Having known Raven and Zeke for as long as he did, Enzo had gradually let them in on his core secrets, though never all at once, and never without hesitation. The strange encounters that had marked his voyage across shattered worlds and dying stars had revealed fragnts of truths that even he struggled to piece together. Each revelation felt incomplete, like a puzzle with missing edges, yet the weight of those fragnts was undeniable.
The strange coffin he used to carry around remained at the center of it all.
At first, he had dismissed it as nothing more than an anomaly, an artifact of unknown origin that had sohow bonded itself to him. But over ti, its presence had beco impossible to ignore. It responded to him, protected him, and at tis acted with a will that did not feel entirely his own. That alone was enough to make anyone wary.
Naturally, he had shared these things with so reservation. Even though he knew Raven was related to the High God of Gaia, a lineage that granted her perception beyond most beings, and Zeke possessed a special talent that placed him at the pinnacle of the sky, there were limits to what even they could comprehend without consequence.
His secrets were simply too much.
Even he did not understand them himself sotis. There were monts when the coffin pulsed with a silent intent, when whispers brushed against the edge of his consciousness, too faint to grasp yet too present to ignore. In those monts, Enzo was reminded that he was not in full control.
But despite all that, they understood one thing clearly.
Whatever was in that castle above was connected to him.
"Hold the ground!" Enzo shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos as he rushed up the trunk of a towering tree. The bark splintered beneath his feet as he ascended, the void coffin strapped securely to his back, its dark surface absorbing the scattered light around it.
Below him, the battlefield raged.
A monstrous creature with glowing red eyes and massive, gorilla-like arms slamd its fists into the earth again and again, each strike sending shockwaves through the ground. The sheer force of its attacks cracked the soil and uprooted nearby trees as it tried relentlessly to crush the two figures trapped beneath it.
"Quickly! My golem can’t hold on any longer!" Leon barked, his voice strained as he struggled to maintain control over the massive construct before him.
The giant golem, ford from stone and reinforced with energy, stood as the only barrier between the beast and its targets. Its body was already riddled with fractures, chunks of rock breaking away with each impact. Leon’s control wavered with every passing second.
Just as the creature raised its arms for another devastating strike, a silhouette shot forward from beside the golem.
With precise speed, the black obsidian knight leapt into the air, her blade gleaming faintly as it carved through the air. Her strike landed cleanly across the beast’s wrists, the force of the blow slicing through flesh and leaving behind a deep, jagged gash.
The creature recoiled, letting out a guttural roar as it staggered back.
That single mont of hesitation was all Enzo needed.
From above, the void coffin tore through the air like a falling star, its descent carrying imnse weight and force. It crashed directly into the creature’s skull with a deafening impact, shattering bone and tearing through its head, leaving a massive, hollow cavity in its wake.
The beast froze.
Then collapsed.
[You have slain a Tyrant class beast]
[Siphoning starlight]
Enzo landed shortly after, appearing beside the void coffin as if drawn to it. Without a word, he placed a hand on its surface, feeling the faint pulse beneath his palm as it absorbed the lingering energy of the fallen creature.
Using it as a battering ram had beco second nature to him over the years.
"They are done," Enzo said, glancing to the side.
In the distance, Raven and Zeke stood amidst the remains of another Tyrant-class beast. The ground around them was scorched and fractured, evidence of the overwhelming force they had unleashed. Zeke’s flas still flickered faintly in the air, while Raven’s stance remained composed, her blade steady and unshaken.
Not long after entering the forest, they had been ambushed by waves of monsters, each stronger than the last. The relentless attacks had forced them far off their intended path, dragging them deeper into unfamiliar territory.
It quickly beca clear that this place was crawling with beasts.
Yet, there was sothing unusual about them.
They were not corrupted.
Unlike the twisted abominations they had encountered on other worlds, these creatures were purely wild. Their aggression was natural, their strength untainted by the creeping influence of corruption. It made them no less dangerous, but it raised questions.
"Hey, I found sothing."
Zeke’s voice did not carry through sound, but through fla. Words ford midair, shaped from controlled bursts of fire that lingered just long enough to be read before fading.
Enzo and Leon exchanged a glance before moving toward him.
Together, they descended a small hill, their steps cautious as the terrain shifted beneath them. At the base of the slope, partially hidden by overgrown roots and creeping vines, stood a small stone shrine.
It looked ancient.
The structure was worn, its edges softened by ti. Cracks ran along its surface, and the symbols etched into its slabs were barely legible, written in a language so old it felt alien.
Yet the system translated.
[On the third day of the siege, the Queen of Vampires descended with three servants into the dark forest and said:]
[Let blood rain]
[After this, all the creatures corrupted were drained of all life force and ford what is called:]
[The Beads of Blood Destruction]
A silence fell over the group.
Scattered across the forest, they had already encountered multiple slabs like this, each one recounting fragnts of a larger story. Piece by piece, a narrative was forming.
A twelve-day siege.
A war involving the Dark Emperor, his forces, and a coalition known as the Red God Alliance.
"That’s the fifth slab so far. Scan it," Enzo said.
Raven nodded, her eyes briefly glowing as her HUD activated. Streams of data flickered across her vision as she recorded and organized the information.
These events had taken place long after humanity abandoned the planet.
Which ant one thing.
There were forces in the universe far beyond what humanity currently understood.
"A few thousand years..." Enzo muttered, his gaze lingering on the ancient text. "Looks like she’s still alive."
He had already suspected as much.
But that only deepened his concern.
Victoria.
From everything recorded here, her power had reached a level beyond even the gods. If that was true, then what could possibly prevent her from contacting him? What kind of force could keep soone like her confined, hidden, or silent?
It didn’t make sense.
Unless the enemy she faced was sothing far worse.
Slowly, Enzo turned his gaze upward.
The castle lood closer now, its dark silhouette cutting into the sky like a scar upon the horizon. Even from a distance, it radiated an oppressive presence, as if the very air around it resisted intrusion.
His eyes narrowed.
"Maybe up there," Enzo muttered, his voice low but resolute.
Sowhere within that castle, answers awaited him.
And whether he was ready or not, he would have to face them.
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