Arc 4 — The Vessel of Yggdrasil
Chapter 21 — The Council of Resolve, The Trump Cards Unleashed
Aftermath Council
The fortress's war room was heavy with exhaustion. Maps of the labyrinth still glowed with lingering anomalies, while relics from Neo's gacha rolls lay scattered across the table.
Steve leaned forward, eyes sharp despite his fatigue.
"We held the line. But those relics… they weren't just tools. They rewrote how we fought."
Natasha crossed her arms. "And they dropped at random in the middle of a siege. If Neo hadn't redirected half of them to us… we'd have been buried."
Tony smirked, holding up a half-integrated relic gauntlet. "Random or not, I'm keeping this. Best loot box I've ever opened."
Velgrynd's gaze was harder, fire flickering in her eyes.
"But the corruption wasn't acting alone. That pattern—its adaptation speed, its anchor points. It felt too familiar."
Wanda shivered, her voice soft. "It was familiar. Same resonance as the one who's haunted every mission since the beginning…"
The room fell silent.
Neo's golden and crimson eyes narrowed. "The transmigrator."
The Reveal
The fortress trembled. Darkness bled across the war room's walls as the air itself cracked open.
A figure stepped through—cloaked in distortion, aura heavy with corruption. The Lord God Space Transmigrator.
His voice was mocking, dripping with arrogance:
"You won a skirmish. Congratulations. But no gacha roll, no relic, no path can change the truth. I am the will of Lord God Space. This 'game'… is mine."
Civilians across worlds felt his projection ripple. Armies faltered. Even commanders clenched their fists at the oppressive weight.
But Neo didn't flinch.
The Lesson Learned
Neo rose from his seat, Aeternus Cocoon humming like a storm about to break. Around him, the Aeons manifested one by one.
Lan, bow drawn like a constellation.
Qlipoth, staff glowing with crystalline eternity.
Aha, laughter crackling with paradox light.
Nous, eyes burning with creative equations.
Yaoshi, blossoms blooming with defiant life.
Velgrynd, dragonfire swirling like a crown.
Neo spoke, voice steady, carrying across the fortress.
"Last time, you blindsided us. We hesitated. We underestimated you. That mistake ends today."
Lan's voice joined his. "The Hunt never misses its prey twice."
Qlipoth rumbled. "Preservation adapts."
Aha grinned. "And joy multiplies when repeated."
Nous whispered. "Truth is not found. It is created."
Yaoshi lifted their hand. "Life does not wither twice."
The air vibrated with rising power.
The Trump Cards
The Aeons unleashed.
• Lan: Eternal Constellation Barrage — arrows multiplied into infinite threads of light, every trajectory inevitable, every strike a promise of justice.
• Qlipoth: Infinite Bastion — crystalline barriers layered endlessly, forming a fortress that even reality-breaking corruption could not pierce.
• Aha: Absurdity Collapse — paradox laughter rewrote logic itself, twisting the transmigrator's corruption into harmless farce.
• Nous: Equation of Origin — an algorithm that inverted the transmigrator's very presence, destabilizing his anchor points in reality.
• Yaoshi: Bloom Eternal — blossoms of permanence bloomed across the void, turning corruption into thriving gardens.
• Velgrynd: Primordial Dragon Inferno — flames that even True Dragons feared, searing away corruption's roots.
And at the center, Neo raised Aeternus, channeling both Trailblaze and Permanence. His trump card ignited:
"Redefinition Surge — Trailblaze Beyond Chains."
The Cocoon rails split into a cosmic pathway of infinite possibilities. Neo's strike wasn't a weapon—it was a rewriting of destiny itself.
Clash
The transmigrator's face twisted.
"You dare—AGAIN?!"
He unleashed his full corruption, calling down avatars of collapsing worlds, swarms of devouring void-beasts, storms of adaptation.
But this time, there was no hesitation.
Lan's arrows pierced the beasts before they spawned.
Qlipoth's walls nullified the storm.
Aha turned avatars into absurd caricatures, dissolving them with laughter.
Nous rewrote adaptation into self-destruction.
Yaoshi's blooms erased the void.
Velgrynd's flames burned the corruption anchor directly.
And Neo's Redefinition strike cut through the transmigrator's essence, severing his link to Lord God Space.
The fortress quaked with the impact.
Aftermath
Silence.
The transmigrator's projection staggered, form flickering. For the first time, his arrogance faltered.
"This… is not over… you cannot… erase destiny…"
He dissolved into distortion, retreating back into the cracks of corruption.
