The collision between Kael and the Heavenly Executor split the clouds.
A golden shockwave swept across Azure Wind City.
Windows shattered.
Buildings trembled.
The academy's defensive formations flickered dangerously.
Yet at the center of the battlefield, Kael remained standing.
His sword was locked against the Executor's golden blade.
The Executor stared at him.
"You shouldn't be able to resist me."
Kael pushed his sword forward.
"Then you should have brought someone stronger."
**BOOM!**
The Executor was thrown backward.
He stopped himself in midair, seven halos spinning rapidly behind him.
For the first time, anger appeared on his face.
"You are still only a fragment of the man you once were."
Kael wiped blood from his lip.
"Then imagine what happens when I remember everything."
The Executor's expression darkened.
"You must never remember."
"Why?"
"Because the moment you do..."
He raised his hand.
"...Heaven falls."
Kael smiled.
"Now I'm definitely going to remember."
Below them, Seraphine suddenly looked toward the ground.
Her expression changed.
"Something's wrong."
Lyra noticed.
"What?"
Seraphine placed a hand against the stone floor.
"The prison."
Elder Hale's face became pale.
"You mean the Star Prison?"
Seraphine nodded.
"The second seal wasn't holding the prisoner."
She looked toward Kael.
"It was holding something beneath it."
Hale's eyes widened.
"That's impossible."
Seraphine's expression became cold.
"Nothing is impossible anymore."
A deep vibration passed through the academy.
**Thump.**
Everyone froze.
Then—
**Thump.**
The sound came again.
Kael stopped fighting.
He looked downward.
His Void Sense penetrated the academy.
Beneath the prison.
Beneath the ancient chamber.
Something enormous was moving.
The system appeared.
> **[UNKNOWN LIFE SIGN DETECTED.]**
>
> **[Origin: Unknown.]**
>
> **[Energy signature: Void.]**
>
> **[Classification: Impossible.]**
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"There's something underneath us."
The Executor heard him.
His expression suddenly changed.
For the first time, Kael saw genuine fear in his eyes.
"You awakened it."
Kael looked at him.
"What?"
The Executor immediately raised his hand.
"All forces retreat!"
The celestial soldiers froze.
One of them looked confused.
"My lord?"
"RETREAT!"
The command echoed through the sky.
Kael smiled.
"You're afraid."
The Executor looked directly at him.
"You don't understand what you have done."
"Then explain."
The Executor didn't answer.
Instead, a golden portal opened behind him.
Kael stepped forward.
"Wait."
The Executor looked at him.
"You wanted me dead."
"You attacked this academy."
"And now you're running?"
The Executor's eyes hardened.
"I came to kill the Starborn."
He glanced downward.
"But that thing..."
His voice lowered.
"...is not something Heaven can fight."
He stepped through the portal.
Before disappearing, he said one final sentence.
"Run while you still can."
The portal closed.
Silence filled the sky.
Kael lowered his sword.
Lyra approached.
"He escaped."
Kael shook his head.
"No."
"What?"
"He didn't escape."
Kael looked toward the academy.
"He ran."
The academy began evacuating students.
Instructors shouted orders.
Nobody understood what was happening.
Kael, Lyra, Seraphine, and Hale returned underground.
The ancient chamber had changed.
The stone coffin was cracked open.
But Seraphine wasn't looking at it.
She was staring at the floor.
A thin black line had appeared across the stone.
Kael activated Void Sense.
His vision pierced through the ground.
His face became serious.
"There."
He pointed.
A gigantic eye opened beneath them.
It was black.
Completely black.
No pupil.
No iris.
Just endless darkness.
Lyra stepped backward.
"What is that?"
Seraphine whispered:
"The Abyssal Heart."
Hale stared at her.
"You know what it is?"
"I know what it was created to do."
Kael looked at her.
"Tell me."
Seraphine hesitated.
"It wasn't created to destroy worlds."
"Then what?"
"It was created to consume them."
Silence.
Kael looked at the enormous eye.
The system appeared.
> **[Ancient entity identified.]**
>
> **Designation: Abyssal Heart**
>
> **Status: Dormant — 0.001%**
>
> **Potential Threat: Beyond Celestial Realm**
>
> **Warning: Current host cannot defeat entity.**
Kael's expression remained calm.
"Good."
Lyra stared at him.
"Good?"
Kael nodded.
"It means I have something stronger to aim for."
Seraphine smiled faintly.
"That really is you."
Kael looked at her.
"What does that mean?"
"Ten thousand years ago, you said the same thing."
Kael's expression changed.
"You knew me."
"I did."
"Were we allies?"
Seraphine looked away.
"We were more complicated than that."
Lyra glanced between them.
"How complicated?"
Seraphine smiled.
"That's a story for another time."
Kael frowned.
"You're avoiding the question."
"Because you're not ready for the answer."
Kael wanted to press her.
But suddenly—
**THUMP.**
The Abyssal Heart pulsed again.
The entire underground chamber shook.
The black eye opened wider.
Then a voice echoed through the darkness.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Almost curious.
**"Starborn..."**
Kael froze.
**"You have returned."**
The Voidheart inside Kael's chest answered.
A pulse of black light escaped his body.
The Abyssal Heart responded.
**THUMP.**
Kael's system immediately displayed:
> **[Synchronization detected.]**
>
> **[Abyssal Heart recognizes Host.]**
>
> **[Relationship: Unknown.]**
Kael stared into the darkness.
"You know me."
The voice answered.
**"I remember you."**
Kael's heart raced.
"What am I to you?"
For several seconds, there was no response.
Then:
**"You are the one who gave me a name."**
Kael's eyes widened.
The chamber went completely silent.
Then the Abyssal Heart spoke again.
**"You called me..."**
The darkness trembled.
**"...Eclipse."**
Kael suddenly saw another memory.
A young version of himself standing beneath a ruined sky.
Beside him floated a tiny black creature with glowing silver eyes.
Young Kael smiled.
*"From today onward, your name is Eclipse."*
The creature happily circled him.
*"And you'll stay with me forever."*
The memory shattered.
Kael staggered backward.
"Eclipse..."
Seraphine stared at him.
She looked genuinely shocked.
"You remembered."
Kael looked at the enormous eye beneath them.
A strange warmth filled his chest.
Not fear.
Recognition.
The system appeared.
### **[Memory Fragment Restored]**
**Progress: 12% → 18%**
### **[Ancient Companion Identified]**
**Name:** Eclipse
**Current Form:** Abyssal Heart
**Bond:** Unknown
**Original Status:** Sovereign Companion
Kael stared at the final line.
"Companion."
The darkness pulsed.
**"Master."**
Kael's eyes widened.
Lyra looked at him.
"Master?"
Kael slowly smiled.
For the first time since awakening, he felt that the past wasn't only something he needed to fear.
Some parts of it might still belong to him.
But deep beneath the academy, Eclipse continued to awaken.
And the system displayed one final warning:
> **[Abyssal Heart awakening progress: 0.3%]**
>
> **[At 1% awakening, regional destructi
on probability: 87%.]**
>
> **[At 10% awakening, continental destruction probability: 99%.]**
>
> **[Recommendation:]**
>
> **Restore the Sovereign's memories before Eclipse fully awakens.**
Kael looked toward Seraphine.
"How much time do we have?"
Seraphine's smile disappeared.
"Not enough."
Above them, another tremor shook Azure Wind City.
The sky darkened.
And somewhere beyond the heavens, the Celestial Court realized the truth.
The Starborn had not returned alone.
**To be continued...**