The explosion continued long after the battlefield disappeared from sight.
From the distant cliff where Kael and the others had escaped, the night sky still flickered with violent blue and black light.
Waves of pressure rolled across the horizon like storms, shaking the earth beneath them.
No one spoke.
Not Daren.
Not Sera.
Not even the others who had regrouped nearby.
Because what they had witnessed—
Was beyond their understanding.
⸻
Kael stood near the edge of the cliff silently.
His gaze remained fixed on the distant chaos.
But his thoughts were elsewhere.
Void seeks Origin…
The old man's words echoed repeatedly in his mind.
Not random.
Not coincidence.
Specific.
Deliberate.
As if this conflict had existed long before he was born.
⸻
The Origin Core pulsed softly within him.
Steady.
Heavy.
Different than before.
Ever since seeing the Void Fragment—
The energy inside him felt more active.
Almost awake.
Kael frowned slightly.
"…What exactly are you?"
He wasn't sure if he meant the Void.
Or himself.
⸻
Behind him, Sera finally spoke.
"That old man…"
Her voice was still tense.
"Do you think he can stop it?"
Kael looked back toward the battlefield.
The explosion had weakened slightly.
But the pressure remained enormous.
"…I don't know."
And for once—
That answer felt honest.
⸻
Suddenly—
A ripple spread through the air nearby.
Everyone tensed instantly.
Weapons rose.
Energy gathered.
Then—
A figure stepped out from the distortion.
The old man.
⸻
His robes were damaged now, several parts burned black by void energy. His breathing was heavier than before, but his presence remained overwhelming.
Daren immediately bowed his head deeply.
The others followed.
Even Sera stiffened instinctively.
Kael remained standing.
Watching.
The old man looked at him directly.
"…You stayed."
Kael answered calmly.
"You're alive."
A faint smile appeared on the old man's face.
"Barely."
⸻
Silence lingered briefly before the old man spoke again.
"The fragment has been sealed temporarily."
Relief spread across the group instantly.
But only briefly.
Because the old man's expression remained serious.
"Temporary?" Sera asked carefully.
The old man nodded.
"It will not remain sealed forever."
His gaze shifted toward Kael again.
"Especially now that it has sensed him."
Everyone looked toward Kael.
The atmosphere grew heavier immediately.
⸻
Kael met the old man's eyes directly.
"You know what Origin is."
The old man remained silent for a moment.
Then nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Kael stepped forward slightly.
"Then explain."
The wind moved quietly around them.
The old man's expression became distant.
Like someone remembering something ancient.
Painful.
"…Long ago," he began quietly, "before the current cultivation era existed…"
"There were beings known as the Origin Bearers."
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Bearers?"
The old man nodded.
"Individuals capable of wielding Origin energy."
His gaze sharpened.
"Not borrowed power."
"Not cultivated power."
"But the foundational force from which existence itself emerged."
Silence fell heavily.
Even the others listening could feel the weight behind those words.
⸻
The old man continued.
"And opposite to Origin…"
His expression darkened.
"…was Void."
"The force of absence. Consumption. Erasure."
Kael listened carefully.
Every word mattered.
⸻
"Origin created."
"Void devoured."
"They were never meant to coexist peacefully."
The old man looked toward the distant battlefield again.
"There was a war."
Not a normal war.
Not kingdoms.
Not sects.
But something far greater.
"A conflict so devastating that entire regions of existence disappeared."
Sera's face paled slightly.
Daren swallowed hard.
But Kael remained calm.
Focused.
The old man looked directly into his eyes.
"And in the end…"
"Both sides vanished."
⸻
Kael frowned slightly.
"If they vanished…"
"Then why does Void still exist?"
The old man's expression hardened.
"Because remnants remained."
"Fragments."
"Followers."
"Sealed horrors."
"And now…"
His gaze shifted to the ring on Kael's finger.
"Origin has appeared again."
⸻
The night grew quieter.
Heavier.
Kael finally understood why the Void cultivator reacted the way he did.
Why the fragment called him "Origin."
Why the old man looked so serious.
This wasn't coincidence.
He had stepped into something ancient.
Something unfinished.
⸻
The old man spoke again.
"You must hide your power."
Kael frowned.
"That won't solve anything."
"No," the old man admitted.
"But it may delay what's coming."
His voice lowered slightly.
"Because if the Void truly learns an Origin Bearer exists again…"
"…they will hunt you relentlessly."
⸻
The words carried absolute certainty.
Not fear.
Fact.
⸻
Kael looked down at his hand briefly.
Golden energy flickered faintly around his fingers.
Then disappeared.
His expression remained calm.
But inside—
Something had changed.
Before this—
He only wanted strength.
Survival.
Ascension.
But now—
He understood.
His power carried meaning far beyond himself.
And somewhere out there—
Things existed that would kill him simply because of what he was becoming.
⸻
The old man suddenly raised his hand.
A small blue token appeared.
Floating toward Kael.
Kael caught it carefully.
The symbol engraved on it resembled a sky surrounded by stars.
"A token?" Kael asked.
The old man nodded.
"When you reach the northern region…"
"Come find me."
Kael looked at him silently.
The old man's expression turned serious once more.
"Because the moment Void senses you again…"
"…your real journey will begin."
⸻
Far away—
Deep beneath the shattered battlefield—
Inside layers of broken seals and endless darkness—
A violet eye slowly opened once more.
And this time—
It was smiling.