The portal pulsed like a heartbeat.
Zephyr stood before it, the six Sigils he'd claimed now hovering behind him like ancient runes—each pulsing with its unique power: Devourer, Entanglement, Souls, Frost, Flame, Light.
His body bore the marks of every trial—scars, lingering pain, but also power. The Lust Ascension System pulsed at the edge of his consciousness, silent for now—watching, waiting.
He took a breath and stepped through.
The world shattered.
Zephyr was suspended in a void of shifting chaos—fractals of broken space, islands of crumbling stone, floating remnants of gods, beasts, and forgotten titans.
Gravity, time, sound—all bent around him.
In the center of this void—a being unlike any he'd faced.
The God-Eater.
A towering figure cloaked in black fire and red mist, its body made of shifting bones and shadows. A crown of jagged horns crowned its skull, and from its maw, endless whispers of consumed souls echoed.
It turned.
