Nihil stands in the middle of the shattered arena, panting, his newly regenerated body feeling alien and painful. The golem Wyvern before him has been defeated by a final, desperate Void Lance—a strike to its power core while the monster was still stunned.

But no one cares about the destroyed golem. All eyes are on him. On the monster that should be dead.

In the stands, Professor Theron collapses into his seat, his face as pale as a corpse. Instructor Zander stands rigid, his smile gone, replaced by a grave expression. Among the students, Darius val-Luminar stares blankly, his usually sharp mind now empty.

In the imperial balcony, the atmosphere turns icy.

Princess Selene turns to her father, Emperor Octavian Solaris, who has been silently observing. For the first time, she sees a rare expression on his face: disturbance.

"Selene," the Emperor says, his voice calm but heavy with gravity. "What... have you brought into the heart of my city?"

"A weapon, Father," Selene replies, striving to maintain her composure. "A weapon that cannot be destroyed."

"A weapon that defies the sacred cycle of life and death is not a weapon," the Emperor counters, his sharp eyes now fixed on Nihil below. "It is a profanity. A direct challenge to the authority of the Gods themselves."

He turns to a dark-robed figure standing in the shadows behind him. "Grand Inquisitor Richter," the Emperor commands. "Watch the boy. Every step he takes. Every breath he draws. Report every anomaly, no matter how small, directly to me."

The figure bows. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

In the arena, medical staff finally dare to approach Nihil. But before they can touch him, Headmistress Alina Sunstone arrives at his side.

"Take him," she orders curtly. "Medical Isolation Ward. No one is to enter. No one is to leave."

As Nihil is carried away, he feels the gaze of thousands piercing his back. He is no longer a student. No longer a champion.

He has become an object. An object of fear, of awe, and of the hunt.

Hours later, he awakens in the familiar white room. But this time, beyond the door, he senses the strong auras of two elite Holy Knights. He is no longer a patient. He is a prisoner.

Celia sits beside his bed, her eyes red from crying. "Nihil..." she whispers, her voice trembling. "Your hands... your body... they all... grew back. Everyone saw it."

Nihil does not respond. He focuses inward, examining his system. Red emergency notifications flood his mind.

[WARNING: VOID SYNC HAS SPIKED SIGNIFICANTLY DUE TO EXTREME TRAUMA AND FORCED REGENERATION!]

[Current Void Sync: 9.5%]

[Approaching Level 2 Depth Threshold: Crack. System stability critical.]

[Capacity: 5 / 40 (Slowly recovering)]

He feels the effects. Phantom pain courses through his body, echoes of when he was shattered. There is also a strange sense of dissociation, as if this body is no longer his own, but merely a vessel he can repair at will. The influence of the Void grows stronger.

The door opens. Alina Sunstone enters, her face serious.

"The entire academy and imperial palace are in chaos," she says. "You have done something that should not be possible."

"I was just surviving," Nihil replies.

"Surviving by breaking the laws of nature is a very dangerous way," Alina retorts. "The academy council is divided. Theron and his faction demand your execution as a monster. Zander and the pragmatists see you as the ultimate weapon. And I... I see you as the key to everything."

She gazes sharply at Nihil. "But our opinions no longer matter. You have drawn the Emperor's attention. And worse, you have drawn Grand Inquisitor Richter Von Braum's attention. He is a fanatic who believes all anomalies must be cleansed with holy fire. He is now your shadow."

Nihil has escaped the execution stage, only to find himself in a far more dangerous gilded cage, watched directly by the greatest wolves of the empire.

The echo of Nihil's immortality spreads across the world, and every faction reacts in its own way, positioning their pieces for the coming endgame.

At the Cult of Nullity Headquarters...

Ravenna Cruor laughs, her laughter filled with divine joy. Before her, a scrying crystal displays a rough recording of Nihil's battle finale.

"He cannot be killed!" Sister Morwen exclaims in horror.

"Not immortal, fool!" Ravenna snaps, her eyes fanatically shining. "He is divine! He has shown the world the Signs of the End! Destruction and Rebirth! He has transcended the mortal cycle of sorrow!"

Valerius Nocturne has given her a path. But this event is a holy mandate. Her plan is no longer merely to capture the Avatar. Her plan now is to trigger his "Ascension."

"Valerius said he would be in the public eye," Ravenna tells her lieutenants. "The tournament is not yet over. It will be our altar. Prepare the Hollow Knights. We will no longer move in shadows. We will bring our silence directly to the heart of the City of Light."

The storm from the underworld begins to ascend to the surface.

In a Safe House in Solara Magna...

Velka Nocturne and Tarek Mornhall watch the same recording, sent by Duke Alaric. Velka covers her mouth in horror, tears streaming down her cheeks. That was her brother, shattered and reborn in agony. He was not a monster. He was a victim.

Tarek, on the other hand, merely stares at the screen with an empty expression. All his revenge plans, all his hatred, feel futile. How do you take revenge on something that cannot die?

His burning obsession now transforms into a cold emptiness. He no longer wants to kill Nihil. He now has a new, far more terrifying question: What exactly is that power? And why does it feel so familiar to the ancient stories of gods?

Above the Sky, in "The Wanderer"...

Elara Moonveil replays the regeneration scene for the hundredth time, countless data streams flowing across her screens.

"This is not biological regeneration," she explains to her team. "The destroyed matter has been annihilated. Then, new matter is created from a zero-energy state, following an existential blueprint stored within. He is not healing. He is rewriting his own physical reality."

She connects this data with her findings on the Void Crystal. "The power to erase existence... and the power to recreate from nothing. These are hallmarks of a Trans-Essential entity. The power of a god-slayer."

The situation has transcended academic research. This is a cosmic-level crisis unfolding.

"Our mission has changed," Elara says firmly. "No longer observation. This is intervention. I must contact him directly, before the Inquisition or the Cult reaches him. He must understand what he truly is, before he accidentally wipes an entire city off the map."

On a Rooftop in the Dragon Mountains...

The Silencer crouches in the midst of a snowstorm, cleaning the black arrow of Doctor Elric's blood. A communication crystal in his pocket vibrates. Valerius's intermediary's voice comes through.

"New orders from the client. The academy asset has demonstrated a highly dangerous new capability. It is now considered a primary threat to Imperial stability. The client grants full authorization."

A moment of silence.

"Use any means necessary. Eliminate it."

The Silencer does not respond. He merely stares southward, toward distant Solara Magna. He nods once to the darkness, then merges into the snowstorm, vanishing without a trace.

The most dangerous hunt in the world is about to begin. A legendary assassin is tasked with killing an indestructible target. And among them stand all the forces of the Empire, a doomsday cult, and political players willing to sacrifice anyone for their own gain.

Storms from all directions now converge on a single focal point: a young man trapped in his gilded cage, who has just shown the world that he is both a god and a devil.

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