"Welcome to your final hour, Arkan!"Siska's shrill, doubled laughter still froze the dawn air. Her words hung over my head like a death sentence. Before me, the colossal figure of the True Execution Guardian, crawling out of the second stone coffin, slowly rose to its full height. Its enormous frame dominated my entire field of vision, clad in rusted black iron armor that radiated a paralyzing murderous aura. Every heavy breath it took condensed the cold air, unleashing a massive pressure that sent Elena and me crashing to the frozen asphalt.The deep red numbers in my mind's eye began flashing wildly without mercy.[CRITICAL WARNING: SECOND SEAL OVERLOADED!][TIME REMAINING: 01:00:00][ONE HOUR UNTIL THE VESSEL'S SOUL IS COMPLETELY MELTED!]One hour. Three thousand six hundred seconds before Elena's soul was melted away without a trace."Arkan..." Elena whimpered in my arms. Her voice was so hoarse that it was nearly drowned out by the howling wind rushing through the temple ruins.

[00:00:59 BEFORE THE FOUR GUARDS FULLY AWAKEN]Ancient lightning exploded above the eternal clouds, spewing a blood-red radiance that blinded the entire plaza of Arkadia City. From behind the pillars of light surrounding the Central Altar, the gigantic eyelids of the Execution Guard slowly opened, revealing a pair of blazing, razor-slit eyes locked directly onto my chest.The pain from the black iron spear embedded deep in my right shoulder no longer registered. All I felt was an icy chill as I watched Elena convulse in my arms. Black-gold veins erupted wildly across her chest, spreading upward and winding around her neck like the grip of poisonous roots."Arkan... It hurts... My chest..." Elena screamed hysterically, her voice cracking and catching in her throat. Her eyes rolled upward as her trembling fingers desperately clutched the sleeve of my shirt."Siska! Stop, you bastard!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. My voice was hoarse, shattered by another wave of hysteria that tore

BUM.The first beat did not sound within my chest. It exploded directly at the depths of my soul, an ancient resonance that shattered every wall of my consciousness.The chill of death that had been spreading rapidly through my lungs mere milliseconds ago suddenly froze in place. The golden blood that had been slowly seeping from the dagger wound abruptly boiled, transforming into molten gold that pumped searing heat back into every cell, nerve, and joint of my body.That ancient mechanical voice, far older than any Transaction System, echoed once more through the darkness of my soul:[PHYSICAL RECONCILIATION PROTOCOL COMPLETE][SOUL-VESSEL LEASE CONTRACT ABSOLUTELY NULLIFIED][ANCIENT BODY, PURE BLOOD, AND ANCESTRAL AUTHORITY ARE NOW LEGALLY OWNED BY ARKAN WIJAYA][INITIATING ANATOMICAL RESTRUCTURING: DRAGON-CORE HEARTBEAT LEVEL 100%]The most blinding golden light erupted from the gaping wound in my left chest!The black iron dagger embedded deep within me, which had destroyed the c

Silver blood-colored numerical lines across the sky above Arkadia flickered wildly, spewing the deadly ticking of time from behind the dimensional freezing dome:[00:09:59... 00:09:58... 00:09:57...]The frigid air, sharp with ozone and Siska’s expensive perfume, suddenly felt unbearably heavy, pressing against my lungs like slabs of molten iron. Thousands of enormous silver chains embedded around the city trembled, emitting electromagnetic shockwaves that froze every movement of the wind.“Just over nine minutes, Arkan,” Siska chuckled softly, her beautiful voice coated in poison that slowly seeped into my consciousness. Her body floated gracefully several meters above the ground, her black evening gown billowing magnificently amid the ruins of the marble plaza. “The Interdimensional Brokerage Consortium does not recognize emotional negotiations or cheap romantic drama. To the Dimensional Exchange, Elena is nothing more than a high-risk equity asset. Hand over her soul as collateral

I stared at Elena through vision that was rapidly whitening, while the essence of my power was forcibly ripped toward that gate...The pain of being dragged by those roots of black radiance no longer felt like ordinary physical torment. It felt as though the entire weave of my soul, memories, and existence were being flayed down to their deepest core. Beneath us, the one-eyed Extinction Gate spewed forth dense gravity, ready to swallow my life from every thread of reality."ARKAN! NO! NEVER CLOSE YOUR EYES!"Elena's scream tore through the beating storm winds. Through my increasingly blurred vision, I saw her leap without hesitation across the severed boundary of spatial void. She possessed neither the physical strength to transcend dimensional limits nor magical protective armor, yet in her tear-filled eyes, there was not the slightest ripple of fear.Her bruised, bloodstained fingers clutched my left wrist, from which golden fluid was seeping."Two years ago, you crawled alone throu