The journey to the Valley of Death was a trial of endurance. Zen ignored the screams of his dying sect-mates, using them as meat shields to block stray arrows and spells. By the time he reached the valley's center, the sky was cracking. Purple lightning, the "World-Healing Tribulation," was striking the earth, reclaiming the energy of the dying continent.
In the center of the valley sat the Ancient Trans-Universal Array. It was a massive limestone circle, carved with runes that seemed to pulsate like a dying heart.
"The array is dormant," Zen observed, kneeling at its edge. "It requires a massive sacrifice of 'Source Life' to breach the world barrier."
Thousands of refugees were flooding into the valley, thinking it was a sanctuary. Zen looked at the desperate faces—mothers clutching children, wounded soldiers, crying elders. To anyone else, this was a tragedy. To Zen, it was a Battery.
He sat in the center of the array and placed his hands on the cold stone.
[Mirror of Nihilism: Interface with Array Core]
[Status: Connection Established]
[Requirement: 50,000 Life-Essence Units to activate Warp]
"Link the array to every living soul within a five-mile radius," Zen commanded.
A pale grey light shot out from the array, snaking across the ground like hungry vines. As the vines touched the refugees, their bodies didn't explode; they simply withered. Their vitality was being converted into raw numerical data and fed into the runes.
"Monster! You're killing us all!" a sect protector screamed, charging at Zen with a spear.
Zen didn't even look up. A flick of his finger sent a blade of wind-fire through the man's throat. "I am not killing you," Zen said to the wind. "I am giving your insignificant lives a grander purpose: to be the bridge for my transcendence."
The array roared. A pillar of black light erupted, piercing the fractured sky. Zen's body was pulled into the vacuum, leaving behind a valley of dust and silence.