With the team name set, and recruitment complete, Mythral Dawn assembled in full formation. Over twenty elite adventurers marched behind Alter, armored and ready.
Kaela led the scouts ahead, her enchanted cloak fluttering behind her. Lira walked beside Alter, her staff pulsing softly as it attuned to the mana fields ahead.
The forest twisted into something primal as they crossed the final threshold. The very trees shimmered with frost-laced bark, and glacial vines coiled around ancient roots like constricting serpents. Visibility fell to thirty meters as mist and snow swirled.
[SYSTEM ZONE NOTICE]
Location: [Dungeon – Thornveil Depths]
Biome: Frozen Verdant Abyss
Threat Level: S
Environmental Hazards:
Glacial Drift – 15% movement reduction
Wyrm Presence Detected – Mana interference active
Magic Suppression Zone – Spell effectiveness reduced by 20%
Warning: Two dormant boss-class signatures detected. One active predator-class entity approaching.
Snow spiraled through the air as Mythral Dawn came to a halt at the edge of a jagged clearing deep within the Thornveil Depths. Ice-clad roots burst from the earth like the spines of a buried titan, twisting and pulsing with ancient mana. The frost was unnaturally cold—biting into enchanted armor and chilling even the flames of conjured magic.
Kaela halted, raising her fist in the scout's signal. "Movement. Something big... underground."
Lira stepped closer to Alter, the runes on her staff reacting violently. "Something is manipulating the ley lines. This isn't natural. It's sentient."
Alter said nothing. He calmly stepped ahead of the formation and drew his sword.
Astral Requiem emerged in a slow, shimmering motion—its edge leaving trails of starlight and frostfire through the air. The divine blade pulsed with an otherworldly resonance, forged in the divine forges and tempered by his Creator Authority. The stars themselves shimmered faintly along the length of the blade—alive with stored power.
The presence beneath the ground reacted instantly.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
—Elite Dungeon Predator Awakening—
Designation: Verdant Frostcoil
Level: 172 | Class: Glacial Apex Serpent
Affinity: Nature / Ice Hybrid
Boss Traits Unlocked:
Burrow Ambush
Breath of the Frost Wilds
Aura of Rootbind (Elite) – Causes entangling vines to erupt from terrain
Cryogenic Regrowth – Rapidly regenerates in permafrost zones
"Alert: Target classified as dungeon sentinel. Killing this guardian will shift environmental parameters and unlock deeper floors."
The ground beneath them exploded.
An eruption of earth and ice sent adventurers flying as a serpentine monster burst upward—a colossal creature, its body armored in layers of glacial bark and mossy crystal. Its mouth opened wide, revealing rows of frozen fangs and a maw pulsing with emerald breath.
[BOSS ENGAGED: Verdant Frostcoil]
The screech of the Verdant Frostcoil echoed across the frozen glade. Its breath scattered ice thorns in a sweeping arc, forcing defenders behind their shields. Lira's wards shimmered under pressure. Kaela's arrows struck with precision, disrupting spellcast channels and tendon weak points.
The frozen glade trembled as Verdant Frostcoil exploded from beneath the ground, sending a shockwave of frost and debris through the air. Cries rang out, weapons drew, and formations snapped into position.
Alter remained at the rear, Astral Requiem still sheathed, his presence steady and silent—eyes locked on the battlefield. His aura worked in silence: issuing buffs, providing regenerating fields, and tracking aggro spikes through his divine link with the system.
[Passive Skills Active]
– Dragonblood Discipline: Formation Stability +15%
– Tactical Presence: Passive Healing + 2% per second to party members below 50% HP
– Battlefield Insight: Enemy Aggro Prediction Active
[Command Aura: Zone Markers Deployed]
– High-risk zones mapped
– Rearline anchor set for emergency recall
Lira and Kaela moved as a synchronized blade: Lira commanding magic formations with sharp efficiency, while Kaela darted between frostbursts and landed shots to the serpent's soft spots.
But the rhythm shattered moments later.
Three newer members—Renn, Voss, and Mikal—broke from their assigned flanks, shouting as they rushed toward the serpent's exposed underbelly.
"We'll flank it! Take the head!" Renn shouted, blade raised high.
"Think fast, aim high!" Mikal grinned, already mid-air.
"No! Fall back—idiots!" Kaela shouted.
They didn't listen.
Verdant Frostcoil reacted immediately.
Its tail cracked through the snow like a siege ram, catching all three mid-sprint. Their bodies flew across the field—Renn smashed into a frozen boulder, Mikal skidded across the icy terrain, and Voss barely raised his shield before being buried in falling snow and debris.
[WARNING: Formation Broken – Left Flank Collapsed]
[Group Defense Down: -40%]
[Enemy entering Rampage Mode]
Screams erupted from the middle ranks as Frostcoil spun in a frenzy. The frontlines faltered. One cleric was nearly trampled. The formation began to splinter.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Formation Instability Detected]
– Coordination Falling
– Buff Overlap Error (×3)
– Risk of Wipe: 43%
Alter's voice cut through the chaos like a blade:
"Wedge formation! Tanks left—casters hold middle! Redirect focus to the left leg! Kaela, blind the right eye! Lira, drop starlight veil over the front!"
The group snapped back into motion.
Kaela surged forward, eyes blazing with fury as she unleashed a flurry of frost-imbued arrows, striking the serpent's eye and forcing it back. Lira's magic enveloped the group, muting noise and veiling movement. Healers rushed in. Warriors reformed their lines.
Bit by bit—through teamwork, discipline, and determination—the tide turned.
Minutes later, the great serpent howled one final time before collapsing in a heap of shattered bark and frozen breath.
[BOSS DEFEATED – Verdant Frostcoil]
EXP Awarded. Raid Loot Generated. Dungeon Pathway Unlocked.
As the cheers rose across the battlefield, Kaela didn't join them.
She marched straight to the fallen trio—still groaning on the snow, half-healed by clerics.
"You three," she said coldly. "You broke formation. You disobeyed orders. You nearly got us all killed."
Renn winced. "We were just trying to help—"
"By rushing forward like brainless idiots?" Kaela snapped. "You caused panic. You broke the rhythm. You made the casters scramble and burned our cooldowns just to survive. If you do that again, I will shoot you myself."
The group around them went silent.
Kaela glared at them a moment longer, then straightened.
"You're lucky we're still alive. Don't mistake that for approval."
