Time: 1 Hour after the Detonation
?The crash was not graceful.
?The Naglfar, moving at Mach 3, smashed through the cloud layer. The sky above the capital was no longer red. It was a clear, bruised purple, healing slowly from the atmospheric trauma.
?The citizens of the Eternal Night Empire (formerly the Qin Empire) stood in the streets. They weren't looking for a golden pagoda this time. They were looking for a pile of bones.
?"Look!" a child pointed upward.
?A streak of green fire cut across the horizon.
?It wasn't the smooth, arrogant descent of a god. It was the jagged, erratic fall of a survivor. The Naglfar, smoking and tumbling, punched through the atmosphere. Its bone-fins were snapped, its Tiger-Steel armor was stripped away, and its main gun was a melted lump of slag.
?But it was flying.
?[System Protocol: Auto-Pilot (Nox Override).]
[Landing Gear: Non-Functional.]
[Strategy: Crash Gently.]
?The ship roared over the city walls, shaking the dust off the rooftops. It didn't aim for the spaceport. It aimed for the Palace Gardens.
?CRASH.
?The Naglfar skidded across the manicured lawns, tearing up centuries-old flower beds and smashing through a stone wall before coming to a grinding halt inches from the Emperor's balcony.
?Steam hissed from the Samsara Drive. The green glow of the engines flickered and died.
?Lin Chen was the first to arrive. He vaulted over the balcony railing, landing next to the smoking hull. General Thorne and a squad of elite healers followed close behind.
?"Open the hatch!" Lin Chen shouted, banging on the warped airlock with his remaining fist.
?The airlock didn't open. The mechanism was fused.
?"Stand back."
?Nox's muffled bark came from inside.
?BANG.
?The door flew off its hinges, kicked from the inside by a massive shadow-paw.
?Nox stumbled out. The Eclipse Hound was singed, bleeding from his nose, and exhausted. He collapsed on the grass, panting heavily.
?Lin Chen rushed inside the cockpit.
?He found Aris slumped in the command chair. The "Hero" looked less like a king and more like a broken doll. His skin was grey, covered in frostbite from the vacuum and burns from the radiation. His violet veins were black and stagnant.
?"He's not breathing," General Thorne whispered, checking for a pulse.
?"He doesn't need to breathe," Lin Chen snapped, lifting Aris's fragile body into his arms. "He needs mana. Get him to the World Tree! Now!"
?Time: Seven Days Later
?Aris floated in a tank of glowing green liquid.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
?The tank was hooked up directly to the roots of the World Tree. Tubes pumped concentrated life-force into his veins, flushing out the radiation and repairing the cellular damage caused by the Black Hole Gun.
?He was conscious, but his body was paralyzed.
?[System Boot... Complete.]
[Host Status: Critical but Stable.]
[Restoration Progress: 85%.]
?Aris watched the bubbles rise in the tank. He could see outside.
?The room was filled with gold.
?Not the Celestial Gold of the enemy, but tributes. Piles of spirit stones, rare herbs, and ancient artifacts were stacked against the walls. The Emperor had emptied the royal treasury to keep Aris alive.
?Lin Chen sat in a chair next to the tank, meditating. His missing arm had been replaced by a prosthetic made of Shadow-Construct—a hand of solid violet energy.
?Knock. Knock.
?Emperor Qin Long entered the room softly.
?"High Priest," the Emperor whispered to Lin Chen. "How is the Lord?"
?"He is awake," Lin Chen said without opening his eyes. "He is listening."
?The Emperor bowed deeply to the tank.
?"My Lord," the Emperor said, his voice trembling with reverence. "The world is... changed. The Sky-Sect is gone. The weather has returned to normal. The crops are growing again."
?The Emperor hesitated.
?"The people... they have started a new calendar. They call this Year 1 of the Void Era. They say you killed the Sun."
?Great, Aris mentally sighed. Now I'm a religion.
?Aris focused on his internal interface. He had missed the notifications during the battle.
?[Battle Report: The Defense of Sector 994]
[Enemies Defeated:]
- ?10,000 Void-Bats
- ?5,000 Terracotta Soldiers
- ?1x Void-Ark (The Beast-Tamer)
- ?3x Dao Severing Elders (Kong, Mei, Asura)
?[Total XP Gained: 55,000,000.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Current Level: 70 (Spirit Severing - Threshold).]
?[System Warning: Level Cap Reached.]
[Analysis: The ambient Qi of the Lower Realm is too thin to support a Level 71 existence. You must Ascend to the Middle Realm to continue leveling.]
?I hit the ceiling, Aris thought. I'm too big for the fishbowl.
?He checked his inventory.
?When the Black Hole ate the ship, it destroyed most of the physical loot. But the System had managed to snag Digital Assets.
?[Loot Recovered:]
- ?The Star-Chart of the Middle Realm: A map of the 33 Sectors controlled by the Myriad Beasts Mountain.
- ?Elder Kong's Storage Ring (Partial): Contains 1,000,000 High-Grade Spirit Stones and a technique manual called The Stellar Body Art.
- ?The Beast-Tamer's Flight Log: Coordinates to a "Secret Supply Depot" in the asteroid belt.
?A map, money, and a hidden stash, Aris mused. The perfect starter pack for an invasion.
?The liquid in the tank began to drain.
?Aris flexed his fingers. The paralysis was gone. His skin was new, pale and unblemished, but hummed with a hidden power.
?The glass door of the tank hissed open.
?Aris stepped out, naked and dripping with green slime.
?"My Lord!" The Emperor averted his eyes and hurriedly handed him a robe.
?Aris put on the black silk robe. He walked to the window and looked out at the capital.
?It was night. The city was lit up with violet lanterns. A massive festival was taking place in the plaza around his statue.
?"They are celebrating," Aris said softly.
?"They are celebrating you," Lin Chen corrected, standing up. "You saved them."
?"I saved my property," Aris corrected, turning back to the room. "But the landlords are coming back."
?He picked up Elder Kong's Storage Ring from the table where Lin Chen had placed it.
?"System. How long until the Punitive Fleet arrives?"
?[Calculation based on Warp Travel distance:]
[Estimated Time of Arrival: 6 Months.]
?"Six months," Aris repeated.
?He looked at Lin Chen, then at the Emperor.
?"In six months, a fleet ten times larger than the Beast-Tamer will arrive. They won't send a ship this time. They will send an Armada."
?The Emperor paled. "Then... we are doomed?"
?"No," Aris smiled. It was the smile of a player who had just finished the tutorial and was ready for the open world.
?"We aren't going to be here when they arrive."
?Aris pointed at the ceiling, toward the stars.
?"We have a map. We have a ship—that needs repairs. And we have an army of undead that doesn't need oxygen."
?"We are going to the Middle Realm," Aris announced. "We are going to infiltrate their Sect, steal their resources, and burn their mountain down from the inside."
?He looked at Lin Chen.
?"Pack your bags, Priest. We're going to school."
?Phase 1: The Mortal Era - COMPLETE.
?Stats Summary:
- ?Name: Aris Thorne
- ?Level: 70 (MAX - Lower Realm)
- ?Class: Void Architect / Necromancer
- ?Titles: The Abyssal Lord, Planet-Walker, Slayer of Stars.
- ?Assets: The Four Divine Beasts, The Naglfar (Damaged), The World Tree, Sector 994.
?Phase 2: The Middle Realm - BEGINS.