Neo exhaled slowly, Cocoon dimming. "Maybe not erase it. But we'll redefine it. Every time."
The Aeons stood with him, their trump cards shimmering like promises. The council chamber, once fractured by despair, now burned with resolve.
The war wasn't over. But for the first time… they had struck first.
✨ End of Chapter 21 — Canon Locked ✨
Arc 4 — The Vessel of Yggdrasil
Chapter 22 — Retaliation: Purify, Collect, Forge
Strike Without Delay
The fortress gates hadn't cooled from the Aeons' trump card strike when the counteroffensive began. No rest. No hesitation.
Zhongli's command rang through the alliance channels:
"Do not wait for their next move. We strike the corruption at its root."
Armies mobilized, wings of teleportation sigils unfolding across the battlefield. Squads deployed in tight formation, every player burning with fury.
Neo raised Aeternus Cocoon, golden-crimson light streaming upward. His voice cut through the chatter:
"We're not waiting for another siege. We end this now."
Purification March
The corrupted stronghold loomed on Aincrad's 70th floor—a citadel twisted into jagged obsidian, pulsating with the Transmigrator's residue.
As the alliance advanced, corruption surged to meet them—armored horrors, glitch-wolves, void-born anomalies.
But this time, they didn't hold. They purified.
• Lan's arrows streaked like meteors, piercing corruption cores before they hatched.
• Qlipoth's bastions erased entire anomalies with collapsing crystal matrices.
• Yaoshi's blossoms spread like wildfire, replacing decay with overflowing life.
• Velgrynd's dragonfire scoured infection down to its root code.
• Neo's Cocoon surged endlessly, Trailblaze and Permanence entwined in a tide that left not corruption, but clarity.
Every strike redefined the battlefield. The fortress itself began reverting, obsidian walls shifting back toward their original digital marble.
The Hunt for Relics
As enemies fell, their remains crystallized.
World-class items—corrupted but retrievable—sparkled across the broken ground. Grimoires, relic-weapons, shards of Yggdrasil code itself.
Kirito grabbed a crystalline blade, gasping. "This… this is stronger than anything I've seen drop before."
Kiana stuffed loot into her inventory with manic laughter. "It's Christmas, but the tree's screaming at us!"
Meanwhile, the chat group feed lit up with a flood of notifications:
[System – Chat Group Data Bank]
• World Class Item Recovered
• Forbidden Spell Extracted
• High-Tier Ability Recorded
Seraphina's voice echoed across everyone's comms, calm but edged with excitement:
"Accelerate collection. Every scrap matters. The forging process of our vessels requires complete data alignment."
Forging on the Horizon
Neo landed beside Zhongli as they cut down another anomaly wave. His Cocoon light pulsed brighter than before.
Neo: "Each relic we collect… it feeds into the forging, right?"
Zhongli (nodding gravely): "Yes. Every fragment, every spell. We are rebuilding not just power—but identity."
From the rear, Aha cackled. "And isn't it glorious? Loot for purpose, data for destiny, chaos feeding into creation!"
Nous added quietly: "The acceleration is already noticeable. The data web is threading faster than projected. Soon… the vessels will no longer be theory."
Core Assault
At the heart of the corrupted stronghold, the alliance reached the Corruption Core Nexus.
It pulsed like a black heart, each beat distorting the system UI. Dozens of Iron Fang remnants fused into its surface, their screams digitized into static.
Neo stepped forward, Cocoon raised. "This ends here."
The Aeons spread into formation. Every player tightened their grip.
The nexus opened like an eye. A flood of corruption horrors poured out.
And the retaliation became a war of annihilation.
Chat Group Surge
As the battlefield raged, the group feed filled with rolling alerts:
[Data Acceleration: Vessel Forging – 43%]
[New Integration Path: Purification Protocols Applied]
[Aeonic Anchor Points Linked Across All Users]
Kiana, between shooting down horrors, whooped into the mic:
"Guys, we're literally farming our future selves here! Don't slack!"
Neo smirked grimly, Cocoon blazing hotter. "Then let's forge it with fire."
Closing Beat
The core screamed as the Aeons unleashed in unison, purifying the fortress stronghold piece by piece.
Every relic, every ability, every shard of code fed into the acceleration.
And for the first time, the alliance wasn't just surviving the transmigrator's corruption.
They were stealing its future.
