Meanwhile, Luna still lay on the ground, her body trembling under the weight of the surprise attack. It felt like every cell was at war, her essence locked in a desperate struggle against the foreign energy trying to unmake her from the inside.

The tower trembled again, a groan of reality itself—and Luna realized with chilling clarity:

She was out of time.

While she fought to stay conscious, a ripple of warmth sparked in front of her. One of Storm Rider's avatars flickered into being, ethereal flames dancing along the edges of her form.

"They're coming," she said, voice faint and strained.

"Who?" Luna croaked, blinking through the pain.

Before an answer came, a shadow moved into view.

A soldier emerged from the broken horizon, marching with unnatural calm. His armor gleamed with the markings of House Feng, but something about him was deeply wrong. His short golden hair framed a face too perfect, and his glowing eyes pulsed with a light not of this world.

When he spoke, it was with two voices—one his own, the other ancient and cruel.

[This mortal is even more insignificant than I imagined. But it will do.]

His lips curled into a wicked smile. Threads of black essence appeared around his fingers like the strings of a puppeteer.

Before Luna could react, they lashed forward, binding to her Soul Gate with surgical precision. She gasped as the chill of them crawled into her spirit.

He was going to tear her apart.

In an instant, flames erupted around him—Storm Rider's doing. Her avatar, though weakened, had acted fast. But the soldier didn't burn. He swept the fire aside with the ease of brushing dust from his armor. He moved his fingers, and the strings snapped away from Luna, redirected toward Storm Rider.

[Sister…]

The Servant of Light had recognized Storm Rider as soon as she felt her presence.

"Luna," Storm Rider said with urgency, "Whatever happens next… do not use your Qi. Do you hear me? Don't channel anything."

Confused but desperate to survive, Luna nodded. She didn't understand, but instinct told her this was not the moment for questions.

The man raised his hand, and the black strings turned gold with rich essence, humming with divine authority. They lashed toward Storm Rider's avatar, trying to burrow into her Soul.

[I will shatter those gates of yours… and take back my lineage.]

Suddenly, a shockwave of life essence burst from Storm Rider. Flames surged like a living tide, and the golden strings snapped mid-air with a sizzle.

Seeing the chance, Luna pushed herself to her feet, teeth clenched against the pain. Her legs trembled, but she forced them to move, then to run. Faster than thought. The trees became blurs of green and shadow as she fled the battlefield, every step fueled by raw will.

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Behind her, the vessel smiled, unfazed, conjuring more strings.

Storm Rider's avatar danced between them with fluidity and flawlessness. She joined two fingers together, summoned a burning sea, and unleashed it in a single, devastating blast.

The man didn't scream. He turned to dust in silence.

Luna stumbled mid-run as the overwhelming presence vanished. The pressure crushing the air lifted. Her ears rang in the sudden quiet.

'Storm… she did it.'

Crack!

Suddenly, the earth beneath her cracked and buckled, each step landing on unstable ground that trembled like it was mourning the end of something ancient.

She barely made it into a narrow cave when the air itself shimmered, then shattered.

Reality broke apart like fragile glass. In the blink of an eye, the world of the tower vanished. The cave, the ground, even the sky above—it all dissolved like an illusion undone by truth. One breath later, Luna was no longer in a cave.. She was standing, gasping for air against the cold, lifeless Earth.

"What the…" Her voice caught in her throat, barely audible.

Around her, groans echoed.

Everyone who had survived was sprawled across the scorched field. Coughing. Shivering. Dazed.

They looked up and saw the sky was no longer night. Instead, it was choked with dark red clouds that bled across the heavens like wounds in the fabric of the world.

This would've called for a celebration because the Dungeon had collapsed. But the air was cold, and not the kind that brings clarity or peace. This cold crept into the bones, made you feel like something sacred had died.

And it had.

The Southern Reach was gone. Not damaged. Not razed.

But Gone!

Blackened earth stretched as far as the eye could see. Buildings? Dust. Tents? Ash. Trees, towers, roads—all reduced to charcoal remnants, as though fire and ether had warred here and left nothing behind. Smoke still whispered from the ground, and a metallic scent of burned blood and ozone hung in the air like a curse.

