The world became silent.
Not naturally.
Not peacefully.
But forcibly.
As if something had smothered all sound beneath an invisible weight.
The cracked chest floated slightly above the wagon now, dark mist pouring endlessly from the opening. The surrounding space twisted unnaturally, bending around the leaking void energy.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Because every instinct screamed the same warning.
Run.
⸻
Kael stared at the chest.
His golden eyes remained calm—
But deep inside, even the Origin Core had become restless.
Pulsing heavily.
Warning him.
The thing inside…
Was dangerous far beyond anything he had encountered.
⸻
The dark mist thickened.
Slowly, a shape began forming within it.
Not fully visible.
Only fragments.
A hand.
Blackened.
Covered in strange markings that shifted like living shadows.
Then—
An eye opened within the darkness.
Deep violet.
Ancient.
Empty.
The moment it opened—
Everyone felt it.
A pressure descended upon the camp like the sky collapsing.
BOOM.
The ground sank.
Several cultivators dropped to one knee instantly, unable to withstand the weight of that presence.
Daren coughed blood.
Sera's face turned pale.
Even the cloaked Void cultivator took a step back unconsciously.
"…Impossible," he whispered.
⸻
Kael's breathing slowed.
Not from calmness.
From focus.
Because the thing inside the chest—
Was looking at him.
Not the others.
Him.
The violet eye locked onto his golden gaze.
And for a brief moment—
The darkness trembled.
"…Origin…"
The voice echoed directly inside Kael's mind.
Ancient.
Broken.
Hungry.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"You know what I am."
The entity laughed softly.
The sound was distorted, layered with countless whispers beneath it.
"…At last…"
The void mist surged violently outward.
The pressure increased again.
Kael felt his body strain.
Even standing became difficult.
⸻
The cloaked man suddenly stepped forward and knelt.
Actually knelt.
"Great One," he said, lowering his head deeply.
"We have freed you."
Kael's expression darkened.
So this was the goal from the beginning.
Not theft.
Not ambush.
Release.
⸻
The entity ignored the kneeling man completely.
Its eye remained fixed on Kael.
"…Incomplete Origin…"
The whispers grew louder.
"…Why are you here…?"
Kael said nothing.
Because even he didn't know.
⸻
Suddenly—
The darkness surged toward him.
Fast.
Too fast.
Kael reacted instantly.
Golden energy exploded outward.
Origin Pulse!
BOOM!
The golden shockwave collided with the advancing void mist.
The two forces clashed violently.
Light and darkness tore against each other, distorting the air between them.
For a moment—
The void stopped.
Then continued forward.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Kael's eyes sharpened.
It's overpowering me.
Not because his technique was weak.
But because the thing inside the chest existed on an entirely different level.
⸻
The Ring of the First Pulse began glowing violently.
The Origin Core pulsed harder than ever before.
As if reacting instinctively.
Defending him.
Golden lines spread faintly across Kael's arm.
Not an injury.
Not corruption.
Resonance.
The entity paused slightly.
"…Interesting…"
For the first time—
Its voice carried emotion.
Curiosity.
⸻
Kael stepped forward instead of back.
His aura flared.
Golden light pushed against the darkness surrounding him.
Even if the gap was enormous—
He refused to kneel.
The entity watched him silently.
Then—
The void around it expanded again.
This time even heavier.
Kael's knees bent slightly under the pressure.
The ground beneath him shattered.
His body screamed in protest.
But he stayed standing.
⸻
Behind him, Sera struggled to speak.
"Kael… we need to leave…"
Daren nodded painfully.
"That thing… isn't something we can fight…"
They were right.
Kael knew they were right.
This wasn't an enemy for him.
Not now.
Maybe not even close.
But—
If they ran now—
The thing would fully emerge.
And if that happened…
Everything nearby would die.
⸻
The entity's eye narrowed slightly.
"…Defiance…"
The void condensed.
Preparing.
Kael felt it instantly.
A single attack from that thing—
Could erase him completely.
The Origin Core pulsed violently.
Warning.
Reacting.
Resisting.
Kael clenched his fist.
Golden energy gathered once more.
Not enough to win.
But enough—
To buy time.
⸻
Then suddenly—
The sky split open.
A massive pressure descended from above.
Different from the void.
Sharp.
Overwhelming.
Ancient.
A voice thundered across the battlefield.
"Seal it immediately!"
Everyone looked upward.
A streak of blue light descended from the heavens at terrifying speed.
Reinforcements had arrived.
And they were powerful.
Very powerful.
The entity inside the chest laughed softly.
"…Too late…"
The battlefield exploded with pressure from all sides.
And the true chaos—
Finally began.