✨ End of Chapter 22 — Retaliation Begins ✨
Arc 4 — The Vessel of Yggdrasil
Chapter 23 — Forging the Future
1. The Silence After
The corrupted stronghold's heart flickered out. The black nexus collapsed inward, dissolving into streams of purified data that scattered like starlight across the sky.
The battlefield fell quiet.
For a moment, only the ragged breathing of alliance members echoed across the comms. The ruined citadel, now reverting to pristine Yggdrasil marble, gleamed faintly like an afterimage of victory.
Kirito sheathed his blade, whispering: "It's… over?"
Neo didn't answer. His Cocoon pulsed, still tethered to lingering data threads spiraling upward. Raphael—no, Seraphina—spoke in his mind:
Notice: Purification successful. Secondary protocols activating. Vessel forging sequence has been accelerated beyond initial projection.
2. System Shift
Suddenly, the system interface blazed across every player's vision.
[System Notification: Dimensional Synchronization Achieved]
[World Code of Yggdrasil: Updating… 1% → 20% → 60% → 100%]
Shockwaves rippled through the alliance.
Status bars, skill trees, even inventory menus flickered and recompiled. Hidden options appeared—slots for Vessel Integration, Aeonic Anchors, and Corruption Resistance.
Asuna gasped, scrolling through her menu.
"These aren't just upgrades… the entire system just rewrote itself!"
Kiana spun her pistols, eyes wide. "Wait wait wait—there's a 'Restraint Combat Protocol' toggle now? Like a difficulty slider for… not breaking the world?"
Zhongli's expression remained unreadable, but his voice carried weight:
"This is not a patch. It is a metamorphosis."
3. The Vessel Forge
At the alliance's center, a new construct materialized—an ethereal forge, burning with fractal light.
[Chat Group Exclusive Function: Vessel Forge Online]
[Progress: 48% → 56%]
Neo and the Aeons stepped closer. Data streams from collected relics, spells, and abilities poured into the forge, weaving together like strands of fate.
Nous' mechanical tone resounded:
"This is confirmation. The chat group is forcing Yggdrasil to evolve alongside us."
Velgrynd narrowed her eyes, flames licking across her scales.
"And once the forge completes… our vessels will no longer be shadows in code. They will be anchors across worlds."
4. New Power Framework
Players tested their upgraded systems with awe:
• Himeko triggered her blade's new resonance slot, fusing fire with radiant energy.
• Kirito and Asuna unlocked synchronized skills—duals that scaled off each other's timing.
• Kiana's pistols now revealed a corruption-detection overlay, bullets sparking brighter against tainted foes.
• Even weaker squads found new tabs labeled Potential Paths and Vessel Affinities.
The weak no longer felt useless; the system itself was pushing them upward.
Himeko wiped her brow, smiling faintly. "They're… giving everyone a chance to grow."
Neo clenched his fist. His Cocoon resonated with the forge, brighter than before. "No. Not giving. Forcing. The system doesn't want us weak anymore."
5. The Unease
As everyone celebrated their sudden surge in power, Seraphina's voice cut sharply across Neo's mind.
Caution: This systemic rewrite is not solely our doing. External interference detected.
Neo froze. "…You mean the Transmigrator?"
Correction: Not directly. Residual coding from Lord God Space frameworks remains embedded. The vessel acceleration is efficient—but compromised.
His eyes narrowed. Around him, the others laughed, tested new skills, or cheered their upgrades. Only the Aeons noticed his silence.
Zhongli met his gaze knowingly. "Every boon carries a shadow, Neo. We must tread carefully."
6. Closing Beat
The Vessel Forge pulsed one last time before stabilizing.
[Vessel Progression Locked: 57%]
[Warning: External Resistance Imminent]
Neo lifted his head, Cocoon blazing. "Then let them come. If the system's rewriting itself, we'll master it before they corrupt it again."
The guild cheered, new power humming in their veins.
But deep inside the freshly rewritten Yggdrasil, something stirred. Watching. Waiting.
✨ End of Chapter 23 — Forging the Future ✨
• Neo's Aeon powers, Cocoon of the End, and Manas: Seraphina are consistent.
• The chat group members' abilities reflect their training, their refined teamwork, and their use of restraint-based vessel combat inside Yggdrasil.
• The Iron Fangs and the corruption tied to Lord God Space / Transmigrator remain central.
• The Forge of Vessels and its "last blockage" fits naturally as the climax of this mission chain.
