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Chapter 20 - The Echo of Unseen Chains

The void trembled.

Je's breath fogged in the frozen air as he stumbled forward, each step sinking into shadows that moved like a living sea. The system's voice had gone silent—yet the silence itself was louder than screams.

Something ancient pressed against reality's veil, and for a moment, Je thought the stars themselves recoiled.

[System Error: Chain Protocol Initiated.]

[Locking… failed.]

[Locking… failed.]

[Locking… … ERROR.]

The words carved across his mind like blades. And then—he heard it. Not the system, not a god, but a chorus. Countless voices speaking as one:

> "The first link has been broken."

His body shivered. Not from fear, but from the undeniable truth in those words. Somewhere, something had been freed. Something that should never have been touched.

Je clutched his chest as pain thundered through him, visions tearing across his thoughts—

a mountain of bones taller than the heavens,

a city drowned in red suns,

a black crown sinking into an endless ocean.

He dropped to his knees, choking.

And then, clarity. The visions ended as suddenly as they began, leaving only one final message, carved into the marrow of his soul:

[Warning: You are no longer unseen.]

The void stopped trembling.

But the silence remained. Watching. Waiting.

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