They nodded sheepishly, chastened.
"We'll do better," Voss muttered.
"You'd better."
[Hours Later – Frozen Wildheart Nest]
The team moved forward.
Their morale was quiet but steeled. After the first boss, they understood now—this dungeon wouldn't tolerate ego.
Ahead, massive roots encased in ice pulsed with mana. The air shimmered with unnatural cold. Deep within the cavern stirred the next guardian:
[BOSS DETECTED: Tyrak the Wildheart]
Level 178 | Ice-Beast Hybrid | Sentinel-Type
Behavior: Unstable | Trigger: Disruption or Aggression
Alter raised his hand. "We hold here. I'm placing a marker behind the line. No one moves until I say—"
But the trio—again—broke formation.
Without warning, they darted ahead.
"We can handle this one! Just like before!"
Tyrak stirred immediately.
Its head shot forward, fangs glowing with frostfire. The three were instantly overwhelmed—Voss's shield was shattered, Mikal's leg pierced with a crystal spike, Renn caught in an icy vine mid-air.
[CRITICAL INJURY DETECTED – PARTY MEMBERS]
[Teleportation Marker – Activated by Commander Alter]
Alter appeared beside them in a flash of light. With calm, measured force, he grabbed all three, and triggered the sigil.
They blinked to safety just as Tyrak bellowed and retreated.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Boss Reset Triggered – Tyrak Returning to Dormant State]
Progress lost. Buffs consumed. Resource depletion: 31% team-wide.
Frustration broke across the party.
Someone cursed. Another kicked a potion bottle into the wall. Mana was depleted, tempers flared.
Kaela stormed toward the trio. "Again?!"
But this time, Lira followed, her voice a whip of pure venom.
"You were warned," she said, voice trembling. "We all were. You think this is some proving ground for your egos? You're not just failing—you're dragging the rest of us with you."
Renn stood slowly, holding his bruised ribs.
"At least we're trying!" he barked. "We fight. Unlike him—" he pointed at Alter, standing in the distance with Astral Requiem still sheathed, "—who just watches from the back like a damn statue!"
Everyone turned.
Lira's eyes blazed.
"Alter's the only reason any of us are still standing. He's been healing, shielding, marking danger zones, and keeping us alive while giving you a chance to grow. You didn't notice, because you were too busy showing off!"
Kaela nodded sharply. "If he had acted, that first boss would've died in thirty seconds. But he gave you the field, and you disgraced it."
Renn looked away. The other two lowered their heads.
Alter finally walked forward. His tone was calm, but ice was layered beneath it.
"I let you fight because I wanted to see what you were capable of. You're not hopeless. But if you disobey again, you won't be in this dungeon. You won't even be in this team."
He turned his back and faced the next chamber.
"We try again in ten minutes."
As the members of Mythral Dawn scurried across the boss chamber, gathering shimmering shards of wyrmhide and rare crystal fangs from Tyrak's massive corpse, Alter remained still—his divine sword sheathed once more, his eyes narrowed.
A flicker hovered in the corner of his vision. A familiar ping echoed through his inner system field.
[SYSTEM WARNING – ACTIVE DUNGEON COLLAPSE SEQUENCE INITIATED]
Cause: Dimensional Overload (Astral Slash – Divine Tier)
Time Remaining: 3h 57m
Estimated Structural Integrity: 12%
Dungeon Layers Above/Below: Risk of Cross-Collapse
Suggested Action: Immediate Evacuation
Alter frowned.
Had he gone too far?
A single swing—enough to destroy not just the boss, but destabilize the entire region. The edges of the dungeon were fraying like threads pulled from a tapestry, one that had held its ancient magic together for centuries.
"You hesitate," Seraphina's voice whispered in his mind.
"Why?"
"I didn't mean to destroy the whole place," Alter replied inwardly. "It was meant to be a warning, not a collapse."
"Then stop it," she said plainly.
"You possess the Authority of a Creator, Alter. You may unmake... but you can also repair."
He blinked.
"You mean I can reverse the collapse?"
"Yes. If you wish to stabilize this dungeon—restore its threads of space, its leyline anchors—you need only will it through Creator Authority. But be warned... You're forcing the world to obey. There will be strain."
He took a breath, processing her words, then looked down at Lira still holding onto his arm. Gently, he tapped her hand.
"Lira," he said softly. "Step back for a moment."
She looked up at him, confused. "Why?"
"I need room."
She nodded, stepped away.
Kaela raised a brow from nearby, watching curiously. "You're not going to collapse the rest of the continent, are you?"
Alter didn't answer.
He raised his right hand.
[Accessing Creator Authority...]
> Reality Thread Access: Level 3
> Anchoring Permission Detected
> Command: CANCEL Dungeon Collapse Sequence
> Secondary Command: REPAIR Dimensional Tear (Zone: Thornveil Depths)
Warning: High mana drain. Temporal warp risk – minimal.
Confirm Command?
→ Yes.
Suddenly, the chamber pulsed with light.
The edges of the dungeon wavered. Reality itself shimmered—not with instability, but with correction. The warping space began to pulse in rhythm, like a heartbeat returning to normal. Ice that had begun to crack re-froze in perfect symmetry. Dimensional tears closed with a sound like reversed thunder.
The air grew dense.
Lira gasped. Kaela stood frozen.
They were the only ones close enough to see it happen—see Alter reach through the weave of reality and begin stitching the world back together.
He gritted his teeth. His body trembled slightly—not from pain, but from the immense pressure of forcing space and time to obey his will.
Then... it stopped.
The mana surge ended.
[SYSTEM NOTICE – DUNGEON COLLAPSE CANCELLED]
Thornveil Depths has been stabilized.
Dimensional Integrity: Restored (98%)
Leyline Flux normalized. Environmental hazard removed.
Kaela stepped forward slowly. "That... was not normal."
Lira stared at Alter with wide, unreadable eyes.
Kaela crossed her arms, eyes sharp. "What did you do, exactly?"
Alter turned toward them, composed once more. "The dungeon was collapsing. I stabilized it."
Kaela narrowed her eyes. "You stabilized a collapsing dungeon. With a wave of your hand."
He met her gaze. "I can do more than swing a sword."
She exhaled slowly, studying him in silence for a long moment—then smirked faintly. "That's going in the report."
Lira simply stepped closer again, but this time without a word. She didn't grab his arm. She just stood beside him, watching him like she was seeing him again for the first time.
