The sky did not simply fracture.
It split apart.
A single line of radiant gold carved across the deathmist-choked heavens, as though reality itself had been peeled open. The crack expanded instantly, and from beyond it, something vast began to descend.
A finger.
Enormous. Absolute.
It emerged slowly at first, its surface glowing with dense golden light, countless runes flowing across it in layered sequences too complex to fully grasp at a glance. Each rune shifted continuously, forming and reforming, as if rewriting the laws around it with every fraction of descent.
The pressure reached us before the finger did. The illusion of my domain shattered instantly. The ancient tablet silhouette fractured, its authority collapsing like glass under a weight it could not resist. The violet Essence under my control recoiled violently, forced back into stillness.
I did not move.
I watched.
I observed the power radiating from the descending construct, my Psynapse straining to interpret it, to understand its structure and its origin. It was beyond anything I could measure.
Beyond Saint-level constructs. And then I felt it. The aura behind it.
Familiar.
Cold.
Absolute.
The System.
Hidden behind the descending finger, woven into its existence like a signature no being should have been able to access. For the first time since arriving at this relay, surprise surfaced within me.
Not fear. But something far rarer.
Uncertainty.
A golden shield ignited around the relay base below it. The same color as the finger. And it surrounded the Eternals and even the traitors.
Golden light formed a complete barrier around the structure, runes floating across its surface in perfect synchronization with the descending finger above. The two were connected, part of the same enforcement.
"So this was the deal." I muttered.
This was the rule he had spoken of.
Steve stepped closer to my side.
"Do we have a solution?" Steve asked.
I already knew the answer.
I could go all out.
I could unleash everything.
Node 3.
Absolute.
Star of Origin.
Abyss Core.
I could challenge it.
But I would not be able to protect them. Not against this. And more importantly—
This was the System.
Which meant there were rules. And rules could be used.
I opened the System merit shop instantly.
My merit count remained large. Accumulated from the destruction of Hollow Star relay bases, commanders, and their networks. I scrolled through the listings rapidly.
And then I found it. The same item I had noticed before.
One-Way Teleportation Token.
Destination: Feradros.
Cost: insignificant compared to what I possessed.
I purchased it instantly. The token materialized in my hand, a small cube shaped crystalline object glowing faintly with System authority.
Without hesitation, I threw it toward Steve.
"Go back to Feradros," I said calmly.
He caught it midair.
"Take our ship and leave the Feran system. I will come find you."
He did not argue. He understood. Time was already collapsing. I summoned the others immediately. Ragnar, Aurora and Ash. Ragnar reacted first, his massive frame shifting forward as his weapon appeared instantly in his grasp.
"What is happening?" Ragnar demanded, his eyes fixed on the descending golden construct, his grip tightening around his club as instinct alone told him the scale of what was approaching.
"Well," I said calmly, keeping my gaze on the finger tearing through the sky, "this is an unforeseen situation."
I turned slightly toward them. "But you will go with Steve and North. I will find you afterward."
Aurora straightened immediately at my words.
"Aurora," I continued, "I expect you to lead."
Her chest rose sharply, pride and determination flashing across her face.
"Of course," she said without hesitation, a confident smile forming. "You can leave everything to me. I won’t disappoint you."
Steve had already activated the token.
The crystalline construct dissolved in his hand, and a circular green portal tore open behind him, its edges glowing with fractures. Ragnar stepped through first, followed by Aurora and Ash, each of them casting one last look upward at the descending finger before disappearing into the portal.
North remained.
She stepped closer to me and reached out, wrapping her arms around mine. "Take care," she said quietly. "We will wait for you." She pulled me into a brief, tight embrace before releasing me.
Then she stepped backward and entered the portal. The gateway closed behind her. I allowed myself a small smile before turning my attention fully back to the sky. The golden finger continued its descent.
It was not rushing. It was as though the System itself was reminding me of the difference between its authority and mine.
Mocking me.
I summoned the others.
Lyrate.
