Cracks spread slowly across the suppression pillar.
Each fracture pulsed with dark crimson light as corruption fought violently against the restored formation. The ancient runes surrounding the chamber flickered between silver and black, as though the prison itself could no longer decide whether to endure or collapse.
Above them, the sealed creature roared continuously.
The sound no longer felt distant.
It was getting closer.
And every roar carried enough pressure to shake the underground ruins.
Dev stared upward nervously.
"I officially miss normal academy classes."
"You complained about those every day," Ananya replied while healing a deep cut across his arm.
"Exactly. I didn't realize how peaceful they were."
Despite the tension, several people laughed softly.
Even in the middle of disaster, the small exchange eased the suffocating atmosphere slightly.
Krishak stood before the central suppression pillar, studying the spreading corruption carefully.
The seventh core had restored temporary balance.
But only temporary.
The prison had endured for thousands of years without maintenance. The ancient civilization that built it was gone. The seal keepers had died or fallen to corruption.
And now the burden rested on them.
Lunafang stepped beside him silently.
The silver wolf's moonlight aura continuously purified nearby corruption, slowing the spread around the pillar itself.
Krishak rested one hand lightly against the wolf's head.
"You've done well."
Lunafang let out a low growl, eyes fixed upward toward the prison chamber above.
The creature's aura disturbed him deeply.
Ishita moved toward the damaged crystal pillar and examined the formation lines carefully.
Her expression became increasingly serious.
"The suppression array isn't just damaged."
Everyone looked toward her.
"It's incomplete."
Krishak nodded slightly.
"The original formation likely connected to larger planetary arrays."
The realization hit instantly.
Raghav frowned.
"You mean this prison wasn't isolated?"
"No," Krishak answered calmly.
"The ancient civilization built a worldwide sealing network."
The Great Severing had not merely disconnected Earth from outside realms.
It had shattered the planetary cultivation system itself.
That explained why modern Earth possessed fragmented cultivation knowledge and weakened spiritual energy.
Humanity had survived
But only by sacrificing its future progress.
Suddenly, the ancient voice echoed once more through the chamber.
This time calmer.
Almost amused.
"You begin to understand."
Darkness gathered above the suppression pillar.
The enormous crimson eye became faintly visible through the cracks in reality itself.
It was watching them directly now.
"Your ancestors feared extinction."
The chamber trembled violently.
"So they crippled their own world."
Dev tightened his grip on his spear.
" "I really want to stab that thing."
"You would probably die," Ishita replied immediately.
"True. But emotionally, I still want to."
The eye above them narrowed slightly toward Krishak.
"And yet the stars awaken once more."
Krishak's expression remained calm.
The creature was not entirely wrong.
Earth's spiritual recovery meant the barriers suppressing ancient systems were weakening.
Which also meant hidden dangers could return.
The problem was no longer whether Earth would change.
It already was.
The question now was whether humanity could grow strong enough before larger threats arrived.
An enormous explosion suddenly echoed from the upper prison chamber.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Director Rao's voice crackled urgently through the communication device.
"Krishak! The seal above is destabilizing again!"
Sounds of battle erupted in the background.
Corrupted beasts.
Explosions.
Shouting.
The upper chamber was under attack once more.
Rudra's voice followed immediately after.
"We cannot hold forever.
Krishak looked toward the suppression pillar.
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
There was one final possibility.
Dangerous.
Extremely dangerous.
But possible.
"The suppression array can still be strengthened," he said quietly.
Everyone turned toward him instantly.
Ishita looked surprised.
"How?"
Krishak raised the seventh core slowly.
"This core was designed to synchronize with a cultivator."
The moment he spoke those words, Ishita immediately understood.
Her face changed.
"You mean someone has to connect directly to the formation?"
"Yes."
Ananya's expression paled.
"But that would expose their spiritual consciousness to the prison itself."
Exactly.
The cultivator acting as the core anchor would temporarily become part of the sealing formation.
Connected directly to the corrupted prison.
Connected directly
To the creature.
Dev immediately stepped forward.
" "Absolutely not."
Krishak looked at him calmly.
"I'm the only one here capable of controlling the formation."
"That doesn't make it a good idea!"
Raghav nodded firmly.
"The corruption could invade your consciousness."
Krishak already knew the risks.
But he also knew something they didn't.
His soul was far stronger than ordinary cultivators due to memories and experience from his previous life.
If anyone could withstand temporary contact with the prison
It was him.
The creature above laughed softly again.
"Interesting..."
The crimson eye watched Krishak closely.
"You would chain yourself to a dying world?"
Krishak ignored it completely.
He stepped toward the center of the suppression formation.
Silver runes lit up beneath his feet.
Lunafang immediately moved beside him, refusing to leave.
Krishak smiled faintly.
"You're staying?"
The wolf growled softly.
Dev cursed under his breath.
"I hate this plan."
"So do I," Ananya admitted quietly.
But none of them stopped him.
Because they all understood.
There was no better option left.
Krishak sat cross-legged before the crystalline pillar.
The seventh core floated slowly into the air above his palms.
Ancient runes awakened throughout the chamber.
Silver light spread outward in expanding circles.
The suppression array began resonating directly with his spiritual energy.
Immediately, overwhelming pressure crashed into his mind.
Visions flooded his consciousness.
Ancient battlefields.
Broken stars.
Screaming cultivators consumed by corruption.
Worlds collapsing beneath darkness.
And far beyond them all
Gigantic crimson eyes opening in endless voids between worlds.
The invaders.
Not one.
Not a few.
An entire race.
The pressure intensified violently.
Black corruption surged toward his consciousness like a tidal wave.
But at that exact moment
Silver moonlight erupted beside him.
Lunafang howled.
Pure moonlight energy surrounded Krishak completely, shielding his consciousness from the worst of the corruption.
The suppression array stabilized instantly.
Across the entire underground prison, ancient silver runes reignited brilliantly.
Above them, the cracking prison sphere stopped breaking.
The creature roared furiously.
For the first time since awakening.
It was being forced back.