Minutes later, the rest of the team finished looting Tyrak's remains.
"Materials secured," a scout reported. "Cores, boneplate, essence glands. Looks like we got everything."
Alter nodded, already composed. "Then we move. This dungeon won't wait for us forever."
There were no objections. No muttered complaints. No side comments.
Just obedience.
And the subtle, lingering awe of soldiers who had seen their commander bend reality itself—then say nothing about it.
Mythral Dawn pressed deeper into the now-stable Thornveil Depths.
Not as a team held together by titles…
But as a force beginning to understand what followed in the wake of a Creator's footsteps.
The path beyond Tyrak's chamber was different.
Thornveil Depths had always been mapped as a three-layered dungeon—each floor built like an organic labyrinth of frostbound roots and buried stone. But now, as the team ventured deeper, the walls felt cleaner. Straighter. More ancient.
Alter could feel it in his bones.
He hadn't just stopped the collapse… he had rewoven part of the dungeon's original form.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Status: Stabilized Core Detected
Note: Leyline pattern divergence – Ancient structure below detected
Pathway accessible beyond Floor Three – Entry possible via updated root system
Frostlight danced along the crystalline tunnels as Mythral Dawn moved in a tight formation. With the earlier chaos behind them, the team was more focused. Coordinated. The trio of reckless members marched silently at the rear, heads low but steps disciplined.
Kaela occasionally turned to give them a look.
They didn't speak.
At one point, a frostspike trap emerged from the ground, but the scouts detected and marked it in time. Kaela fired a precise mana arrow from Stormpiercer, shattering the trap before it activated.
[Stormpiercer – Mana Arrow Deployed]
Mana Arrow Type: Seeking – Frost Disruptor
Effect: Magical Trap Neutralized
"Good spacing," Kaela muttered approvingly. "Keep that formation tight."
After another half-hour of exploration, Alter called for a halt.
They had reached a wide chamber where roots coiled overhead like petrified veins. The team began setting up a temporary rest point. Lanterns were lit, mana rations distributed. Healers worked in quiet focus.
Kaela and Lira approached Alter, who stood apart near the edge of the chamber.
Lira broke the silence first, her tone softer than before. "You've changed."
Alter didn't turn. "How so?"
Kaela leaned against a nearby root. "You were always strong. But that display back there? Repairing space and halting a collapse? That wasn't just power. That was something else."
Alter exhaled slowly, watching frost drift through the chamber air. "I've... been changing, yes. Ever since Wyrmgate Hollow. The system isn't just responding to my growth—it's evolving with me. I'm not sure where the ceiling is anymore."
Lira stepped beside him. "Does it scare you?"
Alter nodded faintly. "Only when I realize how easily I could break something… or someone."
Kaela didn't laugh. For once, there was no smug reply. "You're holding it back. Always have."
"That's why we trust you," Lira said, gently placing her hand on his.
For a brief, quiet moment, the three stood together—warmed by something that defied the frost around them.
Then…
Alter felt it.
A whisper.
A pulse.
Something calling to his divine sense—faint, concealed.
He turned his head toward the far wall of the chamber. A strange pattern of roots overlapped there—too symmetrical, too perfect to be natural.
He stepped forward slowly, raising his palm.
[Skill Activated: Divine Sense – Echo of Creation]
The roots began to shimmer.
A glyph flickered into view, buried beneath centuries of ice.
Kaela's eyes widened. "What is that…?"
Lira whispered, "It's ancient. Older than the dungeon itself."
Alter pressed his palm to the wall.
Reality shimmered. The roots unraveled.
Behind them… a narrow passage emerged. Fractal light danced along its edges, revealing steps descending into a pale blue glow.
[SYSTEM NOTICE – HIDDEN PATHWAY DISCOVERED]
Zone: Forgotten Sanctuary of the Deep Wyrm
Classification: ???
Threat Level: Unknown
Environmental Data: Unscanned – Manual Mapping Required
You have uncovered a sealed legacy of the First Frostborn...
Kaela raised her bow. "We going in?"
Alter gave a single nod, eyes sharp.
Lira smiled faintly. "Of course we are."
He turned back to the team.
"Break's over. We've found something... unexpected."
The team rose, gripping weapons and adjusting gear.
The dungeon had changed.
But now… so had they.
The descent into the Forgotten Sanctuary of the Deep Wyrm began in near silence.
The newly revealed passage spiraled downward like the hollowed spine of some ancient titan. The walls were smoother than the rest of Thornveil Depths—etched with lines of glowing script, frozen in layers of arcane crystal and fossilized mana veins.
No monsters.
No ambient threats.
Only cold… and a rising tension none of them could shake.
[SYSTEM NOTICE – Entering New Zone]
Location: Forgotten Sanctuary of the Deep Wyrm
Threat Level: Unclassified
Environmental Shift: Null Magic Layer Detected
Certain spell types may become unstable.
Lore Fragment Unlocked:
This sanctuary predates the Collapse. It was forged in silence, guarded by the First Wyrmkin to preserve something the world was never meant to remember...
They walked in focused formation, lights dimmed, weapons readied. The floor underfoot was made of some translucent, ice-infused stone that subtly echoed their footsteps. Every breath misted in the air, but the cold here felt heavy, like it wasn't just temperature—but pressure.
After nearly an hour of descent through winding, rune-lined corridors, Alter raised a hand.
"Rest here."
The team immediately lowered packs, sat near crystal clusters, and began rotating patrol and watch duty. Quiet whispers filled the chamber, but only on the edges. Everyone knew—this wasn't a normal dungeon.
It was something forgotten.
Something sacred.
Kaela, Lira, and Alter sat at the edge of the party's perimeter, facing a raised platform lined with ancient statues. Their forms were serpentine—some humanoid, others purely draconic—guardians immortalized in silence.
Kaela pulled her hood back, letting her hair fall free, damp with cold.
Lira sat with her hands over a soft spell flame for warmth, gaze distant.
Alter remained seated between them, Astral Requiem laid flat across his lap, still humming faintly with celestial resonance.
For a while, none of them spoke.
Then Kaela broke the silence with a wry smirk.
"You know… it's strange."
Alter glanced at her. "What is?"
"This team. This mission. Us." She rolled her shoulder slowly, loosening the tension. "Back when we met, I thought you were some loner swordsman with a death wish. Figured I'd leave after one job."
Lira chuckled softly. "And I thought you were a forest-raised barbarian with no sense of social restraint."