Knight.
Silver.
They appeared beside me instantly, their presences stabilizing as they took in the situation around us. Their eyes rose toward the descending construct. None of them spoke immediately.
"So," I said calmly, "the situation is unfavorable."
I pointed upward briefly.
"I cannot defend against that."
My gaze shifted toward the figures still gathered beneath the golden shield protecting the relay.
The Eternals. The traitors. Still alive and protected.
Still believing themselves untouchable.
"But," I continued, my voice steady, "I do not intend to leave empty-handed."
I raised my hand and pointed toward them.
"So before I go," I said, "we will kill them."
My eyes settled on the group.
"All except one."
"We will need answers."
Lyrate’s lips curved slightly as she followed my gaze toward the shield.
"Understood, I will annihilate them all except one." she said softly.
"It won’t be that easy," I said, my gaze fixed on the golden shield protecting them. "We attack together."
I stepped forward.
’Node 3.’
The response was instantaneous. A deep thrum resonated from within my body. My muscles tightened as power surged through every channel, every fiber aligning under a higher state of function. My perception sharpened further, the world slowing as my Psynapse expanded to accommodate the sudden increase in processing. Strength, control, and awareness rose together, each reinforcing the other. Twenty percent increase in all my state.
I released the deathmist circulating through my channels and forced it downward, redirecting it into the Dawn Core. The moment the flow reversed, the Generator Core awakened in response.
Essence flooded outward.
Pure. Violent. Obedient.
It filled every pathway within me, stabilizing the surge, reinforcing my body against the strain of Node 3’s activation.
I moved. The ground shattered beneath my feet as I shot forward, violet Essence trailing behind me like a comet’s wake.
Beside me, Silver released a deafening cry.
His body expanded instantly, bone and muscle multiplying as he transformed into his giant form. His massive wings crashed against the ground as he accelerated, each flap of his wing leaving craters behind him as he charged directly toward the golden barrier.
Above us, Lyrate’s body dissolved into crimson mist.
Her form scattered completely, vanishing into the surrounding space without leaving a trace.
Knight moved differently.
He vanished.
Space folded, and he reappeared directly above the shield, suspended in the air above the golden barrier. A dense black orb rotated in his hand, its surface distorting the surrounding space as layers of compressed shadow and gravity folded inward.
We rose above the shield together.
The golden barrier shimmered beneath us, its runes flowing in perfect synchronization. Far above, the enormous golden finger continued its slow descent, its presence pressing against my senses like an unchallengeable law.
I extended my hand.
"Together," I said.
My Psynapse locked onto the space above the shield. Not the barrier itself, but the coordinates it occupied. I invoked my space law. A ripple passed. I selected a single point—
And collapsed it.
Space folded inward violently. Distance compressed into itself, light bending sharply toward the center as the golden runes distorted, dragged toward the collapsing coordinate. The shield dented inward, spatially, its perfect structure faltering as golden light surged to stabilize it.
Knight moved instantly.
He thrust his black orb downward. It vanished and reappeared inside the collapse point, detonating into a silent implosion. Shadow and space folded together, intensifying the distortion.
At the same moment, Silver attacked.
High above us, his massive form unleashed a concentrated crimson beam. It tore through the air and struck the same collapsing point.
The shield cracked.
Golden runes fractured, thin lines spreading outward as the barrier flickered and destabilized.
That was enough.
Lyrate attacked.
Thin wooden spears formed around the shield and shot inward through the fractures before the runes could recover. They pierced the interior and detonated instantly.
Annihilation spread inside the barrier.
Bodies ruptured. Phantoms collapsed. Deathmist dispersed violently as everything within was erased in cascading destruction.
The Eternals were the first to go. Then the Phantoms and finally the traitors.
When the light faded, only one figure remained.
The Naga.
He stood near the center, trembling, his aura broken, his body frozen in terror.
Alive.
Because I allowed it.
Above him, we hovered.
And above us all—
The golden finger continued its descent.