The storm had passed. The flames died down. But Matt wasn't at peace.
He stood at the edge of a shattered portal, guided by the starmap's final constellation.
The Void whispered.
"The beast remembers. The beast waits."
He stepped through.
Thran'Dokk.
A jungle realm unlike any other.
Skies were cloaked in green mist. Vines the size of towers coiled through shattered ruins and fossilized titan bones. Trees pulsed with light—not life, but old magic—bleeding from god-flesh buried beneath the soil.
Matt moved carefully.
Even the leaves watched him.
The air here felt alive—sensitive to blood, memory, and rage. His Void stirred with every breath. He wasn't sure if the jungle wanted him to live or to die.
He kept walking.
He passed stone totems built from shattered weapons. Spears carved with the symbol of an ancient clan: Savage Orcs. Beneath one altar, a skeletal beast the size of a ship lay half-buried in moss.
And below it… chained to its heart… was a figure.
Eight feet tall. Skin gray-green. Tusks chipped. Scars like roadmaps of war.
Chains wrapped around his arms, his neck, even his tongue.
But his eyes burned yellow.
Ondharo — King of Savage Orcs.
And when he saw Matt… he wept.
"I saw you die," Ondharo said. His voice was gravel. "I saw them burn you. We all did."
Matt froze.
"You… remember?"
Ondharo nodded. "I followed you once. When you were still god enough to break the sky."
He pulled against his chains. They didn't budge. Magic rooted them into the bones of the world.
"I failed you, Flame. I broke when you broke. The others… they turned. I stayed. And I was punished."
Matt stepped closer.
"You don't have to call me that. I'm not who I was."
"You're more," Ondharo growled. "You came back. And you burned them. Myuthor bends. Namgari bows. Now, let me fight beside you again."
Matt placed his hand on the chains.
They writhed.
A voice screamed from the trees.
"THE VOID SHALL NOT BE UNCHAINED."
---
The jungle collapsed.
Out of the ground erupted dozens of corrupted beasts—jungle golems powered by divine marrow. Their eyes glowed red. Their teeth were divine metal.
Battle Initiated: Chain Trial — Beasthunter Event.
Matt drew the Shadowsidian Blade.
His Corruption Level: 92%.
His Void whispered:
"Let us end this. Burn them. Break them. Unleash me."
Matt fought.
Every strike from the golems pushed him closer to the edge.
He activated Stormpulse.
He triggered Ember Rift.
He released Mindscar Flare.
Still not enough.
Until… one golem struck him in the heart.
Time slowed.
Void hit 99%.
A fracture began to tear across his vision.
He dropped to one knee.
Void Incarnate Mode: Lock or Release?
Matt closed his eyes.
Then reached back—into himself.
Into the pain, the betrayal, the rage.
He found the memories.
Amiya smiling.
Mailane laughing.
Grey joking.
The smell of his home on Nyuga.
His mother's lullaby.
He stood.
And took control.
Void Incarnate — Controlled State: Activated.
A new form.
Black and gold flames surrounded him. His armor shifted, shaped by all three sigils. Wings of Riftlight extended from his back.
He struck.
In one move, he severed the chains on Ondharo.
The jungle howled.
But the god-beast was free.
---
Ondharo rose.
And dropped to one knee.
"Throne or not… I follow the Flame."
The final sigil burned into Matt's arm:
Orc Sigil Acquired.
Beastlink Protocol Unlocked.
Void Control Core Online.
His Corruption stabilized.
And then… the starmap shattered.
A new image took its place.
The skies above the Moniyan Palace.
Five stars aligning.
Five armies rising.
The Imperial Paladins had declared war.
And Matt?
He was ready.