"Still not wrong," Kaela muttered.
Alter raised an eyebrow. "You stayed."
Both women went quiet for a moment.
Then Lira answered softly, "Because you were different. Strong… yes. But not power-hungry. Not reckless. And not cruel." Her eyes flicked to him, soft and sharp all at once. "You gave people space to rise or fall on their own merit."
Kaela leaned back against the statue behind her. "And you never looked down on us. Not even when you should have."
Alter tilted his head, thoughtful. "I've failed before. I know what it's like to fall behind. I don't want a team that follows blindly—I want one that chooses to fight beside me."
Lira looked at him intently. "And when that power of yours becomes too great? When no one can keep up?"
"I'll stop walking forward."
Kaela snorted. "Liar. You'd carry the whole damn world if you thought it would help."
Lira nodded. "And we'd walk with you. Even if it meant getting burned."
Alter gave a small smile.
The flicker of starlight from Astral Requiem danced over their faces. In that quiet space, below a forgotten world, there was no war, no judgment—just warmth beneath the cold.
Lira rested her head on his shoulder without a word.
Kaela leaned over and flicked a tiny frost crystal off his cloak. "You should sleep with one eye open, hero. You're building something dangerous here."
Alter looked between them. "Something worth protecting."
They sat like that for a time.
Then…
A sound.
Click.
Barely audible. Like shifting stone behind the wall to their left.
Alter's eyes narrowed. He rose silently and approached, inspecting a nearby statue base. There, behind a thin glyph-inscribed arch, a section of the wall had moved—just slightly.
Another door.
Hidden deeper still.
[SYSTEM PROMPT – Creator Authority Resonance Detected]
Sealed Doorway Reacting to Nearby Authority
Would you like to attune?
→ Yes.
The wall shimmered, faded, and slid open soundlessly—revealing a stairwell descending into cold blackness laced with star-forged veins of silver.
Kaela stood beside him. "You've got to be kidding."
Lira stepped forward, eyes wide. "Alter… this isn't dungeon design. This is something else."
He nodded slowly.
"I know."
They hadn't reached the end of Thornveil Depths…
They had just peeled back the first layer of its buried truth.
The newly revealed stairwell yawned beneath the shattered glyph-lined wall, spiraling downward in an unlit descent carved not by hand, but by some forgotten force. The stone was darker here—smooth and veined with strands of glinting silver and pale blue crystal that pulsed faintly, like blood vessels under skin.
It felt less like they were walking… and more like they were being drawn.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Zone Transition: Entering ???
Classification: Subdimensional Layer – Creator-Class Vault
Access Level: Divine Authority Required
Warning: This area does not exist on dungeon records.
Thread of Origin detected. Proceed with caution.
Alter stepped first, Astral Requiem humming lowly at his side—not hostile, but alert.
Behind him, Kaela's boots tapped lightly on the stone, her bow partially drawn. Stormpiercer generated a thin mana arrow of soft violet, providing enough light to see just ahead.
Lira followed, staff lowered, eyes glowing softly with Arcane Vision. "The leyline pressure here… it's ancient. Older than the dungeon system. Possibly pre-collapse."
Kaela shivered slightly. "It's like the air is watching us."
Alter said nothing, but he felt it too.
This wasn't just a forgotten vault.
It was a place sealed on purpose.
They descended for minutes that felt like hours. At last, the staircase ended.
A vast chamber unfurled before them—oval and cathedral-like in shape, with towering columns of translucent obsidian ice and floating chains of crystal that stretched into the ceiling beyond sight. Suspended in the center of the chamber hovered an immense sphere, cracked in places, with a serpentine figure wrapped around it.
It was no creature of flesh.
It was a spiritual projection—a semi-transparent wyrm-like being formed from frostlight and ancient mana. Its head bowed. Its wings folded. Its body encircled the sphere like a guardian coiled in eternal slumber.
[SYSTEM ALERT – Presence Identified]
Entity Name: ???
Race: Unknown (Extinct Classification)
Status: Dormant | Incomplete | Bound
Cognitive Link Available: Yes – Creator Authority Detected
Prompt: You stand before a Forgotten Core. Do you wish to interface?
Alter stepped toward the edge of the platform.
Lira's breath hitched. "This is… not a dungeon boss."
Kaela raised her bow slowly. "Then what is it?"
Alter's eyes narrowed as information trickled in through the system like water leaking through a broken dam.
"This is not a guardian."
"It's a seal."
The floating wyrm shifted slightly.
Not in hostility.
In acknowledgment.
And as it did, something beneath the sphere pulsed—revealing a platform layered with rings of celestial runes and buried chains.
[Cognitive Key Detected – Interface Available Only to Bearer of Astral Requiem]
Warning: Unknown effects upon interaction. Spiritual compression risk. Memory bleed risk. Authority surge potential.
Kaela placed a hand on Alter's back. "You don't have to do this alone."
Lira stepped to his other side. "But you know you're going to anyway."
He gave a small smile.
"I won't activate it… not yet."
He took a step back and turned to them, away from the sleeping entity.
"We'll camp here tonight," he said quietly. "I need to think. And whatever this is… it isn't going anywhere."
They nodded. A shared understanding passed between the three.
This wasn't just another dungeon chamber.
This was something primordial, connected not only to the world's buried history—
But to Alter himself.
They began setting up camp beneath the coils of the sleeping wyrm, surrounded by frozen silence and whispers that didn't echo.
Tomorrow, Alter would decide.
Tonight… they breathed.
The crystalline chamber was still.
No wind. No echo. Even firelight seemed reluctant to flicker, held in place by an oppressive reverence that clung to the walls like frostbound dust.
They made no true camp—there was no need. The temperature remained constant, as if the area had been frozen in time as well as space. The adventurers slept several floors above, unaware of the divine presence that now loomed quietly below.
Only three remained in the chamber with the entity.
Alter, seated with legs crossed, stared at the massive sealed sphere coiled in that translucent wyrm's ethereal form.
Lira, beside him, her back resting against a fallen pillar, gaze soft and distant.
Kaela, pacing at first, eventually settled beside them—knees hugged to her chest, her bow resting against her shoulder.
Minutes passed.
Then Lira spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I can feel it breathing. Not in the air. In the leyline threads. Like it's part of the world itself."
Alter nodded faintly. "It doesn't dream. It remembers."