Here's the corrected rewrite of Chapter 24:
Arc 4 — The Vessel of Yggdrasil
Chapter 24 — Last Blockage, Unleashed
1. The Vessel Forge Reaches Its Limit
The Vessel Forge roared like a second sun above the labyrinth. Its radiance bent the sky, streams of data pouring into radiant circuits that spread across the battlefield.
[System: Vessel Completion — 78% → 95%]
[Warning: Last Blockage Detected.]
The Iron Fangs weren't finished.
Rifts split open across the labyrinth's shifting halls, disgorging their ultimate force: data-corrupted guardians—fragments of the world system itself bent into living armor. Wraiths formed from broken code, draconic abominations stitched with corruption, and shadows of long-dead Yggdrasil players twisted into mockeries.
Velgrynd's flames coiled like golden serpents. "They've gambled everything on this blockade. If we break it—our Vessels complete."
Neo's Cocoon pulsed violently, Seraphina's calm voice resonating within:
Affirmative. Last obstruction identified. Recommended protocol: full combat release.
Neo exhaled slowly, eyes sharp. "Then we stop holding back."
2. The Blockage Army
The battlefield warped under the weight of the last defense.
• Titan Wraiths the size of towers, their strikes warping gravity itself.
• Corrupted Drakes, wings dripping with void flame.
• Phantom Commanders, echoes of Yggdrasil's golden age players, each armed with corrupted versions of world-class items.
The last blockage wasn't a single foe—it was a crucible designed to break their alliance.
3. Aeons and Heroes Break Their Chains
The battle ignited.
• Neo surged forward, Aeternus splitting into tri-form shifts mid-strike, his Cocoon channeling both Trailblaze and Permanence. Each slash carved entire squads of wraiths into purified fragments.
• Zhongli anchored the labyrinth walls with geo pillars, forcing the corrupted army into chokepoints. His calm voice steadied the flow of battle: "Hold the line. Let no corruption spill beyond."
• Velgrynd became a blazing comet overhead, her Dragon Purification Blaze melting corrupted drakes into nothing but ash.
• Nous unfolded data fractals, rewriting enemy formations in real time, stripping the Phantom Commanders of their false world-class item boosts.
Behind them, the guild squads and Avengers unleashed their refined teamwork:
• Steve and Natasha executed seamless shield-and-strike rotations, cutting through Phantom assassins.
• Thor's purified lightning cascaded with Velgrynd's flames in a storm-dragon duet.
• Tony and Bruce synchronized gamma pulses with purification alloy blasts, obliterating enemy artillery lines.
• Kiana, Asuna, Himiko, and Bell all showed restraint-trained Vessel combat, their every blow heavy but perfectly measured to avoid fracturing the simulation.
The battlefield was no longer chaos—it was a symphony of coordinated destruction.
4. The Core Colossus
From the rift at the heart of the labyrinth, the Blockage Core emerged.
A colossus of corrupted system data, wielding a greatsword forged from Yggdrasil's own broken roots. Every swing shredded corridors into raw void, trying to erase both allies and enemies alike.
Its roar shook the forge itself:
"THE VESSELS SHALL NOT BE COMPLETED."
The corrupted echo of the system—the will of Yggdrasil under the Transmigrator's influence.
Neo raised Aeternus, Cocoon burning brighter. His voice was steady, cold:
"…Then you'll be the first thing we purge."
5. The Last Clash
The colossus swung—its strike splitting the labyrinth into collapsing layers.
Neo met it head-on, Cocoon flaring with Azathoth's abyss and Turn Null's collapse, while Seraphina guided his every move. "Angle forty-five—disrupt the root code, not the structure."
Behind him, the alliance moved in perfect synchronization:
• Velgrynd's fire wrapped around Neo's strike, igniting the colossus' sword-arm.
• Zhongli pinned its legs with geo lances, anchoring it into the labyrinth floor.
• Nous rewrote its shielding into fragments the guild commanders could shatter.
• Wanda and Strange stabilized the collapsing corridors, keeping the battlefield intact long enough for the final strike.
"Now!" Neo roared.
Aeternus shifted through its tri-forms—blade, spear, bow—before coalescing into a pure Cocoon Edge. With one final swing, he cleaved the colossus in two.
6. Completion
The colossus dissolved into fragments of corrupted light. The Forge roared, chains snapping free.
[System: Last Blockage Eliminated.]
[System: Vessel Completion — 100%.]
[Integration Protocol Initiated.]
Everyone felt it.
Their Vessels weren't just game constructs anymore. They fused into their souls, their growth, their destinies. Powers once restrained by Yggdrasil's rules now pulsed freely, transcending the game itself.
