The sky was gone.
In its place hung an enormous silver circle stretching beyond the clouds themselves, rotating slowly with endless layers of system symbols. Every movement of the gate distorted reality around it, erasing fragments of the battlefield simply from its presence.
Not destroying.
Removing.
As though existence itself no longer qualified to remain.
And for the first time since the war began—
true fear spread across the battlefield.
Even the Divine forces stepped back further.
The Inferno Monarch's cursed flames flickered unevenly.
"The World Gate…"
The Soul Hall authority's voice had lost its calm entirely.
"The system has gone beyond containment."
Riven stared upward, pale.
"…You're telling me this thing has happened before?"
Vireon's eyes remained fixed on the gate.
"Yes."
His voice was quieter now.
And somehow—
that frightened Kael more than the gate itself.
Because Vireon never sounded uncertain.
"What is it?" Elara asked carefully.
For a moment, Vireon said nothing.
Then:
"The system was not created to protect balance."
The battlefield fell silent.
"It was created after the first Eclipse War."
Kael's expression darkened immediately.
Riven froze.
Even the Divine forces reacted.
Vireon continued calmly:
"Long before your clans existed… Eclipse nearly destroyed reality itself."
The massive silver gate pulsed violently overhead.
"After that war, the surviving authorities created the system. Not to rule the world."
His gaze shifted toward the gate.
"To prevent another Eclipse from existing."
Silence crushed the battlefield.
Elara slowly looked toward Kael.
Then toward Vireon.
And suddenly—
everything made terrifying sense.
The fear.
The executions.
The obsession with eliminating the Eclipse bloodline.
The system had never viewed them as people.
Only as a disaster waiting to happen again.
The silver figure spoke sharply:
"ECLIPSE EXISTENCE CONFIRMED AS PRIMARY THREAT."
"WORLD ERASURE AUTHORIZED."
The gate above the battlefield expanded further.
Reality vanished around its edges instantly.
Entire sections of the sky disappeared into silver emptiness.
Riven swallowed hard.
"…That thing is going to erase everything…"
"Yes," Vireon answered calmly.
"Because it believes Kael will eventually surpass control."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"And you?"
Vireon looked at him quietly.
"…I know you will."
The words hit harder than expected.
Not because they sounded fearful.
Because they sounded certain.
Elara immediately stepped closer to Kael instinctively.
As though the battlefield itself had shifted against him again.
The silver figure raised its hand.
The World Gate ignited.
A beam of silver light began forming at its center slowly.
The pressure alone cracked reality beneath everyone's feet.
Vireon exhaled softly.
"Annoying."
Then he stepped forward.
For the first time since arriving—
his presence changed completely.
The calm distortion surrounding him deepened into something ancient.
Something wrong.
Black fractures spread across the battlefield from beneath his feet while the silver system symbols around him started breaking apart uncontrollably.
Even Kael's domain reacted instinctively.
Not resisting Vireon.
Recognizing him.
The Divine forces immediately retreated farther.
Riven's voice became unsteady.
"…Father…"
Vireon looked upward toward the forming beam.
Then calmly raised one hand.
The battlefield darkened.
Not from shadow.
From absence.
For one terrifying second—
the system lost control of reality itself.
The silver symbols across the sky flickered violently.
The gate trembled.
The silver figure finally sounded alarmed.
"UNREGISTERED AUTHORITY DETECTED."
"WARNING."
"WARNING."
Vireon's voice cut through the battlefield quietly.
"You made the same mistake again."
The gate above trembled harder.
"You thought Eclipse could be controlled by force."
Then Vireon closed his hand slightly.
The forming beam shattered.
The entire battlefield exploded with silver fractures.
Riven stared upward in absolute disbelief.
"…He broke the World Gate…"
Even Kael's expression changed.
Because this was beyond anything he had expected.
The silver figure staggered backward violently.
The system authority across the battlefield destabilized hard.
But Vireon's face remained calm.
Too calm.
And Kael suddenly noticed something terrifying.
Black fractures were spreading across Vireon's arm.
The same curse consuming the Divines.
Only far worse.
Elara noticed too.
"…He's injured."
"No," Kael said quietly.
"He's dying."
Silence.
Even Riven froze.
But Vireon simply looked at the spreading fractures without emotion.
Then toward Kael.
"You understand now, don't you?"
Kael's jaw tightened.
Because he did.
The reason Vireon stayed hidden.
The reason the world feared him.
The reason the system panicked at Eclipse evolution.
Every Eclipse eventually became too powerful for reality itself to contain.
And Vireon—
had already reached that point long ago.
The silver figure suddenly raised its hand again violently.
"FINAL PURGE INITIATED."
The shattered World Gate began rebuilding itself.
Faster this time.
More unstable.
More desperate.
Vireon looked upward calmly.
Then spoke words that froze Kael completely.
"You're running out of time, son."