As the apocalyptic lightning storm finally receded, the phantom of Ging had still not completely dissipated. Though his form was now incredibly faint and flickering erratically, a low, rumbling laugh echoed from the fading silhouette.
"Excellent... excellent... You are the very first Hunter to touch the power of 'Terminus' before the total collapse of the rules..."
"And so... we..." The phantom slowly raised a translucent finger, tapping the empty void in front of him.
BOOOOOOM!
The ruined sky above the Crown Arena violently shattered!
A colossal, jagged spatial gate slowly materialized in the sky. And through that gate, an abyss of infinite depth, absolute chaos, and primordial terror was revealed. It was a landmass that looked as though it belonged to an entirely different, infinitely more hostile universe.
The Dark Continent... had truly appeared!
"The real game... begins now."
With those final words, the phantom completely vanished, leaving behind only a pitch-black, swirling portal in the sky.
Ryker's chest heaved. The hyper-compressed Lightning Core in his hand rapidly dimmed after executing the forced, catastrophic kill-strike. As the light faded, the cold, mechanical voice of the System chimed quietly in his mind:
[S-Rank Unique Trait Plunder Complete.]
[Domain Unlocked: Cross-Dimensional Perception Lv.1]
[You have sensed the gaze of an Extra-Dimensional Entity...]
Ryker lowered his head, staring at the brand-new, dark-gold trait slowly solidifying in his palm:
[Vestige of the Terminus Will (???)]
His eyes turned profoundly deep and freezing cold.
"The Dark Continent? Heh." He muttered the words softly to himself as a faint spark of lightning danced across his fingertips. "Then... bring it on."
The black vortex remained suspended in the sky, rotating slowly, silently, like a cosmic eye observing the mortal plane.
Ryker stood in the center of the absolute ruins. The System UI hovered in the corner of his vision, the dark-gold text of [Vestige of the Terminus Will (???)] pulsing with an incomprehensible, encrypted light. He took a deep breath and immediately sealed the trait deep within the System's core module. His instincts screamed that the unknown, eldritch aura radiating from that trait was incredibly dangerous to leave exposed.
"Brother Ryker!"
Gon and Killua sprinted over, covered in soot, dust, and blood. Their expressions were incredibly complex.
The hellish, apocalyptic lightning strike Ryker had just unleashed had completely shattered everyone's understanding of reality. Even someone with Biscuit's decades of profound combat experience was left temporarily speechless, staring at the crater in silent awe.
Ryker nodded at them, forcefully suppressing the violent, residual surging of his Lightning Core. His gaze swept over the still-collapsing remnants of the arena walls.
Just then, the System notification chimed again:
[Corpse Energy Remnant: 31%]
[Target: Dark-Corrupted Entity — Elena (Game Master Mutant)]
[Initiate Forced Plunder of Residual Core? (Requires 50 System Energy Points)]
"Elena..." Ryker's eyes narrowed.
She was one of the Game Masters, but she had been instantly corrupted and consumed by the exploding crystal. Her stabilization ability had briefly suppressed the entire arena's energy field. If he could extract her residual traits, it might prove crucial for navigating the escalating disaster.
"Initiate Plunder."
He gave the command without a microsecond of hesitation. Arcs of lightning instantly transformed into microscopic threads, piercing directly into the patch of ash where Elena had been disintegrated.
[Plunder Successful.]
[Acquired Unique Trait — Administrative Remnant: Data Rewrite (A-Rank)]
[Acquired Unique Trait — Forbidden Nen Fragment: Eye of the Bizarre Construct (S-Rank · Unstable)]
Ryker raised an eyebrow.
This [Eye of the Bizarre Construct] was not a Nen ability. It was a conceptual fragment born directly from the expansion of the Dark Continent's domain. It possessed an absolutely terrifying ability to interfere with and rewrite the rules of reality, but it was simultaneously incredibly unstable and prone to catastrophic backfires.
He immediately sealed it away, choosing to only keep the [Data Rewrite] trait active as an emergency support mechanism to prevent his System from crashing again.
However—before anyone could even catch their breath—a low, terrifying rumble began to echo from deep beneath the earth.
Rumble... rumble... RUMBLE...
The very bedrock of Greed Island began to violently quake!
One by one, massive stone pillars that had been sealed away for decades began to split open on their own! The deafening screech of sliding metal mechanisms mixed with the horrifying sound of low, whispered incantations echoing from the abyss.
The air instantly grew thick and viscous. Even the ambient light seemed to be physically compressed by the sheer weight of the atmosphere.
"...This isn't an earthquake," Biscuit muttered, her face turning ghastly pale.
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