The once-proud Citadel now lay in ruins, scorched by battle, its towering spires cracked and broken, yet still standing—a monument to resistance against the Void. A weary silence lingered in the aftermath, disturbed only by the moans of the wounded and the soft rumble of thunder in the distance.
Jin Long stood at the highest parapet, his cloak tattered and bloodied, gazing at the spot where the rift had once torn the sky. Though it was sealed, a faint shimmer lingered in the air—a reminder that the Void was still watching, waiting. The Genesis Core pulsed gently at his chest, no longer radiating overwhelming power but resting quietly, as if recuperating from its monumental effort.
Yue Lan approached, her steps light despite her injuries. "Kael and Valen are helping the survivors," she said. "We saved the Citadel… but the cost was high."
Jin Long didn't answer immediately. His mind wasn't just on the Citadel. It was on Nyxara's final words. The Void is eternal. And so am I. They hadn't defeated her. They had only pushed her back.
"There's something I didn't tell you," Jin Long said quietly. "When I touched the heart of the Genesis Core during the battle… I saw it. I saw her world."
Yue Lan frowned. "Her world?"
"The Void isn't just a place. It's a fractured realm—twisted, corrupted, but once… alive." His voice dropped. "Nyxara wasn't born from the Void. She became it."
---
In the war room of the Citadel, the surviving leaders of the allied sects gathered. Burned banners and cracked armor adorned the chamber, but defiance still blazed in their eyes. The ancient sage of the Emerald Sky Sect, Master Tian Ran, leaned on his staff and spoke gravely.
"The battle may be over, but the balance has been disturbed. For centuries, we guarded the realms with the belief that harmony could endure. But now…" He looked at Jin Long. "The Genesis Core has awakened fully, and its echo can be felt across dimensions. There are those who will come for it."
Jin Long met his gaze. "Let them come."
But Yue Lan interjected, "We can't afford to be reactive. We need answers. About the Void. About Nyxara. About what the Genesis Core truly is."
Master Tian Ran nodded. "Then you must travel beyond the mortal realms—to the Library of Ten Thousand Stars. It lies hidden at the edge of creation. Only there can you understand the true origin of the Core and the fate that awaits all who touch it."
---
That night, as the Citadel rested, Jin Long stood beneath the stars. Yue Lan approached, holding a scroll etched with ancient markings—the map to the Library. It shimmered with celestial ink, visible only to those with divine affinity.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"No," Jin Long admitted. "But we go anyway."
She smiled faintly. "Good. Because I'm coming with you."
---
Far across the realms, deep within a place untouched by time, Nyxara floated in a sea of darkness. Her form was cracked and flickering, her voice a whisper against the silence.
But her eyes blazed with fury.
"They think they've won…" she murmured. "But they have only opened the door."
Behind her, something moved—massive, ancient, and unseen. A shadow beyond shadows.
And then came a whisper, from the depths of the Void itself.
"Let the Genesis War begin."