Kael stood at the edge of the summit, wind howling like a beast unchained. The Origin Crown pulsed in his hand—neither warm nor cold, but alive. It wasn't a relic.
It was a threshold.
Behind him, Lyra steadied herself, pale and wide-eyed. Drayke stared at the broken altar, knuckles cracked and bleeding. Zera said nothing, shadows shifting behind her as if listening for a voice only she could hear.
No one spoke.
Because everyone felt it.
The moment Kael absorbed the Eternal Core—the world had changed.
He turned toward the group, his Ashen cloak fluttering. His eyes weren't glowing. They were burning, like molten silver edged with shadow.
"I felt it," he said quietly. "The system isn't just flawed. It's... rigged."
Zera's expression darkened. "You saw the Architect, didn't you?"
Kael nodded.
"What did it say?"
He looked at his hand.
"It said I'm not bound to fate. I'm a crack in it."
[Global System Message – All Hunters]
"A Godslayer walks."
"The Eternal Balance trembles."
"Prepare."
The message shook the continents. Across Aurenya, hunters froze mid-battle. Guild towers went dark. Dungeons rumbled. Monsters howled.
And deep in the Noctheron Marsh, something ancient stirred.
A figure, submerged beneath black roots and rotting sky, opened one glowing eye.
"The Ashen One rises."
Location: Sunspire Citadel
Veyl Solane slammed her fist against the crystalline screen as the Godslayer message flickered again. Council members shouted, scrambled, panicked.
But Veyl didn't move. She stared at the name glowing on the screen.
KAEL ARCLIGHT – CLASS: TRANSCENDENT (LOCKED)
"He was never supposed to live," she whispered. "You promised me he would die in that dungeon."
Behind her, a cloaked figure said nothing.
"Did the system lie to you too?" Veyl asked.
"No," said the voice. "It showed me the truth."
"Then why help me hide it?"
The figure stepped forward.
Because under the cloak—was Drayke Arclight.
Kael's brother.
"I'm not hiding it," he said. "I'm waiting for him."
Location: Emberdeep – Ruined Watchtower
Kael and the others descended Zenith's Reach slowly, the journey down almost more harrowing than the battle above. He could feel his aura resonating differently now. The world didn't just react to him—it bent around him.
Drayke nudged him. "So. You're a god now. That mean I can't punch you anymore?"
Kael smirked. "You can try. But I'm not healing you after."
Lyra walked beside them, quieter than usual.
"You okay?" Kael asked her.
She hesitated. "I saw it too. When the Eternal cracked open. A glimpse."
He stopped.
"What did you see?"
Lyra met his gaze.
"My own death."
The air tensed.
"But it wasn't a warning," she continued. "It was a choice. Like something was asking—Will you still follow him if this is how it ends?"
"And?"
"I didn't even hesitate," she said. "I'm with you. To the end."
Kael's chest tightened.
Before he could speak, Zera interrupted, tone grave.
"We don't have time to settle emotions. Look."
She pointed skyward.
Rifts had opened.
Not dungeon gates. God-Gates.
Domains of Eternals spilling into the world, leaking chaos into Aurenya.
Kael clenched his fist.
"They're waking up."
Elsewhere: Domain of Hollow Reign
A pale woman sat upon a throne of glass, her eyes blindfolded with gold chains. Around her, whispers echoed—memories twisted into song.
The First Eternal had fallen.
She felt it.
And smiled.
"So the Ashen God walks."
She raised one hand.
"Then let the second trumpet sound."
From her finger dropped a single tear.
And from it, an army of Wraithborn Heralds erupted across the continent.
Back to Kael
As night fell over Emberdeep, the party made camp. There was no real sleep anymore—not when the stars themselves were blinking out.
Kael sat alone.
He stared at the Origin Crown beside him.
Then to his blade.
Then to his hand.
And finally—
To the horizon.
He didn't know if he was a hero.
A weapon.
A mistake.
But he knew one thing:
The Eternals had ruled long enough.
And now, he was walking toward them.
Not as a challenger.
But as their executioner.