The deep southern mountains had always been an incredibly volatile region. Before the war, they were the domain of the Vanguard, a landscape dominated by bubbling magma, suffocating ash, and violent tectonic shifts. Following the cleansing of the physical anchors and the massive systemic reset, the region had finally begun to naturally cool. The jagged peaks were still hot, but they were no longer bleeding apocalyptic fury.
However, centuries of celestial hoarding had left deep, lingering scars on the physical world.
A localized pocket of the King's corrupted void metal had survived the initial planetary purge. It was completely buried deep within a narrow, inaccessible mountain pass, untouched by the brilliant light of the new sun. Without a celestial master to command it, the void metal did not actively attack. It simply existed as an absolute, decaying parasite, passively bleeding a rigid, suffocating necrotic rust into the local soil.
