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Name: Enzo MalvaranAvatar: Asher, KilgarRank: ExaltedSkills: Shadow manipulation, call of the wild, Shadow step, Night vision, Transformation….]

[You have experienced a fundamental change, Fusing avatars]

In the space just above Enzo's great star, a strange energy surged outward, dense and deliberate. It wrapped around him in tightening coils, slipping beneath skin and sinking into bone. There was no pain in it, only a cold sense of precision, as if every part of him was being rewritten with care and intent.

His flesh shifted, bones realigned, muscles reforged. It felt intimate, invasive, yet undeniably right. The star above him pulsed once, brighter than before.

Soon, a voice resounded. Clear. Absolute. An announcement meant not just for him, but for existence itself.

[Your Avatar has evolved, congratulations Hunter Shade]

His senses detached from his body, vision peeling away as he slipped into an out of body state. Enzo watched his Avatar float in the air, suspended in quiet dominance. He studied it closely, noting the changes with a hunter's eye.

It was no longer a creature of pure night. Its form had matured, refined, carrying the sharp elegance of Asher and the brutal presence of Kilgar. Shadows clung to it naturally, not as armor, but as flesh.

"Stronger," Enzo muttered.

Relief washed through him in a slow, heavy wave. His second voyage was complete. He had endured it. He had survived it.

More than that, he had finally killed the being that tormented Victoria for so long. Whether the kill was his alone or shared no longer mattered. The result did. The weight was gone.

[You have killed a god of the sun, as such have received a passive skill. From now suns will fear you]

Enzo read the line twice, then smiled, a faint hint of amusement tugging at his lips. First, he was a night creature that no longer burned beneath the sun. Now, after evolving, even the sun itself would recoil from him.

'I really need to stop antagonizing the sun.'

A short laugh escaped him. He let the thought fade and focused on the final reward waiting at the bottom of his vision.

[You have received the second treasure of the night

Void Cutters, divine]

The name alone carried weight. Power pressed against his awareness, patient and sharp, like a blade waiting to be drawn.

Galafray.

Rune City.

"Such a stressful thing. Three months is too long, no?"

Pacing across the grand palace hall, a massive bull creature clad in iron plated armor moved back and forth. Each step echoed heavily, anxiety bleeding through his usually steady presence. His horns scraped faintly against the air as he turned again.

Rune City was drifting closer to the Black Sea, the bottomless pit at the heart of Galafray. A silent abyss that threatened to swallow everything whole without sound or mercy.

Once, they claimed they did not care if the city was lost. In truth, they had accepted death long ago. Prepared for it. Waiting for it.

But Enzo's arrival at the villa had changed everything. Hope, fragile and dangerous, had taken root. It forced them to wait. To believe.

And now he was taking too long.

The city was only a few kilometers from the Black Sea. Each passing moment felt heavier than the last.

"We're going to drown. Is there really nothing we can do?"

Behind the bull creature, an old familiar man sat slumped on the steps leading to the throne. His shoulders were hunched, gaze fixed on the polished floor, hands hanging uselessly at his sides. Stress weighed heavily on his aged face, carving deeper lines than time alone ever could.

His trial had been swift. Too swift. He had gained a powerful inheritance, fragments of knowledge tied to a Demi god star seed, something countless beings would have killed for. Yet it mocked him now. All that power meant nothing while he remained trapped here, waiting for the sea to claim them.

"I didn't make the rules," the bull creature sneered, iron plates creaking as he turned.

The young man from the cloaked shade had died during his challenge. That truth still lingered like a bad taste. Only Enzo and Master Seth remained. Two names standing against an entire fate.

"Sigh."

Master Seth exhaled slowly, eyes drifting toward the distant horizon where the massive spire pierced the sky. He never imagined his end would come like this. No battle. No glory.

Drowned.

For a being of the skies, it was more than death. It was humiliation.

Sudden.

Boom.

A violent explosion thundered from afar, the shockwave rippling through the air. The palace trembled, banners snapping wildly as instinct took over. Both figures snapped to attention, launching themselves out of the hall in a blur of motion.

They emerged into the open sky above the villa and froze.

