The moment the ancient enemy took a step backward, the entire battlefield erupted into chaos. Not because the creature attacked.Not because reality collapsed.But because something impossible had just occurred.For countless cycles, across civilisations that no longer existed and worlds that had been erased from history, the thing lurking beyond reality had advanced relentlessly. It had destroyed every Anchor that stood against it. It had shattered empires powerful enough to reshape stars. It had survived every attempt to stop it. Yet now it had retreated. Only a single step. Yet that single step sent shockwaves through everyone present.The Nameless One stared toward the darkness with undisguised disbelief. The Beast Monarch's eyes widened. The Ashen Witch forgot to hide her astonishment. Even the Silver Cloak leader looked as though his understanding of reality had just been overturned. Because all of them understood the same terrifying truth.The creature had never retreated before.

The moment Jasper touched the darkness, reality broke. Not shattered.Not destroyed.Broken in a far stranger way. The battlefield vanished. The collapsing memory construct disappeared. The Black Sun Core, the Silver Cloaks, the five mentors, and even the smiling entity were ripped away as though they had never existed. Jasper found himself standing somewhere impossible.A place without direction.Without distance.Without time. The sensation was deeply unsettling because his instincts could not identify where he was. Every lesson drilled into him over thirteen brutal years suddenly became useless. There was no danger to detect, no energy to measure, no space to navigate. Only endless white.At first glance, the emptiness appeared peaceful. The longer he stared, however, the more disturbing it became. The white expanse was not empty. It was unfinished. Jasper slowly turned. His heartbeat quickened. The realisation struck him immediately. He was not looking at a place. He was looking at re