“But the price was steep, System. I feel like part of my humanity just evaporated. Compassion... I can barely feel it anymore.”“That is a predicted side effect. To fight emotionless entities like Elara, you must become like her, or perhaps even colder.”“Colder, huh? Fine. Let’s explore the rest of this temple. I’m sure there’s more here than just history.”“Detecting a hidden chamber behind the altar. Signs of recently activated energy have been detected.”“Recently activated? You mean someone else is here besides me?”“Not a person, Master. A summoning artifact. Someone from outside is attempting to contact these coordinates.”“Elara? Has she already found us?”“Not a divine frequency. This... this is an Arkana frequency. Extremely weak, but consistent.”“Father? No, impossible. Father died in Azure. System, find the source of the signal!”“The signal is originating from a large mirror on the right wall. Master, a shadow is appearing on the surface of the mirror.”“Whose shadow is

Ravian clenched his fists tightly, still feeling the lingering warmth from the crystal Lin Xuelan had left behind before her figure faded away. Malphas stood silently behind him, his shadow stretching across the ground, which now felt more like the floor of a colossal altar than the land of a continent.“Master, the energy within this crystal has begun resonating with your heartbeat. Elara must already know,” Malphas whispered, his voice scraping like a blade dragged across obsidian stone.“Good. Let her know,” Ravian replied curtly. His eyes remained fixed on the distance, toward the Capital’s horizon now drenched in pale white light. “Let her feel safe on her throne for a little longer.”System, report the status of our concealment. How much time do we have before their divine sensors fully lock onto these coordinates?'Eternal Void Protocol active, Master. Our veil will hold for thirty minutes, provided you do not release an energy surge exceeding the ten percent threshold,' the Sy

Ravian drew a long breath, taking in the cold mountain air tinged with the scent of metal. Fresh blood dripped from the wound in his chest, soaking the barren ground beneath his feet. Before him, the body of Elara’s soldier had just dissolved into particles of light, but he had no time to grieve or dwell on the irony of a face so similar to his own.“Master...” Elder Thorne’s voice trembled nearby. The old man had just emerged from behind the rocks, his eyes wide at the piles of black ash scattered around Ravian. “You... you truly did it. You wiped out the elite force completely.”“This isn’t over yet,” Ravian replied hoarsely. He forced himself upright even as his body screamed in exhaustion. “We move now. The tower won’t wait.”Ravian turned toward Malphas, who was still scanning the area with glowing violet eyes. “What’s the situation around us?”“They know, Master,” Malphas answered shortly. “Elara has locked onto our spiritual coordinates. The sky above... it’s already beginning

That pitch-black light slammed into the water's surface with enough force to create a devastating shockwave, shattering the dock into flying splinters of wood. Ravian held his breath and poured every remaining trace of Eternal Hell into his left arm, which now looked like cracked obsidian, forcing himself to hold back the sphere of light before it could completely annihilate them."System! Give me a boost, now!" Ravian shouted through the roar of emptiness tearing at his hearing.[Warning: Energy has reached a critical point. Redirecting the last remaining energy to the shield, Master.]The System's voice sounded dimmer than usual, almost like a whisper on the verge of fading away. Ravian could not let Xuelan die here. Not again. He pulled the woman closer, letting his aura envelop both of them and form an impossibly thin bubble of space amid Elara's destructive vortex."Xuelan, listen to me!" Ravian shouted into her ear. The woman still looked disoriented, her eyes glowing faintly. "

Ravian turned his face away from Lin Xuelan’s boat as it slowly vanished into the harbor mist. The black ice beneath his feet cracked, as though responding to the surge of energy coursing from his heart to the tips of his fingers. Inside his mind, the voice of the new System felt like a whisper pressed dangerously close, almost fused with his own consciousness.“System, where do we go now? You said this power has conditions, and I need a more stable energy supply to contain it,” Ravian said quietly.“Responding... Coordinates have been set to three primary locations: the Forbidden Temples of Astrala. The first location lies within the northern mountains, where the fallen Aether God Essence has been hidden. You require that artifact to strengthen the foundation of your soul,” the System replied.“A fallen god’s essence, huh? So I have to become a thief now?” Ravian smiled coldly.“Not a thief, Master. You are merely reclaiming what was abandoned by an order that has already collapsed.