The sky above Beijing remained dark, streaked with twisting red clouds that had not faded since Vincent unleashed a mere 1% of his power. The world itself seemed to hold its breath, as if fearing what had just been released.
Vincent stood in the now-ruined chamber, the last fragments of the shattered artifact dissolving into nothingness. A silence deeper than sound itself blanketed the air—an ominous quiet that settled not just in the room but across reality itself.
Lucien's voice was barely above a whisper. "That name… It shouldn't exist."
He wasn't wrong. Even Vincent's sealed knowledge trembled at the memory of it. That name belonged to something older than the gods, something buried before creation itself took shape.
And now?
It was stirring.
Vincent exhaled, his gaze unfazed. "It doesn't matter."
Lucien's hands clenched. "It doesn't—? Vincent, you just shattered a prison meant to never be broken. That entity recognized you. It kneeled. Do you know what that means?"
Vincent turned to face him. His red eyes burned like twin eclipses.
"It means everything I've destroyed so far was insignificant."
Lucien fell silent.
Because that was the terrifying truth.
The Sang Family's resistance? Nothing.
The Grand Elder's scheming? Irrelevant.
Even the so-called gods who once ruled? Insects before what was coming.
Vincent had surpassed Omni God, creating a realm beyond what should exist. And now, the world itself had started to react.
Boom.
A sudden, sharp pulse echoed across reality. A presence had taken notice.
Lucien tensed, sensing the shift. "Something's coming."
Vincent didn't respond. He had already turned his gaze toward the heavens, where the black and red storm above Beijing was no longer natural.
It was a summoning.
Something had awakened.
Something that had felt Vincent's actions.
And it was descending.
Far Beyond the Mortal World – The Vatican's Hidden Chamber
In the depths of the Vatican, far beneath the great cathedral, a sealed chamber shuddered. Ancient torches flared with ethereal blue flames, illuminating walls engraved with forbidden sigils.
A lone figure stood before an altar of black stone, their face hidden beneath a hooded robe. The air was thick with power—a presence far older than the Vatican itself.
Then, a single golden eye opened in the darkness.
The robed figure exhaled, a mixture of awe and dread in their voice.
"He has done it."
Their whisper was not alone—it layered, as if spoken by a thousand voices at once.
Behind them, another kneeling figure trembled. "T-The Vasco heir…?"
The leader chuckled, their fingers brushing against the stone altar, tracing the ancient inscriptions that had sealed away knowledge even gods feared.
"No. Not an heir. Not a successor."
They turned toward an engraved monolith, its inscriptions glowing faintly. The very air vibrated, reacting to the name that had been spoken in Beijing.
"He is the one who was never meant to exist."
And then—
The monolith cracked.
A deep, rumbling sound filled the chamber, and the very foundation of the Vatican shook. Candles flickered violently, their flames distorting into unnatural blue spirals. The shadows in the room elongated, twisting into forms that should not have existed in this dimension.
The kneeling figure gasped, their eyes filled with raw terror. "Master… the prophecy… It's unraveling!"
The leader simply smiled.
"No."
They turned toward the darkness beyond the chamber—toward something waiting on the other side.
"The prophecy never mattered."
Their golden eye gleamed, reflecting an abyss of knowledge far beyond human comprehension.
"Because he has already surpassed it."
And then, from the depths of the chamber—
Something awoke.
The world had begun to change. The Forgotten Gods were stirring.
And the one who had shattered fate itself—
Was waiting for them