The crimson eye remained suspended beyond the Gate.
Its gaze alone was enough to silence the world.
Across Blue Star, oceans became still. Storms ceased. Volcanoes that had raged for centuries abruptly fell dormant. Every living creature—from the weakest insect to the oldest divine beast—instinctively lowered its head.
This was not fear.
It was instinct.
The instinct to bow before a being that stood at the summit of existence.
Kael refused.
His golden eyes remained locked onto the enormous crimson eye.
"I said..."
His voice echoed across the ruined mountains.
"...I don't belong to you."
The eye blinked.
The pressure intensified.
Mountains hundreds of kilometers away shattered into clouds of dust. Rivers changed direction. The air itself became so heavy that ordinary cultivators across the continent collapsed unconscious.
Inside Kael's soul, every avatar reacted differently.
Dragon Hybrid bared its fangs.
> An Emperor...
Harvester remained silent.
Flamingo folded its arms.
> "He's trying to force every gene to recognize him."
The Moon Goddess narrowed her eyes.
> "Don't answer his call."
Kael frowned.
"What call?"
She looked directly at him.
"The blood inside you."
Before Kael could ask another question—
Pain exploded through his body.
His eleven gene cores pulsed simultaneously.
His veins glowed with eleven different colors.
Golden.
Silver.
Black.
Emerald.
Azure.
Crimson.
White.
Violet.
The colors intertwined beneath his skin as if trying to escape.
Kael dropped to one knee.
"Agh!"
The crimson eye smiled wider.
"Return."
One word.
That was all.
Yet the command echoed directly into Kael's genes instead of his mind.
His Dragon blood wanted to kneel.
His Plant Civilization wanted to bloom toward the Gate.
His Ocean God's blood churned violently.
Even the Moon Goddess' divine essence trembled.
Only one thing remained completely unmoved.
Kael himself.
His Mental Disruption ability erupted instinctively.
Invisible waves spread from his soul, disrupting the resonance trying to seize control of his bloodlines.
The crimson eye paused.
"...Interesting."
For the first time...
It sounded genuinely surprised.
---
Far inside the Imperial Palace, the Emperor laughed.
"So that's why..."
"So even the Civilization King cannot command him."
The crystal giant beside him frowned.
"The Vessel has developed an independent soul."
The Emperor nodded.
"Exactly."
"He is no longer merely a container."
"He has become something entirely new."
The crystal giant slowly tightened its grip around its enormous weapon.
"Then he is dangerous."
The Emperor smiled.
"To everyone."
---
Beyond the Gate...
The owner of the crimson eye finally moved.
An enormous hand emerged from the darkness.
It was so large that each finger rivaled an entire mountain range.
The hand reached toward Blue Star.
Not quickly.
Not violently.
Calmly.
As though picking up a forgotten object.
The moment the fingertips crossed the dimensional boundary—
BOOM!!
Golden chains erupted from every corner of the sky.
Millions upon millions of luminous chains wrapped around the giant arm.
The Law had intervened.
The entire heavens transformed into a colossal sealing formation.
A cold voice echoed throughout existence.
> Unauthorized Supreme Entity detected.
> Planetary Protection Protocol activated.
The crimson eye narrowed.
"So..."
"...the Framework still exists."
The chains tightened.
Space cracked around the enormous arm as reality desperately attempted to push it back beyond the Gate.
For several seconds...
Neither side moved.
Then—
CRACK!
One chain broke.
Then another.
Then hundreds.
The crimson eye laughed.
Its laughter rolled through dimensions like endless thunder.
"You've weakened."
The Law answered without emotion.
> Correction will continue.
More chains descended.
Countless Arbiters emerged from fractures in reality.
Each resembled the Sovereign Executors Kael had fought earlier, but these possessed far greater authority.
There weren't three.
There were thousands.
Every Arbiter raised a weapon toward the Gate.
The heavens became a battlefield.
---
Kael stared upward.
"So..."
"The Law isn't our enemy."
The Moon Goddess shook her head.
"No."
"It never was."
"It simply protects balance."
Flamingo sighed.
"Unfortunately..."
"...balance doesn't care who's right."
---
Without warning—
The crimson eye shifted.
Instead of attacking the Law...
It looked directly at Kael.
"I cannot descend."
"But..."
"...my children can."
The obsidian bridge trembled.
One figure stepped forward.
Unlike the towering giants behind it, this being was almost human-sized.
About two meters tall.
Long silver hair flowed behind its back.
Two crimson horns curved elegantly from its forehead.
It wore black armor covered in moving constellations.
A sword rested at its waist.
Its eyes...
Were identical to Kael's.
Golden.
The figure slowly walked down the bridge.
Each step caused reality to ripple.
The crystal giant immediately knelt.
"So the First Prince has awakened."
Every commander bowed deeply.
"Your Highness."
The silver-haired man ignored them.
His attention never left Kael.
"So..."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"You're the one carrying our legacy."
Kael stood silently.
The prince continued walking.
Unlike the Civilization King...
The Law did not stop him.
The Moon Goddess' expression changed.
"Impossible..."
Rion noticed.
"What?"
She answered quietly.
"He was born on Blue Star."
"What?"
"He's half human."
The prince reached the end of the bridge.
His boots touched Blue Star.
Nothing happened.
The Law remained silent.
The prince looked around the world before smiling.
"So this is the prison Father spoke of."
He finally looked at Kael.
"My name is Asterion, First Prince of the Otherworld Sovereign Dynasty."
He placed one hand over his chest in a formal salute.
"I've come..."
"...to bring my little brother home."
The world fell silent.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"I don't have a brother."
Asterion laughed.
"No."
"You don't remember having one."
He slowly unsheathed his sword.
A brilliant golden aura erupted from the blade, illuminating half the sky.
"But after I defeat you..."
"...our father will restore everything the humans stole from you."
Kael slowly drew his own blade.
Dragon Hybrid's power surged through his muscles.
Flamingo's flames wrapped around the sword.
Harvester's shadows coiled around his feet.
The Blade Avatar appeared beside him, silent and composed.
Kael pointed his sword toward Asterion.
"Then come."
"I'll show you..."
"...why I chose humanity."
Asterion smiled.
"A choice."
"What a fascinating illusion."
The two figures stood thousands of kilometers apart.
Yet the pressure from their killing intent alone split the clouds above Blue Star into two halves.
The first battle between the Avatar Sovereign...
And the First Prince of the Otherworld...
Was about to begin.