Luna stared in silence, knees buckling until she collapsed. Her hands sank into scorched dirt.

'No…no…no…' Her lips quivered and her dark eyes welled with tears. The silence of absence was too loud, too final.

There was no sign of monsters. No enemy banners. No bodies left behind to accuse or explain. Who would dare face House Feng and House Artemis simultaneously?

Her mind reeled.

There was a scream from someone she didn't expect to see here. It was Rita. She was staring at the destroyed base with tears flowing out of her eyes.

That's right…Shin and Monic were supposed to be recovering from here. Mira and the healers, the entire first army. Did this mean that they were dead?

Others followed Rita's anguish—some fell to their knees in disbelief, others stood in stunned silence, whispering prayers or curses under their breath. Some dared hope this was an illusion, a trick of the dungeon.

But no illusion carried that stench. No trick left your soul feeling this hollow.

Luna didn't speak. She couldn't. Her lips parted, but nothing came out. She just stared at the smoldering ruin, tears tracing her cheeks as her heart refused to accept what her eyes showed.

A shadow moved over her.

She looked up slowly.

Storm Rider stood above her—tattered, radiant, real. Her expression… was unreadable.

"What…" Luna's voice was barely a whisper. "What happened?"

"A warning. Everlight descended into the mortal realm and used the little time she had to send a message. This was her doing…" Storm Rider sighed. This scene reminded her of things she didn't always want to remember.

This is what happened to the Yuden Flame Sect before she was captured. Her master had told her that the Sect would be destroyed in the future, but the people in it were her blessed, so they would not be destroyed until they fulfilled their purposes of leading the Age of Chaos.

"I see…" Luna whispered, her voice barely carrying above the quiet grief that hung in the air. "They're here."

The moment those words settled in her chest, a new shift occurred—an instinctive pull in the soul, a warning bell without sound.

Kaigen the Dragon and his eternal partner, the Phoenix, were the first to react.

With a thunderous inhale, Kaigen opened his maw and unleashed a torrent of wind so sharp it howled like a hurricane. The Phoenix soared beside him, igniting with searing flame. The two elements fused mid-air, forming a tempest of fire and wind—raw, majestic, deadly.

To the soldiers below, it seemed they were attacking nothing.

But then—

Boom!

The assault struck something in midair. Something invisible. Something that had been waiting.

A pair of massive, black-feathered wings erupted into existence, deflecting the deadly windflame with unnatural grace.

Kaigen's draconic eyes narrowed. The Phoenix, ever cocky, allowed himself a smirk. Unlike every sorcerer, he was fully recovered thanks to his healing flames.

From the crowd, two more figures emerged, cloaked in deep crimson armor etched with runes. These unknown sorcerers quickly summoned their winged beasts and flew off with Lord Artemis and Victor--abandoning the battlefield right away.

"Those bastards are shameless!"

The Moon Siren cursed when she saw them flee. Her eyes sharpened like twin moons behind a storm as she turned her attention to the imposing being before them. Lord Artemis could be taken care of later.

Flame of Winter flared with power, her aura curling with frostfire as she stepped forward and assumed a battle stance, ready to face the enemy in the sky.

The winged being slowly descended through the haze.

And then—she revealed herself.

A woman stepped out from between the shadowed wings. She was an ethereal beauty cloaked in menace. Her dark hair fell like vines, framing a face that seemed carved from divine marble. Her dark purple eyes glowed with regal cruelty, and her pale lips curled in a smile too elegant to be kind. Two small, curved horns rose from her head—undeniable proof of her heritage.

She was a devil. A true devil.

Her silver armor shimmered with a living light, impossibly light for someone radiating so much power.

And then she spoke. Her voice was music twisted by nightmare. It was low, yet resonant with ancient pressure.

"Four sorcerers?" she asked, amused. "That doesn't sound like a fair fight, does it?"

Her words alone pressed against the chest like a mountain of velvet and steel. There was no need for titles, no need for declarations.

Her very presence confirmed it.

She was a Sovereign.

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