The sky above the wastelands split like torn fabric.
Yanis stepped back as a rift opened in mid-air, jagged and flickering with purple-red energy. From within it, tendrils of spiraling shadow uncoiled like smoke trapped in reverse.
Kael stood, still panting from the Seed absorption. His body sparked with residual golden light—skin faintly steaming from within, veins glowing.
> [ALERT: UNKNOWN ENTITY BREACHING LOCAL DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE]
[Classification: GATE-BORN / NON-TIERED / SENTIENT]
[Code Name: NULL-EATER]
[Objective: LOCATE AND CONSUME FRAGMENT-BEARERS]
[Threat Level: EXTINCTION PROTOCOL – ACTIVE]
Yanis shouted, "KAEL! MOVE!"
But Kael didn't. Couldn't.
The creature emerged from the Gate fully.
It had no true form—just a shifting cloud of burning script, broken teeth, bone wings made from dead languages, and an eye that didn't blink—it folded.
The Null-Eater screamed—a sound made of forgotten names and erased history.
> [Core Resonance Detected – Your Seed is Being Targeted]
[Combat Initiated: AUTO-SYNC ENGAGED]
[FORM SHIFT ENABLED – ASHWAKE TYRANT]
---
Kael's body convulsed—and changed.
His twin blades melted into flame and reformed into a massive greatsword with fractal edges. Black flame curled from his shoulders. His eyes dimmed to volcanic red, his steps cracking the ground.
> [Ashwake Tyrant – Sync 42%]
[Passive Triggered: Dimensional Resistance – Partial Immunity to Gate Compression]
[New Skill: Tyrant's Crest – Each kill stores volatile memory that can be released in a burst]
He charged.
The Null-Eater stretched a limb of code toward him. Kael slashed, cleaving it in half—the fragment exploded into burning math, then reassembled.
> "You can't be killed by steel…"
Kael leapt, blade spinning, burning through space itself. His swing disrupted reality for a moment—shattering gravity around him.
> [Skill: Fracture Pulse – ACTIVATED]
A shockwave burst outward, tearing a crater in the land. The Entity's body split—but again, it tried to rebuild.
Kael panted. "Then I'll burn what makes you real."
---
The Null-Eater turned its eye to him and screamed again. For a moment, Kael saw a memory not his own:
> A Seedbearer, long dead, impaled by the Entity.
A forgotten Reclaimer outpost torn from time.
A little girl—eyes full of flame—watching a town collapse.
The Seed surged inside Kael.
He roared.
> [SECOND BREATH – ACTIVATED]
[For 15 Seconds: All damage x2, movement unhindered by terrain, resistance to Gate Influence +100%]
Flames exploded from his back.
Kael charged again, slamming into the Null-Eater's core, blade-first.
> "You erase names?"
> "Then remember mine."
> "KAEL RIVEN!"
The sword pierced the Entity's core. Light burst outward—blinding and boiling—and the scream stopped.
The Null-Eater collapsed into script ash and shattered runes.
Silence.
---
> [Boss Defeated – Gate-born Entity Neutralized]
[Residual Data Absorbed – Unlocking Optional Path: "The Forgotten Throne"]
[Core Corruption: 22.7% – STABLE]
[Ashwake Tyrant – Skill Evolution Pending]
Kael dropped to one knee, chest heaving.
Yanis ran to him—but stopped short.
> "Kael… your skin…"
His arms were cracking. Tiny lines of glowing glyphs crawled up from his wrists. His name flickered across his chest—then dimmed.
The Seed whispered:
> "Three more fragments… and you'll remember who you were."
Kael closed his eyes.
And somewhere—deep in the darkness beyond the real world—a girl in red sat up, eyes wide open.
> "He's coming."
---