Kaela snorted. "Creepy. Don't like that. Way too religious for a bunch of people crawling through ice tunnels stabbing monsters."
She fell quiet again.
Another long pause passed before she continued, voice lower.
"We've seen a lot lately. Hell, most of our team just watched you slice time in half. Then you rewrote the dungeon like a damn god. And now this…" She gestured at the entity. "I guess I'm trying to figure out when exactly the rest of us stopped being part of the story."
Lira turned to her slowly. "You didn't. You just… became part of a larger one."
Kaela narrowed her eyes. "So what? We're just supporting cast now?"
"No," Alter said quietly. "You're my anchor."
Lira smiled. "He's not lying. If you weren't here, he'd already be buried under the weight of all this power."
Kaela looked away, her voice softer now. "It's just hard to stand next to someone who keeps ascending."
Alter turned toward her, something unspoken in his gaze.
"I didn't ask for divinity. I don't want to be worshiped. I want to protect. And that means walking into places like this… even if I'm alone."
"You're not alone," Lira said instantly, her voice resolute.
"Not ever," Kaela added, quieter, but just as firm.
They sat in silence after that.
Just three people surrounded by something ancient enough to forget the stars, but still grounded by the fragile warmth of each other.
After some time, Lira shifted and leaned her head gently on Alter's shoulder. Kaela did the same, leaning back against his other side with a quiet sigh.
Neither of them spoke.
Alter closed his eyes for a moment, sensing their heartbeat—synchronized, steady, alive.
He didn't know what waited behind the seal.
But he knew one thing now with certainty:
Whatever happened next, he wouldn't face it alone.
Sometime after rest, beneath timeless silence, Alter stood alone.
The glow of the runic chamber shimmered softly around him, casting long shadows across the sleeping wyrm coiled around the ancient sphere. The creature remained still, its spectral wings wrapped protectively around whatever lay sealed inside.
Kaela and Lira had stepped back, positioned near the outer edge of the sanctum—watchful, ready, yet respectful. This moment wasn't one to interrupt.
Alter placed a hand over the hilt of Astral Requiem, then slowly stepped forward.
As he neared the platform, the ambient temperature dropped. Not from elemental chill—but from expectation.
The sphere began to pulse. Dimly. Like a heartbeat.
[SYSTEM PROMPT – Creator Authority Interface Available]
Domain: Wyrmbound Vault
Core Type: Memory Capsule / Sealed Origin
Spiritual Stability: Fragmented
Command Path: Available only to Astral Requiem bearer
Warning: Legacy Integration will trigger partial resonance cascade.
→ Proceed?
→ Yes.
Alter extended his hand, and the moment his palm touched the sigil on the platform, the world changed.
Reality inverted for an instant.
Not shattered—peeled back.
[Spiritual Domain – Memory of the First Frostborn]
Light enveloped him.
He stood not in the dungeon anymore, but within an endless sky of stars and ice. Floating islands hovered around him, built from crystal and frozen time. In the distance… a colossal being stirred.
A wyrm—not made of bone or flesh, but of wind, soul, and frost.
It was ancient. Grand. Beautiful. Its voice bypassed sound.
"You who hold the Astral Requiem... You who bend threads of the world…"
"Will you listen?"
Alter nodded without hesitation.
"Then hear the First Breath."
[Lore Fragment – Unlocked]
"Before mortals. Before flame. There was breath, and there was ice."
"We, the First Frostborn, were guardians of balance—anchors between realms."
"But balance shattered. The Creator fell silent. Chaos rose. And so… we sealed ourselves."
"One survived. A Memory. A Core. A Dream sealed in frost."
The wyrm lowered its head toward Alter.
"I am that dream. A sliver of divinity forgotten by time."
"You, Astral Bearer… Creator-Touched… will now carry me forward."
"Will you accept my power? Not as a weapon… but as a story that must continue?"
[SYSTEM NOTICE – New Legacy Integration Available]
Legacy: First Breath of the Frostborn
Trait Unlocked: ❄️ Wyrmcore Echo – Gain immunity to environmental hazards related to cold and divine ruins.
New Passive Skill: Memory Within Ice – Allows you to interface with ancient sealed ruins across the realm.
New Spell: Chronofrost Domain – Create a temporary zone where time slows and magic crystallizes.
Astral Requiem has absorbed part of the Frostborn Soul.
The light faded.
The sky crumbled.
Alter blinked—and he was back.
Still in the sanctum.
Still standing before the sealed sphere.
But the wyrm around it… was gone.
Instead, a mark now glowed faintly on the platform behind him—a coiled glyph of a serpent swallowing its tail, embedded with silver threads that shimmered with eternal frost.
Lira ran up first. "Alter!"
He turned. She stopped short, seeing the faint aura still radiating off his shoulders.
"Something changed," she said, almost breathless.
Kaela approached behind her. "Don't tell me you absorbed that thing."
Alter shook his head. "Not exactly. It wasn't a monster. It was a memory. A story."
He held out his hand. A fragment of ice floated above his palm—then shifted shape into a miniature serpentine glyph before fading.
"I didn't slay it," he continued. "I became its continuation."
Kaela blinked. "Okay. That's either poetic or terrifying."
Lira stepped close, touching his arm. "Does it feel... heavy?"
Alter smiled faintly. "It feels like purpose."
The sanctum was silent once more, but it was no longer cold.
It no longer watched.
The seal was gone.
And something ancient now walked with them—woven into Alter's soul, quiet and waiting.
Mythral Dawn would move forward again soon.
But now they carried with them a secret no map recorded.
A legacy no history remembered.
And a man slowly becoming something far more than mortal…
By the time Alter, Lira, and Kaela ascended back to rejoin the team, the atmosphere within Thornveil Depths had subtly shifted.
The dungeon no longer trembled with instability. Instead, it pulsed with stillness—expectant, like a breath held just before judgment.
Alter said little. The other members of Mythral Dawn noticed something had changed in him… not visibly, but fundamentally. His presence felt deeper. More rooted. As if part of the dungeon now whispered in deference when he passed.
[SYSTEM NOTICE – Final Path Unlocked]
Designation: Throne of the Hollow Wyrm
Coordinates: Layer 4 – Hidden Domain
Warning: Final Guardian Active – Dungeon Core Proximity Confirmed
Proceeding will initiate boss-level containment protocols.
Retreat impossible after engagement.