The battlefield fell silent—until the Forge's core light engulfed them, marking their victory.
Neo floated above the labyrinth, Cocoon blazing like a star, Seraphina's voice calm but certain:
Forging complete. Vessels awakened. The game is no longer your cage—it is your foundation.
Neo exhaled, lowering Aeternus. His voice carried across every channel:
"It's done. The Vessels are ours. And from now on—we fight on our own terms."
✨ End of Chapter 24 — Last Blockage, Unleashed ✨
Arc 4 — The Vessel of Yggdrasil
Chapter 25 — The Forge Complete, The Path Opens
1. The Announcement
The last fragments of corrupted data dissolved into the abyss, leaving only silence within the vast halls of the Forge.
Then, the Chat Group interface flared.
[Chat Group System Announcement]
— All Vessel Data has been successfully gathered.
— Integration completed across all dimensions, universes, timelines, and realities.
— Yggdrasil's power system has been collected and archived.
— Vessels may now be entered.
Every member felt it. Their Cocoon-born shells, painstakingly refined through battle, weren't just constructs anymore. They were true vessels — transcendental frameworks that would carry their identities, powers, and growth across any reality they stepped into.
Asuna whispered, eyes wide:
"…So this means… no matter where we go—our powers, our selves—will remain?"
Seraphina's voice answered calmly through Neo:
Correction: not merely remain. They will evolve, without limit.
2. The Exit from Yggdrasil
The radiant floor of the Forge split open, forming spiraling data paths that converged into luminous gateways.
One by one, members felt their bindings to the simulation unravel. Their avatars, once bound by Yggdrasil's rules, now merged seamlessly into their newly-forged Vessels.
• Kiana's aura burned brighter, threads of Herrscher power no longer constrained.
• Zhongli's presence deepened, his dominion over geo resonating far beyond simple world rules.
• Tony's armor and Bruce's research lit with infinite potential, every invention now scalable across realities.
• Velgrynd's draconic essence sang as if it recognized the shift, fire flowing freer than ever.
And Neo… Neo's Cocoon of the End pulsed like a second heartbeat. The tri-form Aeternus hummed with resonance, as if waiting to be tested in a world where restraint no longer mattered.
3. Veldanava's Message
Just as the last gateway formed, light rippled in the air. A voice—warm, infinite, ancient—filled the Forge.
"You have done well."
The image of Veldanava, the Ancient Creator, flickered into being. His presence was not overwhelming, but absolute, the kind that stilled even Aeons.
He looked directly at Neo.
"From the moment you touched the Cocoon, I knew your path would reshape what even I had left unfinished. You carry both the weight of a True Demon Lord and a True Hero, and with the Cocoon's evolution, you now carry more. You have forged a branch of possibility that no god foresaw."
Veldanava's gaze turned to the alliance.
"The Vessels you have completed are no longer bound to one system. They are bridges. Anchors. Across multiverses, across timelines, across worlds—you are yourselves, always. That is your strength."
The Forge trembled as his tone grew solemn.
"But your trial does not end here. Beyond this place lies the Tensura True Multiverse. My multiverse. There, corruption is older and more insidious. There, your enemies are not merely Transmigrators—but gods who covet the power you now wield."
He extended a hand.
"Enter. Evolve. Prove your growth, and shape the multiverse that even I, in my twilight, could not safeguard alone."
4. Stepping Forward
The chat group went silent for a long moment. No one spoke—but every heart burned with the same fire.
Neo smirked faintly, Aeternus resting on his shoulder. "Well… you all heard the big guy. Time to see what we're really made of."
Steve tightened his shield. "Then let's do it together."
Velgrynd laughed, flames igniting at her wings. "Hah! Finally—a stage worthy of us."
Kiana's fists clenched, her smile equal parts reckless and determined. "Saint Freya trained me for this—I won't fall behind."
The gateways pulsed.
[System: Transfer Initiated.]
[Destination: Tensura True Multiverse.]
As the light swallowed them, Neo felt Seraphina's voice whisper one last time:
Trailblaze and Permanence converge. The path ahead is yours.
5. End of Arc Transition
The Forge collapsed into pure light as the alliance was carried beyond Yggdrasil.
They had entered the game to forge their Vessels.
Now, with those Vessels complete, they were leaving it behind.
The next stage awaited.
The Tensura True Multiverse.
✨ End of Chapter 25 — The Forge Complete, The Path Opens ✨