The fractures in the abyss widened, spiraling outward like veins of molten void. Vemy hovered at the center, Prismarine shards orbiting in chaotic harmony, each fragment humming with the rhythm of his defiance. The Warden's twin halos bristled, strained under the assault—but something deeper stirred beneath the void.
A tremor rolled through existence itself, subtle at first, then impossible to ignore. Light bent, space warped, and even the shards of Vemy's Ring rattled in response. The abyss whispered.
"You dare fracture me?" The voice wasn't the Warden's. It was older, colder, older than time itself. A resonance that twisted through every particle of existence. "You think you defy infinity, child? You are but a spark in my domain."
Vemy's pulse quickened. The Prismarine within him pulsed in answer, sharper, angrier, alive with raw will. He tightened his grip on his spear, shards of crystal spinning faster, forming new arcs of attack. "I don't care who you are. I fight my own fight!"
From the fissure, a massive shape emerged—not a figure, not a god, but a swirling maelstrom of creation itself. Rings within rings, fragments of stars and voidlight, shifting, forming and unforming, each movement pulling at the edges of reality. The Source of the Rings had awakened.
The Warden stepped back, twin halos quivering. "So… it begins," it murmured. "The true beginning."
Vemy's eyes burned. His shards flared, wings splitting arcs of light and crystal. "Then let's finish what we started."
The Source pulsed, and the abyss trembled. Each pulse sent waves through the void, tearing at the edges of space, unraveling fragments of floating platforms, burning the echoes of past battles. The Prismarine storm around Vemy surged in response, fragments bending, reshaping, moving with a purpose beyond his own control.
"This… this is different," Vemy whispered through grit and blood. "It's… alive."
The Source's voice hummed inside him, not heard but felt, vibrating in his bones. I am the beginning and the end. The Rings are my fragments. All who wield them are mine… until proven worthy.
Vemy grinned through bloodied teeth. "Then watch me break your rules."
He launched himself forward, shards of Prismarine blazing like meteors. The Warden leapt beside him, lightning crackling, joining the storm of defiance. Together, mortal fire and divine storm collided with the Source's awakening, tearing at the fabric of the abyss itself.
And in that moment, everything hung on the edge—Vemy, the Warden, the Source, and the very void around them.
🔥 Cliffhanger: The Source of the Rings has awakened, revealing a power beyond gods. Vemy faces not just the Warden, but the origin of all Ring power itself. Can he survive the awakening, or is this the end of his defiance?