The ground beneath the ruined palace split wider, a jagged maw of stone and earth vomiting columns of black mist that twisted into shrieking, eyeless faces. The Gate—sealed and forgotten for over a thousand years—was no longer dormant. Its awakening pulsed through the air, a heartbeat of malice that shook the very foundations of the capital. Marble pillars crumbled into dust, and the sky above churned with clouds that bled unnatural shades of violet and crimson.

Valerian lowered his sword, Soulpiercer, its blade still humming from the clash with Emperor Aurelius. The battlefield itself was shifting—flagstones cracked, the air grew heavy, and the wind carried a stench like charred bone. His breaths came shallow, his muscles screaming from the fight that had brought the Emperor to his knees. But this... this was something else.

Emperor Aurelius, still kneeling amidst the rubble, his golden armor cracked and leaking ichor, stared at the rupture in the marble floor. For the first time in Valerian's memory, the man's voice trembled. "That... is no power of man."

Valerian didn't respond. His System, the ever-present voice in his mind, pulsed like a living thing, its cold interface flickering with urgency.

> [System Warning: Dimensional Interference Detected.]

> [Umbra Fragment Awakening – 62%]

> [True Gate Seal 1 – Broken.]

> [World-Split Event Phase I Commencing.]

The capital plunged into an unnatural silence. No screams. No battle cries. No clash of steel from the distant outer walls where the rebellion still raged. Only an overwhelming hum, like the breath of something massive inhaling beneath the earth. The air grew thick, pressing against Valerian's chest, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

And then the screaming started.

---

**Capital City – Outer Walls**

Kael, perched on the crumbling ramparts of the outer walls, looked up as a pillar of darkness erupted into the clouds, piercing the heavens like a spear. His usual cocky grin vanished, replaced by a flicker of awe that quickly morphed into dread. "...That's not our boss."

Beside him, Selka gripped her twin blades, their edges glinting faintly in the dim light. Her eyes, usually sharp with defiance, reflected the black lightning that now arced through the sky, splitting clouds like wounds. "No," she said, her voice low but steady. "That's something older. Something wrong."

Kael glanced at her, his hands tightening around the hilt of his axe. "You think Valerian's got a plan for... whatever that is?"

Selka didn't answer. She was already moving, leaping from the rampart to the blood-soaked streets below. "We move. Now."

Kael cursed under his breath, slinging his axe over his shoulder and following her. "Yeah, sure. Let's go punch a nightmare. Great idea."

---

**Palace Ruins**

From the rupture in the earth, a clawed hand rose—twisted, bone-thin, and tipped with nails of black crystal that shimmered with an unnatural light. It gripped the shattered marble, cracking it further, and dragged upward a form that defied comprehension. The creature was humanoid only in the loosest sense, its body a shifting mass of shadow and bone, dripping tar-like ichor that hissed as it burned through stone. Its head was a void, faceless yet screaming with a thousand silent voices. Wings—or perhaps tendrils—unfurled behind it, twisting in directions that made Valerian's eyes ache to follow.

> [??? Detected: "First Horror – Malek'Zar the Hungering Maw"]

> [Warning: Power exceeds known divine scale.]

> [Quest Triggered: Survive the First Horror – Optional Objective: Delay Its Advance]

Valerian's body tensed, every muscle screaming in protest. "Of course," he muttered, his voice dripping with bitter sarcasm. "A world-ending monster. Right after I fought the Emperor."

The System chimed again, its tone cold and emotionless, yet somehow accusatory.

> [Note: This is your fault.]

Valerian's jaw clenched. "Oh, shut up."

The Emperor, pale and bleeding golden ichor from wounds that refused to close, struggled to his feet. His once-majestic form was crumbling, his divine aura flickering like a dying flame. He raised a trembling hand, pointing at the Horror. "This... this is what you've unleashed, traitor."

Before Valerian could retort, the Horror raised a skeletal limb and snapped its crystalline fingers. A line of darkness slashed through the air, faster than thought, splitting reality itself. Aurelius's body twisted unnaturally, his torso bending at an impossible angle before he was hurled into the rubble with a sickening crunch.

> [Warning: Emperor Aurelius – Status: Dying. Ascension Halted.]

Valerian didn't move. His eyes were locked on the Horror, but more importantly, on what lay beyond it. The Gate—a massive, obsidian arch half-buried in the earth—was open, just a crack. From that sliver came a voice. Not a sound, but a presence, slithering into his mind like oil, mirroring his own thoughts in a way that made his skin crawl.

> "So… you finally broke it open for me."

Valerian's eyes narrowed. "...That voice."

> "Did you really think you were the villain, Valerian?"

The words weren't spoken aloud, yet they echoed in his skull, familiar and alien at once. His grip on Soulpiercer tightened, the blade humming as if it, too, recognized the presence.

---

**System Alert**

> [World Line Destabilizing.]

