The final gate stood like a monument to silence.
No noise. No wind. Not even the soft whisper of ambient Qi.
Just a cold pulse — deep, measured — like a heartbeat trapped beneath the stone.
Shang Di stood before it, his cloak brushing the cracked floor tiles, the medallion tucked beneath still warm from the last fight. Wei Lin stood beside him, quiet for once, his usual half-smile replaced with a frown of real concern.
"I don't like it," he said at last. "This gate feels… wrong."
Shang Di didn't answer.
The symbols carved into the arch were ancient — older than the rest of the dungeon. Half the glyphs had eroded, the others bled into each other like cracked ink on damp parchment. But the pressure bleeding out from behind the door was unmistakable.
A presence.
And it was waiting.
...
[System Notification – Boss Zone Ahead]
Area: Chain-Breaker Sanctum
Trial Type: Guardian-Class Suppression Lock
Threat Rating: High
Realm Estimate: Qi Condensation (Late) – Berserk Variant
Condition: Survive Full Chain Sequence
Objectives:
— Break three Seals
— End Guardian Cycle
— Survive Final Collapse Phase
Reward Tier: Superior
Optional Objective: No Weapon Use (External)
Bonus SP: +100
...
The gate opened without touch.
A slow, grinding shift. Stone split from stone, and a choking mist rolled out from the crack, thick and tinged red — not blood, not smoke, but burned spirit residue.
They stepped inside.
...
The room wasn't a room.
It was a pit — deep and wide, circled in seven tiers of crumbling formation rings. Chains stretched from the walls into the center where a stone platform stood like an altar. And on it, crouched forward on one knee, was the boss.
The Chain-Breaker.
Shang Di stopped at the threshold.
The boss didn't move — yet.
Its form was humanoid, skeletal-thin, its body splattered with runes and fragments of armor. Four iron collars hung from its shoulders, each chained to a seal node across the chamber. Its hands were bound, but not tightly. Its head tilted slowly, as if sensing them before seeing.
And then the chains rattled.
"We going in?" Wei Lin muttered.
"Now or never."
...
They crossed the barrier.
The moment both feet passed the line, the chains screamed.
All four seals flared, and the boss lifted its head. Its mask — black iron, with a single slit — stared directly at them. Something behind it pulsed red.
Then the voice came.
"I have broken eighty-one chains. One for each false master. Shall I break yours as well?"
Shang Di answered without words.
He moved.
...
The Chain-Breaker surged forward, dragging chains with it — not to attack, but to snap them from the walls. One seal shattered instantly, and power flooded into the room.
Wei Lin cursed and rolled back.
"Phase one's already busted?!"
"Doesn't want to play games," Shang Di replied, activating [Silent Darkness Steps] and dashing forward.
His form blurred, vanishing just as a chain slammed into the floor where he'd stood. The impact cracked the tile and sent a shockwave through the formation layer.
He reappeared behind the guardian and struck out with a palm of Qi — only for a second chain to sweep horizontally, faster than before.
[System Alert – Boss Entered Phase 1.5]
Chain Sync Speed: +35%
Defensive Reinforcement: Active
Weak Points: Unstable Core Node (rotating)
SP Gain – Trial Grade Scaling Enabled
[Current Bonus Objective: Maintain No External Weapon Use]
Shang Di ducked low, then activated [Veilform Ripple Step], scattering three afterimages across the platform. One struck high. One circled. The third — the real one — struck low.
The blow hit.
A flicker — not damage, but disruption. The chain anchor wobbled, and one seal dimmed by a fraction.
"One strike every rotation," Shang Di muttered.
Wei Lin shouted from above, tossing a scroll toward the boss's feet. It detonated in a ring of wind and earth, throwing debris upward and briefly halting the guardian's balance.
"I've got two more seals in the back," he called. "You've got the front!"
"Go!"
...
The boss roared, and its mask cracked slightly.
From within the slit, a red eye opened.
The pressure tripled.
[System Update – Berserk Link Form Detected]
– Berserk Stance: Initiated
– Chains Replaced with Ether Constructs
– Incoming Qi Dissonance
Danger Level: Critical
Survive until Seal Three Breaks – Estimated Time: 2 minutes
Shang Di's vision blurred.
The pressure now wasn't physical — it was mental. The guardian's spiritual presence clawed into his mind, dragging up emotions he thought long buried.
Failure.
Isolation.
The scorn of parents who'd seen him as weak.
The countless hours staring at game screens just to feel control.
His fists clenched.
Not today.
...
He surged forward again.
Not to dodge — but to disrupt.
Shadow Qi surged around him as he cast [Flying Darkness Sword], but rather than forming a blade, he let the energy arc in strips around his limbs, amplifying his movement and aura like a cloak.
A chain construct slammed down — he parried it with raw Qi.
Wei Lin smashed a seal node with a burning talisman and shouted, "TWO!"
The boss howled.
Now unshackled fully, its body cracked down the spine — and a second pair of arms erupted from beneath its ribs.
[System Alert – Final Phase Imminent]
Spirit Pulse Collapse: 70 seconds
Weak Point: Chest Sigil
Final Objective: Destroy Core
The red eye flashed again — and chains of light burst outward.
Shang Di was hit — not fully — but it tore through part of his sleeve, leaving Lucky yelping as he barely dodged back into cover.
"Move!" Wei Lin yelled. "It's charging again!"
"No time!"
Shang Di drew in all his Qi — [Abyss Pulse Swallowing] activated, drawing residual mist and unstable essence from the chamber.
He launched forward.
Not with a strike.
But with all the energy he'd built.
The final blow wasn't flashy.
It was a direct palm to the heart — through the chains, through the mist, into the core of the mask where that eye was still watching.
It shattered with a crack.
Silence.
The boss collapsed.
And the chamber slowly began to fall apart.
...
[System Update – Trial Cleared]
+400 SP
Bonus: +100 SP
Custom Technique Fusion: Fully Unlocked
Shadow's Favor – Final Rank Achieved
Special Item Obtained: Core Memory – Chain-Breaker
Function: Trait Merge or Advanced Modifier Path
Wei Lin collapsed next to him, panting.
Shang Di just looked at the fading mask.
"Good fight," he whispered.
Not to the system.
To the boss.
To himself.
To whatever it was that
wouldn't let go of him — past or present.
...
To be continued