"Get a grip. Nothing has happened yet."

The Deputy Commander's voice was steady, cutting through Orion's panic. "This is the Valkorath Realm. This is the Commander's turf. You are not alone out here. The entire Champions Alliance has your six."

The Deputy Commander seemed to see right through him, his tone softening just enough to ground Orion without coddling him. He knew that when it came to his wife and child, Orion was compromised—his usual cool demeanor replaced by the frantic energy of a man with everything to lose.

"Deputy Commander... what's the play?" Orion asked, his voice tight.

"Why don't you double-check the catalyst?"

It worked. The task gave Orion a moment to focus. He reached into his inventory and equipped the Spring of Life, thrusting it toward Edward. "Can you verify this one last time?"

The Deputy Commander rolled his eyes. If there had been anything wrong with the Spring of Life, they would have known long ago. But he understood the psychological need for reassurance. He took the item, performing a theatrical, meticulous inspection right in front of Orion.

A moment later, he handed it back. "It's clean. 100% purity. Relax."

"Oh, thank god."

Orion let out a breath he felt like he'd been holding for an hour. The tension in his shoulders finally dropped.

"Alright, Deputy Commander. What's the next step?"

"Simple. Bury the catalysts in the soil with the Miracle Divine Tree. Let nature take its course."

It sounded crude, almost too simple for artifacts of this power level. But it made sense. For any plant, magical or otherwise, the root system was the primary engine for absorption.

Orion nodded. With careful, almost surgical precision, he excavated three small hollows in the soil surrounding the sapling.

One by one, he placed them in: the Spring of Life, the World Fragments, and the Abyssal Springhead.

At first, nothing happened. The Miracle Divine Tree stood unchanged.

Then, just as worry began to creep back onto Orion's face, the sapling shuddered. Its vibrant leaves turned a sickly yellow and detached, drifting to the dirt. The trunk shriveled, the bark graying and cracking.

In the blink of an eye, the Miracle Divine Tree collapsed into a pile of rot and dust.

"Deputy Commander!"

Orion's voice cracked, spiraling into a high-pitched panic he couldn't suppress. He looked at Edward, desperation written all over his face.

"Standard procedure!"

The two words hit Orion like a bucket of ice water, instantly snapping him out of his spiral.

"When plants face an existential crisis or a massive influx of energy, they retreat," the Deputy Commander explained, sounding like a biology professor. "They sacrifice the leaves and the trunk to consolidate every ounce of essence into the roots. It's a survival mechanic. They hunker down so they can respawn stronger next season."

"Crisis breeds opportunity," the Deputy added.

He gestured for Orion to pay attention. "Don't panic. Scan the soil. Feel the roots."

Orion closed his eyes and extended his senses. Buried beneath the layer of surface decay, the roots of the Miracle Divine Tree were pulsing with an overwhelming, vibrant energy. They had already coiled tightly around the Spring of Life, World Fragments, and Abyssal Springhead, fusing with them.

"Think about it," the Deputy Commander mused, watching the pot. "The Spring of Life, World Fragments, Abyssal Springhead... any one of these is a legendary drop. This isn't death, Orion. The tree withered because it needs to focus 100% of its processing power on absorbing that loot."

Edward's voice shifted. The mentorship was gone, replaced by genuine curiosity. "I'm actually excited to see how this kid turns out."

Honestly, the Deputy was stunned. He hadn't expected Orion to grind out all three items in such a short window. If it had been him, even maxing out his efforts, he probably would have capped out at the World Fragments.

The Spring of Life and Abyssal Springhead weren't just rare; they were practically mythic. Each of these materials represented the primordial code of a world.

If the Miracle Divine Tree successfully metabolized all three? The potential of Orion's offspring would be game-breaking.

Another Elara? Maybe something even stronger?

The Deputy Commander was hyped. The Commander would be too.

"We've done what we can," the Deputy said, looking at Orion with a hint of pity. "The rest is up to RNGesus."

Orion nodded. He had stabilized.

"Deputy Commander, do we have an ETA on the absorption process?"

"No clue. But it operates on an exponential curve," Edward replied. "The more power the Miracle Divine Tree integrates, the faster it levels up. It looks dead now, but it could sprout in an instant. By tomorrow, you might have a towering ancient on your hands."

It wasn't an exaggeration. The stats on those three materials were just that insane.

"So, my job is to wait?"

"Affirmative."

Orion grabbed the pot containing the dormant roots of the Miracle Divine Tree and headed back toward Garland City.

The Sixth Layer of the Abyss.

The gray haze that defined this world hadn't lifted.

At the Foundry Citadel, the environment was hostile. Magma churned in open pits, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air. From the mouth of an active volcano, the Doomsday Fire erupted, twisting into the shape of a colossal dragon that eclipsed the dim light. It roared silently, coiling upward to merge with the defensive barrier.

It was the raw power of annihilation—essence drawn from the Doomguard, the core code of the Abyss generated to counter the encroaching gray world.

As the Doomsday Fire infused the barrier, the Foundry Citadel's shields flared. It looked as if a pantheon of deities was raging within the energy field, painting the fortress in brilliant crimson against the monochrome wasteland.

Deep at the base of the volcano, centered within a complex arrangement of arcane runes, stood the Deathly Soul-Reaper.

He held Doomscourge in a reverse grip, driving the blade down into the "eye" of the magical formation.

The hilt flared. A symbol resembling the ocular sigil of the Scourge Wardens materialized at the tip of the blade. The Doomsday Fire channeled through the sword, using the eye pattern as a conduit to feed the citadel's barrier.

Nearby, Orion stood with Eparus, Holrivus, and Thronlis. The Scourge Wardens all had their heads tilted back, eyes locked on the sky.

Time seemed to freeze. A heavy, suffocating silence hung over them, filled with the heat of anticipation.

Hiss...

Under the gaze of thousands, sparks began to ignite within the gray atmosphere. At first, the endless drift of ash snuffed them out.

But that was just the opening move.

Whoosh...

The flames fighting against the Graying grew brighter, hotter. The sound changed from a fizzle to a roar. The counterattack had begun.

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