Chapter 21: The Weight of Silence
The light of the imperial skies dimmed behind Leon as the doors shut with a thunderous finality. He found himself on the back of the imperial beast once more, high above the clouds, the Executioner wordless beside him
But something had changed.
Leon clutched his chest not in pain. But in weight. The whisper was gone. Silence now echoed inside him, as if the voice had merely stepped aside, waiting. Watching.
Below them, the mortal realms sprawled. Familiar mountains, smoking battlefields, rivers of qi-light flowing through valleys. But Leon no longer felt like he belonged.
>System Notification:
Trial completed
[Origin Fragment II - Locked]
Condition to unlock: Confront the Grave once more
His fists clenched. "You're still holding back", he muttered, not sure if he spoke to the system, the Emperor, or the voice.
The Executioner finally spoke. "What you carry.... it reeks of something ancient. Something the Emperor once feared. I don't envy you Leon Voss"
Leon said nothing. Fear was for the weak. But uncertainty? That was poison
The beast landed in a remote glade, where Crimson Lotus, Garrik Kain, and a few surviving mercenaries waited. Their camp was war-torn, bandages and broken weapons strewn about.
Crimson Lotus rose first, her expression unreadable. "You came back."
Leon nodded, but something in his gaze had changed. Colder. Distant. "Barely."
Garrik scoffed. "Looks like the heavens didn't chew you up after all."
Leon met his eyes. "Not yet."
Crimson Lotus stepped closer. "Did he tell you what you are?"
Leon's silence was answer enough.
She frowned. "Then you understand now why they'll all come for you."
"The system, my bloodline, my choices. It doesn't matter," Leon said. "I'm done waiting. It's time i stop reacting."
Garrik nodded approvingly. "You speak like a warlord now."
Crimson Lotus looked unconvinced. "Or like someone dancing too close to the abyss."
That night, as Leon slept in a shallow trance, his body twitched, drenched in sweat, In his dream, he stood on the edge of a vast cliff , overlooking a shattered sky.
A shadow loomed beside him. Horned, faceless, wrapped in void flame.
"You passed the first gate," it whispered. "Now you must choose.... how much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice?"
Leon turned to face it. "what are you?"
"I am what you unlocked," the shadow replied. "And what will come for you next."
When Leon awoke his hand throbbed. Burned into his palm was a black sigil. The mark of the Forsaken Grave.
>New Ability Unlocked: Void Brand
Passive effect: You are now visible to all entities connected to the Old Void.
He stared at the mark, heart hammering.
Enemies would come. But so would answers.
Far from the battlefield, a cloaked figure kneeled in a crimson temple. Before her, a mirror shimmered with Leon's image. She smiled.
"So the storm has begun."