quickly, using his Organ Refining strength to cover the distance between the Citadel and the northern wastes.On the morning of the eighth day, everything changed. The green and grey ruins turned into a broken world. The Shattered Plains. It looked like a giant had smashed a clay field with a hammer. The ground was filled with deep cracks and flat mesas made of hard red rock. The air felt heavy with earth Aura.Draven climbed one of the mesas and looked around. He saw movement. Slow and huge. A Stonehide walked through a canyon below, chewing on metallic lichen. Farther away, clouds of dust marked where Burrowers moved underground.This was the place.He spent the next two days learning the land instead of hiding. He used his Earth Affinity to sense the terrain. He found the densest g

Dust and monster roars filled the valley. Draven stayed low in a narrow crack in the rocks, his lungs burning. He could feel the battle through the ground. Vor’s Aura artillery made deep, shaking booms while Lyra’s spear made sharp cracks as it struck stone hides.He had bought himself one minute, maybe two. He needed to use it fast.The new System rewards hummed inside him. Gale Step. Wind Affinity. Hunter’s Guile. He was faster and sharper. He was better at tricking enemies. But he knew these alone were not enough. He was facing the raw power of a B level ten leader and a B level nine heavy. Tricks would not save him. He needed weight. He needed the force of the earth.He looked inside himself, past the new wind abilities, down to the base of his cultivation. He remembered his first breakthrough, Skin Refining. It made him tough and gave him sharper senses. It also gave him one ability that he used only once to anchor the Juggernaut.Reinforced Field.It was not an attack. It was a

Draven stared at the dead screen in his hand. The Scion's Approachsmall device was cracked, burned at the edges, and completely silent. But the message on it felt like it was still glowing.I’m coming.Two small words. Yet they hit harder than any weapon.No threat. No insult. No dramatic speech. Just a quiet promise that felt colder than ice.The Shattered Plains around him were silent. The wind barely touched the ground. Even the distant beasts seemed to hold their breath. The world felt like it was waiting for something terrible.Draven pushed the broken comm device into his pocket. His hands shook a little. Not from fear, but from exhaustion. His body ached everywhere. His ribs screamed each time he breathed. Sweat mixed with dried blood on his skin.But inside him, beneath the pain, the power of Organ Refining Stage Seven hummed like a steady heartbeat. His bones felt stronger. His muscles felt heavier. The new Fire affinity burned in his chest like a sun. It gave him a sense of

The power inside Draven felt like a quiet storm that finally understood itself. He no longer felt the five elements as separate things. They were one smooth flow inside him. Earth gave him balance. Wind gave him speed. Fire sharpened his focus. Water helped him adjust to anything. Life gave him strength that kept going.He looked south toward the Citadel. The System’s warning felt like cold water on his face.Forty eight hours.Valerius was not coming alone. He was bringing a display of power.Draven packed up his camp quickly and calmly. He did not need to rush. Not anymore. Each step he took glided over the rough ground with ease because of his Wind affinity. He left the Elemental Scar behind. The outside world felt dull and quiet, but the power inside him hummed loudly enough to fill everything.He traveled for a full day and night. He only stopped for short rests. His body no longer tired the way it used to. Reaching the Pinnacle of Organ Refining gave him huge stamina and fast re