The system interface was still flashing a glaring, blood-red across Zen's vision.
**[Warning: Specialized S-Rank Void Assassins spawned. Target locked on the weakest lifeform in the immediate vicinity.]**
**[Target: Maya.]**
The ground beneath them didn't just shake; it lurched violently. But the real threat wasn't outside. It was right there in the room with them.
When Zen had brutally severed the soul fragment from Lyra, he had literally torn the fabric of reality. That jagged, bleeding crack in space hovering in the middle of the tent hadn't closed. It was widening.
Outside, the night suddenly erupted into absolute chaos.
The shockwave of the weakened planetary seal had ripped the sky open right above the camp. Zen could hear the sudden, terrified screams of the Ares and Crown troops. The explosive roar of Aurelia's golden flames shook the earth, immediately followed by Valeria's booming battle cries.