> [Reality Layer 03: Cracking.]

> [Synchronization Triggered – Source: Original Self Detected.]

Valerian's heart pounded. His past, the fragments of memory he'd clawed back from the System's cryptic warnings, surged to the surface. A name. A shadow of who he'd been before the System, before the world branded him a villain.

"Alex," he whispered, the word tasting like ash.

---

**Deep Below – Gate Chamber**

Far beneath the palace, in a chamber carved from obsidian and lit by veins of pulsating red light, the Keymaster knelt before the Gate. His skeletal frame shook with a mixture of laughter and sobs, his tattered robes pooling around him like spilled ink. The air was thick with the scent of decay and something older—something that predated gods and men.

"It's happening," he rasped, his voice breaking as tears streamed down his gaunt face. "He's coming. The one who remembers everything. The true self."

Behind him, the Gate's second seal—a massive rune etched in molten silver—fractured with a sound like breaking glass. Black mist swirled, coalescing into a single silver eye that hovered in the air. It blinked once, its gaze piercing through stone and time, and then vanished.

The Keymaster's laughter grew manic. "You can't stop it, Valerian. You were always the key."

---

**Back on the Surface**

Malek'Zar raised its faceless head, and though it had no eyes, Valerian felt its attention settle on him like a mountain pressing down on his soul. The air grew colder, the world dimmer, as if the creature's mere presence drained the life from reality itself. Then it spoke—not in words, but in hunger. A primal, ravenous force that clawed at Valerian's mind and body, tearing at the edges of his existence.

He doubled over, vomiting blood as his vision blurred. Every cell in his body screamed, recognizing the Horror as something beyond the System, beyond the gods, beyond the laws that bound the world.

> [Health: -18%]

> [Status: Mental Corrosion Imminent]

The System's voice buzzed, distorted, as if struggling to maintain its connection.

> [Enabling Override Mode – Villain Core Stabilization...]

> [Requesting Emergency Sync With... Denied.]

> [Fallback Protocol: Sin Resonance Core Activation.]

A jolt of power surged through Valerian's chest, raw and searing. The Villain Core, the fragment of his soul tied to the System's darkest designs, flared to life. Shadow armor erupted over his body, coating him like a second skin, its edges flickering with crimson light. His vision cleared, his limbs steadied, and the mental corrosion receded—just enough for him to stand.

He wiped blood from his mouth, spitting onto the cracked marble. "Screw you, System," he growled. "I'm not dying before I get answers."

With a roar, he sprinted toward the First Horror, Soulpiercer blazing with dark energy. The world blurred around him, propelled by desperation, rage, and the whisper of that voice—his voice—laughing from the Gate.

He slashed in a wide arc, the blade cutting through the air with a scream of its own. Soulpiercer met Malek'Zar's crystalline limb and—

*Clink.*

The impact rang like metal on metal, and Valerian was thrown back like a ragdoll. He crashed through a broken tower, stone shattering around him, and rolled across the flagstones, his armor sparking as it absorbed the blow.

> [Impact Resistance: Overloaded. Damage Taken: -42% HP]

> [System Rebooting…]

Valerian groaned, dragging himself to his feet. Blood ran down his forehead, stinging his eyes. The Horror didn't move. Didn't need to. It had already marked him, its presence a promise of inevitable destruction.

Something in Valerian's soul whispered: *You're not strong enough yet.*

---

**Kael & Selka – Rushing Toward the Palace**

From a hilltop overlooking the palace ruins, Kael stared at the monstrous creature now towering over the shattered spires. Its form seemed to grow larger with every passing second, its tendrils coiling into the sky like living storms.

"You think the boss has a plan for that?" Kael asked, his voice tight with unease.

Selka didn't answer. Her blades were already drawn, her body low as she sprinted toward the ruins. "We help him," she called over her shoulder. "Plan or no plan."

Kael cursed, hefting his axe and chasing after her. "You're gonna get us killed, you know that, right?"

But even as he spoke, his eyes were locked on the Horror. Its presence was a weight, a pull that made his instincts scream to run in the opposite direction. Yet something about Valerian—about the man who'd led them through blood and betrayal—kept him moving forward.

---

**Palace Ruins – The Clash Intensifies**

Valerian staggered to his feet, his breath ragged. The Horror loomed, its form shifting as if reality couldn't decide what it was. One moment, it was a skeletal giant; the next, a writhing mass of shadow and teeth. Its faceless head turned, and Valerian felt that hunger again, clawing at his mind.

He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand. "Come on, then," he snarled. "Let's see what you've got."

Before he could move, a massive bolt of golden energy erupted from the side. Emperor Aurelius, his body literally crumbling, half his face gone and his armor reduced to shards, let out a final, defiant roar. "For the Empire—!"

