Chapter 64 (Part 16 )
The Core Chamber had become a storm beyond reality
lightning twisted with violet flame, collapsing entire dimensions in flashes of divine chaos.
Alok and Extera blurred through the air, clashing faster than sound, faster than thought.
Each blow tore the fabric of the labyrinth, hurling shards of glowing stone into the void.
Their roars echoed like dueling gods.
Extera: "You fight without purpose! All this power and you still don't understand what you wield!"
Alok: "I don't need to understand… I just need to end you!"
A pulse of energy split the floor in two. Lightning met flame, devouring one another in a storm of annihilation.
And through that chaos
Something whispered inside Alok's mind.
Soft at first.
Familiar.
Warm.
The Pendant's Voice
"Alok… take it. Take the Devourer's crystal heart. His core is the key… to healing Rihan."
The voice was gentle, almost kind like a memory speaking from his chest.
It came from the shattered pendant that still hung against his armor, glowing faintly beneath the dirt and blood.
Alok froze mid-step, breathing hard.
"You… you're…"
The pendant pulsed once gold and blue its fractured surface resonating with the rhythm of his heart.
"You can save him," the voice coaxed. "All you must do… is claim the Core. It belongs to you."
A surge of emotion hit him hope, confusion, fury.
Was it his imagination? Or was it something else guiding him?
He didn't know.
He didn't care.
Because when he looked toward Rihanbleeding, unmoving on the cracked floor
his rage turned molten.
"Extera… I'll tear out your heart myself!"
The Unseen Vision
Alok charged again his speed surpassing light itself. His chains burned like suns, forming luminous halos behind every strike.
Extera countered, wings flaring wide, each flap sending waves of violet destruction.
Their fight reached the realm's limit.
Every movement became pure instinct, pure will.
And then something shifted in Alok's eyes.
The world slowed.
The noise faded.
For a heartbeat, everything was still.
He could see through Extera.
Past the flames. Past the armor. Past the flesh.
And there within the Devourer's chest was a pulsing shard of crystal light, shaped like a heart of glass and fire.
It glowed with the same energy as the Core's pulse, yet darker twisted, ancient, alive.
Alok (thinking): "That's it… his Core Crystal Heart."
The pendant's voice grew louder, almost desperate now.
"Take it, Alok! The Core Heart! It's the only way to save him. Don't hesitate!"
The Ultimate Clash
Extera sensed the change. His molten eyes widened.
"So… you've seen it. My true core. The essence of the Devourer."
"Try to take it, mortal… and your very soul will be burned to ash!"
He unfurled his wings and vanished reappearing behind Alok in an instant.
But Alok was already there his lightning tracing the air like divine geometry, his body a blur of fury and focus.
The two collided midairlight and flame merging into a single explosion that shattered every mirror in the labyrinth.
The Core's walls cracked open. Rivers of light and fire poured through.
Even the Watchers in the Unietime Realm stood in awe as the orb's surface burned white.
Watcher II: "This energy… exceeds divine containment!"
Watcher III: "His perception has breached the veil. He can see essence itself!"
Watcher IV: "This is not evolution. It's awakening."
Rihan's Fading Vision
Meanwhile, Rihan's trembling fingers reached toward the blinding glow.
He could barely move, barely breathe, but he saw flashes Alok's golden form, Extera's violet storm.
"Alok… you…"
His voice cracked, too weak to continue.
Blood soaked the floor beneath him, and his eyes rolled back as consciousness slipped away.
His last thought
Don't die… my friend.
And then, darkness.
The Birth of Wrath
Alok saw Rihan collapse.
He felt it deep, tearing through his heart like a blade.
The pendant's glow intensified, its voice echoing louder, more urgent, almost commanding:
"Do it now! Tear his heart out! Claim the Devourer's Core!"
Alok's aura exploded outward gold lightning turning white-hot, cracking through the chamber like celestial thunder.
His hair lifted, his eyes glowing with dual color one gold, one violet.
Alok: "I'll end this… right here!"
He vanished reappearing in front of Extera mid-strike
and drove his fist straight into the Devourer's chest.
Extera roared in fury as lightning pierced his molten armor. Cracks spread across his torso, glowing with unstable light.
Extera: "You dare… reach for my heart?!"
Alok: "For him… for everyone you've hurt!"
Their energies collided in a sphere of gold and violet, devouring the labyrinth's air. The shockwave reached beyond realms rippling through dimensions, touching even the edges of the Unietime Realm.
Watcher Reaction
Watcher III: "The bridge between mortal and divine… it's stabilizing!"
Watcher I: "No it's unraveling! He's forcing a balance that shouldn't exist!"
Watcher IV: "Then he'll either ascend… or be erased."
The orb shattered, flooding Doxteon's halls with light.
Final Strike
Back in the labyrinth, Alok screamed, pushing through the pain, his body breaking under the power.
Lightning coursed through every vein, burning his skin, cracking his armor but he didn't stop.
His chains flared outward, binding Extera completely.
The Devourer's wings faltered, his flames weakening.
And then
Alok thrust his arm forward
and his hand pierced Extera's chest.
He gripped something warm, alive, beating with both light and shadow
The Crystal Core Heart.
Extera's roar shook the chamber, violet embers bursting like dying stars.
"No… you… can't…"
Alok's eyes glowed white. His voice echoed through realms
"This is for Rihan!"
He tore the heart free.
The Core Chamber fell silent.
The storm stopped.
Light dimmed to a golden shimmer.
Alok stood amidst the ruin bloodied, shaking, holding the pulsing Crystal Heart that glowed with both life and death.