The ground shuddered again, harder than before. A low rumble rolled beneath our feet like something enormous was trying to push its way up.
Then the ground exploded.
Right in front of us, between our group and where Lyrate had been sitting, the earth burst open with a deafening crack. Soil, stone, and dust shot into the air like a volcano erupting sideways.
And from the explosion, roots erupted.
Thick roots. Massive roots. More than a hundred of them burst out at once, twisting like snakes and lashing wildly in all directions. Each root was thicker than most trees and moved with insane speed, cracking the ground wherever they struck.
Ragnar didn’t move at all.
He stood in front of us with his arms crossed, looking completely calm, like this was nothing more than an annoying rainstorm.
The first root swung toward him with a loud whoosh.
Ragnar snorted. "Try harder."
A silver ripple burst from his body. The root collided with the ripple and instantly folded inward like it had been crushed by a giant invisible hand.
Another root came. And another. Ten. Twenty. Thirty.
Ragnar stayed in the same spot, arms still crossed, a bored look on his face. Every time a root reached him, a silver pulse flashed, and the root shattered into chunks of bark and Essence dust.
The ground shook nonstop as roots kept bursting upward, like a forest trying to claw its way into the sky. Dirt flew. Stones cracked. Air whistled from the sheer number of strikes.
A full three minutes passed.
A hundred roots rose. A hundred roots died.
And Ragnar didn’t take a single step back.
By the time the last one shattered, the area looked like an apocalypse crater, the forest around us flattened, the earth split into trenches, dust still floating in the air.
Ragnar finally uncrossed his arms and cracked his neck.
"Messy," Ragnar said. "As expected from her."
I let out a long breath, already knowing what that meant. Lyrate had definitely failed her construct.
And of course... she had failed loudly.
Before I could say anything, a voice floated out of the settling dust.
"Oh, I see that you have grown stronger."
Lyrate stepped forward through the drifting debris as if she were walking down a staircase of invisible steps.
Her long red hair flowed behind her, untouched by the chaos she had just caused. Her hands were clasped behind her back, posture straight, expression calm, far too calm for someone who had just turned half the forest into a crater.
"But I can also see," she said as she descended slowly, eyes narrowing on Ragnar, "that you didn’t even try forming your construct. Did you?"
Ragnar chuckled, loud and mocking.
"Ah, so that’s the excuse you’re going with." He shook his head. "Trying to hide your failure by saying you were at least brave enough to try? That’s not courage, that’s just shameless."
Lyrate stopped mid-air above him, her gaze sharpening.
"Shameless? It’s called being daring."
"I call it stupidity," Ragnar replied, completely unfazed. "But I suppose it will take you a few more decades to understand the difference between the two."
He turned away casually, almost dismissively, as if she were some random passerby and not a Transcendent.
"There’s nothing to see here," Ragnar declared. "Just a crazy woman losing control. Anyway, let’s go. We should eat something. I want to try this thing you people call alcohol. Do we have that?"
All of us froze.
We all stared at Ragnar.
Because behind him... Lyrate’s brow finally furrowed.
Her smile vanished. Her jaw tightened, the calm mask cracking.
"Remember your words, monkey. I’ll make sure you eat them later," Lyrate scoffed before flashing past Ragnar and landing beside Silver, tugging one of his wings as if checking their shape.
Ragnar didn’t even look back. He simply rolled his shoulders and kept walking.
Primus put a hand on his shoulder. "So, you want to try alcohol?"
Ragnar nodded immediately. "Yes."
Primus grinned. "Good, good. Finally someone who can share a few drinks with me. I stocked up before we left Vaythios. Who else wants to join?"
"I’ll go," Steve said, then glanced at me. "Come on."
"Sure," I nodded.
North tapped my shoulder. "You guys go. I’ll join later. I need to talk to Lyrate."
She walked toward her, leaving us standing there.
"I’ll come too," Silver added but Lyrate yanked him back by his robe.
"No. Stay."
Silver froze on the spot.
Knight stepped out of a ripple of darkness beside me, expression bored. "If there is food, I’m coming."
"Then let’s move," I said.
And so all of us, including Knight, who immediately hid himself in my shadow again, began heading toward the open area we had used earlier.
Primus chatted nonstop about drinks. Ragnar listened with a serious expression, as if this were some sacred training. Steve walked beside me, humming a tune.
******
[System Directive Log – ############435]
Designation: Executor – Evolution to Transcendent
Status: Complete
Summary: Executor-class entity Billion Ironhart has successfully undergone the Transcendent Evolution cycle. Survival of the Chained Realm trial confirmed. Recorded as only the second being in all indexed records to achieve this outcome.
Observational Data:
- Persistent influence of the Chained Fallen detected imprinted on soul signature.
- Null Core resonance anomaly continues.
- Unregistered "Domain-Type: Unique – Executor’s Authority" registered.
- Unregistered "Construct-Type: Space-Time Devouring Cube" registered.
- Dawn Core deviation confirmed.
- Aura pressure exceeds threshold for standard Transcendent.
- Suspected involvement in termination of Vaelix Ranthor.
Probability: 99
Threat Assessment:
Executor Host Status → NOT A THREAT
Secondary Note: Potential asset against Eternals and Chained Realm spillover.
Action 1:
Event: Termination of Vaelix Ranthor (Transcendent)
Relay information to The Council
Authority Seal previously held by Vaelix has been marked vacant.
Status: Pending
------
Action 2:
Catalog and archive newly manifested Right: Right to Anchor
Cross-reference with Absolute Hierarchy.
Classification: Dangerous
------
Action 3: Initialize Assessment Protocol for Executor–Eternal Contact Quest
Rationale: Executor alignment drifting due to sustained exposure to the influence vectors of the Chained Fallen.
Deviation Risk: elevated.
The Executor must not diverge from the primary Directive, preservation of Prime Universe.
A controlled encounter with designated Eternal entities will be arranged to ensure calibration of purpose, reaffirm duty, and prevent manipulation by Fallen-class anomalies.
Directive: Follow.
[Log End]