The first world fell without a scream.
No explosion.
No warning.
One moment it existed—stable, distant, untouched.
The next, it merged.
Above Eclipse Academy, the sky split open like torn fabric. Through the rifts, entire landscapes bled into reality—alien skies, fractured continents, inverted oceans suspended in the air.
The Convergence had begun.
Reality Fails
Alarms rang throughout the academy.
Students froze as unfamiliar gravity waves slammed into the floating islands. Some platforms tilted violently, others phased halfway out of existence before snapping back with deafening distortion.
Kairo's voice echoed through the command channels.
"All units, stabilize your sectors! Do NOT engage anything that crosses without confirmation!"
Too late.
Creatures began appearing—beings not born of shadow alone, but of failed laws. Monsters stitched together from multiple realities, their existence tearing at space just by moving.
This was no invasion.
It was worlds colliding.
Arakio Steps Forward
At the heart of the chaos stood Arakio.
He felt it immediately.
The hunger reacted—not violently, but with recognition.
So this is convergence.
His aura rose instinctively, stabilizing the air around him. Golden-violet energy rippled outward, briefly halting the collapse of nearby space.
Jiho rushed to his side.
"Arakio, your presence is stabilizing the overlap zones!"
Riko stared at the sky, teeth clenched.
"So you're not just fighting the war… you're anchoring reality itself."
Ayakio reached for Arakio's hand.
"You don't have to carry this alone."
He nodded.
"I won't."
Stage 5 — Partial Release
The pressure increased suddenly.
A convergence surge erupted directly above the academy, threatening to crush multiple platforms into a single spatial point.
Arakio had no choice.
He opened the gate.
Not fully.
Just enough.
Stage 5 answered.
His aura deepened—no longer wild, no longer explosive. It became dense, heavy with authority. Space bent smoothly around him instead of shattering.
The Aura Blade re-formed:
Infinite Hunger Edge — cutting overlaps apart cleanly
Resonance Domain — an expanding field stabilizing allied forces
Mirror Continuum Shield — reflecting multiversal distortion
Reality obeyed him.
For now.
The Enemy Reveals Itself
The sky darkened unnaturally.
From within the largest overlap descended an Entity of Convergence—a being formed from multiple collapsed worlds, its body layered with broken skies and burning oceans.
Students panicked.
Even the council faltered.
"This isn't a lieutenant," Selene whispered.
"It's a convergence core."
Arakio stepped forward, heart pounding.
The hunger surged.
This is what you were made for.
Battle Beyond Law
The clash defied description.
Arakio did not simply strike the entity—he separated realities, slicing unstable overlaps apart while protecting those behind him.
Jiho reinforced the Resonance Domain.
Riko coordinated counterflows, redirecting spatial collapse.
Ayakio anchored Arakio's consciousness as Stage 5 pressure mounted.
Every second was balance.
One mistake—and everything would fold.
The entity screamed—not in pain, but in disassembly, as Arakio severed the convergence threads holding it together.
Finally, it collapsed into fragments of fading worlds.
Silence followed.
A Truth Revealed
Arakio staggered.
Stage 5 receded instantly.
His body trembled—not from exhaustion, but from realization.
This war was not about defeating enemies.
It was about deciding which worlds deserved to exist.
The hunger whispered softly:
Ascension is choice.
High above, beyond perception, something ancient observed.
The Arc Villain was no longer testing.
He was preparing.
Chapter 14 Summary / Cliffhanger
The Convergence officially begins
Worlds start overlapping and collapsing
Arakio stabilizes reality zones
Partial Stage 5 activation demonstrated
First Convergence Entity defeated
Hunger redefined as authority over existence
Cliffhanger: War is inevitable — choices will shape the multiverse