Samuel's POV
As soon as I said "Accept," a wave of light erupted from beneath my feet, rushing outward like a pulse through the cracked soil of the Silent Judgment realm. The broken skies stitched themselves momentarily into a storm of swirling cosmic hues — violet, crimson, and black — as my mark burned itself into the very fabric of this world.
---
[System Alert]
You have successfully claimed dominion over the realm: Silent Judgment.
Realm Classification: Fallen Divine Territory
Domain Effect: All stats +50% while in-domain
Passive Bonus: Regeneration Boost · Soul Stabilization · Dimensional Anchor
Additional Features Unlocked:
– Void Gate Access Points: Inter-Realm Travel Unlocked
– War Table of the Abyss: Issue summons, deploy forces
– Throne of Obsidian Verdict: Realm modifications available
---
Would you like to name your Realm?
---
I stared into the spiraling skies and couldn't help but grin.
"Yeah... Let's call it Ebonreach."
[Ebonreach – Seat of the Dark Knight] has been established]
As the last rune etched into the soil, I looked around — the battlefield now silent, charred from the divine clash. Power vibrated in my very bones, my newly forged Dark Knight – Godslayer Variant class humming with suppressed potential. The Gauntlets of Demon, now pulsing like living magma, twitched as if hungering for more.
I exhaled and muttered under my breath, "I hope this isn't the end of the road."
And just like that — as if the System heard me — another alert chimed.
---
[System Update Detected]
Realm Travel: UNLOCKED
You may now access and traverse other high-tier realms beyond the Forgotten Pantheon and Veiled Expanse.
New Realms Available:
– Realm of Eternal Hunt (Tier: Savage Primeval)
– The Cradle of Ashen Suns (Tier: Desolate Cosmic)
– Glass Labyrinth of Myrr (Tier: Mind-Curse Legendary)
– Graveforge Citadel (Tier: Undying Pantheon – Godslayer Rank)
Would you like to open a Void Gate?
---
My heart beat faster. A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth.
"That's more like it."
The Void Gate shimmered into view — tall, jagged, framed by drifting glyphs in a language even I didn't understand yet. Each path behind it pulsed with opportunity… and danger.
I looked at the swirling options, weighing them.
> "Good opponents… stronger challenges… broken limits…"
That's what I lived for now. Titles didn't matter. Not really. It was the battle. The growth. The next fight waiting just past the edge of reason.
I clenched my fist, the Godbreaker's Verdict skill lingering like fire in my veins.
---
[Realm Selected: Graveforge Citadel]
Warning: This realm is under the jurisdiction of a Primordial.
Only those bearing a Divine Core or higher may enter.
Danger Level: ???
Proceed?
---
I smirked.
"I didn't become the Dark Knight to back down."
I stepped through the gate, one foot into the unknown, the other dragging the shadow of every world I'd shattered behind me.
System:
Good luck, Samuel Gebb.
And may the gods run when you arrive.
________________________________________
Samuel's POV
Graveforge Citadel – Realm of Undying Pantheon
As I stepped through the Void Gate, the air itself changed.
It was heavier. Older. Infused with the echo of ten thousand wars that never truly ended.
The sky was ash-gray, roiling with silent lightning that forked across distant monoliths suspended mid-air. Beneath my boots, cracked black marble gave way to ancient iron plates engraved with the names of dead gods — names I could feel thrumming beneath the surface, as if the very world breathed with the rage of the forgotten.
A shiver crawled down my spine.
---
[System Notification]
Welcome to Graveforge Citadel – Seat of the Undying Pantheon.
Realm Rank: Godslayer
Current Realm Sovereign: Unknown Primordial Entity
Active Threats Detected:
– Necrotic Avatars
– Soulbound Forgemasters
– Pale Harbingers
Realm Objective: Reach the Anvil of Final Judgement.
Optional Objective: Defeat a Primordial Godslayer.
---
"Finally..." I muttered, cracking my knuckles as my gauntlets hissed to life, demonic etchings glowing crimson across the knuckles.
A chill wind carried whispers, like a choir of fading gods chanting in forgotten tongues. Each step forward echoed like a war drum. I could feel the realm testing me—every breath, every heartbeat.
It didn't take long before they found me.
The Soulbound Forgemasters.
Towering figures of obsidian and rusted steel, their heads were crowned with melted gold, and their mouths stitched shut. They moved in unison, dragging flaming hammers that howled like damned spirits.
"Let's see if you're worthy of being called 'Godslayers,'" I muttered, summoning my blade.
[Skill Activated: Reality Sever – Awakened]
The air in front of me cracked as if reality itself was being torn. I dashed forward, disappearing mid-step and appearing behind one of them, blade trailing an arc of voidfire.
CLANG!
My blade met the Forgemaster's hammer with a force that cratered the ground. Energy exploded outward, shattering nearby pillars. But he didn't fall — instead, he laughed, a low, guttural vibration that came from deep within his armor.
Another Forgemaster struck from the right. I twisted, activating:
[Skill Activated: Voidstep – Mastered]
I blinked backward just in time, dodging the hammer aimed at my chest. But their teamwork was tight. These weren't mindless enemies.
They were forged for war.
And so was I.
I raised my hand, letting the new power surge through me.
[Dark Knight Exclusive Skill: Judgment Eclipse]
– Consume surrounding shadow and void energy to release a devastating explosion of anti-divine power.
Black sigils formed around me. The temperature dropped. My silver hair rose with the energy surge. The sky screamed.
"Begone."
A burst of obsidian flame roared from my chest, swallowing the Forgemasters. They didn't scream — they simply crumbled, their massive forms reduced to smoldering relics.
[Enemies Defeated: 3]
XP Gained: +7,500,000
Soul Fragments Acquired: 12
The realm pulsed in response. Far above, a massive bell tolled once, its sound warping the air.
I looked up.
Someone… something knew I was here now.
[Warning: Domain Sovereign has taken notice of you.]
"Good," I whispered with a grin. "Let's turn this place into a grave for your entire pantheon."
I moved deeper into the citadel.
The terrain shifted. Towers curved like tusks toward the sky. Rivers of liquid soulfire flowed through runes carved into the ground. Giant statues of broken gods lined the path, weeping blood from their empty sockets.
Then, I heard it.
Applause.
A slow, deliberate clap echoing off the hollow stone.
From the shadow of a crumbled throne stepped a figure — tall, cloaked in armor made of black stardust and flickering with dying stars. His face was obscured by a helm that bore three glowing eyes.
He radiated pure dread. Not just power — legacy.
---
[??? — Godslayer Primordial: Vardaal, The Betrayer of Eternities]
Realm Status: Current Sovereign of Graveforge Citadel
Threat Level: Cataclysmic
Estimated Survival Rate: 2.5%
Objective: SURVIVE
---
"You've done well to get this far," Vardaal said, voice layered like ten voices speaking in sync. "But this citadel belongs to those who remember. Those who endured. You are neither."
I stepped forward, gauntlets brimming with red and black energy.
"Then let's see if memory can stand against destruction."
He drew a weapon unlike any I'd ever seen — a massive lance forged of collapsing stars and the shattered fragments of divine thrones.
I charged.
He moved like the world bent for him.
Steel screamed.
Power collided.
The battle had begun.
And the fate of Graveforge would burn with it.