The glowing glass orb holding Catherine completely vanished. The transparent woman, the Architect of Order, smiled a cold, ticking smile. Silver gears and golden clocks spun happily inside her clear chest. "She is gone, Subject 0-Alpha," the Architect whispered. Her voice sounded like a hundred ticking pocket watches. "I have removed the error. You are completely alone. Now, it is time to delete you." Adam Cook did not scream. His massive, starry silhouette hovered in the dark, bruised sky. His blazing white eyes stared at the bright white crack in reality. Inside his mind, the cold, silent cathedral processed the incredible danger. The Architect controlled time and structure. She had locked the white doorway. If Adam wanted to break through her temporal magic and get Catherine back, his current power was not enough. He needed a massive, overwhelming surge of raw energy to tear the door wide open. Adam looked down. Far below, the Vahn Empire was trapped in the freezing snow. Fift

The giant, marble hand of the Prime Creator yanked Adam Cook into the blinding silver portal. The tear in reality snapped shut. The sky was instantly empty. Catherine fell to her knees on the snowy ridge. She screamed Adam’s name, but only the cold mountain wind answered her. But the terrible silence did not last. High above the valley, the dark clouds violently twisted. The spot where the silver portal had closed suddenly began to bulge outward. A deafening, earth-shattering explosion ripped the sky wide open. The blinding silver light shattered like a fragile glass window. Giant pieces of broken white marble rained down from the clouds. Adam had fought the Prime Creator inside the tunnel, and he had destroyed the god's massive hand. The Calamity was finally over. The terrible threat of the True Realm was pushed back into the dark. Down in the valley, the fifty thousand soldiers of the Vahn Empire remained fast asleep in the deep snow. Their heavy iron weapons were rusted and b

The Grand Chamber of the Magic Council was buried deep underneath the Capital. It was a massive, perfectly round room made of clean white marble. Twelve rich, powerful mages sat in tall golden chairs. Usually, these politicians argued loudly about money and taxes. Today, the room was perfectly, terrifyingly silent. High Inquisitor Graves stood in the exact center of the marble floor. He wore a pristine white coat and heavy silver armor. He was a veteran hunter with cold, sharp eyes. But right now, his hands were slightly shaking. Graves pointed a silver wand at a large, clear crystal resting on a wooden table. "Watch closely, my Lords," Graves said. His voice echoed in the quiet room. "This is not a story. This is a recording from a scout’s surveillance crystal. It shows exactly what happened in the Northern Wastes." The lights in the Grand Chamber dimmed. The clear crystal hummed loudly and shot a bright blue beam of light into the center of the room. A massive, three-dimensiona

The infected Inquisitor stood in front of the heavy iron gates of Solis. The toxic green fire burned in his empty eyes. He held up the ticking golden pocket watch. "I still have a use for your empty cup," the Prime Creator whispered through the dead man’s smiling mouth. Then, the Inquisitor’s body simply crumbled. The flesh and bones turned to dry, gray ash. The ash blew away in the wind. Only the golden pocket watch remained. It fell to the dirt. The sound was incredibly loud. The watch began to glow with a blinding, piercing silver light. "It is a tracking beacon," Adam said flatly. His hollow mind processed the trap. "The Creator is calling the army. We have to run." Adam grabbed Catherine’s hand. They turned their backs on the cowardly city of Solis. They ran as fast as they could away from the glowing watch, heading deep into the rocky, grassy outskirts of the neutral zone. They ran for a long time. The tall, green grass whipped against Catherine’s torn white dress. Adam’s

The giant, glowing golden hand squeezed tightly. General Vane, the brutal gladiator of the Vahn Empire, screamed in pure terror. He dropped his heavy iron sword. The ancient magical hand was a forgotten defense mechanism hidden deep inside the walls of the old ruins. It dragged the screaming General backward, pulling him deep into the solid stone wall. The rock quickly melted over him, swallowing the heavy man completely. General Vane was gone. But his violent attack had broken the dirt ceiling above them. The gray dust cleared away, revealing the dark, cloudy sky. High above the broken ground, the massive iron airships of the Royal Inquisition hovered in the air. High Inquisitor Malakor stood on the edge of the largest flying ship. He looked down through the broken hole in the earth. He saw the dark shadows shifting inside the ancient ruins. "The Sovereign is down there," Malakor announced coldly. He turned to his silver-armored knights. "The ruins are a potential vector for hi