The path to the Genesis Forge was no longer a hallway of pristine marble and mana-infused lighting. It was a tunnel of twisted rebar and shattered stone, buried beneath thousands of tons of the collapsed Astronomy Tower.

Alvian walked through the dark, his [Vestments of the Void Monarch] glowing with a faint, ethereal violet light that pushed back the shadows. Beside him, Valeria moved with the heavy, rhythmic clanking of her battered plate armor. She had refused to stay behind at the makeshift medical camp, insisting that his back needed watching.

"The structural integrity down here is compromised," Valeria whispered, her voice echoing slightly in the cramped space. She reached out, steadying a slab of concrete that groaned ominously above their heads. "One wrong vibration, and this whole sector collapses on us."

"Then we will be quiet," Alvian replied, not breaking his stride. "The Forge is the heart of the island's crafting matrix. It is reinforced with Star-Metal. It survived the fall. The question is whether it is still functional."

They reached the blast doors of Sub-Level 9. The metal was buckled, warped by the heat of the Core's near-detonation and the subsequent impact. The electronic locks were dead, sparking intermittently.

Alvian didn't bother with keycards or hacking. He gripped the edge of the door with his [Wolf Tamer's Gauntlets].

"Strength: 270."

"CREAAAK."

With a groan that sounded like a dying beast, the massive steel doors were peeled back. Alvian stepped through the opening, dust swirling around his boots.

The Genesis Forge chamber was a ruin. The ceiling had partially collapsed, leaving the room open to the jagged rocks of the crater above. Shafts of dusty sunlight pierced the gloom, illuminating the central anvil.

The anvil, forged from the heart of a dying star, was intact. But the air around it was wrong. It shimmered with chaotic, multi-colored sparks. The impact had destabilized the dimensional rift that powered the forge. It was leaking raw creation energy, twisting the debris around it into impossible shapes—floating rocks, burning water, frozen fire.

"It's unstable," Valeria said, stepping up beside him. She raised her shield instinctively. "The mana density... it's suffocating."

"It's raw," Alvian corrected. He walked toward the anvil, ignoring the distortion waves that rippled against his armor. "It's dangerous. But it's potent."

He reached the anvil. A crack ran down the center of the Star-Metal block, bleeding white light.

"System. Analysis."

[Target: Genesis Forge (Damaged)]

[Status: Critical Instability.]

[Operational Capacity: One Use.]

[Warning: Attempting to use the Forge may result in a spatial collapse.]

"One use," Alvian muttered. "Efficient."

He drew [Voidpiercer]. The Mythical dagger hummed in his hand, its black blade drinking the chaotic light of the room. It was hungry. Since its creation, it had tasted the blood of a Demon God, but it was still just a tool. To fight the coming war, Alvian needed it to be a calamity.

"Alvian," Valeria's voice was soft, cutting through his focus. She placed a hand on his shoulder. The metal of her gauntlet was cold, but the touch felt grounding. "You're running on fumes. Your stats are still recovering from the [Soul Exhaustion]. If this goes wrong..."

Alvian looked at her hand, then up to her eyes. Her grey eyes were filled with a concern that went beyond camaraderie. She wasn't looking at the Godslayer. She was looking at him.

"If I don't do this, we lose the next fight," Alvian said, his voice unusually quiet. "The Syndicate isn't gone, Valeria. They are regrouping. And the monsters in the Chaos Zone... they won't wait for me to nap."

He didn't shake her hand off. He let it stay for a moment longer than necessary.

"Watch the door," he said, stepping away. "The energy flare will attract scavengers."

Valeria nodded, her expression hardening back into that of the Vanguard Ace. She drew her claymore and turned to face the entrance. "I won't let anything disturb you."

Alvian turned back to the anvil. He placed [Voidpiercer] on the glowing crack.

He opened his inventory. He retrieved the [Ring of the Void Sovereign] he had looted from Voice One, and the [Data Crystal: Syndicate Network].

"Sacrifice," Alvian whispered.

He placed the Legendary ring and the crystal onto the anvil next to the dagger.

"System. Initiate Reforging. Target: [Voidpiercer]."

[Warning! Forge Instability at 90%.]

[Materials Detected: Spatial Artifact, Information Matrix.]

[Attempting to fuse...]

"Activate [Super Upgrade System]."

[Ding!]

[SSS-Rank Authority Invoked.]

[Bypassing Stability Check.]

[Consuming Two (2) Daily Charges.]

"CLANG!"

The phantom hammers of the forge descended. But this time, they didn't sound like metal. They sounded like thunder cracking inside a skull.

The room exploded with light. The chaotic energy leaking from the anvil was sucked into the dagger. The ring shattered, its spatial properties merging with the blade. The data crystal dissolved, feeding the weapon with the knowledge of the enemy.

"SKREEEEE!"

From the shadows of the ruined ceiling, movement erupted. The flare of creation energy had acted like a beacon.

[Monster Detected: Void Moth]

[Level: 48]

[Status: Frenzied]

Massive, moth-like creatures with wings made of razor-sharp static phased through the walls. They were drawn to the mana.

"Contact!" Valeria shouted.

She didn't wait. She leaped into the air, her claymore glowing gold.

"Titan's Arc!"

"SLASH!"

She bisected the first moth. But three more swooped down, firing bolts of purple lightning.

Valeria raised her shield. "BOOM!" The impact drove her back, her boots sliding on the rubble.

"Alvian! Hurry!"

Alvian didn't look back. He couldn't. His hands were pressed onto the anvil, holding the dagger in place as the energies fought to tear it apart. The mana drain was immense. Even with the [Tear of the Infinite], he felt his reserves dipping.

"Fuse," Alvian growled, his veins bulging. "Submit."

A Void Moth bypassed Valeria, diving straight for Alvian's exposed back.

"NO!" Valeria screamed. She threw her shield.

"CLANG!"

The shield hit the moth, knocking it off course inches from Alvian's head. Valeria charged, tackling the beast with her bare shoulder, driving it into the ground and crushing its thorax with her boot.

"Keep working!" she yelled, panting, summoning her shield back to her hand with a magnetic charm.

Alvian poured everything he had into the forge. The anvil cracked further. The white light turned pitch black.

"Complete."

"BOOM!"

A shockwave of void energy blasted outward from the anvil. It knocked Valeria off her feet. It vaporized the remaining Void Moths instantly, turning them into ash.

Silence returned to the ruin.

The anvil crumbled into dust. The Genesis Forge was gone.

But floating in the air where the anvil had been was the dagger. It had changed. The blade was no longer solid black; it was translucent, like a shard of frozen space. Inside the blade, tiny stars drifted.

Alvian reached out and grabbed it.

[Ding!]

[Item Upgrade Successful.]

[Item Evolved: Voidpiercer +1]

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