They followed the new leyline thread carved through the frost-laden caverns—pathways that hadn't existed before Alter's intervention. Runes glowed softly beneath the floor, a silver trail that guided them like a star-bound map.
Eventually, they reached it:
A vast, glacial hall. The walls were carved from ancient permafrost—etched with serpentine reliefs, faded sigils of an empire no longer remembered. At the far end sat a frozen throne, built into the heart of a colossal, coiled skeleton—a wyrm's remains, bleached white and crystalline.
Atop the throne sat a figure.
Not alive. Not quite dead.
Encased in layered frost armor, its face hidden behind a jagged helm shaped like a draconic skull. Massive wings of shattered crystal spread from its back, unmoving. A long glaive, made from wyrm-bone and blackened steel, rested beside it.
[SYSTEM WARNING – Final Boss Detected]
Name: Sovereign of the Hollow – Velkarth, the Last Herald
Race: ??? (Wyrm-Touched Ascendant)
Level: 190
Class: Guardian of Frostbound Legacy
Traits:
– Eternal Watcher (immune to time-based effects)
– Heart of Hollow Flame (hybrid frost/fire magic)
– Domain Anchor (boss must be defeated to clear dungeon)
Behavioral Status: Dormant – Will awaken upon approach
The room was deathly quiet.
Kaela's fingers flexed over Stormpiercer, generating a trio of mana arrows without thought. "We doing this now?"
Lira took a deep breath and stepped beside Alter. "It feels ancient. Broken. Like something cursed to wait for eternity."
Alter's hand drifted to the hilt of Astral Requiem, the divine sword humming faintly in response.
"We end this," he said. "This is what we came for."
He stepped forward.
The moment his boot touched the first sigil in front of the throne—
Velkarth stirred.
The glaive lifted without touch. The throne cracked beneath him. Ice rained from above as the once-dormant being rose, spreading its wings with a sound like splitting mountains.
"I waited," it said, its voice like a dying fire carried on a blizzard.
"One who bears the breath of the First... you are not meant to exist."
The temperature dropped. Flames of blue and ash erupted around the chamber, wreathing the figure in ghostly fire.
"Prove yourself. Or become ash beneath the last frost."
[FINAL BOSS ENGAGED – VELKARTH, SOVEREIGN OF THE HOLLOW]
Dungeon Lockdown: Activated – Exit Disabled
Boss Health: █████████████████
Phase One: Initiated
"Formation now!" Alter barked, voice steady.
Kaela vanished into a side-veil of mist, arrows ready.
Lira raised her staff, casting the first wave of layered buffs: Arcane Shield, Frost Resistance, Mana Flow Amplify.
The rest of Mythral Dawn snapped into motion behind them, moving as one—tighter, stronger, and wiser than they had been days ago.
This wasn't just another dungeon.
This was a trial of legacy.
And they would meet it head-on.
The moment Alter activated the teleportation surge, the chamber behind the Throne of the Hollow Wyrm flared with white light.
And then…
Slam.
A sound like a star being forged rang out.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Throne Room Seal Engaged – Divine Combat Protocol Triggered
Access Locked: Spatial Anchors Severed
Estimated Remaining Time: Unknown
External interference: Blocked
Internal combat classification: Aether-Level Conflict
Lira hit the ground in a skid as she reappeared in the outer chamber, immediately turning back.
"Alter!" she screamed.
Kaela landed beside her and immediately sprinted toward the entrance. "No, no, NO—you idiot!"
They reached the frost-etched throne doors.
Sealed. Frozen shut.
No visible lock. No glyph to disarm. Just unyielding silence.
Lira channeled a teleport spell and slammed her palm to the gate. "Return Beacon – Manual Override!"
[Error: Access Denied. Divine Combat Barrier Active.]
Kaela struck the gate with a surge of raw mana from her bow, firing a dense pulse at point-blank range.
Nothing.
Not even a scratch.
They were locked out.
Inside the Chamber...
Alter stood at the center of a collapsing battlefield.
Velkarth surged forward again, glaive carving through the stone floor like liquid frostfire. Each blow shattered the air. Magic no longer obeyed simple rules. Physics was coming undone.
The two of them were no longer fighting like mortals.
They were tearing open the rules of the world.
"You have reached a threshold," Seraphina's voice echoed through Alter's mind, steady and crystalline.
"Velkarth is a World-Breaker Class. But so are you now."
"Then let's break it."
[SYSTEM ALERT: Divine Tier Battle – Escalation Triggered]
Astral Requiem – Sync Rate: 91%
Combat Status: System Constraints Lifted – Spatial Reinforcement Failed
Warning: Law-bound magic degrading. System instability climbing.
Velkarth spun mid-air, frost wings launching shards of compressed mana across the chamber. Alter leapt upward, vanishing in a burst of dimensional flash, then reappearing above the boss with Astral Requiem glowing like a fragment of a star.
[Skill: Astral Severance – Full Release]
Type: Spatial Cleave / Anti-Divine
Cooldown: Voidwalker Override – None
He struck downward.
Space cracked.
The dungeon ceiling didn't shatter—it unfolded, exposing a spiraling aurora of threads that only beings like them could even perceive.
"Reality is bending under your feet, Alter."
"Do not hesitate. This enemy is one of the last echoes of the age before systems."
"Then I'll end that echo."
Velkarth responded with a Frostflare Pulse, coating the floor in obsidian ice that slowed time itself.
Alter countered—not with a spell, but by overriding the law.
[Creator Command – Override: Temporal Field Dispel]
Effect: Reasserted timeflow within 12m radius
Consequence: Dimensional feedback risk... tolerated.
From the outside, Lira screamed again, pounding the gate. "Alter!! You promised you wouldn't face everything alone!"
Kaela stood beside her, eyes narrowed, shaking slightly. "Damn it. Damn you for always doing this…"
Behind them, the rest of Mythral Dawn watched helplessly. None dared approach the gate. They felt it too—the clash of gods beyond mortal comprehension.
Inside, Velkarth roared.
"You cannot contain this power forever, thief of legacy!"
Alter gritted his teeth. "I'm not a thief..."
He brought Astral Requiem into a reverse grip and launched forward.
"I'm the one it chose."
[SYSTEM NOTICE – Threshold Reached]
Astral Requiem: Synchronization Complete – 100%
True Form: Unlocked – Accessing Stellar Authority
Skill Unlocked: Celestial Dissonance – One Use Per Divine Battle
Seraphina's voice lowered, almost reverent.
