The sky over Beijing remained shrouded in black and crimson, an ominous echo of the power Vincent had unleashed. The world had yet to recover from his mere 1% unsealing, and the consequences of shattering the artifact still rippled across reality.
But that wasn't what made Lucien uneasy.
No, it was the name.
Xal'Zyren, the Unwritten One.
That name should not have existed. Should never have been spoken. Yet, it had been uttered by an entity that should have been erased from history itself.
Lucien swallowed hard. He had seen countless monsters, gods, and calamities, but this? This was different.
"What do we do now?" he asked, his voice unsteady.
Vincent didn't answer immediately. He stood at the edge of the ruined chamber, gazing at the fragmented reality around them. The very fabric of the world twisted unnaturally, as if struggling to realign itself after the presence of Xal'Zyren had briefly pierced through existence.
"Nothing changes," Vincent finally said, his voice calm yet absolute.
Lucien frowned. "Nothing changes?! Vincent, this isn't some noble house trying to stab you in the back. This is—"
"I know what it is."
Vincent's crimson gaze burned, cutting through the shadows that lingered in the air.
He wasn't afraid.
He wasn't concerned.
Because whatever had been locked away, whatever had bowed before him, was beneath him.
Vincent had already surpassed Omni God—he had no reason to fear anything.
But the world? The world was not ready for what came next.
The Vatican – A Tipping Point
Beneath the hallowed halls of the Vatican, in a chamber where only the most ancient secrets were kept, a conclave of figures knelt before the cracked monolith.
A priest, his hands trembling, traced the fracture with reverence and horror. "The seal has weakened."
"It is not weakening," a golden-eyed figure corrected. Their voice was layered, a distortion of countless whispers. "It is responding."
One of the priests looked up. "To what?"
The golden-eyed figure's lips curved into a slow, knowing smile.
"To the Vasco heir."
The room fell into a deathly silence.
Someone gasped. "You mean to say he—?"
"Yes."
The golden eyes gleamed in the dim candlelight.
"He is no longer an anomaly. He is now a force that even the forgotten must acknowledge."
Meanwhile – A Forgotten Plane of Existence
In a realm beyond comprehension, beyond time, beyond fate, something shifted.
A throne, long abandoned, trembled. Chains of golden fate cracked.
A presence stirred.
It had once been erased. Forgotten. Its name had been stripped from time itself.
But then—
A voice had spoken it.
A power beyond the gods had acknowledged its existence.
And so, Xal'Zyren began to awaken.
Not as a prisoner.
Not as a king.
But as something far, far worse.
A being that should have never existed—yet now had a reason to return.
Beijing – Vincent's Departure
Vincent walked through the ruined streets of Beijing, unbothered by the devastation left in his wake. The Sang Family had collapsed, their so-called power meaningless in the face of his strength.
Yet, despite everything, he felt it.
The world was watching him now.
Not just humans. Not just hidden families.
But entities far older than civilization itself.
Lucien exhaled, shaking his head as he walked beside him. "So, what's next? You know this isn't over, right?"
Vincent didn't stop walking.
"It never is."
Lucien chuckled. "Typical."
Then, as they reached the edge of the city, a message appeared on Vincent's private device—one few people in existence had access to.
The sender's name?
Denise Zeng Ely.
The message?
"Are you back in Italy yet? There's something I need to talk to you about."
Vincent stared at the screen for a moment before pocketing the device.
"Change of plans," he murmured.
Lucien raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"We're going to Singapore."