The moment the colossal eye fixed upon Kai—
Time stopped.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
The collapsing rune pillars froze in midair.
Ash hung motionless.
The rivers of crimson ceased flowing.
Even the screams of the battlefield were swallowed by absolute stillness.
Only two beings could still move.
Kai.
And the nameless figure.
The eye was unlike anything Kai had ever seen.
Its iris wasn't made of flesh.
It was formed from countless rotating worlds.
Each world contained civilizations that rose...
Flourished...
And vanished into dust.
Every blink marked the birth and death of millions.
Kai felt as insignificant as a grain of sand before an endless ocean.
Yet...
He refused to lower his gaze.
The Coreless Heart beat steadily.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The nameless figure sighed.
"So you still carry that defiance."
Kai frowned.
"You know me?"
The figure remained silent for a long moment before answering.
"I knew the one who came before you."
"The first to reject the chains of destiny."
Kai's eyes narrowed.
"The First Ascendant?"
The figure nodded.
"He was the first..."
"...and he failed."
The eye beyond the heavens shifted.
Its voice descended without sound, speaking directly into Kai's soul.
"Another has appeared."
Each word shook reality.
"Why do you resist?"
Kai answered without hesitation.
"Because the path you offer isn't mine."
Silence.
Then—
The eye laughed.
Not mockingly.
Curiously.
"Interesting."
"No one has answered Me that way... for a very long time."
Outside the Trial—
Time resumed.
The battlefield exploded into motion.
The frozen rune pillars crashed to the earth.
Shockwaves tore across the land.
Ancient beasts fled in terror.
Cultivators desperately escaped as entire mountains collapsed.
Lyra staggered to her feet, forcing herself toward Kai.
But an invisible barrier surrounded him.
Every step closer felt like walking against the weight of a thousand worlds.
Far away, hidden within the shattered ruins of an ancient temple...
An old man wearing torn gray robes suddenly opened his eyes.
His cultivation had long since decayed.
His body looked as though a single breath could scatter it into dust.
Yet the instant he sensed the heavenly gaze...
He smiled.
"So..."
"The cycle begins again."
He slowly stood, leaning on a weathered wooden staff.
"This time..."
"...perhaps history will change."
Without another word, he stepped into a shadow—
And vanished.
Inside the Trial—
The eye spoke again.
"Show Me your path."
A beam of pale light descended from the heavens.
It struck the ground before Kai.
Within the light appeared countless visions.
A future where he accepted absolute power.
A future where he ruled immortal kingdoms.
A future where entire galaxies bowed before him.
A future where Lyra lived.
Where no companions died.
Where no sacrifices were needed.
Every dream.
Every desire.
Every regret.
All within his reach.
He needed only one word.
"Accept."
Kai stared at the visions.
He saw himself wearing a crown of stars.
He saw endless armies kneeling.
He saw his enemies erased with a single thought.
He saw peace.
Perfect peace.
It was beautiful.
Almost...
Too beautiful.
He took one slow step forward.
The heavenly light brightened.
The eye watched in silence.
Another step.
The visions became clearer.
He could almost feel them.
Almost touch them.
Then...
Kai smiled.
A small, genuine smile.
"You made one mistake."
The heavenly voice paused.
"...Explain."
Kai looked directly into the eye.
"In every future you showed me..."
"...I never chose it."
The smile faded.
"They were all gifts."
"They were never earned."
He raised his hand—
And clenched his fist.
The visions shattered like fragile mirrors.
Millions of fragments scattered through the void.
"I don't want perfection."
"I want truth."
For the first time...
The eye blinked.
Not out of surprise.
But recognition.
The nameless figure slowly knelt.
Its head lowered toward Kai.
"You have answered."
"The Trial is complete."
A silver rune emerged from the Coreless Heart.
Unlike ordinary runes, it had no shape.
Anyone who looked at it saw something different.
To Lyra, it looked like a flame.
To the ancient spirits, it looked like a broken crown.
To the heavenly eye...
It looked like a key.
The eye's countless worlds stopped rotating.
Its voice, now solemn, echoed across all existence.
"The Final Seal has awakened."
The heavens cracked.
Not the sky.
The heavens themselves.
Beyond the fracture, something immense shifted in the darkness.
A hand.
So vast that entire stars drifted between its fingers.
It reached toward the opening.
The nameless figure whispered in horror,
"It came too early..."
Kai looked up, his instincts screaming.
The silver rune on his chest burned.
The Coreless Heart pounded with terrifying force.
Then, from beyond the shattered heavens, a deep voice echoed through every realm—
A voice older than creation itself.
"Return what was stolen..."
"...or the Ninth Era shall end."