Back inside the Secret Realm, the last ruin—a crumbling palace of jade and obsidian—lay cleared of foes, its halls echoing with the faint hum of residual mana. The group looted methodically, storage rings glowing as they harvested the final caches of Mythic herbs, Calamity artifacts, and beast cores.
Raven, Summer, and Katherine worked together near a shattered pedestal, fingers deftly sorting glowing lotuses into rings.
Katherine sighed, blonde hair falling over her shoulder as she sealed another batch.
"Our mission… finding those two women. It's been months. How much longer before we can go home?"
Summer glanced up, shadows curling lazily around a lotus she examined.
"I'm starting to miss home a bit.... But we can't leave empty-handed. The clan will want results."
Raven nodded, black hair catching the realm's blue light.
"And answers. Ash mentioned he has a lead on the case… we'll ask him later."
Katherine's bloody eyes softened at the name. "Predictable... He always does~"
A short distance away, Connor and Seth rifled through a collapsed armory, swords and talismans clinking into rings.
Seth glanced at Connor, voice low. "You really told our whereabouts to Liam. Why?"
Connor's jaw tightened. "Because... he needs to know."
Seth facepalmed. "I'm not worried for us.... That psycho will burn this world to ash if he's pissed enough. You know how he gets."
Connor shrugged away. "He has a right to know about Katherine."
Seth sighed.
"Your jealousy will be the cause of this world's doom!"
A ripple of space nearby.
Silas and Elowen emerged at the edge of the ruin with a small band of Noctis vampires, their auras muted but eyes keen.
Silas lifted a hand. "Hold. Wait here." The vampires obeyed instantly, slipping into the shadows. With his trademark sly smile, Silas moved forward, Elowen beside him, her cold, hateful gaze locked straight ahead.
Raven noticed first, shoulders stiffening.
Silas bowed dramatically. "Princess Raven… fancy meeting you here.... Still as radiant as ever, I see."
Raven's expression turned ice. "Silas. State your business or leave."
Summer and Katherine flanked her, auras flaring subtly.
Silas chuckled. "Always so stern... Can't a man greet an old friend?"
Elowen stepped forward, voice teasing. "Where is he?" she asked. "That winged guy you were with the other day?"
Raven's eyes narrowed. "None of your concern."
Elowen's lips curled in delight at Raven's attitude. "He's quite interesting you know~ I would like to properly introduce myself."
Silas robotically looked towards her with a frown. Seeing his look Elowen shivered and took a step back behind him.
The conversation continued with tension thick.
Meanwhile, high above them in the skies of the Secret Realm…
Ash floated cross-legged, smirk playing on his lips.
"Planning to embarrass me, huh?" he muttered, already knowing what unfolded below through his Eyes of First Dawn.
The next 72 hours... which were now 24 hours played out in his mind—surprises, but nothing he couldn't handle.
He was in the midst of creation, for the first time in years.
Over the past two days, he had safeguarded the group while subtly collecting items from all over.
Among them were Astral Beast Hearts—mythic cores brimming with pure star power, granting control over stellar energy and cosmic regeneration; Void Essence Crystals—calamity-rank gems that boost aura strength and enable Law-channeling beyond normal limits; Calamity-Rank
Shadowblood Ore—a dark, blood-infused metal that heightens silence and blood-based attacks; and Ultimate-Rank Starforge Alloy—a rare metal able to hold multiple Laws without breaking, exponentially enhancing aura amplification.
Ash smiled and added the final touches.
His Progenitor title activated—a single drop of blood forming, pure essence of the First.
Then every Law at 100 %: Lust, Space, Time, Paradox, Fire, Water, Ash, Mana, Creation, Abundance, Gravity, Protection, Blood, Illusions, Silence.
The vortex ignited.
A katana took shape.
The blade, forged from shadowblood ore and starforge alloy, gleamed a liquid black streaked with rose-pink veins like frozen bloodlines. Its edge shimmered with stellar energy, as if starfire had been caught mid-burst. The hilt was wrapped in silent paradox shards that swallowed light, and the guard spread out like twin wings of ash and flame.
