"If you came to this hall just to argue over trade territory, then turn around and leave right now!" General Vargast barked, slamming his palm onto the marble conference table so hard that the impact shattered the silence of the palace's main council chamber.Several faction leaders immediately fell silent. No one dared interrupt after Vargast's shout echoed throughout the room. Outside the hall, dozens of soldiers stood guard with their weapons drawn, while the palace's massive doors had been tightly sealed since the meeting began.The tension grew heavier because every leader present knew they had never been summoned to the capital under circumstances like these. Normally, meetings like this dealt only with taxes, trade, border territories, or disputes between nobles.This time was different.No one knew the real reason Gerry had gathered them all in one room.Gerry sat at the end of the table with a cold gaze, allowing the tension to creep betwe

“Gerry! Wake up! Don’t let it take your consciousness!” Kael shouted, his shrill voice cutting through the roar of the bone-crushing cosmic winds.Gerry coughed violently, spitting out fresh blood that instantly evaporated into purple ash the moment it touched the ground of the foreign dimension. Before him, the ground shook violently as a massive shadow rose to its feet, covering the entire horizon with its terrifying form covered in black steel-like scales.“Are you the one who created this damned thing in my head, bastard?” Gerry growled, gripping the hilt of the Obsidian Fang so tightly that his palm split open.[System warning: Target entity identification confirmed. Genetic profile and energy signature match the primary architect responsible for creating the Vesper Protocol in the past. Threat level: Absolute,] Vesper’s voice buzzed intermittently, filled with unprecedented mechanical interference.The colossal pr

"Does the weight of the past still linger in your hands, Gerry?" Kael's voice broke the silence of dusk, echoing softly between the stone walls of his birthplace, which now stood quiet.Gerry did not answer immediately. He sat atop the rocky cliff that directly overlooked the steep ravine where he had once thrown away the remnants of his doubts about life. His hand traced the surface of Obsidian Fang, which lay peacefully beside him, without its black fiery glow, without the vibration of the system, and without the mechanical voice that had once dictated every beat of his heart."The scars are still there, Kael," Gerry said quietly, his eyes staring straight at the sun slowly setting over the western horizon, casting deep orange hues across the plains. "But the blood that dried on these hands faded away long ago with the winds of years past."Kael stepped closer, wearing a simple gray robe that contrasted sharply with his past as an elite shadow thief. He sat beside Gerry, letting the