The Forsaken Realm was no longer just a world in formation—it was a battlefield waiting to be claimed.
Ezra stood at the edge of the rift, golden eyes flickering with a cold amusement. Beyond the fracture, the invading force stirred, their presence vast yet undefined, watching, waiting.
The intruder who had stepped through first remained still, its form shifting subtly as if it were adapting. It had spoken as though it knew him. Knew exactly what the Forsaken Realm was meant to become.
[System Alert: External Forces Exceed Current Recognition Parameters]
[The Forsaken Realm is Under Observation]
Ezra chuckled under his breath. "Observation, is it? That means you aren't here to conquer. Not yet."
The anomaly stood beside him, its presence unreadable as ever. "They are not yet certain of their claim."
The Seeker, the Devourer, and the Observer had moved, forming a silent barrier between Ezra and the rift. Though newly born, they understood—this was a challenge.
The intruder finally spoke again. "Your world is young, unrefined. You have built it outside the known laws of reality. That makes it… contested territory."
Ezra raised an eyebrow. "And you think that entitles you to it?"
The invader tilted its head slightly. "Everything unclaimed is meant to be taken. That is how all things begin."
Ezra's smirk widened, but there was no humor in it. "Then let's test that theory."
He raised a hand—and the Forsaken Realm responded.
A pulse of energy surged through the air, rippling outward from Ezra's fingertips. The very foundation of the Forsaken Realm shook, the skies above twisting into something darker, heavier. The land itself moved, shifting like a living entity responding to its creator's call.
The Seeker's eyes gleamed with newfound intensity. The Observer stepped back slightly, its role not as a combatant but as a recorder of events yet to be written. The Devourer, however, lunged forward.
A streak of shadow, a force of unrestrained hunger, it moved without hesitation—
And struck the intruder with full force.
The impact sent a shockwave through the rift, but the invader did not falter. Instead, it raised a single hand, stopping the Devourer mid-motion as though holding back a tide with nothing but an invisible wall of willpower.
Ezra's eyes gleamed. "Interesting."
The invader barely reacted. "Your world has will. But will alone does not make it strong."
A second presence stirred beyond the rift.
Ezra's smirk faded slightly as another figure stepped forward, its form solidifying as it crossed the threshold. Unlike the first, this one was heavier, its presence carrying a weight that pressed down upon the Forsaken Realm.
[System Alert: Additional Intruder Detected]
[Classification: High-Level Anomaly]
[Authority Unknown]
The anomaly shifted beside Ezra. "They are testing their numbers."
Ezra chuckled. "Then let's give them something to measure."
He flicked his wrist, and the land answered.
Jagged spires of obsidian erupted from the ground, spiraling toward the second intruder, aiming to impale whatever had dared to step foot into his world.
For a moment, the second figure stood still.
Then, with a simple gesture, it unmade the attack.
The spires that had once been solid disintegrated into a cascade of falling dust, undone at a level beyond Ezra's command. He felt the shift, the break in logic that told him this wasn't merely an invader—this was a force with its own laws.
The first intruder finally moved again, raising its hand toward Ezra as the second entity solidified at its side. "You misunderstand, Ezra Nacht. This is not war."
Ezra exhaled slowly. "No? Then what is it?"
The first entity's presence pulsed. "This is assessment."
The ground beneath them cracked.
Beyond the fracture, more shadows moved. Figures, outlines, shapes that were not yet fully formed but carried weight nonetheless.
Ezra felt it.
The Forsaken Realm was young. It had yet to establish itself fully. And they knew it.
This wasn't an army marching in for conquest.
This was a gathering of predators.
They were waiting.
Watching.
Testing.
Ezra's golden eyes burned as he took a step forward. "Then let me make something clear. If you think I built this world for someone else to take, you're mistaken."
The first invader tilted its head. "Then show us its worth."
Ezra grinned, and the Forsaken Realm roared.
The land beneath them trembled violently, cracks spreading as the Forsaken Realm fought back against the invasive forces. The very air grew thick with unseen pressure, the weight of reality itself resisting the foreign presence that had dared to cross its borders.
Ezra extended his hand, and the Forsaken Realm answered his call. The jagged spires that had been unmade moments before regrew instantly, stretching taller, sharper, their blackened edges pulsing with Ezra's intent. The ground twisted, reshaping itself into an unfamiliar terrain, hostile and unyielding.
[System Alert: Forsaken Realm's Core Awakening]
[Reality Shift in Progress]
The second invader observed without flinching. "An incomplete world should not resist this much."
Ezra smirked. "Guess my world is full of surprises."
The fracture pulsed again, and more figures stepped through. Their forms were still undefined, but Ezra could feel it—each one carried a weight greater than the last.
The Observer, who had remained silent, finally spoke. "This is escalation. They have determined the first stage. Now, they push further."