"Then go, Astral Bearer. End him."
Would you like to continue with the climactic clash—Alter using Celestial Dissonance—to attempt to end Velkarth? Or would you like to cut back briefly to Lira and Kaela as they feel the moment of that power release from outside?
You said:combine both of these events. continue with the clash. During the fight, Alter uses the Celestial Dissonance. Then cut back to lira and kaela as the feel the moment the power was releasing from the outside. they backed away. Just ask they did, the cut returns to Alter using the Celestrial Dissonance to end Velkarth. ChatGPT said:
Absolutely. Here is the climactic continuation—a seamless blend of Alter's final clash with Velkarth using Celestial Dissonance, interwoven with the outside perspective of Lira and Kaela, who feel that divine power tremble through the world itself.
Chapter: Celestial Dissonance
Inside the sealed throne chamber, reality was unraveling.
The walls of Thornveil Depths no longer resembled ice or stone. They were dissolving into fractured light and twisted gravity, like a world mid-collapse. At the heart of it all, two figures moved—not as mortals, but as cosmic forces.
Velkarth, the Hollow Sovereign, burned with spectral frostfire. Each swing of his glaive carried the fury of ancient draconic legacies, severed from time. His voice echoed across dimensions.
"You wield power you do not understand! You carry a spark that defies the end!"
Opposite him stood Alter, cloak tattered, armor scraped, his breath misting in the shattered air. But his grip on Astral Requiem was steady. Divine threads spun around him. The blade no longer glowed—it radiated like the core of a star.
"Then I'll bring understanding… through the end of you."
[SYSTEM ALERT – Ultimate Authority Unlocked]
Astral Requiem: True Resonance Achieved
Skill Activated: CELESTIAL DISSONANCE
Type: Absolute Severance
Effect: Rends the boundary between existence and memory
Area: Single Target – Multilayer Cascade
Backlash Risk: Acceptable
→ Execution Imminent
Alter raised the blade high above his head. Time stopped. Not slowed—ceased.
And the sword sang.
A note rang out—pure, harmonic, and devastating. It wasn't sound. It was concept. A hymn only reality could hear.
Velkarth froze mid-lunge, his glaive suspended in warped air. His flame sputtered. The light in his skeletal helm flickered violently.
"You would invoke the origin song...?"
"So be it... Break me, Astral Bearer. But the stars will weep for you."
Outside the Throne Gate...
A tremor rolled through the corridor—no sound, no light—just pressure.
Lira's breath caught. Her staff trembled in her hand. She fell to one knee, sweat beading down her face.
Kaela stepped back instinctively, pupils shrinking.
They both felt it—the rupture of a divine law being undone.
"What... is he doing?" Lira whispered, her voice cracking.
Kaela didn't answer.
She had dropped Stormpiercer. Her hands were clutched around her ribs, as if trying to hold her soul in place.
Then they both staggered back.
A pulse blasted from the door like a collapsing sun, so powerful it warped the air—and then everything went still.
Inside...
Alter stood alone beneath a starlit void.
Velkarth hovered before him, no longer roaring—frozen in place, as if caught mid-thought, mid-defiance.
A line of silver light ran through him—from shoulder to hip.
Then—
The world broke.
Velkarth's form split apart with no explosion, no scream—only silence, like the breath before creation.
His body disintegrated into ash and starlight.
Gone.
[SYSTEM NOTICE – FINAL BOSS DEFEATED]
Velkarth, Sovereign of the Hollow – Vanquished
Astral Requiem has absorbed: Fragment of Hollow Flame
Legacy Thread Complete: Wyrmbound Cycle Terminated
Thornveil Depths – Cleared
Rewards Distributed
Exit Path Restored
Divine Rank – Increased: Celestial-Grade Recognized
Alter slowly lowered Astral Requiem.
The chamber began to rebuild itself around him.
Ice reformed. Walls re-knitted. The aurora above faded. The stars went dim.
He exhaled—and finally… smiled.
"It's done."
The final echoes of Velkarth's scream faded into silence, swallowed by the endless ice of the Hollow Sanctum. Shattered fragments of the Sovereign's divine core hovered in the air like suspended stars, slowly dissolving into trails of radiant frostlight.
Alter remained motionless in the center of the chamber, Astral Requiem lowered at his side, its divine hum fading into a low, steady thrum—like a heartbeat syncing with the world.
Then the world tilted.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION – CORE SYNC COMPLETE]
Creator Authority surpassed 6.0%
Threshold Unlocked: [Divine Architect Tier]
Initializing Trait Synchronization...
A pulse of golden light radiated outward from Alter's body. The ground beneath him shimmered as if reality itself was catching its breath.
"Alter," Seraphina's voice resonated—calmer, deeper than before, touched by awe. "You've crossed a line few were meant to see."
He didn't respond immediately, breath shallow. His body felt weightless and impossibly heavy all at once.
[NEW TRAITS UNLOCKED:]
• Worldweaver's Domain (Passive) – Physical space within 50m bends slightly to your will. Terrain hazards nullified. Structures may shift to assist allies.
• Living Blueprint (Active) – Temporarily imprint a structure or enchantment directly into the world. Lasts 10 minutes. Usable once per day.
• Divine Thread Manifestation (Passive) – All creation or repair attempts now have a chance to permanently alter the fundamental laws in affected zones. Warning: reality resistance may vary.
Alter staggered a step forward, one hand gripping his side. His heartbeat no longer sounded in his ears—it echoed in everything. The walls. The mana. The dungeon itself was… waiting.
"You're not just changing places now," Seraphina whispered. "You are beginning to shape them."
His fingers curled tighter around Astral Requiem. He exhaled a visible breath, steam curling upward into the still air.
"Is this... what it means to ascend?"
"Not yet." Her voice became softer. "But it is the path. The first true step. From here... there's no going back."
[Outside the Sanctum – Team Perimeter Camp]
Lira's hand tightened on the barrier the moment it flickered—then shattered like ice under spring sun. Kaela rushed forward first, her cloak fluttering behind her. The others followed—quiet, uncertain.
They found him standing alone, his figure dimly outlined in drifting starlight. The frost had melted beneath his feet, revealing smooth stone that hadn't seen sunlight in centuries.
"Alter?" Lira's voice was tentative. "Are you okay?"
He turned to her slowly. His eyes weren't just glowing—they were alive with layered constellations, like the cosmos itself had stitched its presence into his irises.
