POV: Author
The book had always known how to wait.
Anna stood at the center of the void exactly where it had left her—ink-black water unmoving beneath her feet, the silence around her no longer oppressive but attentive . The symbols embedded within the darkness had stopped demanding her submission. They rearranged themselves instead, slow and deliberate, as though recalibrating around her existence.
She had not conquered the Core.
It had recognized her.
That distinction mattered more than victory.
The pressure that once crushed her lungs had eased. The Core lingered—withdrawn, uncertain. Its authority had fractured, not shattered. For the first time since its creation, the book hesitated.
Anna lowered her hand.
The power she had wielded did not vanish. It settled within her, restrained, waiting—like something that trusted her not to misuse it.
"So this is what you do," she said quietly into the stillness. "You test people until they break."
The void did not answer.
Instead, it responded.
The darkness beneath her feet began to glow faintly, the surface warming as fractures spread outward in slow, deliberate patterns. Not white. Not red.
Amber.
Anna felt it instantly—a pull deep inside her chest, sharp and undeniable.
Her breath hitched. "No…"
The Core stirred.
Not in anger.
Not in mercy.
In decision.
From the depths of the void, something rose.
A stone.
It was imperfect, ancient, layered with symbols that looked less carved and more grown. Power radiated from it—not violent, not chaotic, but heavy with intention. This was no weapon.
It was a seal.
A verdict.
Her healing aura reacted on instinct, flaring white and brilliant, wrapping her body in light as it always had. The stone slowed, hovering inches from her chest, as if acknowledging her resistance.
Then it moved.
The stone did not pierce her.
It passed through her.
Anna gasped as it dissolved into light the moment it touched her skin, slipping between bone and breath, sinking directly into her heart as though it had always belonged there.
Her aura screamed.
White light shattered, splintering under pressure. For a heartbeat—one suspended, terrible heartbeat—Anna thought she was dying.
Then the white burned away.
Amber surged outward, thick and radiant, replacing it entirely. This power did not heal wounds.
If anchored existence .
Her heart beat once.
Twice.
The void recoiled.
The Core fell silent.
Anna collapsed to her knees, fingers digging into the dark surface as she struggled to breathe. The power inside her felt different now—slower, deeper, immovable.
She understood without being told.
This stone had not been meant to save her.
It had been meant to make sure she could never be erased again .
Far beyond the void, wards screamed.
Gods noticed.
And the book—
The book had chosen.
---
Between realms, where reality bent without breaking, Wataru stood within a spell circle that did not belong to any world.
The book hovered nearby—sealed, obedient, watching.
Wataru raised his hand.
Power gathered calmly, precisely.
Embers curled inward, shaping form from heat and will. A woman emerged—red hair cascading like living flame, blue eyes sharp with immediate awareness. Around her throat rested a black choker set with a red stone that pulsed like a second heart. A maroon dress flowed around her, sigils threading through the fabric.
A red witch.
She knelt—not in submission, but recognition.
"You will anchor the spell," Wataru said evenly. "Not bind it. Not control it."
The witch lifted her gaze. "And the girl?"
"She survives."
Nothing more was said.
The witch rose, extending her hands. Red symbols ignited the air, forming a spell not of destruction, but extraction —a path out, a way through, something that should not exist.
Wataru watched the spell stabilize.
A faint smirk curved his lips...
---
"ANNA!"
Shou Feng tore through reality as shadows split open the space around her. He was at her side instantly, dropping to his knees, power restrained only by will.
Kiyoshi arrived next, divine markings blazing. Yuvan and Ming followed, forming a containment barrier without hesitation.
Shou Feng's hands hovered.
He did not touch her.
"Look at me," he said tightly.
Anna lifted her head.
Amber met shadow.
Shou Feng froze.
That power was not corruption.
Not possession.
It was recognition.
"She's changed," Kiyoshi said softly.
"I know," Shou Feng replied.
And something ancient within him shifted—alert, unsettled, protective.
---
Elsewhere in the castle, Zara watched.
She felt the stone awaken.
Her fingers curled at her side.
This was not supposed to happen.
She had corrupted rituals, twisted the book's pathways—but this? This was interference beyond even her reach.
And yet—
If it fully awakened…
Zara's gaze hardened.
She knew she should not interfere.
But she always had.
---
Years earlier
Rain poured as a car stopped outside the museum, thunder cracking overhead. The man stepped out, moving through silent halls until he reached a door never meant to be opened.
RESTRICTED—VIP ARCHIVE.
Paintings lined the walls—gods, kings, destroyers.
Kiyoshi
Mong feng
Yuvan Yu
Lord kazan
Tomika
He stopped before one figure—charcoal eyes piercing even in paint.
Renji.
Then he turned.
The largest painting loomed.
LORD FENG .
At its base, behind glass, rested a book.
The Legend of shou feng.
The swap was flawless.
The real book slid into his coat.
Thunder struck.
Anna's father stood behind him.
"So," he said quietly, grief and fury entwined, "I've found it."
The man had the book.
But the question remained—
Why?
---
To be continued.
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