He drove his broken spear into the Horror's chest, the weapon blazing with the last of his divine power. The impact sent a shockwave through the ruins, shattering what remained of the palace's walls. For a moment, hope flickered in Valerian's chest.

Then silence.

The Horror didn't budge.

Instead, it turned its faceless head. A maw opened where its face should have been—a void of teeth and darkness. Aurelius screamed once, a sound of pure agony, as his body was pulled into the maw, devoured in an instant.

> [Emperor Aurelius – Status: Terminated]

> [Ascension – Corrupted]

> [Entity Absorbed: Malek'Zar – Evolution Accelerated.]

The sky turned pitch black, the clouds swallowing the last traces of light. Malek'Zar began to change. Its wings grew larger, sprouting jagged spines that dripped with that same tar-like ichor. Its bones snapped and rearranged, its form swelling with newfound power. The Gate behind it pulsed, the crack widening, and the air grew thick with the scent of ozone and despair.

And then, in the sky above, a silver eye opened.

It was massive, spanning the horizon, its gaze cold and unyielding. It stared directly at Valerian, and that voice—his voice—spoke again.

> "You're running out of time, Valerian. Better catch up."

The words were a blade, cutting through his resolve. The System flickered, its interface glitching as if overwhelmed by the presence of the eye.

> [Warning: Reality Layer 03 – Critical Failure Imminent.]

> [Synchronization Progress: 78%]

> [Unknown Entity Approaching: Designation – Original Self.]

Valerian's heart pounded. The name "Alex" echoed in his mind, a fragment of a past he couldn't fully grasp. The System had warned him before—of a truth buried in his soul, of a self he'd lost when he became its pawn. But this? This was no memory. This was something alive, something coming for him.

The Horror took a step forward, the ground cracking beneath its weight. Its tendrils lashed out, tearing through stone and air alike. Valerian dove to the side, barely avoiding a strike that obliterated a nearby pillar. His armor sparked, the Villain Core straining to keep him alive.

From the distance, he heard Selka's shout. "Valerian!"

She and Kael burst into the ruins, weapons drawn. Selka's blades glowed with runes, while Kael's axe crackled with raw energy. They moved as one, flanking the Horror, their attacks a blur of steel and light.

But Malek'Zar didn't flinch. A tendril whipped out, catching Kael mid-swing and sending him crashing into a wall. Selka dodged, her blades slicing into the creature's limb, but the wounds closed instantly, the tar-like ichor knitting itself back together.

> [Allies Engaged: Kael – Health: -34%]

> [Selka – Status: Stable, Mana Depleting.]

Valerian roared, charging again. Soulpiercer burned with dark energy, and he unleashed a barrage of slashes, each one fueled by the Villain Core's power. The blade bit into Malek'Zar's form, drawing sparks and ichor, but the Horror seemed to absorb the damage, growing stronger with each strike.

The silver eye in the sky pulsed, and the voice laughed again.

> "You're fighting the wrong enemy, Valerian. Look at the Gate. Look at me."

Valerian's eyes flicked to the Gate, where the crack was now wide enough to reveal a void beyond—a swirling abyss of stars and shadows. Something was moving inside it. Something massive. Something that felt like him, yet infinitely more.

The System screamed in his mind.

> [Critical Alert: Synchronization at 92%.]

> [Original Self Manifestation Imminent.]

> [Recommendation: Seal the Gate. Failure Condition: Total Reality Collapse.]

Valerian stumbled, his vision swimming. The Horror loomed closer, its maw opening wider, its hunger now a physical force that dragged at his soul. Kael was back on his feet, blood streaming from a gash on his arm, while Selka fought to keep the creature's tendrils at bay.

"Valerian!" Selka shouted. "What the hell is that thing in the sky?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't. The voice—his voice—was growing louder, drowning out everything else.

> "You can't stop me, Valerian. You were always just a piece of me."

The Gate pulsed again, and the crack widened. A hand emerged from the void—not clawed like the Horror's, but human, yet wrong, its fingers too long, its skin shimmering like liquid silver. It reached for the edge of the Gate, and the world trembled.

Valerian's Villain Core burned hotter, its power surging through him. He raised Soulpiercer, his eyes locked on the Gate. "Alex," he growled. "If you're me... then I'm going to bury you."

The Horror roared, its maw splitting wide enough to swallow the sky. The silver eye blinked, and the hand from the Gate stretched further, its fingers curling as if to beckon him closer.

> [Synchronization: 99%.]

> [Warning: Reality Layer 03 – Collapse Initiated.]

The ground shook violently, the ruins collapsing around them. Kael and Selka fought on, their shouts barely audible over the chaos. The Horror advanced, its form now a towering nightmare of bone and shadow, its hunger a tidal wave threatening to consume everything.

And from the Gate, the voice spoke one final time, its tone no longer mocking, but cold and certain.

> "Welcome home, Valerian."

The hand reached out, and the world went white.

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