The Academy burned under a fractured sky.
Ash and light rained together, swirling around the crumbling stone towers like a funeral procession.
Students scrambled for safety, teachers screamed orders, and heroes-in-training clutched their weapons — but none dared approach the heart of the destruction.
There, rising from the shattered earth, stood a figure cloaked in chaos.
It — no, they — looked human at first glance:
A child no older than sixteen, clothed in shifting robes of white and black, hair like strands of silver flame, skin pale as moonlight.
But their eyes gave them away —
One eye a blazing gold star.
The other, a bottomless black hole.
The Third Sigil burned over their chest — a swirling ouroboros of opposing forces.
The child opened their mouth, and the world itself seemed to hold its breath.
"This world is broken."
The voice was soft, almost sorrowful.
But every word carried the weight of an unstoppable avalanche.
"It chose sides where it should have chosen unity. It crowned heroes. It cast demons.
And now… it shall answer to me."
Kai stood frozen at the edge of the ruined courtyard.
The Abyss Copy System inside him screamed warnings —
but something deeper stirred, something ancient, something… familiar.
His silver eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?" Kai called out, his voice low and steady.
The child turned slowly to face him.
For a moment, their expression flickered — something almost human flashed across their face.
Sadness? Hope? Recognition?
Then they smiled — a small, devastating smile that chilled Kai more than any monster ever had.
"I am what you were meant to become," the child said.
"I am the Catalyst.
The one born when the light and darkness refused to bow.
The end of all cycles.
The first true king of a new world."
Behind Kai, Arin approached, limping, bruised, but unbroken.
Her Heroic System blazed around her, unstable but refusing to die.
"This is impossible," she whispered, horror dawning on her face.
"The prophecy… it spoke of a choice, not a being…"
The child's golden eye gleamed brighter.
"No, Hero of Light. You misread the stars.
The world never had a choice.
It only had… delay."
The Catalyst lifted a hand.
At once, the shadows and the light around the battlefield bent, bowing toward the child like loyal servants.
Students collapsed to the ground, clutching their heads as their Systems overloaded — unable to resist the magnetic pull of the Third Sigil's presence.
Only Kai and Arin stood.
Only they had tasted both light and darkness — and survived.
"You can kneel," the Catalyst said gently.
"Or you can burn.
There is no middle path anymore."
For a long moment, silence reigned.
The world seemed to freeze, holding its breath.
Kai stepped forward.
His cloak, torn and bloodstained, fluttered in the searing winds.
The Abyss Copy System pulsed weakly under his skin — almost in fear — but Kai's heart was steady.
He met the Catalyst's impossible gaze head-on.
And he smiled.
A small, dangerous smile.
"Then I guess we'll have to create one."
The Catalyst tilted their head slightly, intrigued.
The smile on their lips widened.
"Then come, Prince of the Abyss."
"Let's see if you deserve your throne."
Above them, the sky cracked.
Not thunder — not lightning.
Reality itself was breaking.
And the final war for the future of existence had begun.