The ritual chamber pulsed with dull red light, and the air reeked of ash, blood, and sulfur.
Standing in its center was Valtross—or rather, a clone, identical in face, but with eyes slightly dulled by split cognition.
The real Valtross watched from afar, his consciousness split across three bodies.
"The Sanctum's strike was clever," he muttered, voice echoing within a rune mirror."Now let's test their endurance."
With a wave, his hands tore the space open—just a crack.
From within the rift: Abyssal limbs slithered, followed by roars of chained monstrosities.
[System Alert: Dimensional Rift Beacon Activated]
Estimated Arrival: 3 HoursTier: C—B RangeUnit Cap: 400+
He turned to his clone, handing it a black shard.
"Send this one to flank the east. Make them think we're retreating."
And with that, three Essence Division clones marched—one north, one east, and one stayed near the beacon.
"Let them burn themselves out," Valtross whispered."Then we'll bury their ashes in Abyss."
Nyra and Rael moved like smoke, their familiars darting ahead—one scanning sigils, the other sniffing out guards.
The third target was no ordinary candidate—it was a Binder, someone who had fused monsters into his own body.
They had no intention of letting him evolve further.
"His aura is chaotic," Rael whispered."Fused with a D-Tier spiderkin. Heavy on melee, weak to radiant."
"I've got the trap," Nyra said, pulling out a volatile mana glyph.
They waited.
Then struck.
Rael blinded the camp with a radiant flash, while Nyra teleported through her familiar's field and sliced through the Binder's weakened exoskeleton.
[Candidate Slain: Binder Erix – RP +120 | Item Drop: Fusion Fragment (???)]
But what they found next in his tent sent chills through their spine.
A map. Etched in blood.
"These are… Riftpoints," Nyra said, pointing at the carved sigils."Valtross has them seeded across the region."
"And this one… this one's near Sanctum."
They packed the intel and vanished before the ash settled.
Back at Sanctum, a new structure rose — black obsidian laced with crimson mana channels, heat-resistant bones fused into the frame.
[Blueprint Activated: Emberfang Spire – Unique Superstructure]
→ Mode: Single-Target Burn Focus→ Power Scaling: Uses % of connected Mana Reactors for continuous beam damage
• 25% Capacity = Tier D burn• 50% = Tier C continuous• 75% = Tier B burst• 100% = Tier A incineration pulse (One-time; forces reactor cooldown)
Iden overlooked the build, channels of mana already sparking around his feet as he tied the spire into the central reactor system.
"We'll let them come," Iden said."And when they do—this tower will melt through the strongest shield they have."
Kael walked up, holding a sealed scroll.
"Rael sent this… intel on Riftpoints. Valtross is preparing something big."
"Good," Iden muttered, placing a glowing core into the Emberfang tower's heart."Let him. We're not just building defenses now…"
"We're building his execution stage."