Ezra exhaled sharply, golden eyes burning with cold fury. They thought they could measure him? Test him?
Then he would give them something immeasurable.
He clenched his fist, and for the first time, the Forsaken Realm struck first.
The Forsaken Realm trembled, responding to the forces that threatened to claim it. Ezra felt its pulse, the echo of a world that had barely begun, yet was already facing its first test of survival.
Beyond the rift, the second invader stood motionless, observing, calculating. The first had spoken of assessment, and yet, their very presence here was a declaration of intent. This was not a simple reconnaissance mission.
They were waiting for something.
[System Alert: Additional Entities Stirring]
[Fracture Unstable – Expansion Imminent]
[Reality Threshold Approaching Critical Limit]
Ezra's fingers twitched at his side. "Expansion, huh? So you're not just watching—you're pushing."
The first intruder took another step forward. "The Forsaken Realm has no established boundaries. That makes it… fluid. A world still shaping itself is not a world that can resist outside influence."
Ezra smirked. "Then let me make one thing clear. This world is mine."
He snapped his fingers.
The Forsaken Realm retaliated.
A surge of power erupted from the ground beneath them, tearing through the void. The sky, once shifting and uncertain, now hardened, forming barriers that cracked against the invading forces. The rift groaned, as if resisting the force trying to widen it further.
The Seeker moved, its form flickering as it vanished from its place beside Ezra—
And reappeared behind the second invader.
With inhuman precision, the Seeker drove its hand through the entity's shifting form. A burst of energy cracked the air, the invader's presence distorting under the force of the impact.
But it did not collapse.
Instead, the second intruder turned, its head tilting slightly, and for the first time, it responded.
"Curious."
A pulse rippled outward, and the Seeker was repelled.
Ezra's eyes flickered, analyzing the motion. The Seeker, despite being newly formed, had attacked with lethal intent. Yet, the intruder had not retaliated with violence. It had simply negated the attack.
The Forsaken Realm's creatures were fighting for their right to exist.
The invaders? They were measuring their worth.
Ezra exhaled. "You really are testing us, aren't you?"
The second invader turned its attention back to him. "You misunderstand. We do not test—we validate."
Beyond the fracture, more figures stirred. The air thickened with unseen pressure, and the land trembled beneath Ezra's feet.
The Forsaken Realm was running out of time.
The very air grew denser, thick with the weight of something vast pressing down upon reality itself. The crack in the sky widened, revealing shifting silhouettes beyond it, their forms moving with a terrible patience.
Ezra narrowed his eyes. "So, you validate existence, do you? And if something fails your validation?"
The first intruder responded, its voice devoid of emotion. "Then it is erased."
The Observer, who had remained silent thus far, finally spoke. "A system of correction. They do not conquer. They remove what is deemed unworthy."
Ezra chuckled, though there was no amusement behind it. "How convenient."
The Devourer, sensing no hesitation from the invaders, lunged again. This time, it did not go for a singular strike. Instead, its form expanded, stretching like an abyss of shadows, swallowing the very space around the intruder.
The second invader walked through it unharmed.
It ignored the Devourer completely.
Ezra's smirk faltered for the briefest moment. That… was unexpected.
The first invader tilted its head. "You misunderstand again. We do not engage in meaningless conflict. Your creatures fight for survival. That alone is proof that they are incomplete."
The rift shuddered.
And for the first time, something stepped out.
Not a mere observer. Not a simple presence hidden within the distortion.
A being fully formed.
[System Warning: High-Tier Entity Manifesting]
[Power Unknown]
[The Forsaken Realm is Being Measured]
Ezra's hands curled into fists. The Forsaken Realm was young, incomplete. That was true.
But that didn't mean it was weak.
The air behind him pulsed as the Seeker, the Devourer, and the Observer stood their ground. Even in the face of something that should not exist, they refused to yield.
Ezra's golden eyes gleamed. "Fine. You came here to measure us? Then let me give you something to calculate."
The sky above the Forsaken Realm cracked open further, revealing the sheer, overwhelming might of the world's creator.
Ezra raised his hand, and for the first time since its birth—
The Forsaken Realm roared back.
The land beneath them trembled violently, the shadows deepening as raw power erupted outward, forcing the fracture to shrink. The invaders had underestimated it.
Ezra smirked, his presence towering. "You're not just here to observe, are you?"
The first intruder stepped forward, its form shifting between solidity and pure void. "We are here to determine whether your world is worth existing."
The Forsaken Realm shouted its defiance. The air crackled with a primal force, refusing to submit to the authority of beings who would erase it.
Ezra laughed. "Then let's see if you can handle an answer." He extended his hand, and the world itself moved.
Mountains rose in defiance. Storms howled to life. Rivers of raw power carved their own fate through the shifting land. The Forsaken Realm did not wait for judgment.
It declared itself.