The convergence zone did not fall silent.
It held its breath.
The shattered land still smoked from the impact of Kali's clash with Aurelian Voss. Rivers of molten energy slowly cooled into fractured crystal. The sky above remained twisted, scarred by lingering law-level turbulence.
No candidate dared to move.
Because something far more terrifying than any cultivator had arrived.
Above Aurelion-9, space itself bent.
A circular distortion formed in orbit — not a wormhole, not a gate, but a sovereign corridor, carved open by authority rather than technology.
Then the stars dimmed.
Dozens of massive warcraft slid out of folded space, their hulls engraved with sigils of ancient civilizations. Each vessel radiated power so dense it pressed against the planet's atmosphere, creating hurricane winds across the battlefield below.
The Federation fleet.
Behind them came more.
Silver-white ships bearing the mark of the Helios Dominion.
Obsidian leviathans carrying the crest of the Void Court.
Living vessels grown from stellar organisms — the scouts of the Astral Concord.
For the first time in this exam cycle,
the true universe had arrived.
Inside the Federation command vessel, officers stared in disbelief at the expanding sensor feed.
"Multiple high-tier factions… they're not even hiding their presence."
"They're responding to the resonance from the convergence zone."
The commander's hands trembled slightly.
"This isn't an exam anymore," he said.
"It's a declaration of a new variable."
On the battlefield below, Aurelian Voss slowly lifted his gaze toward the heavens.
Then he laughed.
"So… they finally noticed you."
Kali followed his eyes.
He could feel them now.
Not eyes.
Wills.
Vast. Ancient. Curious. Hungry.
His core pulsed in response, the Abyssal inheritance inside him vibrating as if greeting something long forgotten.
The golden-eyed heir stepped closer, voice low.
"You have no idea what you've done."
Kali did not look away from the sky.
"Then tell me."
Aurelian Voss's expression turned serious.
"You've forced the universe to acknowledge Earth as a core battlefield world."
Around them, the remaining candidates finally began to move — retreating, forming alliances, activating escape beacons. None of them were prepared for what was coming next.
A colossal projection formed above the convergence zone.
An ancient figure appeared — its form neither fully human nor fully light, its presence alone warping reality around it.
A representative of the Universal Alliance.
Its voice resonated through every mind simultaneously.
"Candidate Kali of Sol."
"You have triggered a sovereign-level fluctuation event."
"By cosmic law, your world and your fate are now bound to the Grand Ascension Path."
The figure's gaze sharpened.
"From this moment onward, your journey is no longer local."
"It is interstellar."
Kali finally looked away from the sky.
He felt no fear.
Only the quiet weight of destiny pressing onto his shoulders.
His core stabilized, deeper and heavier than ever before.
Then he spoke.
"Good."
The convergence zone trembled.
And across the stars,
the era of Kali had begun.