Chapter 84: The Gate Opens
A blinding crimson flash tore through the heavens as Valerian descended like a meteor, his cloak flaring behind him, shadowed wings unfurling from his back. Each beat sent shockwaves across the ruined battlefield. The earth split beneath his landing, carving canyons into the stone as the full wrath of the System surged within him.
Kael staggered back, his armor cracked, left arm hanging useless at his side. "He’s... changed again."
Selene’s lips parted. "That’s not just evolution. That’s... assimilation."
Behind them, Seraphina and Lira fought to suppress the rift that had opened during Valerian’s awakening. Black tendrils of otherworldly energy slithered out of the chasm, hissing like serpents, each one seeking blood and chaos. The very air around the tear shimmered with malevolent hunger, and reality itself seemed to recoil from what lay beyond.
The Obsidian Conclave’s elite—what remained of them—were either crushed or driven mad by the surge of corrupted mana. Their screams echoed across the wasteland, a symphony of broken minds and shattered souls. This was no longer a battle of factions.
This was survival.
Valerian stood tall, eyes glowing with a split hue—half blazing gold, half void-black. His aura wasn’t just suffocating—it was apocalyptic. The stones beneath his feet began to weep black tears, and the sky above twisted into impossible geometries.
"The final lock is gone," he said, his voice layered, echoing like two versions of himself spoke at once. "The System has chosen. I am no longer the Villain... I am the Gate."
Kael raised his sword, trembling. Blood dripped from his knuckles where he gripped the hilt too tightly. "Valerian, listen to me—if you open that gate, there’s no coming back! You’re playing into their hands—"
"There are no hands," Valerian interrupted, stepping forward. Each footstep left smoldering craters in the stone. "Only chains. And I’m the key."
With a flick of his fingers, black fire erupted beneath Kael’s feet. The warrior leaped away, but the flames warped reality, latching onto his shadow and pulling him down. He slammed into the stone ground with a grunt, blood spitting from his lips. The shadow-fire began to crawl up his legs, burning cold as winter death.
"Lira!" Seraphina shouted, her voice cracking with desperation. "We need to bind his wings before he completes the Rite!"