[Weapon Forged: Unnamed (Paragon Rank)- A katana embodying silent unmaking and infinite desire.
-Cuts through Laws below user's comprehension as if they don't exist.
-Sword Aura manifests as galaxy-weight stellar arcs that silence and paradox-wound on contact.
Passive: Devours enemy desire to fuel user regeneration and power.
Active: Channels any user Law at 100 % potency, allowing galaxy-scale strikes.
Special: Enables the user to battle opponents one major realm higher (up to Early Stellar Sovereign) by reflecting and reversing enemy attacks through paradox.
The creation caused phenomena across the Venia Galaxy—skies darkening, silent crimson auroras dancing, cultivators looking up in awe and fear.
The Records of Eternity stirred.
{Incredible.... Ash Originat as a being still in the Calami-- }
"Heh… not just yet, dear Records~" Ash interrupted with a grin.
"I'm not done yet."
He activated |Architect's Sole Right|—everything copied then improved in every way.
The katana shuddered...
Two new abilities etched into the blade as the rank became undefined.
Infinite Stellar Eclipse
-Each strike dims stellar energy across a galaxy-wide span, snuffing out light and mana while twisting enemy Laws into self-destruction through tangled timelines.
Primavus Void Devour
-The blade hungers—devours blood, mana, Laws, and stellar essence on contact, converting them into raw Primavus power. Victims crave their own end, drawn inexorably closer while their existence unravels in silent paradox.
Ash smiled as he spoke. "You will be… Primordia, the Progenitor's Blade."
The katana hummed, perfectly balanced, alive with his will. The name etched itself along the fuller in glowing rose-pink script, the metal drinking the words like blood.
[Primordia, The Progenitor's Blade (???) – Bound through life and death.]
A vast, emotionless voice echoed through his mind and across the cosmos—the Records of Eternity, cold and impartial as the void itself.
{Incredible.... A creation of a Third Realm weapon while the bearer remains in Second Realm. Notable precedent exists.... yet method employed is unprecedented, the fusion of Progenitor essence with self-derived Laws and Architect's enhancement, bypassing conventional forging cycles.
Unique pathway detected.
Title Granted: Forger of the Unwritten Cycle.}
Ash's grin widened.
He sheathed Primordia at his side, and no scabbard was needed; the blade simply vanished into his essence, waiting.
The phenomena across the Venia Galaxy faded slowly with crimson auroras dimming, stars steadying.
A new title.
A new edge.
And the galaxy had just felt the birth of something quiet special.
{Title: Forger of the Unwritten Cycle
(Passive & Active – Scale with user's realm/power):
Origin Forging Mastery
-All creations (weapons, artifacts, arrays, realms, even living constructs) are automatically elevated one full sub-realm above what conventional forging allows.
Example: A Calamity-rank material blueprint becomes Ultimate; Ultimate becomes Paragon; Paragon becomes.... ??? (Third Realm).
-Forging time reduced by 99 %, material requirements reduced by 90 %.
-Creations gain a "Progenitor Echo"—they evolve alongside the user, gaining new abilities as Ash's Laws/bloodline improve.
Unwritten Cycle Authority
-Forged items bypass one major restriction of their rank (e.g., a Paragon weapon can ignore one Galactic-level Law defense).
-User may "rewrite" one aspect of any forged item once per cycle (Homeworld Cycle)—changing its core Law, affinity, or even granting sentience prematurely.
Cycle Resonance
When forging, the user may draw ambient Laws/concepts from the surrounding galaxy without cost, incorporating them at 100 % comprehension.
Creations resonate with the "Unwritten Cycle"—they cannot be perfectly copied or analyzed by any being below the Third Realm of Power.
Forger's Paradox Immunity
User and all their creations are immune to paradox-based attacks/Laws one major realm above user's current rank. Enemies attempting to destroy user-forged items suffer minor paradox backlash (wounds age forward, Laws destabilize).
Title Evolution Path
Upon forging a Fourth Realm item or achieving Stellar Sovereign rank, title evolves to "Architect of the Unwritten Epoch"}