The ruins of the Vault of the Wraith Kings lay in smoldering silence, the air thick with the residue of divine power and shattered reality. Valerian stood at the edge of the crater, his silver-white hair catching the faint glow of the fractured sky above. Oblivion's Edge pulsed in his grip, its blade still humming from the strike that had cracked Origin-Valerian's gate. His allies—Kael, Lira, Seraphina, and Selene—stood behind him, their breaths ragged, their weapons drawn but trembling in the face of the second gate's ominous light.
The system interface flickered erratically, its text glitching as if struggling to process the presence that watched from beyond the rift:
> **[WARNING: ARCHITECT PROTOCOL ACTIVE]**
> **[Objective: Reclaim the Divine Core]**
> **[Source: The Primordial Chorus]**
