The battlefield.
The fractured sky.
The abyss below.
Even the prison itself seemed to disappear beneath the overwhelming brilliance erupting from the hidden layer.
Dominic could no longer feel the ground.
Nor the realm.
Nor the war unfolding around him.
Only the synchronization.
Only the ancient force now awakening through it.
Beside him, Leila remained suspended within the storm of silver and shadow.
Their connection had become something greater than a bond.
Something greater than anchors.
The prison recognized them.
And that terrified everyone.
The ancient voice echoed again.
"Final Protocol progressing."
"Memory vault unlocked."
The light shifted.
Suddenly—
The realm vanished.
Dominic found himself standing within an endless white expanse.
Leila stood beside him.
No core.
No abyss.
No fractures.
No enemies.
Only silence.
"Where are we?" Leila whispered.
Before anyone could answer—
A figure appeared.
Not through teleportation.
Not through energy.
He simply existed.
As though he had always been standing there.
A man.
Tall.
Simple black robes.
Silver eyes.
No visible power.
No overwhelming presence.
And yet—
The moment he appeared—
Reality itself seemed to straighten.
Leila's breath caught.
Dominic felt the synchronization tremble.
Not from fear.
Recognition.
The figure looked at them quietly.
Then smiled.
"Well."
A pause.
"I was beginning to think nobody would ever reach this point."
Silence.
Marcus wasn't present.
The Sovereign wasn't present.
The stranger wasn't present.
Only Dominic.
Only Leila.
Only the man.
The First Warden.
Leila stared.
"You…"
The man nodded.
"Yes."
Dominic narrowed his eyes.
"You're dead."
The First Warden laughed.
"Very."
For some reason, that answer sounded completely honest.
The ancient creator folded his arms casually.
"If you're seeing this, then things have gone terribly wrong."
Dominic frowned.
"That's an understatement."
The First Warden nodded.
"Fair."
For a moment, his expression softened.
Then became serious.
"Tell me."
His silver eyes fixed on them.
"Has the Outer Host awakened?"
The question sent a chill through both anchors.
The synchronization responded automatically.
Images surfaced.
The abyss.
The creatures beyond reality.
The colossal shapes between worlds.
The First Warden closed his eyes.
"Damn."
Silence followed.
Then he sighed.
"I really hoped that would take longer."
Leila stared.
"That's your reaction?"
The ancient creator shrugged.
"If the Outer Host is awake, we're already past the point where panic is useful."
Dominic stepped forward.
"What exactly is the Outer Host?"
The First Warden became quiet.
For the first time since appearing—
His humor vanished.
Then he pointed upward.
And reality changed.
The white expanse transformed.
Stars appeared.
Worlds.
Galaxies.
Universes.
Countless realities floating within an endless sea.
Beautiful.
Infinite.
Then—
Darkness appeared.
Not ordinary darkness.
Movement.
Something enormous.
Then another.
Then thousands.
The stars began disappearing.
Consumed.
Erased.
Not destroyed.
Removed.
As though they had never existed.
Leila's eyes widened.
"What are they?"
The First Warden looked at the vanishing worlds.
"Hungry."
A pause.
"That's the simplest answer."
The darkness spread further.
Entire galaxies vanished.
Civilizations disappeared.
Reality itself retreated before the advancing void.
"They don't conquer."
The First Warden's voice remained calm.
"They don't rule."
Another universe disappeared.
"They consume possibility."
Silence.
Dominic felt cold settle into his chest.
Because somehow—
That sounded worse than destruction.
The First Warden continued.
"Long ago, they found our existence."
The image shifted.
Countless realities burned.
Entire dimensions collapsed.
World after world vanished into darkness.
"And we lost."
Leila stared.
"What?"
"We lost."
The First Warden repeated.
"There was no grand victory."
Another reality disappeared.
"No heroic triumph."
Another vanished.
"No miracle."
Another vanished.
"We were exterminated."
Silence.
The synchronization trembled.
Because the memories felt true.
Every word.
Dominic's voice lowered.
"Then how are we here?"
The First Warden smiled.
"Because I cheated."
The image changed again.
The ancient creator stood before an impossible structure.
A prison.
Larger than realities.
Larger than dimensions.
Larger than comprehension itself.
"I couldn't defeat them."
Energy erupted across existence.
"So I built a trap."
The prison expanded.
Reality folded around it.
Entire universes became components.
Worlds became locks.
Dimensions became walls.
Leila's breathing stopped.
The scale was impossible.
"The prison wasn't built to contain the creatures beneath your realm."
The First Warden looked directly at them.
"It was built to contain the entrance."
Everything froze.
Dominic's eyes widened.
The abyss.
The creatures beyond reality.
The Outer Host.
All connected.
The First Warden nodded.
"The thing beneath the prison isn't the enemy."
Silence.
"It is the door."
The words hit like a weapon.
Far away, through the synchronization, Dominic could feel the abyss raging.
Trying to escape.
Trying to awaken.
Trying to open.
Not because it wanted freedom.
Because it was designed to.
The First Warden's expression darkened.
"And if that door opens completely…"
The image above them changed one final time.
Infinite darkness.
Countless eyes.
Entire realities being swallowed.
And something so vast that even galaxies appeared microscopic beside it.
For the first time—
The First Warden looked afraid.
"…then everything ends."