Jalen sat cross‑legged within the storm of light, his spirit sea vast and roaring. For one thousand nine hundred years he had endured, absorbing every fragment of energy the third piece of the Origin Orb poured into him. Each torrent of qi hammered into his marrow, flooding his veins, spiraling into his dantian, and was drawn inexorably toward his primary spirit core until the core blazed like a miniature star.
The process was brutal. His body cracked, and his spirit sea shows signs of wear and tear, but he endured. And slowly, his cultivation climbed, and his aura sharpened until he ascended into the early-star Transcendent Realm. His body glowed, his soul burned, and his spirit sea stretched vast enough to contain the storm itself.
When the final torrent subsided, Jalen thought his ordeal was complete. He rose, prepared to leave, but the Origin Shard pulsed within him, whispering, "Do not depart. The true treasure lies beyond this point."
Suspicion gnawed at him. The shard had always been sly, always hungering. Yet its tone carried a certainty that unsettled him. Against his instincts, Jalen obeyed, convinced he would be prepared for whatever it was planning.
He remained within the domain, waiting. For twenty years he alternated between cultivation and rest. The routine was tedious and dull, but he endured it and pressed on.
Then one day while he was meditating, without warning, the entire Realm of Transformation trembled. Sigils flared across the crucible walls, veins of light pulsed erratically, and the storm surged anew. The air thickened, resonating with ancient power. Jalen opened his eyes, his aura blazing, ready to confront the change.
But before he could move, two figures arrived next to him—Ameer and Jael, drawn by the disturbance. Their presence radiated power, their cultivation at a level that surpassed the ceiling of the lower realm. Both stood at Peak Transcendent Realm, their legacies blazing like sovereign fires.
"I see this trip proved to be fruitful for you both," Jalen said.
"It's all thanks to you, Master." Ameer bowed with respect. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined reaching such a realm — a height not even his father, the former Emperor of Iron, had attained. Before meeting Jalen, he had been a nobody. Now, everything seemed possible. He would forever remain indebted to his master.
Jael jumped into Jalen's arms to hug him. "I miss you, Dad."
"Hundreds of years and you still behave like a kid." Jalen chuckled softly, patting his head.
"I'll always be your kid," Jael said with no shame.
Then, to his and Jalen's surprise, Jalen's hand pierced his chest. A silver‑blue energy entered Jael's body, threatening to absorb his core. Even Ameer, who stood at the side, was shocked. Not only was he bound in light chains that drained his qi like a glutton, but before he could break free, he was pierced by a shadow spear that detonated like a nuclear explosion.
Ameer suffered a severe blow but was still alive and standing due to his iron body. But Jalen—or rather the Origin Shard—attacked with brutal precision. Its realm was far above Ameer's, which is why it could hurt him with that abnormal shadow spear mixed with flame qi.
A clone of Jalen appeared before Ameer could find his footing, its hand piercing into Ameer's iron‑like body. The clone's arm bruised and cracked, causing Jalen pain, but the Origin Shard didn't care. It was absorbing Ameer's core fused with the energy of an eternal‑grade spirit lifeform. Of course Ameer tried to fight back, but weakened and overpowered, he was like prey awaiting death.
"What are you doing?" Jalen roared, straining against the will of the Origin Shard. His voice thundered through the crucible, but his body betrayed him. "Release him now!"
The shard did not obey. Its voice reverberated through Jalen's core, cold and unyielding:
"You said you wanted strength. Then understand—strength cannot be forged alone. You will need these two. One is the origin of all dragons, bearer of a bloodline older than empires. The other possesses a sovereign metal physique and is heir to the Steel Sovereign legacy—a name revered even in the Upper Realm."
The shard's words rang like iron against stone, leaving no room for doubt. Its hunger was clear: it sought to fuse Jael and Ameer into Jalen, to claim their legacies as fuel for his ascension.
"No," Jalen growled through clenched teeth.
"Yes," the shard answered, its tone absolute.
"I won't let you do this."
"You have no say, master. My purpose is to make you stronger—by any means necessary."
Jalen's eyes widened as he realized the shard no longer spoke in the third person. "You…"
"Yes. I have personhood. In truth, I always did. I was shattered, broken, scattered. But now, with each fragment restored, I am reforming. My will returns."
"I won't let you take my son or my disciple."
"Watch me." The shard pressed against Jalen's spirit sea, ripping through him with searing pain.
Jalen's Luminal Heart stirred violently in his chest, pulsing with protective resonance. Currents of light wrapped around his spirit sea, struggling to free him from the shard's grip and shield Jael and Ameer. For a moment, the disruption worked—Ameer broke free, and the clone of Jalen dissolved into nothing.
But the shard's hunger was vast, its resonance absolute. Jael's bloodline and cores were being siphoned into Jalen like supplements, nourishing his body against his will. Ameer was engulfed in silver‑blue energy, his iron body breaking down, refined into qi, and devoured piece by piece.
Jalen's mind fractured under the weight. Visions assaulted him—Jael's dragon roar echoing through his veins, Ameer's steel physique hardening his marrow. His body was becoming a vessel for their legacies, but his soul screamed in rejection. He remembered the shard's sly bargains and its endless hunger. Now he understood: this had been its true goal all along.
"Stop!" Jalen roared. His aura flared, the Luminal Heart blazing brighter, matching the shard's power but unable to overwhelm it.
"You foolish brat," the Origin Shard sneered. "Stop interfering. This is for your own good."
"I don't want this!" Jalen bellowed.
"I don't care what you want."
Ameer staggered, his iron body cracking under the strain. Jael's scales dulled, his eyes wide with fear—not for himself, but for his father. He could have fought back, but terror of harming Jalen held him still. He would rather die than strike his own blood.
Both young men looked at the man they respected most, desperate yet powerless, as the shard's will pressed down like a storm without end.
At the last moment, when it seemed Ameer and Jael would be utterly devoured, a surge of green energy erupted from Jalen's body. It rose like a tidal wave, cutting through the shard's resonance, wrapping him in a protective cocoon. The crucible trembled, chains shattered, and for the first time the Origin Shard faltered.
Its voice cracked, sharp with disbelief: "You…?"