A body lay sprawled before the entrance, shadows curling unnaturally around it. A gaping hole tore through the man's chest, edges still smoking with residual energy.

"That's…"

Recognition didn't come immediately. Only after a heartbeat too long did they rush forward, alarm flooding their expressions. Seth reached him first, grappling the body and pulling him close. His hands moved fast, practiced, forcing healing medicine between Enzo's lips.

"Cough, cough."

Enzo sputtered, a weak laugh slipping out despite himself. "Petty old man."

The humor was thin. Forced. Beneath it, his hands trembled.

In truth, he was shaken. When the voyage ended and consciousness returned, a silhouette had been waiting beside him. Silent. Patient. It attacked without warning, overwhelming him in a single decisive strike.

He had recognized it instantly.

The Monarch of Life.

Like father, like son. The old man had left behind a trace of himself in Rune City, lying in wait for this exact moment. A final act of revenge, meant to cripple Enzo the instant he emerged victorious.

"Stay with me, kid," Seth said firmly, gripping him tighter. "You'll be alright."

"I Know, it's just a petty move," Enzo laughed softly, the sound uneven. His eyes fluttered once, then rolled back as his body finally gave in. He went limp in Seth's arms, breath shallow, shadows retreating like a tide pulling away from shore.

At that same moment, the entirety of Rune City shook violently. Towers groaned, runes flared erratically, and the air screamed as the drifting metropolis lurched forward. Then, as if seized by an unseen hand, it came to a sudden halt.

Just short of the Black Sea.

Waves crashed violently against the distant shore, the abyss churning in silent frustration as the city hovered at its edge, spared by the smallest of margins.

.....

"On official news, Galafray Prison World, the new hot cake on the market."

Across countless systems of the federation, broadcasting stations lit up in unison. A familiar voice echoed through screens and holograms, carrying the practiced excitement of a headline meant to grab attention.

Galafray had always been an unassuming planet. Loved by many, yet never taken seriously. A place admired from afar, but deemed unworthy of heavy investment. Too dangerous. Too unstable. Too uncertain.

A cake everyone admired, but no one wanted to bake.

That changed the moment the Dual Moon Institute invaded. What was once overlooked became a focal point. The clan poured everything they had into the operation, staking their future on an escape few believed possible.

And it paid off.

In just a few short months, the Institute's strength surged by an entire tier. Members who were once mediocre rose overnight, power blooming violently under Galafray's harsh crucible.

Whispers spread fast. Analysts scrambled. Rivals watched in silence.

Most shocking of all was the final revelation.

They had produced a god.

A true divine existence had emerged from their ranks, born from a prison world the federation had long dismissed.

Immediately after, the other powers began to move. Quietly. Carefully. Not with the bold entitlement of the Institute, who held legal rights to Galafray, but they came all the same. Slipping through cracks in law and space, planting flags where no one was meant to see.

All for a share of the cake.

"News reaching me, Jessica, is that the rumors are true."

A different broadcaster leaned forward, voice lowered just enough to sound confidential. His words traveled across the stars, carried into homes, ships, and war rooms alike.

"There are ancient peoples and monsters living on that planet. And get this… some of them are free from corruption."

The phrase lingered.

Uncorrupted beasts.

It sent a ripple through the greater scheme of the universe. Humanity had risen long after everything else had already fallen apart. By the time they reached the stars, most races were extinct, twisted, or reduced to shadows of what they once were.

Aside from their Avatars, humans had never truly interacted with the myriad races that once filled the cosmos. Never spoken to them. Never fought beside them. Never studied them as they were meant to be seen.

Galafray changed that.

This was no longer a local matter. It was a universe wide event, something rare enough to draw enemies, allies, and opportunists into the same orbit. Curiosity bridged old divides. Greed sharpened them.

Far from the cameras and broadcasts, in an unassuming city perched along a sloping ridge, a small spacecraft descended in silence. Dust rolled outward as its landing thrusters cut.

The hatch opened.

A bald headed man stepped out, muscles coiled tight beneath his skin. His presence was heavy, deliberate, as if the ground itself was taking note of his arrival.

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