“You should not be here, Defective Variables.”The voice came from every direction at once. Before them, the golden energy gathered and formed into a colossal faceless figure. Its body consisted of millions of circles rotating with flawless precision. Its massive hand stretched outward, ready to crush them like insects.“The Primal Architect...” Elara whispered in absolute horror.“No,” the Scavenger interrupted. “That is merely the gate’s immune system. A subroutine created to clean dimensional waste. Even so, it still possesses enough power to erase you in an instant.”The faceless entity released a wave of energy shaped like razor-thin laser webs. Every strand was a rewritten law of physics designed to erase anything it touched from existence.“Elara, behind me!”Ravian spread his arms, silver energy forming a hexagonal shield that trembled violently upon contact with the laser web.Abyssal System! Give me Pattern Destruction Mode!Warning: Use of this mode will accelerate golden i

"One! No, you won't erase me that easily!"Ravian roared into the void that was on the verge of crushing his very identity. In the final second before the countdown reached zero, he refused to let go of the red thread in his heart. He pulled on it with all his strength, imagining every drop of blood he had ever spilled for his little sister.Crack!The reality of the watchtower shattered into pieces like a mirror struck by a sledgehammer. Elara's eyeless robotic face suddenly faded away, replaced by a biting cold sensation against his skin."Ravian! Wake up! Don't let your dream consume you!"Ravian jolted violently, his eyes flying open. He sucked in air greedily, his lungs feeling as though they had finally received oxygen after drowning beneath the sea for centuries. He was no longer standing on the tower balcony. He was no longer inside the Architect's throne room.He was somewhere far stranger."Elara...?" Ravian whispered hoarsely. He felt a warm hand shaking his shoulder."I'm

"Welcome to the place where destiny ends," the figure said, his voice spreading like ice across a sheet of metal.Ravian froze. His glowing golden eyes locked onto the figure standing directly before him, a perfect duplicate of himself, except for the terrifying emptiness inside its eyes. Elara instinctively grabbed Ravian’s arm, her fingers pressing into the silver skin of her brother, creating a faint scraping sound."That’s... not you," Elara whispered, her body trembling violently. "Brother, what happened in the library? Why does he have your face?"Ravian felt a strange sensation spreading through his meridians. The Void power he had stolen from the Primal Architect reacted as though it recognized the presence of this deadly “twin.”"He’s the remnants of me. Something discarded when I became the Void Sovereign, isn’t he?"The figure before them smiled crookedly. The smile never reached his eyes, eyes that remained pitch black like holes at the bottom of reality itself."Discarded

“Logic... failed... synchronization... disconnected...”The Architect’s voice faded into a deafening hum of static, leaving Ravian’s heart clenched by the icy grip of fear. Suddenly, a massive explosion of white light erupted, hurling them in every direction like dry leaves caught in a storm. Ravian felt his chest cave in as his body slammed violently against a cold, merciless floor.When his vision finally cleared, he found himself inside an incredibly dark corridor. The beautiful golden light was gone. The illusion of gardens and homes had vanished.This place reeked.It smelled of rust and death left to rot for ages.“Ravian? Are you there?” Elara’s voice echoed weakly from the darkness, so fragile it tightened his chest.“I’m here.” Ravian crawled toward her quickly, igniting a small flame in his hand to light their surroundings. His heart pounded wildly, terrified of losing his sister again.Lian Xiu, Master Han, and the Sky Keeper were there as well, though they looked utterly e

"Can you feel its pulse, Elara? The beat that seems to tear both our souls apart?" Ravian whispered into the suffocating silence. His voice trembled with despair and fragile hope. His hand, veined with glowing blue, shook violently as it approached the surface of the memory crystal. Touching it felt like touching the deepest wound in the universe.A soft blue light swept across Ravian’s face, reflecting an anxiety so profound it reached his marrow. Before them, the crystal was no mere object. It throbbed with a rhythm like a cosmic heartbeat tormenting, calling, and threatening all at once. Elara stepped closer. Her eyes, which usually sparkled when gazing at the threads of reality, now looked dim, as if she were staring into an abyss of the past ready to swallow them both."Its pulse… this isn’t an ordinary heartbeat, brother," Elara answered softly, her voice cracking under a surge of emotion. She reached out, and just before her fingers touched the crystal’s surface, the air around