"I'm... still me," he said, though his voice had an undertone—something deeper, like a bell struck across eternity.
Kaela's mouth opened, then closed again. "What... the hell happened in there?"
Alter looked up toward the cracked dome above the sanctum, where light now filtered in unnaturally—like the dungeon itself had rewritten its ceiling to allow the stars through.
"I think I changed the dungeon," he admitted. "Permanently."
One of the junior warriors behind them let out a small, reverent, "...Whoa."
Lira stepped beside him, her hand brushing his, then holding it. "Then what are you now?"
He thought about it.
A moment passed.
Then he gave the faintest smile. "Still your party leader. Just... with more responsibility."
The dungeon's chill had faded. In its place, a deep, lingering quiet wrapped the team in exhausted warmth. Campfires crackled beneath the stars—stars that now shone through a sky Alter himself had revealed. The dome above the Hollow Sanctum had never opened before. Tonight, it did. Permanently.
The members of Mythral Dawn gathered in a semicircle around the main fire. Packs of rare loot rested at their sides—chests containing boss cores, froststeel essence, wyrm-hide bindings, and arcane icegems still humming with latent mana.
A soft chime echoed across their interfaces.
[SYSTEM REWARDS DISTRIBUTED – Expedition Rank: S+ Cleared]
• Mythral Dawn Reputation: +1200 (Alliance-Wide)
• Guild Favor: +2 Levels
• Unlock: [Alliance Dungeon Priority Queue]
• Team Bonus Unlocked: Sovereign's Wake – All members gain +10% resistance to decay and cold-type magic
• Individual Rewards (Scaled): Legendary-tier drops and a chance at Mythic-crafting tokens
Kaela leaned back against a boulder, her bow resting across her knees. "We actually did it," she murmured, letting her head fall against the stone. "Two bosses, divine-class enemy, complete structural collapse... and we lived."
Lira smiled faintly, seated beside Alter. "It feels like more than just a victory. Something changed."
"You mean he changed." Kaela gestured toward Alter, who was tending to a flickering blue-flame kettle at the center. "You ascended or evolved or whatever you want to call that divine light show."
Alter poured three cups—carefully, calmly—and said nothing.
Renn, one of the formerly reckless members, cleared his throat awkwardly from across the fire. "Commander... I mean, Alter," he started. "I know we messed up a lot. But I just wanted to say... thanks for not kicking us out."
A murmur of agreement followed. Even the younger members—still bruised from their mistakes—nodded solemnly.
Alter handed a cup to Lira, then Kaela, and finally sat down himself. The flames reflected in his cosmic-tinted eyes, but his voice was grounded.
"We all made mistakes. But we learned." He looked around the group, locking eyes with each of them. "That's what matters."
Lira leaned forward slightly. "This can't just be a one-time success. If we want Mythral Dawn to mean something, we have to grow stronger—together. That means strategy, trust, discipline."
Kaela raised a brow. "And more funding. I want our backliners to stop wearing stitched rags from bargain bins."
There was a round of soft chuckles.
Alter nodded. "After we return to Celestia, we'll start restructuring. Formal squads. Role rotations. Weekly simulations. I'll help anyone who wants to specialize—magic crafting, survival tactics, formation tech."
"I'll handle bow and terrain training," Kaela added. "Especially with stealth and recon. Our scout unit needs work."
Lira tilted her head. "And I'll run magical resilience drills. Spell layering, arcane resistance, caster triangulation. The works."
One of the new rogues raised a hand. "Will we still be clearing S-rank dungeons?"
"Yes," Alter answered. "But next time, you won't be watching from the back. You'll be ready."
A quiet pride settled into the group—no loud celebrations, no over-the-top bravado. Just the sharp glimmer of belief.
Kaela finished her tea and exhaled deeply. "So what's next?"
Alter didn't answer right away. He looked up at the stars, then down at the edge of his sword, resting nearby.
"There's something stirring. Beyond this region. Bigger than Velkarth. Bigger than this continent."
Lira's gaze sharpened. "You've seen it?"
He nodded slowly. "Faint echoes. Glimpses. A place not marked on any map. Something the world has forgotten."
Kaela leaned forward. "Then we'll go find it."
He looked at both of them—and then the rest of his team.
"We're not just adventurers anymore. We're the first wave of something new. Mythral Dawn isn't just a name. It's the start of a legacy."
The firelight flickered higher for a moment, carried by a gust of starlit wind.
And above them, the dungeon sky opened fully—revealing constellations not seen by mortal eyes in centuries.
Meanwhile.... In an unknown dark location.
Far from the light of cities and sanctified lands, deep beneath the veil of mortal sight, a chamber stirred.
There was no stone, no architecture—only a yawning blackness shaped by will. The air was dense, thick like the silence before a scream.
In the center of that nothingness sat a throne of obsidian root and shattered divinity. Upon it, a figure slumped—tall, inhuman. Two great horns curled from either side of its head like eclipsed crescent moons. Its limbs were still, skeletal in elegance, as though carved from void and bone.
Then it twitched.
A slow breath rasped into existence.
Crimson eyes snapped open—glowing like twin dying stars—and bathed the chamber in bloodlit haze.
The being raised its head, lips curling into something between fury and intrigue. Its voice rumbled like a buried faultline cracking open.
"…It stirs again."
A shadow shifted nearby—no footsteps, no sound. Another figure emerged from the gloom, clad in jagged black robes that flowed like oil in water. His face was obscured, but his aura spoke of ancient command.
"My lord," the second figure said, bowing slightly, "the echo resonates across multiple threads. Creator Authority... has breached the Sixth Threshold."
The horned figure exhaled sharply through his nose. "Ten thousand years. Not since the fall of Veyron the Luminous... has such convergence occurred."
There was a silence, heavy with memory.
"The last time," he said slowly, "a god was born. And our balance... shattered."
The dark-robed being's voice remained unreadable. "Should we intervene?"
"Not yet," the horned figure growled. "But find the source. Now. The bearer of this Authority is not to be ignored."
"If they ascend?" the second asked.
The crimson eyes narrowed.
"Destroy them."
The figure bowed deeper and dissolved into the shadows—gone in an instant, leaving only the hum of raw dread behind.
The horned sovereign leaned back in his throne. The darkness around him seemed to tighten, respond to his thought like a living shroud.
He closed his eyes again, and the void pulsed once.
"Let the light rise once more," he whispered. "This time... we will greet it with fire."