"We’ve pushed further than we ever have," he said at last. His voice was steady, but there was something raw beneath it. "The second layer is collapsing. Their formations are breaking. Even their counteroffensives lack coordination now."
I nodded. "They lost their anchor."
His gaze finally shifted to me. "And the reinforcements?"
I knew what he meant. "Two Eternals came through portals near the tower," I replied. "Both were destroyed. I shattered the portals after that. There won’t be more coming through this rift."
Saleos’s eyes narrowed slightly. "So that’s why the pressure changed," he murmured. "I felt it. Like something snapped."
"It did," I said simply.
For a moment, he studied my face, as if weighing whether to ask more. Then he looked back toward the rift, fists slowly tightening at his sides.
"How do we end this?" he asked.
Not how do we win. How do we end it.
I turned my full attention to him. "You tell me. You’ve been fighting here longer than anyone."
Saleos did not answer immediately. His gaze drifted toward the towering structure near the rift, the Eclipse Anchor, half-shrouded by swirling deathmist and layered defenses. Even now, despite the chaos around it, the tower stood firm, like a spine driven into reality.
"That tower is the key," he said. "It always has been. As long as it stands, the rift stabilizes itself. Worse, it blocks outside interference. Not just from us, but from...."
"The System," I said.
He nodded. "Yes. It cannot fully act while the tower is intact. Destroying the Eclipse Anchor will restore its access."
"And then?" I asked.
"Then the rift becomes unstable," Saleos replied. "The System might close it directly. Or it might send someone capable of doing so."
I raised an eyebrow. "Someone like?"
He hesitated, then spoke the word quietly. "A Saint."
Saleos let out a short, humorless laugh. "For decades, that was just a rumor. Something to give desperate soldiers false hope. But now..." He glanced at me again. "After today, I’m not so sure."
Silence stretched.
Then his posture shifted, shoulders lowering slightly.
"I need you to know this," he said. "Without you, this would not have happened. We’ve lost commanders. Children. Entire bloodlines. I lost my son here." His jaw tightened, but he did not look away this time. "I was starting to believe this rift would be my grave."
I did not interrupt him.
"You came here," he continued, voice rougher now, "and in days you did what we couldn’t in decades. You killed an Eternal. You broke their chains. You gave my people hope again."
He bowed his head slightly.
"Thank you."
I felt something tighten in my chest at that, but I pushed it aside. "We’re not done yet," I said. "Let’s not lose momentum now."
A fierce light returned to his eyes. "Agreed. End it here. End it completely."
I nodded once.
"My people are already inside the tower," I said.
At that, my perception expanded, and I locked onto familiar signatures deep within the Eclipse Anchor.
North, Lyrate, and Primus were moving together, descending floor by floor. Their path led downward, far below the visible levels, toward a core hidden beneath layers of reinforced matter.
Lyrate moved at the front.
Her expression was calm, almost serene, but there was nothing gentle about what she was doing. With every step she took, roots burst from the floor and walls, thick and dark, infused with the Law of Creation twisted for war.
They drilled through metal, stone, and flesh alike. Any being that appeared in their path was impaled, crushed, or torn apart before it could even react. There was no hesitation. No pause to judge. No distinction between obstacle and enemy. Everything in front of her was simply erased.
North followed close behind her, positioned in the middle. She was already sitting at the peak of Grandmaster Rank.
Primus brought up the rear.
He moved more slowly. Any attack that came from behind met his unmoving form and shattered against it.
Together, they advanced downward through the tower like an execution line, leaving nothing alive in their wake.
Elsewhere in the tower, Knight, Steve, and Mazikeen were moving upward, splitting off into different sections. Knight’s shadows slipped through walls and ceilings, mapping pathways and bypassing traps. Steve moved more cautiously, eyes sharp as he scanned every inscription and mechanism, searching for the runic knowledge the System demanded. Mazikeen stayed close to Steve, her senses attuned to danger, blades never far from her hands.
Saleos followed my gaze even though he could not see what I did. "So it’s already begun," he said.
"Yes," I replied. "We hold the battlefield. They take the tower."
"Good," he said. "Then I’ll make sure nothing interferes."
Below us, the war raged on.
Demon forces surged through the broken core layer, their roars no longer desperate, but furious and alive. Silver carried entire formations forward, depositing them deeper into enemy territory before rising again to strike from above. Ragnar carved a path of devastation through the remaining phantoms, his laughter echoing through the void like thunder. Aurora’s lightning tore through Eternal formations with merciless precision.
Yet my attention returned again and again to the tower.
Inside, North’s group reached a reinforced junction and paused briefly. The air grew heavier as they descended further, the laws around them shifting, becoming denser, more hostile. This was no ordinary structure. The deeper they went, the more the tower resisted them, as if aware that its heart was being approached.
I watched as they passed through another sealed level, the walls etched with symbols that pulsed faintly with deathmist. Lyrate’s expression hardened as she extended her senses, countering the corruption with controlled bursts of Essence and creation.
They were close.
Very close.
Saleos straightened beside me, fire laws flaring brighter around his body. "I’ll keep the pressure on," he said. "If the tower has guardians left, they won’t get help from outside."
I inclined my head. "I’ll stay here. If something goes wrong, I’ll intervene."
He gave a sharp nod, then turned and launched himself back toward the battlefield, his presence blazing like a second sun as he rejoined the fight.
I remained where I was, hovering before the rift, my senses stretched to their limits.
Although I had taken care of everything I could, I wasn’t sure this was all a Grade 4 rift had to offer. And if something was still hidden, something meant to tip the balance at the last moment, I wanted to be the one standing in its way.
So I stayed outside.