When fate reaches too soon, time bleeds.
---
Abyssal Crown – After the Unsealing
The palace had begun to collapse.
Not through destruction, but evacuation. As though the world itself wanted nothing to do with what had just awakened.
> [System Warning: Dimensional Stability Falling – Collapse Imminent in 3:00]
Adexander turned without a word. His cape caught in a non-existent breeze as the air twisted, urging them toward escape.
Kaien sprinted after him. "Not to sound like a coward, but I vote we leave now and scream about it later."
Raik grunted. "Seconded."
Velessia hovered above the stairs, her voice calm. "Portal forming. I'll hold it."
They ran. The flames chased them. Shadows wailed from the halls behind them—remnants of the Forgotten Guard, dissolving into nothing. At the gate, the Fangblade pulsed once and then quieted.
Adexander turned once before stepping through.
And in the throne room's last second, he heard the faintest whisper:
> "He's waking up too."
---
System Intermission – Unknown Plane
> [Name: Drevan]
> [Status: Fragmented… but coalescing.]
> [Last Seal Broken: Crimson Protocol Initiated.]
A ripple spread across all System-linked realms.
Players paused. Gates flickered. Dungeon AI stuttered. Across the world, crimson threads appeared in the sky—signals of something ancient reawakening.
And in the heart of a city far from Gravehold, a girl looked up.
Her eyes shimmered.
Her voice, soft but clear:
> "He's almost ready."
Her name wasn't listed.
Not yet.
But the world would come to know her as Hope.
---
Gravehold – Return Point
They stumbled out of the portal, smoke trailing behind them. The ground was firm. The air was real.
Raik dropped to his knees. "I officially hate teleporting."
Kaien collapsed onto a rock. "I think part of my soul's still in there."
Velessia remained silent, staring back at the rift. It pulsed once—and vanished.
Adexander stood alone, staring into nothing. The Fangblade at his side had changed—slightly longer. Blacker. Hungrier.
> [Bloodforge Core Resonance: 41%]
> [Locked Skill Approaching Unseal Threshold.]
Raik broke the silence. "So. What now?"
Adexander's eyes narrowed.
> "Now?"
> "Now we prepare."
> "Something is watching. Something is coming."
---
Elsewhere – Across the World
A figure walked barefoot through a silent battlefield of frozen corpses. Not a single enemy had fallen naturally—each was frozen in time, their faces twisted in agony.
He stopped at a mirror, half-buried in ice. Looked into it.
Smiled.
> "Adexander…"
> "We're nearly there."
The mirror cracked.
And Drevan walked on.